“Past memories strobed before him, flashes of joy blackened by the present. Reality teased, then beckoned, home likewise. Confusion dimmed, the answer clear. This could end. Would end. In one of two...”

“Loneliness struck again, its force doubled by how much she wished it was her family there instead. Then oddly enough, she met the boy's stare and that feeling came again, that this was her family.”

“Dirck's thoughts wandered to Creena. It was a good thing she wasn't there or she'd die, too. He shuddered to think of how she'd feel when she got back and everyone was dead. He'd never see her agai...”