Being Adam Parrish was a complicated thing, a wonder of muscles and organs, synapses and nerves. He was a miracle of moving parts, a study in survival. The most important thing to Adam Parrish, though, had always been free will, the ability to be his own master. This was the important thing. It had always been the important thing. This was what it was to be Adam.

One happy day for every falling leaf you catch. Sam's voice was low.

It's a hard thing to hold a civil conversation after recalling that one party has used a Taser on the other, so both of them finished the walk in silence.

I couldn't remember the last time I hadn't had to fake gratitude for a gift, and now that I actually was grateful, thank you didn't seem to cut it.

I was thinking lots of things, but most of them needed to stay thoughts, not words.

We sat like that for a long while, and when we stood up, all my sad things were in boxes, and Beck was my father.

Dying's a boring side effect.