There is nothing so patient, in this world or any other, as a virus searching for a host.

I was still wearing my shoes. The staff was paid to wash the sheets after every visit, and by the point we left the field, I’d dressed and undressed so many times in the course of decontamination that I never wanted to remove my clothes again. I’d just wear them until they dissolved, and then spend the rest of my life naked.

Hello?” I peered into the shadows. Two green circles flashed in the dark. I yelped, jumping backward and pressing myself against the wall. “And may I wish a very good morning to you, too, October.” The voice was amused, underscored by a chuckle like thick cream. “What happened? Did the prettiest little princess miss her carriage home?

I wanted the truth, and I wanted the news, and I'd be damned before I settled for anything less.

I feel the closest to crazy when I'm disagreeing with the voice in my head

...even saying good-bye isn’t enough. There’s always one more thing you should have had the time to say, or do, or ask. There’s always going to be that one missing piece.

Any good Irwin can make going to the corner store for a candy bar and a Coke lood death defying and suicidal.