To say you have no choice is to relieve yourself of responsibility.

Know yourself and go in swinging.

A knife is only as good as the one who wields it.

"Stories don't always have happy endings." This stopped him. Because they didn't, did they? That's one thing the monster had definitely taught him. Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.

You're never more alive than in battle." "Never more dead after," I say.

This is what war does. Right here, in my hands. This is war.

Here's what I think," I say and my voice is stronger and thoughts are coming, thoughts that trickle into my noise like whispers of truth. "I think maybe everybody falls," I say. "I think maybe we all do. And I don't think that's the asking." I pull on her arms gently to make sure she's listening. "I think the asking is whether we get back up again.