Ah. So he's forgotten the most important rule of warfare. Which is... That nothing ever goes to plan.

Not everything made you stronger. It was possible to survive, yet still be crippled for your trouble. Sometimes it was okay to run away, to skip the test, to chicken out. Or at least to get some help.

When the term "machine gun" enters common parlance, the word "machine" becomes much more sinister.

Out here, you find out that the city fools you about how things really work.

Their reasons don't mean anything unless I have a choice.

Haven't you ever known someone rejected by a lover, who, consumed by rage and jealousy, never lets go? They look on from a distance, unseen but boiling inside. The emotion never seems to tire, this hatred mixed with intense obsession, even with a kind of twisted love.

The Rusty Ruins were the remains of an old city, a hulking reminder of back when there'd been way too many people, and everyone was incredibly stupid. And ugly.