The woman had looked into the abyss and then walked out across it.

He removed his unvaluable valuables and dumped his shirt, pants, and skivvies into a letter slot.

Outside, daylight was bleeding slowly toward dusk.

He understood well enough how a man with a choice between pride and responsibility will almost always choose pride--if responsibility robs him of his manhood.

He had never been a social man. He had shunned causes with contempt and disgust. They were for pig-simple suckers and people with too much time and money on their hands

God is cruel. Sometimes he makes you live.