Michael Grant

“He's one kind of person, you're another. When life is going along normally, you're sort of the same. But when life turns strange and scary, when there's a crisis, suddenly you're completely different people.”

“An old couple came running from a motorhome, scribbling as they ran. Their sign read, Can you check on our cat, Ariel?No one would answer that, because the cats had all been eaten.”

“Sam and Caine were left standing side by side, bruised and battered, to stare over Penny's sickening corpse, at the face of their mother.”

“The warrior who had gone out from the lake to save his people by slaying the evil one was now just a boy sitting in the dirt with his fingers in a mane of blond hair. He stared at nothing. Expected nothing. Planned nothing. Just sat.”

“Come live with us, Diana. Don't argue. Just say yes."Diana looked at the ground to hide her emotions. Then she said, "Would I have to be hearing you two going at it night and day?”

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I know I did. I’m most likely dead now, and I guess if there’s any kind of fairness in the afterlife I’m probably in hell getting roasted. But if that’s where I am, I want you to know, I still love you. Always did. Love, Caine”

“Hello, Darkness," Caine said.Gaia's face fell. Her bloody, feral grin faded to be replaced by lips drawn right with fear. Her killer blue eyes widened as she looked at Caine who was no longer Caine."Nemesis," Gaia said.”

“Say it. But...""But what?" he asked.She whispered it, sounding too vulnerable. "But only if its the truth, Caine. Only. If.""I love you," he said.”

“Ah. Yeah, that would be better. Have you ever driven a bus?" Caine shook his head. "No, I have not." "Strangely enough," Sam said, remembering the long ago moment of terror and competence that had earned him the nicknames School Bus Sam, "I have.”

“In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. In the darkness the man with a candle is an easy target.”

“Caine tried to roll to his feet, but something was jabbing him in the crouch. He shook off the stars and saw Edilio standing over him. Edilio had the business end of his automatic rifle in a very sensitive place. "If you move, Caine, I will shoot your balls off," Edilio said. "Toto?" "He will," Toto said, "Although he's not sure it will be just your balls.”

“Deep down, she's a good person, Diana is," Caine said, and sighed. "Deep down, I'm not. But she is.”

“Why are we doing this?" Caine asked him. "You know damned well why we're doing this. Because it's a fight. It may be THE fight. I may be the final fight. And what else are we good at, you and me? What are we going to do if we ever get out there anyway?”

“Sam’s probably out there somewhere being his usual heroic self,” Caine said. “I can’t let that boy save the world all alone. I’d never live it down.”

“They both smiled at the picture of Albert in his chinos and button-down shirt exhorting kids from atop a bike.”

“He found a set of encyclopedias—like Wikipedia, but paper and very bulky.”

“I came up with myself. FAYZ. Spelled F-A-Y-Z. It stands for Fallout Alley Youth Zone. Fallout Alley, and nothing but kids." Howard laughed his mean laugh. "Don't worry, Astrid, it's just a FAYZ. Get it? Just a FAYZ.”

“She placed her palm over his wound, pressing as hard as she dared.She would stop the blood.She would hold him and stop his life from escaping.She would hold life inside him and he wouldn’t die”

“The pain was her whole world now. Pain and fear.”

“She was scared. Scared of dying.”

“The best part is that you can use any number of different interfaces." Tap, tap, drag. "This one's made of Lego blocks, for younger kids. See how there's a Lego representation of the DNA?”

“But when reality was hopeless, fantasy became more and more necessary.”

“San: You all right?Virt: I think i crapped myself a littleSam: Just a little? you've got nerves of steel.”

“Sometimes, if I really strain my brain, I can do multiplication.”

“This much I know already: When Tommy and the Big Brains, in whispered, wry asides, talk about Project 88715, they call it something else. They call it the "Adam Project.”

“So just don't cry.”

“There's no hurry. I'm not a pint of half-and-half about to expire. I can wait until I meet the right person.”

“It's not like I've spent my life beating he boys back with a flaming torch.”

“Here's the thing: I am not beautiful. I'm pretty. I'll allow that much. Pretty. But I'm not the girl boys long for.”

“She was no longer theirs. She was his.And he was hers.And this was their world.”

“It was a sphincter at the top of a black bowl. A fitting commentary on the FAYZ, Diana thought. A giant sphincter.”

“God knew our lives would be really bad sometimes. Like maybe we'd be turned into a monster and then our best friend would get killed. So he made up this story about hell, so we could always say, 'Well it could be worse. It could be hell.' And then we'd keep going.”

“I've never been able to grow an organ back," Lana said. "Last time I tried... Let's just hope you don't end up with whip eyes.”

“Penny said two words, the second of which was "you." Caine laughed. "I think you meant '---- you, Your Highness.”

“Numbers still gave Astrid pleasure. That was the great thing about numbers: it required no faith to believe that two plus two equaled four. And math never, ever condemned you for your thoughts and desires.”

“To almost no one's surprise, Astrid said, "Dune, by Frank Herbert. 'I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that bring total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the Fear has gone there will be nothing.'"She and Lana together spoke the last phrase of the incantation. "'Only I will remain.”

“Paranoia," Sam muttered. "You're going slowly nuts, dude. Or maybe not so slowly, since you're talking to yourself.”

“Quinn sat back down. He leaned forward, elbows on knees. "Man, don't you remember taking tests in school? Multiple choice: A, B, C, D, or E, all of the above. "Yeah?" "Dude, sometimes the answer is 'all of the above.' This places needs you. And it needs Astrid. And it needs Sam. It's all of the above, Albert.”

“You like blue eyes, huh?""Yes. I do. I like blue eyes.”

“Guilt was a fascinating thing: it seemed not to weaken over time. If anything it grew stronger as the circumstances faded from memory, as the fear and the necessity became abstract. And only her own actions stood out with crystal clarity.”

“You might be useful but my dogs gotta eat.”

“Oh, Snap," I say."What?""Sorry. I was flashing back to 2005.”

“In the land of the blind, a one eyed man is king”

“Let me guess: you're secretly a wizard who was raised by muggles.”

“So many things I'm not, and so few things I am.”

“Cabeza de turco.”

“The bringer of fear was afraid.”

“You're a big, lovable teddy bear.”

“If you do bad stuff and don't repent, you go to hell," Orc said, like he was begging for a refutation."Yeah, well, you know what? If Howard's in hell, I guess we can all have a big get-together soon enough. a”

“Man, don't ever be sorry you don't want to kill someone.”