“He went to the light switch by the door and flicked it off. When he turned, she glowed in the golden light from the space heater, and the shadow over her shoulders on the wall seemed a looming, black-cloaked figure. An ancient, mythical harbinger of doom and destruction.He blinked. It turned into a pattern of blocked light again.Jesus, what the hell was that about? He was rattled, jittery, scared half to death. But he could no more say no to this girl than he could stop breathing.”

“He flicked off the light switch, setting the alarm system. Overhead he could hearReno—music that could only be Japanese hip-hop, for God’s sake, and thumps andbumps. Either he had half a dozen girls up there on the floor and he was doing them one by one, or he was doing some sort of exercise. Or dancing. The thought of Reno dancing was enough to send cold shivers down Peter’s spine. He preferred the notion of an orgy.”

“Muttering about caves, Jenks came in with my suitcase, his eyes roving the low ceiling. He dropped my bag by the door, tossed me the keys to the van, and headed out, flicking the light switch several times because he could.”

“He turned back, and there was an odd light in his eyes. “Did I ever tell you that I can't live without you?” he said.“No,” she said. “You can tell me about it when we survive.” She could barely breathe, death was eating its way toward her, and she wanted to laugh out loud with the joy of it.”

“He walked from one end of the basement to the other, the lamplight magnifying his shadow. It turned him into a giant on the wall, walking back and forth. When he stopped pacing, his shadow loomed behind him, watching. Someone was always watching.”

“He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”