#gcampbelledit

“"My point is, I’m kinda easy to talk into things, that’s why I got the problems I got. People say shit like, ‘Wait in the car and keep it running, I just gotta run in and do something,’ or ‘I know this guy in Dousman needs a favor,’ and I say, ‘Yeah, sure, I just point the gun at my foot and pull the trigger, is that what I do?’ Bang! ‘Ow! What a surprise, I blew my toe off. Should I do it again? Okay!’ But I have spent a lot of time working on my personal self and talking to smart people and learning to ask what’s good for me and to not just dive into shit. Which is what I am doing right now, okay? I am taking a fucking moment." "I understand. I respect that." "It is very, very important to learn to tell everybody in the whole world to fuck off all the time. It took me forever to learn that." "I’m not sure that was the exact message you were supposed to—" But he glared at her, so she stopped and recharted her course. "I’m sorry. I get you had some bad stuff happen to you. I was not being cool." "Okay. Good. That’s more like it." He took a deep breath and let it out again, then pulled a flashlight off a battery charger on the wall next to the desk and headed for the gate that led deeper into the building. "You coming or what?"”

COLD STORAGE (2026)

“"This way." He led her down the hall at a run, around the first corner, and they reached the locked stairwell. Teacake zipped his key off the ring(still loved that sound, no matter what else was going on), unlocked the door, and they pushed through, They bounded up two flights of stairs, reached the ground level, and he used his key to open the door there. They stepped out into the all-white hallway, never so grateful to be aboveground in their lives. He took her by the hand(Damn, she's got some soft skin, soft but strong hands, you can feel it, I wonder if that's from carrying her child around? nah, that'd make your arms strong but not necessarily your hands, how come she's got such strong hands? wait, focus, man, we gotta get out of here) and led her down the hallway, headed for the lobby. (...) THE ELEVATOR DOORS OPENED AT THE FAR END OF THE GROUND-FLOOR level of Atchison Storage and Teacake and Naomi both screamed. They had taken the stairs specifically to avoid the disfigured, resourceful deer that seemed to know how to operate an elevator, and now that deer was standing right in front of them. "How the FUCK?!" Teacake shouted at the deer, which took three shaky steps toward them, making a phlegmy hacking sound at the back of its throat.”

“He took the next corner hard, pulled them both to a stop in front of unit 231-232, a sweet combo unit eight feet wide and 16 feet deep. He zipped the master key up off his hip, flicked the lock open, and yanked the door up a couple of feet off the ground. Naomi knew the only option when she saw it. She dropped to the floor and rolled under the door, into the darkness on the other side. Teacake didn't open the door any farther; he didn't want to in case he had to close it quickly and lock her in, which he was fully prepared to do. If Mike had been rounding the corner already, he would have done it and fought the fucker one-on-one, gun or no gun, but when he looked back the hallway was clear, though Mike's semihuman cries of rage were coming this way.”