Outside, daylight was bleeding slowly toward dusk.

The trap had a ghastly perfection

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.

the man in black travels with your soul in his pocket.

It makes no difference if you're rich or poor Or if you're smart or dumb. A woman's place in this old world Is under some man's thumb, And if you're born a woman You're born to be hurt. You're born to be stepped on, Lied to, Cheated on, And treated like dirt. -Sandy Posey, 'Born a Woman' Lyrics by Martha Sharp

They had discovered one could grow as hungry for light as for food.

They were close to the end of the beginning . . .

She was not prepared to say every man was the same, but the majority were, because the instincts came with the package. With the penis.