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“Pack Leader” The words, the creature they represented, made Caine wince Pack Leader, the dominant coyote, the one who had somehow attained a limited sort of speech Pack Leader, the faithful, fearful servant of…of it Of it Of the thing in the mine shaft

The Darkness, they called it

Caine swayed and before he rolled off the bed, Diana caught hirabbed his shoulders, kept hin in his eyes and et the wastebasket in front of him just as he vomited

He didn’t produce much Just a little yellow liquid

“Lovely,” she said, and curled her lip “On second thought, don’t eat any beans I don’t want to see them come back up”

Caine rinsed his mouth with soe”

“Because you’re too dangerous No one at Coates wants you around until you get a grip on yourself”

He blinked at another returning memory “I hurt someone”

“You thought Chunk was soe Then you sh a wall”

“Is he okay?”

“Caine In the et up like it’s no big deal This wasn’t a movie The as brick Chunk looked like roadkill Like when a raccoon gets run over and over and over and keeps getting run over for a couple of days”

The harshness of her words was too ritted her teeth and said, “Sorry It wasn’t pretty I never liked Chunk, but it wasn’t soet, okay?”

“I’ve been kind of out of my mind,” Caine said

Diana wiped angrily at a tear “Answer the question: Can you give an example of understatement?”

“I think I’m better now,” Caine said “Not all the way better Not all the way But better”