"No," Neal says, but then forces himself to be calmer. He's the level-headed one. No one will die. No one here can die. He wouldn't allow it, because then he'd have to leave, embrace nothingness.

But maybe it'd be easier. It's not so bad, actually, imagining a world where he doesn't remember what he did to Flint, or how he feels about Atticus, or that Joss has been dead for nearly 30 years. There are a lot of reasons to refuse this life. "They... they probably have families. Kids. People who need them just as much."