"That was the problem. It was...well that or probably permanent death. Maybe even worse? Who knows what happens if you're still in a dream when it completely collapses. Probably nothing good."

The mention of the waste puts some tension in his shoulders. He's still carrying a lot with seeing his father- knowing the wastes were other versions of people they knew and cared about- that most of them were dead now... it's a deeply unpleasant piece of knowledge to carry around.

"Me and Fern stuck around a while- it was towards the end of July that we went through- we hung out on a beach for a while, catching up with people before heading for the sea."