"That's weird." Clementine murmured. "Everything is talking now, pretty much. Most of the signs are all gone and everything."

She hadn't been in school since partway through first grade, and she hadn't read a book, maybe ever. She wasn't sure she could read the paper, smart as she was. She'd have to listen to the news instead.

"This is a really unsettling place, but it's...safer. AJ would like it, I think. I could get him new clothes, or toys or something and he wouldn't have to..." She sighed. He was a bright star that she wanted to follow.