Mimily

“Are you just gonna sit there and stare at me, or are you gonna ask what you wanna ask?” I almost jumped from my skin. But then, I saw who he was really talking to. The small boy appeared, head emerging from around the hallway that led to the back bedrooms. Maybe six years old. Goddamnit, I thought. God fucking damnit. I’d been holding out hope until that moment. But the instant I saw him, I knew. There were toys out there, in the yard. I was hoping maybe my father had met a woman who already had children. But no. That nose. Those eyes. That hair. My mom always complained my dad’s genes were so dominant, anyone remotely related to him was doomed to look just like him. The boy took one hesitant step into the room, but he remained behind the hospital bed, hidden so my father couldn’t turn and look directly upon him. I couldn’t take my eyes off the boy. The poor kid looked as if he was going to bolt at any moment.”
― Matt Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

“All planets used for a crawl or any other game, such as Battle Royale or Land War are used to collect fuel. The elements. The byproduct of the biological overgrowth of the seeded systems. The entertainment aspect of it all came along later, but it’s necessary in its own way. It’s expensive, what they do. But without it, it all gets shut off. All of it. We need to shut the crawl down, but we have to do it in a responsible way. Lest we kill half the known universe. If we do this right, future collections will be humane. It will be done in a way that removes all the suffering. What I did to Mordecai. To Armita. To Pieter. What is happening to you. It will never happen again. And it’s all coming together this season. This is our chance. Finally, after all these centuries. It’s our chance.”
― Matt Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

“Carl,” she said, turning to look at me. She shook her head. “I say this with love. You are an idiot. You can’t fight us. You can’t give your key to Imani. You have to save it for yourself. Do you remember when you flew that airplane to save our bubble on the fifth floor? And then when you killed all the hunters? That’s when I realized who you are. Don’t you understand? You’re more than just a person. If we lose you, we lose everything. You’re a symbol. You’re the embodiment of our hope. You and that fucking, annoying cat that everyone seems to like for some reason. You two bought a goddamned slot on Faction Wars. Everyone who remains can’t wait for the chance to fight someone real, someone actually responsible for all this. If you two don’t get down to the next floor, we all lose that. You can’t sacrifice yourself. And you know what? I know Imani thinks that, too. If you give her your key, she’s just going to try to give it back to you.”
― Matt Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

“I wasn’t. We’ve gone over this like a million times. I was in the Coast Guard.” “And they let you have guns? Why? Did the coast ever shoot at you?”
― Matt Dinniman, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride