James is quiet as he considers what she's said. She's right, of course, at the heart of it. He feels as if death caught up to him ages ago. He feels as if he's thought of nothing but death for the past three years. It's not exactly what she means, he knows, but it doesn't change that death has felt like his constant companion for too long now.

"Maybe not," he relents. "But even if we could, each death still matters. If people here don't realize that, I— ... I don't know. I guess I just don't understand."