Revelator

by Daryl Gregory

He was a quiet man, could go days on a dozen words, like a camel crossing the desert.

Stella stood outside the circle, nursing her beer. How the fuck were these people so easy with each other? It all seemed so fake. Desperate, even. A bunch of human beings huddled up like dogs in a den, pretending they wouldn’t turn on each other if they got the chance. Stella had learned to do a passable impersonation of a normal person, but she couldn’t keep it up for long.