The Living End Quotes

“Mob mentality is like wildfire. It spreads fast and hard, and suddenly you find yourself surrounded by really smart people making really bad decisions.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Now bottle your hatred and store it in your heart’s pantry for a thirstier day.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I realize you’re a politician, so this is a new concept for you. ‘Cooperating’ means actually doing what you’re supposed to, not just saying you will and then weaseling out.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Seems to me you’ve got two choices: one, you can get in a gunfight with the United States government—because that always ends well—or you can run downstairs, get as many of your boys out through the emergency exits as you can, and order the rest to surrender. Your call, but bail money’s a lot cheaper than a tombstone.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Oh, hey,” I said. “Looks like the whole Vegas Metro SWAT division is here. Plus the FBI, Homeland Security, and probably the IRS for good measure.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I’d never broken into a cemetery before. There’s a first time for everything.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Agent Black wanted to put Lauren Carmichael in a ten-by-ten prison cell. I had a better idea: a hole out in the desert, three feet wide and six feet deep.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Not a pep talk. It’s a dash of cold water I like to call reality. No. No one is coming to the rescue, and no one ever was. You should see that for what it is: a gift. What would your life be worth, if you didn’t have to fight for it? How happy would you really be in a universe with no struggle, where all the edges were rounded off and some cosmic power stood ready to swoop in and save you from your own mistakes? You are responsible. So put your chin up, your shoulders back, keep your head, and get ready for a brawl. Nothing else to be done for it.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“There were 420 miles of lonely Nevada desert between Vegas and Carson City, a long and winding drive along US-95 that never seemed to end.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“There is a special kind of hypocrisy,” I said, “that comes from wisdom born of age. It works like this: I did really stupid shit when I was a kid, and I paid for it. I do not want you to have to pay for your stupid shit, so I intervene, knowing where your chosen road is headed.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“There is a special kind of hypocrisy,” I said, “that comes from wisdom born of age. It works like this: I did really stupid shit when I was a kid, and I paid for it. I do not want you to have to pay for your stupid shit, so I intervene, knowing where your chosen road is headed.” “So you just decided to ruin my night, because you care about me.” “That sounds about right,” I said. She didn’t speak to me for rest of the drive. Can’t say I blamed her.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“She lies without lying,”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“The kid on the couch was maybe twenty. His Call of Duty T-shirt stretched over his bloated belly, and his cheeks bristled with a few days of rough blond stubble. He looked over, saw us, and waved. “Hey,” he said listlessly. “I’m Pete.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Whatever you’re thinking, rakshasi…stop thinking it.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“It wasn’t the hell he deserved, but it was the best we could do.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“The lawyer had smooth hands. Not smooth like talcum powder and baby fat, but smooth like soft plastic on a freshly molded doll.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Eugene Planck wasn’t a danger to himself anymore, not since the day he’d chugged down a bottle of acid to burn the snake living in his stomach. He hadn’t overcome what the doctors called “delusional parasitosis”—he’d just realized that the snake couldn’t be killed. Twenty years later, his throat still burned, especially on hot, dry California days like this one. He stared through the wire-mesh window, watched the wispy clouds drift by, and waited to die.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Buy up the land it’s on and the twenty acres around it in every direction. Post a permanent guard.” “Satellite scans show a small village within that radius.” “Shame,” the Smile said. “The drug cartels are just getting bolder and bolder these days, aren’t they, Ms. Green? I hear they’ve been known to massacre entire villages as reprisal for some imagined slight.” Green nodded sharply. “Understood,”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I smiled. “Hey, ‘Eve,’” I said. “Think you’ve got some uninvited guests.” Now they were on three monitors. Teams of men in uniform black, huddled down behind riot shields, forcing their way into the Enclave lobby. A tear-gas grenade exploded on one camera, blanketing the lens in white smoke. On the parking lot view, a swarm of police cruisers ringed the building. “Oh, hey,” I said. “Looks like the whole Vegas Metro SWAT division is here. Plus the FBI, Homeland Security, and probably the IRS for good measure.” Lauren shook her head wildly. Her plants quivered. “What? How? They have no reason to be here, no evidence against me!”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“You killed a buddy of mine, back at the shelter.” “Yeah? What about the other three guys I killed? You didn’t like them as much?” That shut him up, at least. The elevator door whispered open. Jennifer and I stepped into the cage, bathed in cherry light. The merc leaned in, swiped his keycard, and hit the button for the penthouse floor. “Bon voyage, asshole,” he said”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I will try to contact Caine,” he said, “but I can’t guarantee—” “That’s it, hanging up. See ya in hell, Alton.” “Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I’ll do it. I’ll call Caine right now and give the order.” He fell silent for a moment, and I listened to his ragged breath. “You son of a bitch. If those soldiers die because of this, it’s on your head.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“A witch, a sorcerer, and a fucking demon from hell say I’m not trustworthy.” “You’re a psychopath,” I said. She shrugged. “I’ve been told that means that I know the difference between right and wrong, I just don’t care. Hey, that description sound like anybody you know, Faust?”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I’m taking my cash and going somewhere with sunny skies, frosty drinks, and no extradition treaty with the US.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“If I was bound for hell, I’d drag her down with me.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“lights dangled from the warehouse scaffolding, their power lines running to a portable generator that chugged and coughed like a heavy smoker running a marathon.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“I ended up back at the airport before dawn, drinking black coffee from a recycled paper cup and listening to the come-play-me chimes from a bank of slot machines in the concourse. Vegas’s farewell to the tourist traffic, suctioning out the last of their pocket change before kicking them back home. Every minute I spent here was a minute lost forever. I blew on my coffee and tried not to pace.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“This was the real blues, down-home raw and ragged, drenched with sweat and sex and the bloodied edge of a switchblade.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“After a moment, she nodded to herself. “Oh, you little scamp,” she murmured. “What is it?” She lowered her glasses, just enough to show me the burning molten-copper swirls of her eyes. Her real eyes. “He’s marked by one of my kind,” she said. “That’s why he’s so afraid to die. He literally sold his soul.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“Problem there,” I said, “is you didn’t keep track of them. The name Lauren Carmichael mean anything to you?” He shook his head, brow furrowed. “No. Should it?” “There weren’t two tunnels. There were three. She found the third on a dig in Nepal. Your boys showed up to save the day. See, first they pushed Lauren into slaughtering all the witnesses, except for one.” Bob blinked. “I…didn’t intend for them to hurt anyone. That wasn’t the idea at all.” “Second, instead of taking Lauren out, they pretended they were on her side and spent the next two decades trying to con her into triggering the apocalypse. You said it yourself, Doc: they’re creatures of entropy from a dead world. Did it occur to you, even for a second, that they might not stop at the end of your leash? That they might maybe, just maybe, want to turn this planet into a lump of charcoal so it’d feel more like home?” He didn’t have to answer. The shame on his face told me everything I needed to know.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End

“He was convinced that he could steal a human’s life force, drain their soul dry, and use that power to turn himself into the Garden’s conduit and master. It was very trial and error, though. Several hundred victims worth of trial and error.”
― Craig Schaefer, The Living End