A Few Favorites

Over at the Backspace forums we've been doing a lot of firsts lately. First lines of our work-in-progress, first words, etc. I started a thread calling for favorite paragraphs (as my favorite is so rarely my first). It's been eye-opening to the amount of exquisite talent I'm surrounded by there. (You should come play with us. You'll likely learn a lot.)

I thought I'd share my favorite paragraphs (of things I'm working on) with you.

From The View from the Wonderland Asylum:

It had been quiet before, yes, but the quiet had been filled with other sounds—the dripping liquid, the wind blowing the trees around outside, the thump of his feet against the metal stairs. But now there was nothing. The quiet had gone eerily silent, as if the building itself were holding its breath in anticipation...or fear.

And from Ninth Grade Sucks:

Vlad felt the looming shadow of grief sweep over him again. The death of a loved one is funny like that. It doesn’t matter how much time or how much grieving has passed, the littlest reminder of the person who died--a scent, an object, a word--can send you back to the moment you lost them, and before you can blink, you’re overcome by the aching sadness you worked so hard to leave behind.

My favorite from Eighth Grade Bites? Easy:

Deceased, croaked, departed, shuffled off his mortal coil, bought the farm, slain, fallen, bit the big one, dead as a doornail, gone, out of business, late, lifeless, taking a dirt nap, kapoot, worm food, cashed in his chips, finished, lapsed, pushing up daises, terminated, inanimate, kicked the bucket, past his expiration date, nonliving, checked out, left the building, bitten the dust, passed away, passed on, isn’t-coming-back-for-the-sequel dead.