He holds the tweezers unsteadily over her finger, attempting to pull out the dark splinter that protrudes minimally from her whorled skin. She curses at his clumsiness, wonders aloud at his ineptness. He silently wishes for tweezers that could reach into her soul, to pull out the dark sliver there.

Bill lives in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he navigates the collapse of society with a forced cheerfulness that hides the screaming void within.