All that Norton noticed was an intense quiet. A quiet greater than that of all his years of being alone. It was an empty, nagging quiet.

Norton returned to his shelter in a disturbed state, securing it as he entered. As he opened a can of beans, he froze up and began to cry. Very rare was the occasion that Norton saw fit to cry, and never for reasons other than pain, but this time Norton cried for loneliness, he realized that it would never change.