then i felt the air snap around us , and suddenly it was over , and the air was just air , and everything seemed normal again . an officer said , slightly out of breath from fighting . his body hardened so fast it hurt , but even that hurt was a kind of pleasure . it has become its own dustbin , just as the planet itself is becoming its own dustbin . earl told him the story of haw shot . huddled in the corner was a girl . 