Quotes From "The 5Th Wave" By Rick Yancey

We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time. Rick Yancey

But if I'm it, the last of my kind, the last page of human history, like hell I'm going to let the story end this way. I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield. Rick Yancey

I may be the last one, but I am the one still standing. I am the one turning to face the faceless hunter in the woods on an abandoned highway. I am the one not running, not staying, but facing. Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield Rick Yancey

We are humanity, the banner read. Wrong. We’re pale reflections of it, weak shadows, distant echoes. Rick Yancey

You know how sometimes you tell yourself that you have a choice, but really you don't have a choice? Just because there are alternatives doesn't mean they apply to you. Rick Yancey

Is this how humanity waves good-bye? Hell no. Rick Yancey

I brought Sammy inside and put him to bed. Said his prayer with him. “‘Now I lay me down to sleep…’” To me, just random noise. Gibberish. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but I felt that, when it came to God, there was a broken promise in there somewhere. Rick Yancey

If you don't kill all of us all at once, those who remain will not be the weak. It's the strong who remain, the bent but unbroken, like the iron rods that used to give this concrete its strength. Rick Yancey

To hold on, you have to find something you're willing to die for. Rick Yancey

And it occurs to me that there’s no real difference between us, the living and the dead; it’s just a matter of tense: past-dead and future-dead Rick Yancey

Too many people say something when they really have nothing to say. Rick Yancey

His body is pressed against my back, his arm is wrapped protectively around my waist, his breath a delicious tickle against my neck. The room is very cold; it would be nice to climb under the covers, but I don’t want to move. I don’t want him to move. I run my fingers along his bare forearm, remembering the warmth of his lips, the silkiness of his hair between my fingers. The boy who never sleeps, sleeping. Coming to rest upon the Cassiopeian shore, an island in the middle of a sea of blood. You have your promise, and I have you. I can’t trust him. I have to trust him. I can’t stay with him. I can’t leave him behind. Rick Yancey

Do you believe in God, Evan?”“Sure I do.”“ I don’t. I mean, I don’t know. I did before the Others came. Or thought I did, when I thought about it at all. And then they came and…” I have to stop for a second to collect myself. “Maybe there’s a God. Sammy thinks there is. But he also thinks there’s a Santa Claus. Still, every night I said his prayer with him, and it didn’t have anything to do with me. It was about Sammy and what he believed, and if you could have seen him take that fake soldier’s hand and follow him onto that bus…” I’m losing it, and it doesn’t matter to me much. Crying is always easier in the dark. Suddenly my cold hand is blanketed by Evan’s warmer one, and his palm is as soft and smooth as the pillowcase beneath my cheek.“ It kills me, ” I sob. “The way he trusted. Like the way we trusted before they came and blew the whole goddamned world apart. Trusted that when it got dark there would be light. Trusted that when you wanted a fucking strawberry Frappuccino you could plop your ass in the car, drive down the street, and get yourself a fucking strawberry Frappuccino! Trusted…. Rick Yancey

In the 4th Wave, you can't trust that people are still people. But you can trust that your gun is still your gun. Rick Yancey

This is what the Others have done to us. You can’t band together to fight without trust. And without trust, there was no hope. How do you rid the Earth of humans? Rid the humans of their humanity. Rick Yancey

It kills me. The way he trusted. LIke the way we trusted before they came and blue the whole goddamned world apart. Trusted that when it got dark there would be light. Trusted that when you wanted a fucking strawberry Frappuccino you could plop your ass in the car, drive down the streed, and get yourself a fucking strawberry Frappuccino! Rick Yancey

The girl sleeping and the finisher, willing himself to finish her. Why didn't he finish her? Why couldn't he finish her? Rick Yancey

It's hopeless. And it's stupid. It's suicidal. But love is a weapon they have no answer for. They know how you think, but they can't know what you feel. Rick Yancey

They were afraid the longer we pretended to be human, the more human we would become.”“ And who would want that?”“ I didn’t think I would, ” he admits. “Until I became one.”“ When you…‘woke up’ in Evan?”He shakes his head and says simply, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “When I woke up in you, Cassie. I wasn’t fully human until I saw myself in your eyes.” And then there are real human tears in his real human eyes, and it’s my turn to hold him while his heart breaks. My turn to see myself in his eyes. Somebody might say that I’m not the only one lying in the enemy’s arms. I am humanity, but who is Evan Walker? Human and Other. Both and neither. By loving me, he belongs to no one. He doesn’t see it that way. Rick Yancey

I want him to touch me again. I want to feel his hands, as soft as clouds. But I’m afraid if he touches me, all seven billion billion billion atoms that make up my body will blow apart and scatter across the universe. Rick Yancey

Crazy people. They never think they're crazy. Their craziness makes perfect sense to them. Rick Yancey

This place can't be heaven, it doesn't have the right vibe. Rick Yancey

Let’s establish a code for when you want to go all creeper on me. One knock means you’d like to come in. Two means you’re just stopping by to spy on me while I sleep.” His eyes travel from my face to my shirt (which happens to be his shirt) to my bare legs, lingering a breath too long before returning to my face. His gaze is warm. My legs are cold. Then he knocks once on the jamb. But it’s the smile that gets him in. . Rick Yancey

Do you know a way out of here?” I ask Ben. Sammy’s more trusting than I am, but the idea’s worth exploring. Finding the escape pods–if they even exist–has always been the weakest part of my getaway plan. He nods. “Do you?”“ I know a way– I just don’t know the way to the way.”“ The way to the way? Okay.” He grins. He looks like hell, but the smile hasn’t changed a bit. It lights up the tunnel like a thousand-watt bulb. “I know the way and the way to the way. Rick Yancey

He lays me on the bed. I say, right before he kisses me again, “If you kiss me again, I’m going to knee you in the balls.” His hands are incredibly soft, like a cloud touching me.“ I won’t let you just…” He searches for the right word. “…fly away from me, Cassie Sullivan.”He blows out the candle beside the bed. I feel his kiss more intensely now, in the darkness of the room where his sister died. In the quiet of the house where his family died. In the stillness of the world where the life we knew before the Arrival died. He tastes my tears before I can feel them. Where there would be tears, his kiss.“ I didn’t save you, ” he whispers, lips tickling my eyelashes. “You saved me.” He repeats it over and over, until we fall asleep pressed against each other, his voice in my ear, my tears in his mouth.“ You saved me. Rick Yancey

Aren’t you coming with us?” I feel his hand on my cheek. I know what this means and I slap his hand away.“ You’re coming with us, Evan, ” I say.“ There’s something I have to do.”“ That’s right.” My hand flails for his in the dark. I find it and pull hard. “You have to come with us.”“ I’ll find you, Cassie. Don’t I always find you? I–”“Don’t, Evan. You don’t know you’ll be able to find me.”“ Cassie.” I don’t like the way he says my name. His voice is too soft, too sad, too much like a good-bye voice. “I was wrong when I said I was both and neither. I can’t be; I know that now. I have to choose.”“ Wait a minute, ” Ben says. “Cassie, this guy is one of them?”“ It’s complicated, ” I answer. “We’ll go over it later.” I grab Evan’s hand in both of mine and press it against my chest. “Don’t leave me aga. Rick Yancey

Then the door flew open and Mr. Faulks told us to head over to the gym. I thought that was really smart. Get all of us in one place so the aliens didn't have to waste a lot of ammunition. Rick Yancey

It's been a long time since humans were prey animals. A hundred thousand years or so. But buried deep in our genes the memory remains: the awareness of the gazelle, the instinct of the antelope. The wind whispers through the grass. A shadow flits between the trees. And up speaks the little voice that goes. Shhhh, it's close now. Close. Rick Yancey

I should have bailed. That little voice had my back. That little voice is older than I am. It's older than the oldest person who ever lived. I should have listened to that voice. Rick Yancey

His other hand finds my cheek, and he wipes away my tears with his thumb. The chocolate scent overwhelms me as he bends over and whispers in my ear, “No, Cassie. No, no, no.” I throw my arm around his neck and press his dry cheek against my wet one. I’m shaking like an epileptic, and for the first time I can feel the weight of the quilts on the top of my toes because the blinding dark sharpens your other senses. I’m a bubbling stew of random thoughts and feelings. I’m worried my hair might smell. I want some chocolate. This guy holding me–well, it’s more like I was holding him–has seen me in all my naked glory. What did he think about my body? What did I think about my body? Does God really care about promises? Do I really care about God? Are miracles something like the Red Sea parting or more like Evan Walker finding me locked in a block of ice in a wilderness of white?“ Cassie, it’s going to be okay, ” he whispers into my ear, chocolate breath. Rick Yancey

If the enemy looks just like you, how do you fight him? Rick Yancey

It's almost dawn. You can feel it coming. The world holds its breath, because there's really no guarantee that the sun will rise. That there was a yesterday doesn't mean there will be a tomorrow. Rick Yancey

I should have asked, I guess, ” he says. “I shouldn’t have assumed.”“ What?” He rotates around on his butt to face me. Me on the sofa, him on the floor, looking up. “That I was going with you.”“ What? We weren’t even talking about that! And why would you want to go with me, Evan? Since you think he’s dead?”“ I just don’t want you to be dead, Cassie. Rick Yancey

We're all dead... Some of us are just a little further along than others. Rick Yancey

Cassie?”It’s Sammy, holding on to Ben, because he’s feeling the Ben thing a little more than he is the Cassie one at the moment. Who’s this guy falling from the ductwork, and what’s he doing with my sister?“ This must be Sammy, ” Evan says.“ This is Sammy, ” I say. “Oh! And this is–”“ Ben Parish, ” Ben says.“ Ben Parish?” Evan looks at me. That Ben Parish?“Ben, ” I say, my face on fire. I want to laugh and crawl under the counter at the same time. “This is Evan Walker.”“Is he your boyfriend?” Sammy asks. I don’t know what to say. Ben looks totally lost, Evan completely amused, and Sammy just damned curious. It’s my first truly awkward moment in the alien lair, and I’d been through my share of moments.“ He’s a friend from high school, ” I mutter. And Evan corrects me, since it’s clear I’ve lost my mind. “Actually, Sam, Ben is Cassie’s friend from high school.”“ She’s not my friend, ” Ben says. “I mean, I guess I kind of remember her…” Then Evan’s words sink in. “How do you know who I am?”“ He doesn’t! ” I fairly. Rick Yancey

If you leave without me, I’ll just follow you. You can’t stop me, Cassie. How are you going to stop me?” I shrug helplessly, fighting back tears. “Shoot you, I guess.”“ Like you shot the Crucifix Soldier?”The words hit me like a bullet between the shoulder blades. I whirl around and fling open the door. He flinches, but stands his ground.“ How do you know about him?” Of course, there’s only one way he could know. “You read my diary.”“ I didn’t think you were going to live.”“ Sorry to disappoint you.”“ I guess I wanted to know what happened–”“ You’re lucky I left the gun downstairs or I would shoot you right now. Do you know how creepy that makes me feel, knowing you read that? How much did you read?” He lowers his eyes. A warm red blush spreads across his cheeks.“ You read all of it, didn’t you?” I’m totally embarrassed. I feel violated and ashamed. It’s ten times worse than when I first woke up in Val’s bed and realized he had seen me naked. That was just my body. This was my soul. I punch him in the stomach. There’s no give at all; it’s like I hit a slab of concrete.“ I can’t believe you, ” I shout. “You sat there–just sat there–while I lied about Ben Parish. You knew the truth and you just sat there and let me lie! . Rick Yancey

We'd stared into Death's eyes and Death blinked first. Rick Yancey

You’re the mayfly, ' he murmurs. And then Evan Walker kisses me. Holding my hand across his chest, his other hand sliding across my neck, his touch feathery soft, sending a shiver that travels down my spine into my legs, which are having a hard time keeping me upright. I can feel his heart slamming against my palm and I can smell his breath and feel the stubble on his upper lip, a sandpapery contrast to the softness of his lips, and Evan is looking at me and I’m looking back at him. Rick Yancey

I, um, I thought you might want this back.” I pull out the battered old teddy bear and hold it toward him. He frowns and shakes his head and doesn’t reach for it, and I feel like he’s punched me in the gut. Then my baby brother slaps that damned bear out of my hand and crushes his face against my chest, and beneath the odors of sweat and strong soap I can smell it, his smell, Sammy’s, my brother’s. Rick Yancey

For a being more advanced than I am, he sure has a hard time answering a simple question Rick Yancey

He barely knew I existed. I knew some of the same people he knew, but I was a girl in the background, several degrees of seperation removed. Rick Yancey

Zombie! ” Sammy calls. “I knew it was you.” Zombie?“ Where are you taking him?” Ben says to me in a deep voice. I don’t remember it being that deep. Is my memory bad or is he lowering it on purpose, to sound older?“ Zombie, that’s Cassie, ” Sam chides him. “You know– Cassie.”“ Cassie?” Like he’s never heard the name before.“ Zombie?” I say, because I really haven’t heard that name before. I pull off the cap, thinking it might help him recognize me, then immediately regret it. I know what my hair must look like.“ We go to the same high school, ” I say, drawing my fingers hastily through my chopped-off locks. “I sit in front of you in Honors Chemistry.”Ben shakes his head like he’s clearing out the cobwebs. Sammy goes, “I told you she was coming.”“ Quiet, Sam, ” I scold him.“ Sam?” Ben asks.“ My name is Nugget now, Cassie, ” Sam informs me.“ Well, sure it is.” I turn to Ben. “You know my brother. . Rick Yancey

I give her my best smile. Before the alien Armageddon happened, I was known for my smile. Not bragging too much, but I had to be careful never to smile while I drove. It had the capacity to blind oncoming traffic. But it has absolutely no effect on Ringer. She doesn't squint in its overwhelming luminescence. She doesn't even blink. Rick Yancey

When I cry - when I let myself cry - that's who I cry for. I don't cry for myself. I cry for the Cassie that's gone. And I wonder what that Cassie would think of me. The Cassie who kills. Rick Yancey

It's an alien apocalypse! Quick, grab the beer! Rick Yancey

How would you rather die?" she snapped. "Hiding under your bed or riding Thunder Mountain? Rick Yancey