Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -… [988]

“Everyone’s dead,” Zahra whispered as though speaking into my thoughts. “Everyone. Those painted bastards killed them all!” … “No!” Harry shook his head. “We got out. There’ll be some others.” He sat with his face in his hands, and I wondered whether he was more hurt than I had thought. I wasn’t sharing any serious pain with him. — , Octavia E. Butler - Earthseed, Book 1 -…, 988

Note

The whisper “as though speaking into my thoughts” sets up the chapter’s most unsettling beat: Lauren, who shares the pain of everyone she sees, feels nothing from Harry. Her empathy has limits, and the limits are as terrifying as the gift. The final flat sentence is the turn.