THE WAY OF THE WORLDS Adam mumbled a question and then Emily said something about rabid dust bunnies, but Ryan couldn't clearly make out their words. The two sounded distant, as if Emily and Adam were farther away than they really were. Ryan, on the other hand, was a lot closer to the opening. It gaped before him, a hole where wall and baseboard should be, shimmering the way the sky does on a very cold night. A draft of cool air brushed his face. He shivered. The air smelled of outdoors, of autumn, of the October night it was: a mixture of burnt leaves, frost-covered lawns, and something else...