The dust and coolness that surrounded her were real enough, and when she glanced out of the hole in the wall she could see the moon, almost full and mottled with blue craters. The only surreal thing about the situation was Brendan. "You're not dead?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.
Brendan hesitated for a moment before answering. "No," he finally said, "I'm not dead."
"Then where the hell have you been?"


And there's plenty more where that came from for anyone who's interested. Past Six Sunday excerpts from Eternity and a Year here, here, here, here and here.