If Adam hadn't been staring straight at the door to the midsection of the van in a vain attempt to avoid frightening Vida -who by now he was beginning to think of as a lost cause, poor girl-, he wouldn't have seen Garret enter. As it was, even though the door opened silently, Adam jumped in surprise. There he was, in a dark, claustrophobic space with a few other freaked-out people, and suddenly an intruder garbed in black enters through some unseen passage. Even if Garret sported the face of a cherub, the darkness would have still made him seem sinister. The sudden onset of fear caused Adam's muscles to seize up; he had absolutely no idea how to handle this dreadful person.

The person, however, seemed more interested in the hygiene of whatever compartment Adam and the others were shut in. [i]Sandman?[/i] Oh Lord, he meant [i]him.[/i] How did he know that the harmless-looking old man had carpeted the van in sand? Adam's lips fell open halfway and then froze, a whispered "uhhhh..." escaping from between them in a very insipid way. Before he could conjure up a coherent response, another prisoner unleashed a wrathful storm of words. For a moment, Adam was relieved; hopefully, his captor, as he guessed the man in black was, would blame the other old man if he decided to get upset about his 'cleaning duties'. Personally, Adam didn't think that Patrick's enraged outburst had any merit to it, as these people were clearly professionals and Adam felt pretty sure that no cop had been watching the little Tunkhannock library for kidnappers.

He felt more concerned for the solitary woman in the van. She truly looked like a basketcase, and evoked in Adam a powerful urge to comfort her as he would have his own child. The instinct never took hold, however. Adam's sense of propriety, as well as the current situation he found himself in, kept him from trying to make her feel better. Plus, in all likelihood, he was part of what terrified her so. Instead, Adam carefully watched Garret, trying to seem inconspicuous.