alone , he was going to die alone , and he opened his mouth to scream one last time and there was no scream because the quicksand flowed into his mouth , it flowed over his tongue , it flowed between his teeth in thin ribbons , he was swallowing quicksand and the scream was never uttered -johnny had come out of that in a cold sweat , his flesh marbled into goosebumps , the scarf wrapped tightly between his hands , his breath coming in sh6rt , strangled gasps .