It never would have occurred to him that the horrific place she had described could have actually been his own home state. Even with the knowledge that she was American, that the Zones were the result of war and desolation, California never would have been his first guess. It made sense in a strange way, if he guessed. She often felt like some kind of fictional character, too complex to be real, and if he was honest those sorts of things were almost always set in California.

It didn't make it any less weird though.

"That's insane," He said, still thrown by it. "I didn't-- I wouldn't have guessed that. I'm from California." He leaned back in his chair. "Just a very different version of it, I guess."