Layout is a callback to chapter 1 page 05.

A vampire needs soil from its native ground in order to sleep. When Dracula originally came to England, he brought about fifty separate samples; Van Helsing and company set out to track them all down and neutralize them (by sprinkling them with communion wafers, which have an effect similar to holy water). And you thought vampire hunting was all about the action sequences.

Stephen: How did you do it, Jon? After ’99, everyone was ready to fall apart. But you didn’t just ignore it and wait for it to go away. You said what we were all feeling. And then you made us believe that we could still feel hope in spite of it.

How can I call myself a leader of the Nation when I can’t even keep it together after something so much smaller…?

Jon: Stephen…

I’m thinking neither of us should be alone for a while. You want to come home with me tonight?

Stephen: You still have that sample of my native earth around?

Jon: Of course. I’ve been using it to grow hydrangeas, but it should still work, right?