She felt the pressure of dead stillness against her eardrums.

The dead stillness of the ship pressed him as he moved.

The night was far spent, and a dead stillness reigned.

Around him, where all had been rushing wind and roaring rain, there was dead stillness.

In the dead stillness a child started crying suddenly and incoherently.

In the dead stillness of the deserted corridor his footsteps were loud.

It seemed strange that he didn't hear such a noise in this dead stillness.

Every man grinned gladly on his neighbour, in dead stillness.

There was a dead stillness for a long moment.

"Nicholas," she said softly and knew somehow, from the dead stillness in the air, that he wasn't there.