diff --git a/src/scrut.c b/src/scrut.c
index cb84f33..5e41def 100644
--- a/src/scrut.c
+++ b/src/scrut.c
@@ -48,8 +48,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
 			else { sel[p - args] = c; }
 		}
 
-		/* straighten out selections */
-		for (size_t i = 0, p = sel; i < (sizeof sel) / (sizeof *sel); ++i) {
+		/* straighten out selections; permute out nulls */
+		p = sel;
+		for (size_t i = 0; i < (sizeof sel) / (sizeof *sel); ++i) {
 			if (sel[i] != '\0') {
 				*p = sel[i];
 				if (&sel[i] != p++) { sel[i] = '\0'; }