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72 pages 2 hours read

Michael Grant

Gone

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2008

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Chapters 32-36Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 32 Summary: “97 Hours, 43 Minutes”

As Astrid cries about Sam’s injuries, Lana heals Sam’s wound on his neck and chest. Sam wakes with a start. Astrid explains that Lana saved their lives, and Sam embraces the healing.

The coyotes howl and slam into the door, but it holds. The kids piece together their knowledge. Lana tells them about the talking coyotes, though prefacing that she sounds irrational. The others explain the FAYZ society and the wall, which she’s seen, too. They reveal that all adults are missing, not just her grandfather.

When Pack Leader growls for her to come to the Darkness, Lana refuses. The others ask about the Darkness, and she explains she doesn’t know what is in the mines, but the coyotes are scared of it and follow it. They bar up the doors for protection.

At Coates, Andrew shares his theory about using his powers to stop from poofing, which Caine demands he tests. While tied up, Andrew uses his sonic boom sound powers to crack the ceiling. He continues, surviving about 30 seconds past his birth time. When Andrew tiredly stops his power, he disappears.

Jack replays the video frame by frame. Right before he left, Andrew smiled at a white light and reached for it. Zooming in, the teens see a green “hole ringed by needle-sharp teeth” (379) instead of the light. They suspect Andrew didn’t see the monster but someone or something he loved. Caine thinks deception is involved and asks if it’s possible to deny the light and survive. 

Chapter 33 Summary: “88 Hours, 24 Minutes”

The group hides inside the cabin while multiple coyote packs gather and ram the barricaded door. Pack Leader carries a torch with fire. The wooden cabin catches fire quickly as Sam and the others race to escape. Lana wails that she can make a deal with Pack Leader. Smoke rises, threatening to kill them.

Sam whispers to Astrid not to let him turn into Caine, and then uses his power to blast open the door with searing light. His anger rises from thinking of his mother, blaming her for abandoning him and keeping Caine a secret. A coyote leaps through the door, and Sam shoots his fiery light again. Lana and Pack Leader standoff, and Sam lasers any coyotes who attack. The coyotes retreat, and the group walks toward Perdido Beach to defeat Caine.

Drake and some Coates kids search the desert for Sam and his friends. They drive up a mountain and watch the coyotes burning the cabin, followed by Sam lighting up. One of his goons, Chunk, exclaims that Sam must be four bars, like Caine, to have extreme power. Drake smacks Chunk and snarls that he’s “sick of all this powers crap” (392). He reminds Chunk that he put the freaks’ hands in concrete, and he’s the one with an unbeatable gun.

Chapter 34 Summary: “87 Hours, 46 Minutes”

Sam’s group walks across the desert. They come upon a girl lying in the sand, wearing a Coates uniform, her hands in a concrete block. Lana would heal her, but she can’t heal inner wounds like hunger or mental health, stating she tried when she was starving. Edilio gives the girl water and bits of food.

They carry the barely-awake girl and her heavy, concrete hands. An SUV drives closer, and Computer Jack yells that they are looking for the girl, Taylor, who has a mental health condition and has wandered from school. Sam realizes it’s a trap.

Drake jumps from the SUV and aims his gun at Astrid’s head. They have a verbal fight, and Drake teases Astrid for calling Pete an offensive term. Drake forces them into the SUV, and Sam demands to see Caine. Drake laughs, saying that he’s in charge.

When they reach Coates Academy, Drake and his crew put Sam’s hands in concrete to trap his powers, then do the same with Astrid. Astrid cries, afraid for Pete, and Sam wishes he could act while the cement hardens. Caine and Diana appear, thanking Drake for his capture. While Sam distracts Caine, Astrid bumps her concrete-block hands into Pete. Sam tells them not to mess with Lana because she’s a healer, which piques Caine’s interest. Caine wants to witness Lana’s power, so Drake shoots Sam in the knee.

Lana heals Sam, and Astrid slams Pete’s GameBoy, which results in Pete teleporting the concrete blocks—vanishing them. With Sam and Astrid free, Drake points his gun at Pete. Sam shoots his light at Drake to protect Pete, burning off Drake’s arm. Sam then passes out, losing strength.

Chapter 35 Summary: “86 Hours, 11 Minutes”

Sam wakes up to Edilio carrying him down the road to town. The Coates kids are following them. Edilio says they have a bigger team now and that Caine hasn’t come after them yet. The tortured, imprisoned students’ hands are free of the concrete, thanks to Pete, but their hands are dry, their muscles weak, and their wrists bloody. Lana heals their hands one at a time while they run.

Sam stops and gives a short speech to calm the crowd. He tells the starving Coates kids that he knows they’ve been through hell and that they will lead them to the grocery store first. Sam states the situation is scary but that they can beat Caine if they unify and don’t give up. He also says there is “no line between freak and normal here. If you have a power, we’ll need you. If you don’t, we’ll need you” (411), showing inclusivity. Sam revives their hope.

Howard visits Orc, who is depressed from murdering Bette. Processing the crime through drinking, Orc only wants more beer. Howard warns him that he saw Sam with a crowd. Orc thinks they will beat Sam down if he threatens them, but Howard replies they could change sides. Orc persuades him to stay with Caine, and Howard accepts this.

Chapter 36 Summary: “84 Hours, 41 Minutes”

Drake wails as he hears the word “saw.” Drake struggles against Caine’s invisible, telekinetic force that pins him, and other students lay on him so Diana can remove the injured arm. Drake pleads for them to kill him and end the pain, but Caine says they still need him. The other kids worry aloud that Drake will kill them if they help cut off his limb.

He wails for Lana to heal him, but Diana shrieks that she’s gone, and he needs to find composure. She explains that his burned stump arm will feel like this forever unless they cut the pain off his body. Shocked into silence, Drake accepts his fate. Caine states that this isn’t their fault, that Sam did this to him, so he should focus his anger on Sam. As they perform the amputation, Drake loses consciousness.

At Perdido Beach, Sam gives orders to his army. Astrid tracks their powers, Lana heals the injured, and Edilio is given a secret mission to return to the power plant. Sam senses that Caine, like Drake, isn’t reasonable or forgiving, so he will want victory. Rather than spend their last days preparing for disappearing, Caine will want to win the war he’s started.

As Sam thinks of strategies, Albert approaches him to host a Thanksgiving dinner in the town plaza in a few days. Albert tells him he knows a feast isn’t as important, but Sam approves and wants everyone to have a celebratory dinner to look forward to.

Chapters 32-36 Analysis

A worldbuilding mystery is semi-revealed when they analyze the tape of Andrew blinking out. Jack sees something remarkable that could save those remaining from leaving: the deception in the light. They see a ring with monstrous teeth. That Andrew saw something different than the monster is clear because he is reaching toward it. Jack finds this priceless evidence, though he isn’t happy Andrew had to vanish to achieve this intel. Though he’s ashamed of his actions, such as giving Caine the idea to put the rebels’ hands in concrete, he thinks perhaps this insight into the vanishing will help save others from disappearing and redeem him—if Caine will let the information become public knowledge.

Sam’s control of his power by channeling his anger showcases major character growth. Sam is forced to use his powers to destroy the oncoming coyotes to save his friends. He doesn’t want to end up like Caine, but his character is already very different. Unlike Caine, he is empathetic, responsible, and scared of his power rather than hungry for it. Sam finally accepts his responsibility and harnesses his supernatural gift, as Astrid always encouraged. Interestingly, his anger is focused on his mom, a surprising development. He feels abandoned, plus his mother lied to him for years by not telling him about Caine or the many Coates’ kids with powers.

Soon after, Sam purposefully inflicts pain on Drake, which displays Sam’s main change. He’s aware he has to take action and sometimes use violent means for the greater good, though he doesn’t like it. In matters of life and death, Sam finally takes action to use the power he’s feared but now embraces. Burning Drake’s arm off was not Sam’s goal; he aimed to kill Drake by hitting him in the head, which shows Sam isn’t afraid to kill any longer when needed.

As Sam utilizes his powers for the greater good, Drake cannot stand being seen as lesser than those with super abilities, adding to the power dynamics. He gives a speech about the line between “freaks” with powers and those without, that the other kids should be scared of him instead, for he may not have powers, but he is a sadist with guns. The goons agree that Drake was the one who implemented the most horrendous things, such as putting the kids’ hands in concrete. Drake says he completed the needed dirty work back when he “didn’t even have a gun” and states it’s “not about who’s got powers, morons. It’s about who’s not afraid” (392). This quote highlights an element of the theme of Overcoming Fear in the Face of Adversity. Drake erupts about everyone fearing Caine and Sam and those with powers over him, and his jealousy leads to in-fighting on their side of the power dynamic.

After they flee from Coates with the rebel kids, Sam grows as a leader, offering the hope that dystopian settings need and conquering his fear. He finds his voice to rally the abused Coates students. Sam tends to their emotional and mental PTSD by offering them a heartfelt, moving speech. Unlike Drake, he believes they are all priceless and valuable, not just those with powers. He instills hope over fear, which shows that in dystopian worlds, there must be something to hope for, whether it be escaping from danger, not being killed, or defeating an enemy—or all of the above. Without hope, the world is ruled by evil with no chance of transition, and novels require change. Sam admitting his personal terror but having faith over his fear acts as an encouraging, raw message to the other kids: “[...] let’s not try and play like it isn’t scary. It is. But sometimes the worst thing is the fear. [...] We’re brothers and sisters now [...] and we’re going to win, and we’re going to find our way to some kind of happiness again” (410-411). The theme of Overcoming Fear in the Face of Adversity is brought to the fore again when Sam’s words inspire everyone to fight for their survival. Sam rising to the occasion fulfills his place as a benevolent leader.

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