All That's Left in the World

After a moment of discomfort, where several men in the crowd reach for their guns, a man named Danny Rosewood greets Jamie and Andrew. He introduces himself as “head selectman” of their settlement, Fort Caroline. He tells the boys to get to know the people in their group while they enjoy the fireworks.

Jamie and Andrew are taken back to Fort Caroline by Grover Denton, a former member of the Air Force. Grover explains that it was a short-lived French fort in the 1500s. There are lights in the street run by a gas generator.

The boys are taken to a motel. Grover introduces them to Cara, the girl at the desk who is about their age. She gives them a questionnaire to fill out, which asks basic questions about their lives and who they lost to the superflu. They are then given two keys to rooms on the second floor. Andrew hesitates, then tells them that they can share the same room; however, Grover assures them that they have plenty of space.

Back in his room, Jamie takes a cold shower. He then lays in bed, trying to get comfortable. However, he gets overwhelmed by panic, worrying about Andrew. He finally goes and knocks on his door and asks to sleep in his room, and Andrew readily agrees.

The next morning, Andrew wakes up when he hears someone knocking on Jamie’s door. On instinct, he tells Jamie to hide in the bathroom. He questions whether they were trying to force them into separate rooms and why.

A woman named Nadine Price then knocks on Andrew’s door. She asks about Jamie, and Andrew tells her that he thinks he went for a walk. She tells him that they are getting a tour of Fort Caroline, then meeting with Sheriff Denton later.

When Nadine leaves, Andrew tells Jamie to meet them in the lobby and pretend he was on a walk. Jamie expresses his confusion, and Andrew dismisses it instead of explaining.

Nadine drives the boys around Fort Caroline, showing them the store, hospital, supply depot, and other places. She explains that everyone works one of three shifts each day, then the shifts rotate each week. They are given food rations and will need to turn in their supplies and food. When she asks what the boys were carrying, Andrew mentions his books, which Nadine calls a “waste.” Andrew sees men emptying out stores and a library, throwing things into wheelbarrows.

In the hospital, the boys see a few people waiting to be seen. However, they only have minor cuts and bruises.

They arrive at the sheriff station. Sheriff Denton asks them about their questionnaires, and they promise him they’ll finish them today. He then tells them that he wants them to keep their guns, as everyone in Fort Caroline has a right to their own weapons. However, they are expected to turn in most of their ammo and report each shot fired.

Danny introduces them to his son, Harvey. When he thinks they aren’t looking, Harvey stares at Andrew with a disgusted look. It instills fear in Andrew, reminding him of the anti-gay bias he has faced for most of his life.

It occurs to Andrew that everyone that they have seen is young and fit, while no one in the hospital is truly ill. He wonders what happens to people who grow too old or too sick.

When Andrew and Jamie are alone, Andrew contemplates how to tell him that they need to leave. However, before he can speak, Jamie says that they need to leave as quickly as possible.

Jamie explains what Andrew was thinking: Out of the hundreds of people he saw, he only counted a handful of people that looked over the age of 50. Conversely, none of the women looked like they were younger than 40—except for Cara and Nadine. His guess is that it has something to do with “traditional gender roles” (216). He points out that there was not a single person of color in the settlement.

Jamie checks the questionnaire again. On it, they ask about things like their sexual orientation, history of illness, and, for women, any reproductive issues.

When they get back to their rooms, the boys realize that their packs and supplies were taken. They were left with their guns but no ammo.

Down in the lobby, Jamie confronts Cara about where their stuff is. She is visibly uncomfortable, and Jamie knocks over her cup of pens in his anger. Realizing that it isn’t working, Andrew helps Cara pick her things up. She pulls out a drawn map of Fort Caroline. She shows them the directions to the supply depot.

Andrew gets a road atlas. He shows it to Cara and asks her to map out a route to the Florida Keys. She willingly agrees.

Jamie asks Andrew how he can trust her. Andrew points out that she is different than the others. She is the only young woman here, and she is forced to work alone. Her willingness to help means she likely doesn’t want to be here, either.

Realizing that Andrew is right, Jamie goes back to Cara. He asks her to map out a route from the Keys back to eastern Pennsylvania. When he asks her to avoid Fort Caroline on the way back, she hesitates only briefly, then agrees.

Andrew goes to the supply warehouse while Jamie goes to register their guns in the hopes of getting ammo back. The warehouse is an old strip mall with the stores gutted. When he enters the central store, there is a long desk with a woman behind it. Behind her are shelves of supplies.

The woman introduces herself as Jennette. Andrew asks about their bags. She explains that things are running behind with the Fourth of July. Once their supplies are registered, they will get vouchers. When Andrew insists that they are hungry, she relents and goes and retrieves their packs. She takes everything out and inventories it, then gives them rations in exchange for their supplies. She asks if they want to swap in their food, but Andrew insists that what they have is fine.

Jennette then tells Andrew that he can keep the first-aid kit for his home. He is also allowed to keep their books and empty backpacks.

As Andrew makes his way back to meet Jamie, he is stopped by Harvey. Although Harvey seems friendly and smiles, he asks about Jamie, emphasizing the word “friend” when he refers to him. Harvey asks how they are liking things and about the food rations they got. When he talks about “dietary restrictions,” Andrew can tell that he is hinting toward their sexuality with disgust. Andrew dismisses him coldly, then walks away.

When Andrew finds Jamie, he learns that they only got ammunition for the handgun. If they want rifle ammo, Andrew has to register it, as each citizen is only allowed one gun. They also learned that there is another round of fireworks so that those on other work shifts can see them. They agree to leave during the fireworks.

Jamie and Andrew walk over 40 miles, clearing the area that Cara has marked on their maps that designates how far the people of Fort Caroline have explored. She also marks things like roadblocks, washed-out roads, and more.

In Georgia, the boys stop to rest, exhausted from how fast they have been walking. They see a nearby river and run to it, stripping off their clothes.

As they swim, Jamie does his best not to look at Andrew. He wonders if he is bisexual, even though he has never felt this way about another boy before.

Jamie sees Harvey and one of his friends, Walt, walk through the trees and to the shore. Walt is carrying the rifle, which still isn’t loaded, and Harvey has a gun of his own.

Harvey accuses the boys of stealing from them. He uses the word “friend” again, giving Jamie the same sense of it being an insult that Andrew got.

Without thinking, Jamie gets out of the water, fully nude. He walks up to Walt and takes Andrew’s bag out of his hands. He insists that he needs to put on a shirt. Harvey tries to make him stop, threatening to shoot him. Jamie hesitates, then reaches inside and pulls out the gun. He shoots Walt in the stomach, then turns on Harvey. Harvey tries to shoot him but realizes that the rifle isn’t loaded. Instead, Jamie shoots him in the head.

As Walt limps away from them, Jamie runs over to Andrew to make sure he is okay. He takes off his blood-stained shirt and covers Harvey with it. As the reality of what he did dawns on him, Jamie vomits into the grass.

Over the next two days, Jamie struggles with what he had to do. Andrew does his best to comfort him. He remembers how he felt after killing the Fosters and realizes that there is little he can do for Jamie. He wonders what kind of people they are, both having killed people. However, he insists that Jamie’s choice was different, as it saved both of their lives.

Four days later, Jamie and Andrew stop at a store. Jamie is still largely nonresponsive, not making decisions or engaging with Andrew. Andrew begins to search the store but stops when he hears Jamie call his name. He joins him at the window, and they see Cara standing in the street.

The boys assume that Cara gave up their route to Harvey. Now, they think she must be a trap to lure them outside. However, not having any other choice, they raise their guns and go out into the street. After a tense confrontation, they decide that Cara must have escaped Fort Caroline as well, and they invite her inside. She shows them the canned food that she brought, revealing that she had been saving up to escape for a while.

Despite allowing Cara to come inside, Jamie is not happy. He demands answers from her. She explains that her family died in Maryland. She left on her own, then was found by Denton and the others. They took her back to Fort Caroline but when she realized how evil they were, it was too late to get away.

Not satisfied with her answers, Jamie points the gun at Cara and takes off the safety. He demands to know why she left now and if she sent Harvey after them. She seems surprised to learn about Harvey. She tells them that they are likely sending out search parties after them. Jamie only calms down when Andrew grabs his hand and reassures him that everything is alright.

The three of them sleep, then set out the next morning. As they walk, Jamie cannot stop himself from thinking about Harvey. He knows he would kill him again if it meant protecting Andrew.

As they continue walking over the next several days, Andrew begins to wonder if Jamie’s mood has become irreparable. That, coupled with Cara’s quietness, makes him extremely uncomfortable. He realizes that things have even become “too dark” to tell jokes anymore.

Eventually, they come to Yulee, Florida. They stop at a shoe store so Andrew can replace his shoes, which are falling apart. While Cara watches the front, Andrew gets a moment alone with Jamie to confront him. Jamie insists that he can’t talk about it, instead crying as Andrew holds him. Eventually, he explains that he failed his mother by not being able to help her die when she caught the superflu. Now, he knows he is a bad person for being able to kill Harvey.

Andrew consoles Jamie, assuring him that he is not a bad person. As he holds his hand, Jamie rubs the back of it with his thumb. Andrew feels like the moment is more “intimate” than anything they’ve had before. Cara interrupts to warn them that people are coming.

As they shuffle through the aisles to hide, they hear a woman’s voice yelling to her friends as she enters the store. Andrew trips over his shoes, knocking over a box display.

The woman comes around the corner. She is a young girl about their age. She has a gun pointed at them. She asks if they are alone, and Jamie tries to lie. However, the girl warns them that, if there are more of them, they may be attacked by her friends. Deciding to trust her, Andrew tells her that they are the only ones there.

The girl asks why they are there, and Andrew shows her his shoes. She tells them to get their shoes then sneak out the back. She gives them 20 minutes, then walks away.

Jamie asks how they know she did not just go get her friends. Cara points out that she is still standing at the front, her back to them. Andrew grabs new shoes, then thanks the girl on the way out. She doesn’t answer.