Odds Against Tomorrow

Mitchell and Jane set off in the canoe. Mitchell is overwhelmed by the silence, which he compares to thunder. Something burns under the water, illuminating it. Mitchell suggests going east, but Jane reasons that there will be less flooding to the west. Mitchell tries to insist but Jane becomes upset, so they travel west. The water becomes shallow, and Jane thinks they are saved. Then looters appear on the water’s edge, wrestling and shouting. A group of men fight over necessities, and Jane wishes they never left the apartment. Mitchell changes course and they head east.

Mitchell and Jane paddle most of the day, though at Jane’s request, they take a rest in the cavern of Grand Central Station. Jane falls asleep in the canoe. Mitchell finds it suspicious that no one is waiting for rescue in the station, which would be the perfect place to wait for help. As he nears the mouth of an entrance he sees dozens of dead bodies clogging the way. He is assaulted by the smell and panics. He paddles away quickly, understanding that many people who were hoping to escape the storm by train were caught up in the flood and drowned. Mitchell wonders why they did not make an effort to escape and recalls a phenomenon called the “incredulity response”: a natural human tendency not to believe in the obvious and imminent dangers of catastrophic events. By the time Jane awakens, they are on Lexington street. Jane asks him what is wrong, but he does not tell her what he saw.

As Mitchell and Jane paddle east, they view the horrors of flood. Dead animals, lost items, and drowned bodies float into their path. One man they pass is “wailing”; another is preaching from a Bible. Unable to verbalize these atrocities, Jane and Mitchell navigate by calling out “flotsam” or “really big flotsam” to avoid the obstacles (177). Mitchell wonders if Elsa is dead. Mitchell and Jane pass a woman and an infant. The woman asks if they have any food or water, and Jane tells her they don’t; as they continue, she tells Mitchell she feels bad about not being able to help but knows it was the correct decision. Mitchell turns their boat around and offers the woman a box of crackers and a bottle of Gatorade. Jane feels ashamed that she would have abandoned the woman and begins to break down. She tells Mitchell that she feels the storm is destroying her alongside the city. Mitchell reassures her that it is only temporary and that everything will come back. He asks her to focus on the flotsam.

Jane and Mitchell sing camp songs to keep their spirits up. They pass by a building and see Ned Nybuster stranded at his apartment. Nybuster is drunk and in disbelief at seeing “FutureWorld” in a boat. Nybuster asks if they are there to rescue him, and they tell him they aren’t. Nybuster reveals that his father abandoned him during the evacuation, taking their private helicopter and the rest of the family to safety; his father, by way of apology, allowed Ned access to his finest liquors. Nybuster has no water or food and offers to trade a bottle of high-quality liquor for these necessities. Mitchell and Jane refuse, and Nybuster becomes enraged. He throws things at them and they quickly escape. Mitchell thinks about what Nybuster said and decides never to live in fear again.

Mitchell and Jane wedge the canoe between the branches of an oak tree. They rest and eat animal crackers. They talk about the night they slept together, and both agree that it was an isolated incident. They agree to be friends and forget about it. Mitchell and Jane try to calculate the loss of life and realize that if only 1% of New Yorkers died, it would still be about 15,850 people. They talk about which buildings will likely never be restored. They agree that they are happy to be alive and admit that there is an element of beauty in the storm’s aftermath. As they say this, a crow lands on the branch above them and they marvel at it.

Mitchell feels strong as he navigates the canoe to Washington Street. Here, he and Jane find a recue tent, and aids run out to pull them from the canoe. Jane jumps into Mitchell’s arms and calls him courageous, saying he saved her life. Mitchell writes down the location of Nybuster, the wailing man, and the woman with the baby.

Mitchell and Jane check in at the Red Cross station and join the throngs of refugees. Jane asks Mitchell if he will go to Kansas City to be with his parents, and he realizes he is not sure what the future holds. He calls his parents, who are happy to hear from him. His father offers him a job at the slums, but Mitchell refuses. Mitchell also has a voicemail from Billy, Elsa’s boyfriend. Billy says he found a letter Elsa left for Mitchell and invites him to stay at Camp Ticonderoga because they had plenty of space. Mitchell decides to go to Maine to check on Elsa and convinces Jane to go with him.