Odds Against Tomorrow

Mitchell realizes that the refugees on Randall’s Island are not Manhattanites but rather immigrants and people who could not afford plane tickets or alternate accommodations during the storm. Everyone is being kind to Mitchell—too kind, he feels. Many want to tell their story about the storm and how they survived. Others, like Mitchell, do not want to talk. Many people seem lost and huddle around the Red Cross tents, waiting for word of or from their missing loved ones.

A FEMA representative addresses the crowd but has no real information to offer the families. The crowd begins to turn on her, and she becomes panicked. The crowd turns to Mitchell asking for answers. He tries to tell them he is just a financial consultant, but they begin to mob him. A man named Hank Cho pulls Mitchell away from the crowd, saving him from being trampled.

Hank Cho is a very large man who invites Mitchell and Jane to join him on a journey to a place he calls the Flatlands. The Flatlands are on the far edge of New York City, and Cho plans to homestead the land. He tells a group of people to meet him later that night. They will take a boat across the water and walk to the Flatlands from Hell Gate. FEMA and the Coast Guard are patrolling the roads and waters, so they will have to sneak back into New York.

Jane thinks Cho is “delusional,” but Mitchell wants to join him: He feels pressure from the people in the camp and is eager to escape. Jane is skeptical but does not want to stay on Randall’s Island without Mitchell. More people show up at Mitchell’s trailer asking for answers.

The morale on Randall’s Island deteriorates. Mitchell learns that people are getting desperate and turn to thieving and turning tricks. He feels an overwhelming need to get out. Jane and Mitchell are served a cold burrito but eat all of it because they are so hungry. Jane, feeling like she has no other choice, agrees to join Mitchell and Hank Cho on their journey to the Flatlands.

Mitchell and Jane meet Hank Cho in the middle of the night, but they are the only ones who show up. Jane doubts Mitchell’s decision, and he tells her he is putting all of his trust in Hank Cho. Cho follows the railroad tracks and tells Mitchell and Jane to follow the flashlight hanging from his belt. The road is pitch black and Mitchell sees shapes moving in the dark. As he walks he hears Elsa’s voice. He sees her walking in front of him. He speaks to her in his mind, and she tells him walking in the dark is what her life is like. She asks what he thinks he’s going to do in the Flatlands, and he admits that he does not know. He wonders what he will eat or drink and whether there is a bathroom. He asks Elsa if she knows what is waiting for him in the Flatlands. She says she does and then disappears.

Mitchell and Jane walk for four-and-a-half hours. They finally arrive at the Flatlands, which are littered with trash and rat carcasses. Cho tells them they are in Canarsie. Jane asks what they do next. Cho tells her that he is going to rest. He lies down on the ground and falls asleep.

Mitchell and Jane explore what is left of the Flatlands. They find a half-demolished bank building and agree that it is not as bad as the surrounding buildings. Jane remarks that Mitchell seems happy. He tells her he is happy to be off Randall’s Island. Jane tells Mitchell the Ms. Tewilliger is suing Charnoble for making her work during the hurricane. Jane also tells him that she has a good case, especially since Charnoble forgot to sign FutureWorld’s insurance papers. Jane says that Charnoble was never a believer.

Cho finds them and tells him he found a “jackpot” of supplies at a warehouse nearby. The warehouse has food and basic survival supplies, although it is also full of rotted meat because the coolers have lost power. Mitchell, Jane, and Cho have to wrap towels around their heads and run in with carts. The smell is suffocating and Jane instantly runs out. Mitchell gathers supplies and goes to find Jane.

Jane realizes that Mitchell wants to stay in the Flatlands and homestead the land. She tells him that she knows he does not truly want to be part of Future Days. Mitchell admits to himself that he does not want to return to the city, but he tells Jane that she can use his name and ideas. She hugs him and walks back to the train tracks to return to Randall’s Island.

Mitchell works hard clearing out the land around the bank. He dumps all of the debris into piles along the perimeter, and it begins to morph into a wall. Mitchell tills the dirt and plants seeds. He focuses on the labor and goes to sleep exhausted each night, enjoying his isolation from others.

Ronald and Cassie, two neo-hippies, find Mitchell and tell him they were sent by Jane. They tell him that Manhattan reopened three days ago but that they want to join his efforts to create a new lifestyle. Mitchell is dismissive of them. Other refugees begin to show up and work the land. Mitchell decides to keep his distance from the others and focus on a self-sufficient life. He realizes that he wants the life that Elsa dreamed of—that she is his role model for a life of solitary idealism. After Cassie and Ronald leave, he keeps working and knows in his heart that Elsa is dead.

Mitchell thinks about how he is now self-sufficient and recognizes the beginning of a new obsession. He researches the best ways to provide for himself and works hard, gaining strength. One night he finds a log infested with bugs and fungi. He raises his ax to split the log but then stops, entranced by “insectopolis” living in the rotted wood. He tries not to think of Elsa in the ground, her body decomposing. He lies down in the mud and grass next to the log and lets the insects crawl all over his body. He feels that if he wanted to die here, he could. He sees a cloud, unmoving in the sky. He tries to will the cloud to move, but the personified cloud insists he move first. He does not. Eventually the cloud begins to drift away.

Months after Mitchell begins to homestead the Flatlands, Jane visit him. Future Days has become very successful, and Jane arrives in an armored limousine with a bodyguard. She has brought supplies for the scores of people homesteading the Flatlands. When Jane finds Mitchell, she is struck by how wild and strong he looks. Mitchell requests books on building items to be more self-sufficient. Jane brings him letters from Mitchell’s parents and tells him that she was contacted by Elsa Bruner, who survived the coma and had a defibrillator implanted. She tells him Elsa has gone to school to study environmental law and that she would like to see Mitchell. Mitchell tells Jane that he does not believe her—that Elsa is dead. Mitchell continues to isolate himself from the other Flatlanders and refuses to see Elsa. Jane notices the wall around Mitchell’s farm, sharp and foreboding. Jane leaves in the limousine despite an overwhelming urge to stay with Mitchell. She begins to cry and tells her bodyguard to “move this along” (306). Jane feels scared but returns to the city.