49 pages 1 hour read

The Compound

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2025

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Part 3, Chapters 14-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, physical abuse, mental illness, and substance use.

Part 3, Chapter 14 Summary

A few days after Sam leaves, the water in the compound is turned off. A Communal Task appears, challenging the group to run 100 meters in exchange for water. Because tasks are competitions after the final five, the slowest runner will be banished from the compound. Becca reveals to Lily that she has been stashing water away and offers to share it with her. She suggests that they wait until the boys are fully dehydrated before accepting the challenge so that either Andrew or Tom will lose and be sent home. Lily agrees, and in exchange, she promises to bring food to the maze where Becca has been hiding alongside her water.


Tom and Andrew panic when the water is turned off and begin pressuring Lily to spend more time with them, knowing they need her to complete the task. Andrew begins cleaning the house frantically, desperate to return things to their former state. That evening, Tom, Andrew, and Lily go searching for Becca. Lily attempts to sneak away and bring Becca food but fails. Inside, Andrew realizes that they can melt ice that had built up in the freezer for a few sips of water.

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