The Infinite Sea

Cassie sends Dumbo out into the hallway to stand guard. Ben then insists that he is going to leave in the morning to find Ringer. Cassie tries to argue, but Sam expresses his desire to go with him. Ben and Sam then leave Cassie alone in the room with Evan.

Cassie angrily scolds an unconscious Evan for taking so long to get to the hotel. She fears that he may die before she can speak to him again. However, he surprises her by saying the word “Mayfly.”

Cassie struggles to understand how she can love Evan when he is an Other. She oscillates between anger and relief that he is conscious again. She asks where Poundcake and Teacup are. Evan insists that he saw them go north. He tells Cassie that it’s dangerous to follow them. He says the word “Grace,” which Cassie doesn’t understand. When she tries to get Evan to explain further, he loses consciousness again.

Ben returns with Poundcake, but they were unable to find Teacup. He assumes that she followed Ringer and that Ringer led her to the caves. He asks Dumbo about Evan’s prognosis, and Dumbo is adamant that it will be weeks before Evan is conscious and able to move.

Annoyed at Ben’s frustration, Cassie suggests that they leave her and Evan at the hotel and go off on their own. Instead, Ben wants them to wait until morning then set out, carrying Evan if they need to. He tells Dumbo to stand guard, then he and Sammy go back to his room to try to sleep.

Several hours later, Cassie is woken by Sam, who is panicked by the sound of a helicopter nearby. In Ben’s room, the group sits and listens as the sound slowly fades. They question whether to stay or try to follow Ringer to the caverns. In the end, Ben insists that they stay despite the risk of the helicopter having picked up their heat signatures with its tracker. Their conversation is interrupted by a girl who appears in the hallway.

The young girl, dressed in flip-flops, a T-shirt, and shorts, stands in the hall silently. After a moment, Sam excitedly calls her “Megan” and runs to her. He explains that she was on the bus with him on the way to Camp Haven. Megan tells them that her “throat hurts,” then collapses to the ground.

Cassie carries Megan into the room. She and Ben discuss the fact that she appeared just minutes after the helicopter went overhead. They are sure that she is some kind of trap sent there by Vosch. Ben instructs Cassie to check her for a tracker, then leaves the room. Cassie checks over every part of Megan’s body, feeling rage at Vosch for “crushing” their humanity.

Cassie finds nothing on Megan’s body. Ben comes back, and the two discuss how strange it was for Megan to mention her throat. They decide that they need to wake her up. Ben takes a canteen and starts to dump water on Megan. However, Evan wakes up and warns him not to do it.

Evan explains that Megan has an “incinerator” inside her. It is likely hanging in her throat. It is sensitive to CO2, which will cause it to explode. Panicked, Ben gets everyone out of the room except for Cassie and Evan. Cassie asks if there is a way to remove it without killing Megan. Evan is pessimistic but admits that it could be possible.

After Ben sends everyone across the street to a diner, he tells Cassie that their only choice is to kill Megan. Cassie is shocked at how callous he is about it, but he argues that Vosch is responsible for her death—not him.

Ben picks up Megan and leaves the room. Cassie is reminded of the Crucifix Soldier, the children at Camp Haven she couldn’t save, and more. She is afraid of how detached both Ringer and Ben have become.

A few moments later, Cassie hears Ben in the hall and goes to him. He admits that he put Megan in a different room but couldn’t kill her. He asks Cassie to cut the device out of her.

Evan and Cassie go to Megan’s room. Evan explains how the capsule is attached to her tonsil, hanging from a wire. Using a pair of tweezers and surgical scissors, Cassie manages to pull it out and cut the capsule loose just as Megan wakes up.

Back in Ben’s room, Evan suggests that Megan was a “test.” They sent her in with a capsule to see if their group had the knowledge to identify it as a trap and remove the bomb. He suggests that they have captured Ringer and put her through Wonderland, which gave them the location of the hotel and the fact that they were waiting for Evan—who would know about the incinerators.

Ben reacts angrily, insisting that they can’t be certain that Ringer was captured. Regardless, he tells the group that if they are going to die anyway, he is going to die “standing up” (153). Dumbo, Poundcake, and Sam salute him in response.

Turning to the boys, Cassie explains that she has been in a similar situation before, where all options lead to her death. Instead, she suggests that they outsmart Vosch: If they blow up the capsule and incinerate the hotel, he will think that his trick with Megan worked, and they will buy themselves more time.

The group decides to retrieve a CO2 tank from the diner across the street, then put it in the elevator with the capsule. Eventually, it will detonate the bomb.

Alone with Cassie, Evan draws her a map to a house. He explains that it is the safest place for them to hide. Realizing that Evan believes he won’t make it, Cassie is torn between her love for him and hatred for his Other identity. However, she is adamant that he is going to escape with them, even if he needs to be carried. Evan warns her that Grace is both their biggest threat and their “doorway,” but Cassie doesn’t understand what he means.

Dumbo interrupts their conversation to tell them that they’ve retrieved the CO2 tank and are loading it into the elevator. He leaves, then is immediately pushed back into the room by Grace.

Grace comes into the room holding a rifle and Dumbo’s gun. She forces Cassie to throw her weapons out the window. She goads Evan, telling him that she is shocked at how “human” and disappointing Cassie is.

Cassie considers what to do. She knows that Ben, Sam, and Poundcake are nearby but also that Grace is stronger, faster, and smarter than them. Evan tells her to sit down, so Cassie listens, hoping to buy time.

Grace goes to Evan and kisses him. She then taunts Cassie about how humanity “ends.” In response, Cassie throws herself at her, knocking her off balance. Grace throws Cassie across the room. When a door opens in the hallway, Grace runs into the hall.

Cassie follows Grace into the hall but finds it already empty. She goes to Sam’s room, but Grace comes up behind her and smashes her face into the door, breaking her nose. She then throws Cassie down the hall.

Cassie yells at Grace in response, demanding that Grace stay away from her brother. Showing fake sympathy, Grace tells her that Sam is already dead.

In response to hearing that Sam is dead, Cassie attacks Grace. However, at the same moment, two other things happen: Poundcake comes into the hallway and steps in front of her, while Evan comes out of the room behind Grace. Seeing that Poundcake is going to shoot Grace and afraid that he will miss and hit Evan, Cassie tackles Poundcake. Ben then comes up the stairs, yelling at everyone to “freeze” and aiming his weapon. Grace runs into a room nearby.

Cassie runs to Sam’s room. She is relieved to find the door locked and hear him behind it. As Ben warns them all to get out of the room, Poundcake gets shot and drops his rifle. Cassie picks it up and empties a clip of bullets into the door of Grace’s room.

Ben is adamant that they can kill Grace because she is trapped. However, Evan pleads with him to run, as Grace is too dangerous and hasn’t truly allowed herself to be trapped in the room. He insists that if he stays behind to distract Grace, they can get away. As the group argues, they hear a helicopter approaching outside.

As the helicopter lands on the roof, bright spotlights shine through the window. In the chaos, Evan insists that they should run. They hear a scream and feel a blast of heat; Evan tells them that Grace destroyed the helicopter.

As everyone prepares to leave, Cassie confronts Evan about his plan. She accuses him of never wanting to leave the hotel. Instead, he was going to blow it up with himself and Grace inside because he had guessed that she was coming.

Evan begs Cassie to leave. He kisses her. He tries to give her the bag with the incinerator, but because she is holding Sam, he gives it to Sam instead. Evan then tells her that the map he drew is to Grace’s safe house. She is no longer staying there, as the next phase of the plan is beginning. If Cassie waits there until the equinox, the Others’ mothership will send a “pod” down to the safe house for Grace. He insists that Cassie needs to figure out a way to access it, telling her that she “can end it” and that it “should be” her (171). She promises him that she will.

As the group flees the hotel, Ben struggles to carry a severely injured Poundcake. As he drops him, Dumbo tells him that Poundcake won’t survive. Ben begins to break down, but Cassie insists that they don’t have time. She forces the group to continue to a nearby overpass.

As they reach the overpass, Sam yells at Cassie. He was trying to get away from her because he dropped the bag with the incinerator in it. As they all turn back to the hotel, a massive explosion knocks them to the ground.

The narration shifts to Poundcake just before the explosion. After Ben sets him down, he crawls back toward the hotel, then manages to stand. He finds Grace standing in the lobby. She turns toward him and taunts him, asking where everyone else went. Behind her, Poundcake can see Evan moving slowly, so he does his best to distract Grace.

Grace tries to force Poundcake to talk. She shoots him multiple times, then threatens to kill him. However, Poundcake pulls the plastic bag with the incinerator out of his pocket. Grace puts down her gun and begs Poundcake to give her the bag. When he turns away from her, she tackles him, sending the bag flying. As Grace goes toward it, Poundcake shoots her in the back, ruining her spine. Barely able to crawl, Poundcake moves past her and picks up the bag. Just as she reaches him, he breathes into it.