“Mathias told them that he’d come to Mexico with his younger brother, Henrich, but Henrich had gone missing. It was a confusing story, and none of them understood all the details. Whenever they asked him about it, Mathias became vague and upset.”

The introduction of Mathias hints toward the possibility that he is one of the novel’s villains. His mysterious background, Henrich’s alleged disappearance, and Mathias’s tendency to “become vague and upset” create a sense of mystery surrounding his character. Although he will ultimately become an ally to the others, this moment creates a feeling of suspense and foreboding, turning Mathias into a red herring.

“Jeff had something about him that made people trust him, an air of competence and self-confidence […] He wasn’t as tall as Mathias, or as broad in the shoulders, but despite this, he somehow seemed to be the larger of the two. He had a gravity to him: he was calm, always calm.”

Jeff’s introduction presents him as an archetypal hero from the very start, introducing the theme of The Illusion of Control. He is described as smart and sure of himself, with a presence and “calm” that make it seem as though he is in charge of every situation. This introduction lends insight into why the others trust him so easily on the ruins, defaulting to him in their need for a plan to survive.

“The Greek muttered something in his own language but didn’t wake. The words had an edge to them, though, as if they were an accusation, or a curse, and Eric thought of the smiles the Greeks sometimes exchanged, the sense of shared secrets they gave off. Who are they? he wondered. […] Or Mathias with his mysteriously missing brother, that ominous tattoo, that blank stare. Or—well, why not?—Jeff and Amy and Stacy. Who are they?”

Like Mathias, the Greeks are also presented as a possible antagonist. These thoughts are from Eric on the bus ride as he drifts in and out of sleep. The repetition of the phrase “Who are they?” underscores the idea that no one can ever truly be trusted, creating a sense of unease and discomfort leading into their trip to the ruins.