40 pages • 1 hour read
Monument 14
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 28-33Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 28 Summary: “The Big Send-Off: Part Two”
On the morning of the eleventh day, the students wake to find Robbie lying on a mattress in his underwear and Sahalia crying, also just in her underwear. Robbie claims that he woke to Sahalia on top of him, asking to be his girlfriend. Astrid takes Sahalia away; Jake keeps a gun trained on Robbie. Robbie springs up and takes the gun from Jake, then shoots Brayden. The boys scuffle with him. Robbie hits Niko in the face with the gun barrel, all the while protesting his innocence. Robbie raises the gun to Niko’s face, and just as he is about to shoot, Josie shoots Robbie from behind with a second pistol.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Blood, Bleach, and Lies”
Josie’s shot kills Robbie, and Dean and Jake drag his corpse to the storeroom on an air mattress. Brayden’s shoulder is severely wounded, and Niko cleans and treats it. Jake is very upset and begins crying, blaming himself for what happened.
After tending to Brayden’s wounds and cleaning up all the blood, the boys go to the Train to talk to Sahalia, Astrid, and Josie. Sahalia explains that Robbie “said that I should be, like, his girlfriend. And I guess I thought I could, you know, do what all he wanted me to do. But then I didn’t want to and…” (250). The group assures her that it was not her fault.
Josie is crying and shaken up, but the group assures her that she was protecting Niko, who Robbie might have shot. Josie acknowledges, “I did the right thing. I did” (251).
Chapter 30 Summary: “A Kiss”
That night, Sahalia, Jake, and Alex fall asleep while the other older kids remain awake. Astrid confesses she might have lice; Dean offers to help. He cuts her long hair off and washes what remains with shampoo. Afterwards, she looks like an “orphan from a Charles Dickens book” (256). Astrid bathes, changes clothes, and accepts a hat from Dean.
Niko enlists Dean’s help to gather supplies for the bus. They gather water, food, medical supplies, and other necessities. Niko wants them all to set out for Denver in hopes of being evacuated from the area.
Josie reports that Mr. Appleton is dead and begins crying. Niko comforts her, and the two kiss.
Chapter 31 Summary: “Reconnaissance”
Just as morning arrives, the students realize Brayden is not doing well and needs to get to a hospital. Dean offers to venture out with a video walkie-talkie to see if it’s safe outside, and if the hospital is open. The students don’t know whether or not to trust the information they received from Robbie and Mr. Appleton.
Jake offers to go in Dean’s place, saying, “I know, I’ve been a screw-up. I got… messed up. But I’m fast. I’m in good shape and I’m type B” (264). Astrid tries to dissuade him, saying he might risk dying to save Brayden. Jake insists that he must go because he blames himself for Brayden’s injury. He might have prevented Robbie from getting the gun he used to shoot Brayden: “If I hadn’t been using, it wouldn’t have happened” (264).
The younger kids wake up, and Ulysses asks for Robbie.
Chapter 32 Summary: “Jake TV”
Astrid tends to Brayden; Dean and Josie stay with the kids. They tell the kids that Robbie went to get help for Mr. Appleton, and Braden fell with the gun and shot himself in the shoulder. Josie says Mr. Appleton, “is sleeping now. A very deep sleep” (267).
Dean cooks breakfast; Jake prepares to go out with layers of clothing and the video walkie-talkie. Alex hooks it up to an undamaged bigtab, and the students watch Jake’s progress as he leaves the store and walks towards the hospital. It’s dark outside, and “[t]he plants are all dead and everything is, like, rotting” (276). He sees two people but avoids being seen. The hospital is closed, but there are many flyers and notices on the outside wall. Some advertise missing persons while others are notices saying that people are safe. Dean’s family Christmas card is on the wall, and it announces that the parents are safe and waiting for their sons in Denver. Another notice says that flights will be leaving Denver, “every five days on the fives,” and today is the 28th (277).
Jake says, “I’m not... I’m not coming back. I can’t do it anymore” (278). He leaves the video walkie-talkie on the street and walks away.
Niko starts the bus engine.
Chapter 33 Summary: “The Bus”
Niko tells everyone that they are going to Denver now and that they should pack a bag over the next ten minutes. Brayden will die if they remain longer. Dean resists: “I don’t want to turn into a blood-drinking, bone chewing monster” (281). Niko will sedate him and the other O-types and tie them up to prevent issues. They sedate Chloe, who is also type O, and move Brayden’s air mattress onto the bus.
Astrid asks Dean to stay with her. She confesses she is four months pregnant and doesn’t want to expose the fetus to the chemical compounds. She does not explicitly reveal who the father of the baby is, though she has been carrying on a relationship with Jake. Dean decides to remain with Astrid and Chloe.
Alex is upset; Dean tells him to find their parents and come back for him. He gives his little brother a journal and pens and asks him to recount his experiences.
The bus leaves the store, but Caroline and Henry jump off and Dean brings them back into the store. They want to stay with Dean and say that he will keep them safe. The novel closes with Dean asserting of himself, Astrid, Chloe, Caroline, and Henry: “We were five” (294).
Chapters 28-33 Analysis
These chapters continue the motif of physical transgression and violation. There is significant violence, beginning with the incident between Sahalia and Robbie. The novel does not fully detail what happens between the two, but both Sahalia and Robbie are found in their underwear, and Astrid says of them, “She said no. And he wouldn’t stop—” (250). Here, an adult male violates the physical boundaries of a 13-year old girl. As a result, more violence ensues. The guns that Robbie and Mr. Appleton bring in are used to cause more destruction; Robbie shoots and injures Brayden, and Robbie is in turn shot and killed by Josie.
There are significant shifts in group dynamics in these final scenes. Josie, who has previously acted as a nurturing, maternal figure, springs to action and shoots Robbie. She now takes on the role of an actor and enforcer; she still ensures safety, but does so through violence, a more masculine action within this group. Jake, on the other hand, takes on more feminine characteristics within the group. He fails to protect Brayden, and, as a result, sinks into sadness and cries, a behavior associated with the feminine in this group. He no longer is the leader of the group, to whom everyone looks up and admires. His final act of reversal is his decision to completely abandon the group—he cuts himself off from the people who used to hold him up so high.
So, too, does Dean develop his character in this section. He had previously been in a slump: taking pain medication, drinking, and fighting. He stops taking drugs and re-engages with his role within the group, cooking and helping Niko. After Robbie’s death, he takes control to remove the body and clean up the remains. He also makes the decision to stay with Astrid in a caretaking role at the end. Alex admonishes him for staying for a girl, and choosing staying over finding their parents. Here, Dean symbolically makes a break with his family in order to stay and make a new family. This decision signifies his coming of age and maturity.
Unlock all 40 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features: