The Girl with All the Gifts

Back out on the street, the group moves through town looking for the nearest access point to the A1. They maintain a respectable pace, although Caldwell lags behind, slowed by fatigue. They pass a “burn shadow”—a remnant of a disastrous government policy meant to eradicate hungries with incendiary explosives, but which mostly destroyed infrastructure and killed uninfected civilians. After several miles, they reach the end of the burn shadow, its final evidence a burned-out house with the imprinted shadows of an adult and child seared into the wall. 

Melanie measures herself against the smaller shadow burned into the wall and imagines being part of a family and all that entails: “Growing up and growing old. Playing. Exploring” (242). Even at 10, Melanie understands that participating in life means accepting the good and the bad. 

The group stops at the edge of the scorched landscape and eats lunch. Melanie and Justineau discuss the reasons for the burning. When Justineau refers to the zombie plague as “evil shit,” Melanie takes it personally. Justineau distinguishes Melanie from the run-of-the-mill hungry by her cognition, something Melanie hadn’t considered before. It gives her hope that she’s not the monster that she fears. She also begins to understand that monsters come in all shapes and sizes; some dissect young children for research. As she experiences more of the world, she sees herself and her traveling companions as part of something much larger than themselves.

The survivors finally reach London, slowly making their way through its sprawling exurbs. Gallagher is in awe of its size and even more of Melanie, who “takes no bullshit from anyone” (247). Gallagher, who was born after the Breakdown, cannot fathom millions of uninfected people living in one city. He and Parks take turns scouting ahead, but eventually Melanie takes over the job; Parks even removes her leash and allows her to walk free, although still muzzled and handcuffed.

They come to a street full of abandoned vehicles but very few hungries. Parks, Justineau, and Caldwell examine something near the wreckage of a shop while Melanie and Gallagher study an overturned double-decker bus. As they join the others, they see a hungry sprawled on the ground, its chest broken open and a six-foot tall growth sprouting from the cavity. Caldwell hypothesizes that the growth is a “spore factory, full of seeds” and will eventually produce fruit (251). She wants to take a sample, but Parks forbids it, urging them to move on before they lose any more daylight. 

On the third night, the group sleeps in the jail cells of an abandoned police station. Although they would be trapped if discovered, the cells provide strong security, and no one has seen them enter. They hope to spend the night unnoticed and quietly move on in the morning. They finish the canned food from the hospital and try to sleep in the claustrophobic darkness. 

Melanie revels in the joy of sharing a cell alone with Justineau, but she knows it can’t last. Justineau will return to Beacon, but she cannot—they would likely dissect her. She imagines herself, like the mythical figure Aeneas, striking out on her own and seeking her fortune in the wide world. Sadness tinges these thoughts, however, because she would be apart from Miss Justineau and would never love anyone as much ever again. 

On the fourth day, the survivors trudge through a drizzling rain, their clothes soaked, their food gone, and their e-blocker nearly exhausted. As they move through the vast expanse of London, they see fewer hungries. Caldwell has a few hypotheses: eradication by uninfected humans, animal predation, or some unknown disease. The constant pain in her hands and the fatigue of their long journey distract her from her thoughts. When they come upon a group of fallen, sprouting hungries, Caldwell furtively slips one of the fungal fruits into the pocket of her lab coat. Her day is a combination of monotony, disorientation, and speculation about how the pathogen works in the brain. She is startled from her reverie by Parks; he and Gallagher are inspecting an abandoned vehicle. As she moves closer, she recognizes it as one of the mobile research vehicles sent out during the early days after the Breakdown.

Seeing the vehicle all these years later triggers bitter memories. Parks wants to look inside, but Caldwell objects. She argues that opening it could jeopardize any remaining contents in its lab. She doesn’t reveal that, although in the running for the project, she was ultimately not chosen. The fact that she’s alive because of not being included is not much consolation.

Parks and Gallagher open the vehicle, and Parks enter first. He finds only the driver, who has apparently shot himself. Caldwell assures Parks that to the best of her knowledge, the vehicle doesn’t contain any hidden dangers. He finally allows her inside, and she finds, to her surprise, an “automated lathe ultramicrotome. It’s the holy grail” (266).