The Living

By morning, Shy has grown debilitatingly weak with hunger. The three survivors still have the remains of a gallon of water to share between them, but no food. Addison has finally begun to speak again, and she vents her frustrations at the sharks and at Shy. Shy’s attempts to ask her about her father’s photograph of him send her into a rage, stifling any further conversation.

As the hours pass, Shy begins attempting to catch a fish using the fishing kit in the boat’s supply cabinet. As he does, he and Addison have another falling out; in response to Shy commenting on her father’s mysterious job, Addison responds: “You probably don’t even have a dad […] Doesn’t everyone like you grow up with a single mom?” (173). Addison soon realizes she’s gone too far, but Shy refuses to accept her apology. Meanwhile, Shy repeatedly tries and fails to catch a fish.

Shy fishes for hours with no success and begins imagining places from his hometown to try to keep his mind off of the pain, hunger, and thirst. This is the first time he’s taken a moment to properly reflect on what must have happened to his family: “It was the first time he’d actually thought about what he’d lost in a conscious way” (177).