Bird Box

In the earlier timeline, two weeks after Gary’s arrival, Malorie overhears Cheryl telling Felix about her experience feeding the birds. As she made her way to the bird cage, she heard a sound like a footstep; she noticed that the birds sounded anxious. Moments later, as she fed them, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Cheryl screamed and waved her arms but felt nothing. Concluding her story, Cheryl suggests that the thing she felt on her shoulder might have been nothing more than a falling leaf.

Malorie worries about Don, who has grown close to Gary. They spend long hours together discussing what Gary refers to as Frank’s theories, including the idea that certain intelligent people can be immune to the creatures’ effects. Tom and Felix, meanwhile, work on a plan to safely travel longer distances outside of the house, as Jules trains the dogs. As she washes dishes, Malorie wonders about the contents of Gary’s briefcase.

Tom and Jules unveil a plan to walk three miles to Tom’s house to pick up supplies. They plan to walk to the beat of a certain song played on the portable radio to ensure that their step lengths are consistent along the meticulously plotted route. Malorie tells Tom that the house needs him badly; he encourages her to be a leader.

After Tom and Jules leave, the other housemates start to argue and panic; Malorie takes charge, giving everyone constructive tasks to complete. They go to work.

In the later timeline, Malorie recalls her conversation with a man who gave her directions down the river. At one point, he told her, the river would split into four channels; after hearing an audio recording on a nearby speaker, she would have to open her eyes to make sure she took the second channel from the right.

She recalls hearing Tom’s remembered and imagined voice speak to her during her time alone in the house with the children. Once, his voice suggested that she get microphones to plant around the house as a security measure. Relying on maps and memory, she planned to visit a bar that once featured live music. After covering the windows and padding the bumpers of the car that once belonged to Cheryl, Malorie drove slowly and blindly, but she failed to find the bar and returned home.

On her ninth attempt, she found the bar, accompanied by Victor. Inside, she paused to drink rum, but Victor refused to relax. He led her to the door of the cellar, which stunk of death. Malorie suddenly felt someone else’s presence nearby. She tied Victor to a post, but he broke free, growling and biting at something, and then at himself. Malorie cried as she heard the dog die but managed to collect the audio equipment she wanted. She returned home to find the children crying.

In the earlier timeline, Malorie lies awake, wondering about Gary’s briefcase. Sneaking into the dining room, where Gary sleeps, she quietly takes Gary’s briefcase and carries it into the cellar. Opening the briefcase, she finds a notebook filled with Frank’s theories, which Gary said that Frank took with him; some of the writing goes backwards or in a spiral pattern. One passage asserts that “MAN IS THE CREATURE HE FEARS” (188). Elsewhere, the writer pledges to pull down the drapes and unlock the doors to prove the truth of his theories to others. Malorie realizes that there never was anyone named Frank; Gary wrote the notebook, and he pulled down the window covers at his previous residence. Returning upstairs, Malorie replaces the notebook and wonders whether to act now, or to wait for Tom to return.

The next day marks a week since Tom and Jules left. Malorie considers approaching Felix, Cheryl, or Don about Gary’s notebook. Instead, she decides to tell them when they are all together. She is about to do so when the birds start cooing and there is a knock at the door. Tom and Jules are back; their trip was successful, and they found food and supplies, including a phone book. At Tom’s invitation, they go into the kitchen to eat.

In the later timeline, Malorie thinks she hears someone following them on the river, rowing in sync with them. She asks the Boy about the sound, but he doesn’t recognize it.

In the earlier timeline, Malorie struggles to find an opportunity to tell Tom about Gary’s notebook. At dinner, Tom and Jules talk about their trip and show off a bottle of rum they brought back from the grocery store. At that moment, Malorie reveals that Gary has the notebook that he said Frank took with him. The others call out Malorie for snooping but ask Gary to explain; Don comes to Gary’s defense. In the confusion that follows, Gary calls Malorie a “paranoid pregnant whore” (202). He claims that he took the notebook as a warning and reminder of Frank’s flawed thinking.

Tom initiates a vote on what to do next; everyone except Don agrees that Gary must go. He agrees to leave. They give Gary food and a helmet, then close their eyes as the front door opens and closes. When they open their eyes, Gary is gone; at the same time, they hear Don going down to the cellar.

In the later timeline, as the sound behind them comes closer, Malorie wonders if Gary could be following them, even years since she last saw him. Listening closely, the Boy says that he thinks whatever is behind them is neither swimming nor in a boat; instead, it’s walking. Malorie hears a new sound, “like birds, all of them, in every tree, no longer singing, no longer cooing, but screaming” (208).