The Dead and the Gone

It is now November 9, Papi’s birthday, and the siblings want to do something to commemorate this special day. Alex and Julie have already lit a candle at St. Margaret’s for him, so Bri plans a dinner. They begin reminiscing about Thanksgiving, as well as a time Mami bought Papi a bunch of lottery tickets; Papi used his winnings to take the children to a movie. Julie confesses that she took 27 lottery tickets from Uncle Jimmy’s bodega when she was building boxes and packing food and explains that she was saving them for Christmas. The kids decide to scratch the lottery tickets for Papi’s birthday instead, so they divide them up: Bri wins $5, while Julie wins $10,000. Julie is overjoyed, convinced that the lottery tickets must still be worth something.

The next day, Alex takes Julie and her winning ticket to Harvey to see what they can get for it. The siblings hope to use the ticket to get themselves out of New York and settled in a safer, healthier place, but Harvey explains that the ticket is worth nothing. Julie is devastated and storms out of the shop, so Harvey gives Alex a can of pineapple to ease her sorrow.

Once out on the street, Alex hears a muffled voice and removes his shoes to move silently toward the noise. He sees that a man has taken Julie and is dragging her toward a park with her kicking and screaming as they go. Alex moves closer without detection and throws the can of pineapple, hitting the man and freeing Julie. She and Alex run to their apartment building. The experience rattles Julie, and she apologizes to Alex for running away, promising to stay with him so long as he never leaves her.

By November 11, the food supply in Alex’s neighborhood is dwindling. Officials have cancelled the food line, and Alex only got two cans of food from Harvey. Alex is confident that they are the only people remaining in the apartment building, yet he is frustrated because he has access to only five apartments and is unable to break into any others.

One night Alex can’t sleep, so he makes a list, though lists no longer comfort him as they once did. This time, he lists the people who are gone. As he does, he realizes that there are far more people gone than just his immediate family members and close friends, giving him a broader perspective on the disaster. He decides that the only thing that matters is food. The next day, Alex looks for his radio and learns that Bri has been listening to it during the day to feel less alone, using up the radio’s battery. Alex is angry, as the radio was the only way he could know about holidays and anything else that could prevent them getting food.

On November 18, Alex, Kevin, and Julie receive food in the food line, but the provisions will last them no longer than Monday. Alex therefore takes the family’s last bottle of scotch and Papi’s beer, which Alex had been saving for some time, and trades them with Harvey for enough food to last at least a week. During their exchange, Harvey mentions that he can get Alex and Bri out of New York to a town outside of Gainesville, Florida, that has food, hospitals, and electricity. All Alex must give up is Julie. Alex politely declines the offer but immediately after leaving the shop heaves with horror and exhaustion until he falls to the ground. Several days later, Alex confesses to Father Franco before school—including his homicidal thoughts toward Harvey following his suggestion that Alex trade Julie for safe passage. When Alex arrives at school, he puts his backpack in his locker and leaves for downtown New York in search of Chris Flynn’s father, Robert.

As Alex enters the downtown area, he notices that the people aren’t as skinny and that there are no corpses or rats in the streets, making him feel like an outsider for the first time in his own city. Alex finds the correct building, and a security guard directs him to the sixth floor. Alex climbs the stairs—executives are the only ones allowed to use the elevator—and finds Mr. Flynn in his deserted office. Alex explains his situation and asks for help getting Bri and Julie out of New York. Mr. Flynn talks to Alex as if he were his father and explains that officials are only keeping the city alive until all the important people and objects (such as paintings, manuscripts, and other museum artifacts) are out of the area.

Mr. Flynn tells Alex that he can get them out if they act quickly. He retrieves three passes from a hidden safe and gives them to Alex; the passes will place Alex and his sisters on a convoy to a safe inland location. Mr. Flynn applied for these passes at the beginning of the disaster, but by the time they arrived, his family had moved to South Carolina. Mr. Flynn tells Alex that he will make the reservations for Alex and his sisters to leave New York on December 12. He makes himself the children’s legal guardian and writes a letter that he tells Alex to give to anyone who questions him. Finally, Mr. Flynn tells Alex not to tell anyone about their departure until the day they leave. they part with mutual gratitude: Alex for Mr. Flynn saving his and his sister’s lives and Mr. Flynn for Alex challenging Chris and teaching him that winning isn’t automatic.

St. Margaret’s has a community Thanksgiving dinner, and although there is no turkey, the church provides other food to celebrate. Because of the great secret he now has, Alex is finally able to think about the future and no longer feels angry. As he and his sisters walk home from the dinner, they hear what sounds like laughing and discover a group of men playing touch football in the streets. The men invite Alex to join, and Julie becomes a cheerleader while Bri watches the fun.

The Monday after Thanksgiving, Alex returns to school and finds there are only five seniors left; there were 18 before Thanksgiving break. James Flaherty is one of the gone, which disappoints Alex, as he was hoping to get more cartridges for Bri’s inhaler from him. Regardless, Alex is happy that they must only survive for two more weeks.