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Darby realized she’d done it again. She’d entered the room without checking the corner on her left.
This never comes up again. When did she previously enter a room without checking her left and it being an issue?
Sandi,
This is from Darby's POV, how would she know it's spelt with an i?
individual to a vehicle outside, and then she could be certain. She couldn’t just openly ask, either—or the true kidnapper/abusive parent would know she was onto them.
Why can't she just ask?
Darby tried to plan her next moves. But there were too many unknowns. She couldn’t involve Ed, Ashley, or Sandi—not yet—because then she’d lose control of the situation. Involving other people had to be a last resort.
Why? It is 4 vs 1. Get others involved. The kid could be freezing.
She imagined telling Ashley (the youngest and most physically able) that she suspected they were sharing oxygen with a child molester, and Ashley understandably blanching. Lars would notice this, yank a gun from his baby-blue jacket, and kill them both. Ed and Sandi would be witnesses, so they’d die, too. Four bullet-riddled bodies in a glossy pool of blood. All because Darby opened her mouth.
Bit dramatic to assume the kidnapper has a gun. Is this an unreliable narrator situation?
Darby walked to the Nightmare Children first. This was part of her plan—it would be suspicious to beeline straight for the cars, and she had to assume Lars would look out the window after he exited the restroom and found her not there.
Why'd she have to wait for him to use the bathroom then?
Stupidly, she retried the Astro’s rear door. Still locked. She knew this already. She went for the driver’s door next. She wasn’t thinking; she was acting on instinct. Just reflexes, raw nerves.
Well now you left tracks.
She’d only done this once before.
I DONT TRUST HER
I tried to kill you with Theraflu.
Who is this voice?
-apparently this is her mother.
Of course Lars has a gun. Of course. She should have guessed.
She assumed this earlier!
Darby had sketched possibly her finest-ever rendering of a human face. It was nearly flawless. She’d studied Lars, every slouching inch of him. His blond whiskers, his slack overbite, his mushy chin and slanted forehead. The pronounced V shape of his hairline. She’d even captured the dim glaze of his eyes.
Why not just take a picture with phone?
Darby preferred to live her life wide-eyed, tormented, running, because nothing can catch you if you never stop.
What is she running from?
The clock’s hour hand indicated it was almost midnight, but she realized it was an hour ahead. Someone had missed winter daylight savings. It wasn’t even eleven yet.
Why re-iterate that it's almost 11? I'm smart and know what time it is based on the previous two sentences.
The lights flickered. A seizure of icy darkness.
I wonder if power will go out and they vote to all go in Lars van since it could fit them all to stay warm.
-this would have been so much better then what actually happened.
eerily, the time had always been close to 3:00 a.m. Every time she could remember.
Does she write these dreams down with the times? No way she can remember a dream from 7th grade.
The element of surprise could be lost.
YOU NO LONGER HAVE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
Then, the next day, Ashley drenched Stripes in gasoline and hurled her into a campfire.
Obligatory bad guy bad because he hurts animals.
white stencil. Under the snowpack, it wasn’t a parked car at all—it was a Dumpster.
HOW THE FUCK DO YOU MISTAKE A DUMPSTER FOR A CAR? Also, did Ed and Sandi make same mistake? How did they not know Ashley and Jay are together?
The van’s interior was still as warm and moist as an exhaled breath,
HOW? The back door was left open for at least 20 minutes.
Oh, thank God, Jay, we lost your tracks but you turned around.
She only had a 20 minute headstart. My brain can't fathom how they didn't see her. Did she go 10 minutes out and then follow her tracks back?
“Trust me, they have a gun.”
Just say they shot at you!
“It’s a stalemate,” she whispered.
How? Ashley and Lars dont have the keys to any car. They can't stay out there forever.
“They’ll make their move,” Ed said grimly. “Then we’ll make ours.”
THAT'S NOT A STALEMATE
and we have their hostage.
They don't know that!
He’d been through dozens of Lars’s pets—turtles, fish, two dogs, more shelter-rescue cats than he could count—and whether it was bleach, bullets, fire, or the meaty click of a knife striking bone, there was no dignity in death. Every living creature dies afraid.
OMG WE GET IT. He's so bad, look at all the animals he has killed.
“What kind of coffee shop doesn’t have knives?”
Why would they?
“No. For fucking coffee.” “We already have coffee.” “I was being sarcastic.”
NOT THE TIME FOR SARCASM.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just know they wanted to be here.”
They were going to transfer Jay to Ed and Sandi
Don’t fear the pros, Darby. The pros know what they’re doing, and do it cleanly. Fear the amateurs.
What a weird thing for her mom to say
Cool, right?
Who is this for if it's his inner monologue?
His mouth was nailed shut—literally—by a steel framing nail, pierced through his lower jaw at an upward angle, harpooning his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
How tall is Ed to make this possible
Wanasho rest stop
That's the wrong rest stop, right?
thwump—the cash register tipped, crashing down beside them, keypad buttons skittering across the tile like loose teeth.
No way
So was Jay’s parka.
I thought she wasn't wearing outdoor gear. Just the Pokemon shirt.
His right fist throbbed like it was full of gravel.
What does that mean?
Ashley Garver ran like hell. Impossible. I counted the shots. The Beretta is empty.
Yeah, so why does he assume she has a bullet. He thinks women are dumb so why wouldn't he think that she doesn't know it's empty?
Sometimes God puts people exactly where they need to be. Even when they don’t know it.
I hate this. So god can put Darby there to save Jay but can't stop Jay from being abducted in the first place?
