Well, back to Connor. Connor has just finished arming the “bait” kids, who are sixty rather than fifty but oddly don’t get so much of a mention of how more kids than required are apparently willing to sacrifice themselves for the others.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky for once,” one kid says. “Maybe the Juvies won’t come after all.”
Connor tries to offer him a reassuring smile. He doesn’t know the boy’s name. He tried his best to learn as many names as he could, but there was only so much he could do. If this kid gets killed, or worse, unwound, who will remember him? Who will remember any of them? He wishes he could have been wise enough to have had each kid carve his or her name into the steel of the old Air Force One, as a testament to the fact that they existed. Even if no would ever see it, at least it would be there. But now it’s too late.

This would be touching if it wasn’t for the fact the real reason the kid is unnamed is that the author doesn’t give a fuck just like with all the other characters.

You can’t pretend it’s some big deal when we just had a chapter of “Gate Guard” and “His Friend”. No one will remember them because the book chose to not bother telling us, because only Connor and company matter. Hell, the only reason we even got names of Connor’s inner circle besides his friend Hayden is so we’d be able to tell when the ones who were the evil villains betray him.

And this is actually better than last book where there was that fellow Ward Risa spent her time in the crate with and described as her sister and yet still didn’t know the damn name of.

Battle Royale is the still only book I’ve read here that actually did this. Everything else just wants this dramatic backdrop so they can wallow in how sad it is for the protagonist to experience.

Oh, and speaking of Hayden, he reports that the gate guards aren’t answering – because just because they had an easy way to contact those kids this whole time doesn’t mean they saw any way to use it to warn them in advance.

And why didn’t the kids there call after Trace’s warning, for reinforcements if nothing else? Why didn’t Trace use the phone line himself to get the message out? Because it didn’t exist until a split second ago when the author decided he wanted Connor to know something’s wrong. The actual way this place works doesn’t matter, communicating between side characters doesn’t matter, only Connor matters.

And so finally Connor decides to activate some alarm, because apparently he did tell the kids what was going on despite the fact the timeline is him going immediately to this group and how clear it is that they didn’t spread the word by the fact the gate kids had no clue what was happening, so the kids know to flee south, but then they hear the jet turn on and instead of running toward that just stand around like dumb sheep because only Connor and Connor2 are allowed any real initiative and now they’re all going to get slaughtered.

The cops begin firing and for some reason it’s a mix of tranquilizer bullets and actual bullets, because this scene:

Beside him Casey lies draped over the leg of the upended pool table with a tranq bullet in her neck—but worse than that is the horse-faced boy. He took a real bullet to the forehead.
“My God!” screams one of the others. “They’re not just tranqing us, they’re killing us too!”

WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT. Killing you honestly makes perfect sense – we know they like having the organs restricted so much they left this place alone to keep manipulating the market, so they wouldn’t want to glut the market bringing people in. Not killing would also make sense, because it’s just one batch so it’ll only be a temporary thing, and it’ll make them look good if prices go down after this. They must have decided on one course of action or the other, so using both is hampering whatever they’re supposed to be accomplishing.

Even if their goal is to get some organs but cull things a bit so not too many, or the bullets are to scare the kids into giving up but they don’t want to kill them all, that’d work better with all bullets right now, then either knock out the kids that surrender or switch to the darts once there aren’t enough to fight back effectively. Random chance is never the best option.

Connor Prime then stands up bravely and convinces everyone to keep fighting, and meanwhile, Connor2 is leading the evil adopted traitors onto the plane, every last one of them naturally being totally okay about leaving everyone else to die because as I said last time, adopted children are just goblins and don’t have souls or friendships or any of that stuff.

Farther south, kids who have reached the fringe planes of the Graveyard see the wave of Whollies flooding toward the escape jet.
“Hey, there’s someone in there! Someone’s flying it! Come on!” They double back, heading toward the Dreamliner instead of running south, and as more escaping kids see others do an about-face, mob mentality takes over. They all run toward the waiting jet.

I really don’t understand why the author hates everyone so much. “Look at those fucking sheep, thinking they should go that way just because they see that way works! LOL MOB MENTALITY DUMBASSES.”

COnnor then finally looks over to see the jet is on and being swarmed by kids.

Then Connor sees him. Starkey. He stands atop the forward staircase, shepherding in his flock of storks

Although as King Goblin he is in fact so evil he’d block the other kids getting on, there’s no non-goblin reason to assume this, which suggests Connor is actually able to identify the storked kids at a distance to know it’s only them getting on. It’s probably the green skin and warts.

Ashley, the secret weapon stork, is the last stork up the stairs. She smiles at Starkey. “Made it!” she says, reaching for him to help her up the last few steps.
But just then one of the Juvies on the ground locks eyes with Starkey and takes aim at him.
Thinking quickly, he smoothly pulls Ashley over just a bit. The tranq bullet embeds in her back instead of his chest. She locks eyes with him in shock.
“Sorry, Ashley.”
And before she can slump unconscious in his arms, he strategically pushes her back down the stairs, causing a domino-tumble of kids behind her. It gives Starkey just enough time to close the door.

So basically, you should just drown them at birth. I mean, it’s not like they’re people, you know?

The Goblin King goes to Trace and says it’s time to take off, having somehow missed the utter chaos because reasons, but immediately knows that since this is the Goblin King, it’s probably bullshit and so he looks out to see lots of kids still needing to get on.

and a quick glance into the cabin makes it clear exactly which kids were saved and which weren’t

Like I said, it’s obvious at a distance.

When Trace doesn’t take off, the Goblin King pulls out his gun.

“You’d save Connor ’s kids, but you won’t save storks, is that it? Fly this plane or I shoot.”
“Kill me and no one gets out of here.”
But Starkey doesn’t lower his weapon because he’s not bluffing, and Trace knows it.

…except he is, because he can’t fly the plane and everyone knows that!

You can certainly make a case that he’d kill Trace if he was going to die anyway, but would he really die rather than open the doors and let a few more kids on? This is particularly bad writing when we just saw him sacrifice a fellow stork for his own survival and make it clear that’s ultimately his highest priority.

He starts the plane and for some reason the cops attempt to block it.

Again, we know they don’t actually want the organs, and given we’re that far down the conspiracy rabbit hole, it seems unlikely any of this is actually about punishing them for being criminals as opposed to serving the greater unwind agenda. It really doesn’t matter if some kids make it out, however you look at it. If this is legitimately about preventing more attacks, taking down their base does it. And we know they don’t want too many organs on the market, so removing some from play is good for them. If this is about manipulating public opinion, having some of the kids escape as boogeyman for another day seems like a bonus, and if it isn’t, they can always just shoot the plane down afterward – since, again, the one motivation we can rule out is actually wanting the intact organs of these kids.

Despite this, they really, really want to take this plane down. Like, willing to die want to take it down.

an armored riot truck that has pulled right into the plane’s path, playing chicken with a 112-ton jet. In the cockpit Trace sees it, but it’s too late to abort liftoff.
In the truck, the driver realizes a moment too late that this is a game he’s going to lose.

Why? Because the author wants the plane’s landing gear fucked up for later, and that’s all that matters.

On the ground, hundreds of earthbound kids are “tranq’d and yanked” by the Juvies, finding neither salvation nor sanctuary in the flightless vessels around them, while up above, the only vessel ever to be resurrected from the Graveyard carries 169 souls into the sky: 169 souls with no possible way to land.

Just like he won’t let the fact we were told previously that the graveyard does fix up and resell some of the planes get in the way of how he wants to write this bit right now.

Meanwhile Lev’s there and still doesn’t give a fuck about anyone but Connor. Also absolutely no one notices him at any point.

since no one has yet to graft eyes in the back of their head

1) Why the hell not?

2) It’s the middle of a chaotic fight of course people are going to be looking around.

The parts pirate now wears a Juvey uniform he must have pulled from a real Juvey that he tranq’d.

I feel like the book’s also forgotten this guy was in fact one of them and had a uniform of his own. It really isn’t that hard to believe he could still have it.

Lev then tries to claim that he has no idea where Connor is because this Connor is max Connorsue while The old Connor was all about saving himself, and he was good at it. except no, he dragged everyone else into it and also he was terrible at it. Then Lev thinks that Connor saved a baby and Lev, so he’ll be the very last one fighting for the kids!!! Because that’s how it works.

Then after that pointless bullshit of a paragraph that should’ve been cut, Lev says something far more reasonable – that Nelson barely knows Connor and hates him, so obviously he’ll think Connor is one of those trying to escape. Because of this, Nelson is wasting his time checking the downed kids one by one and not contributing to the fight at all. But of course, perfect Connorsue is at the exact center of the fight about to be the very last one dramatically standing, so he’s not there and somehow Nelson is able to verify this fast enough that he’s rapidly moving toward the center, rather than walking in a circle around the perimeter like you’d expect.

This is where Connor will be—but how can Lev save him from both Nelson and the Juvies?
When the answer comes to Lev, he grins in spite of the dire battle around him. The answer is simple. It’s terrifying. It’s impossible. It might work!

The more moral thing at this point, of course, would be to concern yourself with trying to save as many people as you can, but if we don’t know their names, are they really “people”? We know Connor’s name, and Lev knows Connor’s name. Therefore, only Connor needs to be saved.

Lev finds Connor! And for once, I don’t have complaints about the kid.

Lev sees a figure in off-color camouflage fearlessly charge a Juvey shooting at him. The kid takes the Juvey out—not with a bullet, but with the butt of his rifle—and there’s something about the way this kid moves that’s familiar.
…
“Connor!”
But Connor ’s eyes are fixed on the escaping plane. “Don’t just stand there, run!” Connor tells him. “You were all supposed to run!”

Connor, at least, is trying to save people to the last. He’s been an annoying character most of the book, but when it comes down to it, he at least understands what matters. Maybe that’s why he’s able to regret not knowing people’s names when not even the book does.

Lev gets his attention and explains:

“I came to save you.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“That’s probably true too, but I have to warn you: There’s a parts pirate after you.”
“That’s the least of my problems right now!”
Another kid with an automatic rifle hurries up to Connor. “We’re out of ammunition! What do we do?”

Lev’s whole noble mission is amounts to distracting Connor while he’s busy, from an extra threat that wouldn’t be there if he hadn’t insisted on trying to help in the first place.

Connor tells the kid he can either throw rocks or run for it, and the kid wishes him luck and runs for it. Godspeed, Kid-Who-I-Like-Better-Than-Fucking-Lev.

A lot of the other kids have been rounded up and are getting shoved onto the murder trucks.

“There’s nothing you can do for them now,” Lev tells Connor.
“I won’t leave them.”
“That’s why I’m not giving you a choice.” Then Lev raises the tranq pistol he took from the unconscious Juvey and shoots Connor in the arm.

Connor could, of course, have helped. He’d have been caught sooner or later, but by fighting back he could’ve saved other kids in the process. Given how negatively the adults view kids like him, it seems very likely they wouldn’t even be expecting a real attack, because they’d never believe the kids would risk themselves for others.

But that’s all just my guess, since after all, only Connor has a name so really, what matters is saving him and him alone.

We then go back to Nelson, still looking for Connor. Another cop tells him to knock it off.

“It’s our asses if any of these kids get past us and into the desert.”

Why? How would you even know? What?

Last book, we learned the local cops knew about this place but figured their real job was keeping the streets clear of the kids despite the fact they get bonuses per kid therefore they left it alone. This book, we then piled a massive conspiracy on top that wants to keep people scared of kids and desperate for organs. And now at the end of it, we’re back to the idea they just honestly care about taking out all the kids? And yet also, they’re using regular bullets some of the time, just to really make it clear nothing about this will make sense, and also they did this whole charge in at night from one direction thing in the first place as if they wanted the kids to be able to scatter.

Nelson then observes the kids getting shoved into the murder trucks and again remarks that they’re still conscious with the extra confirmation that yeah, that’s not how it’s supposed to be done. So why’s that happening?

Anyway, then he sees a kid dragging a bigger kid come into his line of vision, then drop him and run for it, and when he checks, hey, it’s Connor. So he carries Connor out to his car and there’s a bunch of shenanigans as he convinces people that yes he is totally a legitimate juvie cop legitimately carrying this kid and legitimately driving this random car out.

Meanwhile that whole explosive poison blood affair apparently awakened Lev’s x-gene and gave him the power of invisibility, because no one notices him running around the place and then hiding in the back during a time everyone is looking for kids running around and hiding. Once they’re well clear, he shoots Nelson with his gun, again.

We then swap to Lev who recaps what we just saw happen. Then he leaves the car and walks back to look for Miracolina just in case the kid didn’t get her because hey, he does know her name too. He doesn’t find her and assumes she’s fine, but actually – DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN – she’s already been picked up by a cop and is in the guy’s car. What’s really sad is that this actually marks a huge step up for Miracolina.