Connor wishes they could have stayed in the woods, but there are only so many acorns and berries he can eat.

Oh for Christ’s sake.

You can’t pick up an acorn and eat it. You’re better off eating the grubs inside them. I can believe it’s just barely possible that Connor managed to swallow one or even one and a half through sheer bloodymindedness, but that was a mistake – the reason they’re so bitter you gag on them is because they’re chock full of poison – tannins, which bind to the food you eat and prevent you from getting anything out of it.

To actually get anything useful out of an acorn, you have to soak them extensively to leech the tannins out. If you pound them into flour, a few hour’s soak should do it. Scale up that time the more intact the acorns are.

Wouldn’t that be a more interesting book? The kids, knowing that populated areas are too dangerous to risk, try to survive in the woods? Not just talk about it but actually interact with their surroundings? I read whole books that were just about kids surviving in the woods. Like My Side of the Mountain, only with more grimdark.

“Look at this!” says Lev. “A newspaper. How retro is that?”

Book. Book, saying retro is in itself now retro. The “kids today” don’t really talk that way, so I’m going to guess that future kids in your future dystopia that doesn’t even have AWOL as a normal term any longer would have long ago discarded it.

Even more to the point, kids know what a goddamn newpaper is. They may not read it, but there are still newpapers everywhere. Their parents are getting one, even if they may not bother to read it. It remains a television staple. It’s the twenty+ demographic that asks in wonderment how newpapers can still exist, and a large part of that is because they’re living on their own away from newpapers and also they’re actually old enough to care about getting news in the first place. When I was younger, the existence and relevance of newspapers did not register to me because I didn’t read news articles in any form.

Anyway, there’s no mention of them on the front.

Connor turns the page clumsily. Its pages are large and awkward. They tear easily and catch the breeze like a kite, making it hard to read.

This should have been our only clue that the kids are unfamiliar with newspapers. This actually shows it, and does so in a relatable way. Newspapers are really weirdly put together and it takes a while to learn to navigate them.

They pour through it and eventually find a tiny article about a traffic accident, including the fact the driver is dead.

“It is believed that police activity in the area may have distracted drivers, leading to the accident.”
They’re all dumbfounded. For Connor, there’s a sense of relief—a sense of having gotten away with something huge.

Because you’re stupid.

Yes, okay, relief, but a second later you should realize this is actually pretty sinister. There were a lot of people on that road. The cops they saw were the “juveycops” which appear to have their own distinctive outfit, and they were chasing kids. Since it seems like most people survived or they wouldn’t be mentioning the bus driver specifically, that means there should have been people seeing Connor running all over the place.

And that’s all been covered up? In a world where it was just lampshaded that newspapers aren’t really where people get news these days, so presumably social media is going full throttle. Have they also locked down the internet?

And why? What makes what happened something the government wants to cover up?

That’s bad.

Lev can’t believe it, and Risa backs him up. While the assumption anyone cares he’s kidnapped may have a hole in it, since I’m not sure how convinced anyone would be that he didn’t make a break for it, she confirms that runaway unwinds are always in the news. So it’s not like this kind of thing happens all the time and the government always covers it up, there’s something special going on about them.

Please god don’t let this go like Matched where the kids just roll with it and we find out what’s going on as a throwaway bit in the end.

Connor can’t believe these two are looking this gift horse in the mouth! He speaks slowly as if to idiots. “No news report means no pictures—and that means people won’t recognize us. I don’t see why that’s a problem.”

Because maybe it means they’re just going to kill you.

I mean, yes, they’re planning to unwind you. But you’ve got a better chance there. Tranquilizer bullets won’t leave you badly injured afterward if you can get away (or have someone else help you get away) and the cop suggested that the bullets don’t even work well on panicked kids. Also that you can defeat them outright by grabbing some coffee.

Actual bullets are just pieces of metal that go through your body and then you die. You can’t defend against them as easily. If no one knows you’re supposed to be unwound, no one will notice if you don’t turn up. It’s not like they’re lacking for organs, after all.

Risa insists that the motive matters. Good, Risa! Connor suggests it’s covered up because the government doesn’t want to admit to being connected to this fuckup, which is actually both plausible and relatively nonthreatening – it means they’re still getting chased like before but there’s no bonus manhunt. Once again the lack of detail prevents me from telling if this makes any sense – we’re given no context for what the usual runaway news articles are. Do they ever mention something like this, or are they just saying a kid’s disappeared? If they’re normally willing to say what chaos the kid caused in the process, then there must be something else. If they never do, though, then maybe covering it up is standard practice. They could even wonder if kids are doing stuff like this all the time.

Still…it seems you could av thoideir involvement in the accident and still say they were runaways.

Risa insists “It doesn’t feel right. . . .” and emotions with no explanation are always right so I guess there’s something important about this.

“Who cares how it feels!”

Really, Connor is just tripping flag after flag. Risa just hisses at him not to yell, but gah, someone snarling at you over something that’s barely an argument? If there was more attention paid to their environment, talk about how Connor’s hungry and cold and barely had any sleep, this would be totally fine and just a matter of being very irritated to start. Without being given at that, he seems to just have a short fuse and hate anyone disagreeing with him.

Risa explains what I was just thinking – if they’re not in the news, no one will notice if they’re just straight up killed.

“What if they don’t want to take us to be unwound. What if they want us dead?”

Although I’m not sure how much of a distinction she’d make of this, since both still count as dead and she’s made it clear she understands this. To me, the difference is they’ll be using lethal force immediately instead of trying to capture and giving you more chances to escape. It’s be cool, though, if to the kids they did see the same unwinding/death distinction instead of it being a lie adults tell. They could believe the two things are different and yet still not want to have either one happen to them. That’d also give another element of tension to their escape, the possibility that things actually could get worse by hiding out and resisting being unwound.

Unfortunately then Risa jumps into crazytown. Why must you do this, Risa? You’re the only sane one.

See, Lev’s part of a rich family, so “What if they paid off the police to get you back by killing the kidnappers . . . and to do it quietly, so no one ever knew it happened?”

Well, first I’d like to know how horribly corrupt the police are. The most I’ve seen from police in my area is extreme laziness. I would like to believe that they can’t be bribed into being someone’s personal hit squad and media-surpressing machine. But god knows nothing else about the society has made sense, so I can’t say this doesn’t fit with what we’ve seen.

Second, I’d like to know why the fuck they would bother paying them off. The kidnappers are already slated to be killed. Throwing money at the situation might encourage the police to try extra hard to find them, but they already seem a highly motivated force the kids are terrified of, so making them a little extra terrifying really doesn’t matter.

Third, why would they want it covered up or care so much about the kidnappers? I mean, seriously, what does that have to do with anything? If anything, if they were supposed to take unwinding photos when they reached the harvest camp and now it looks like Lev just ran away, they’d want people to know he was actually kidnapped and that their precious tithe angel is still perfectly willing. Otherwise, it doesn’t much matter. If Lev wasn’t slated for death I could see the revenge angle, and covering it up would faciliate that, but it’s not like the kidnapper robbed them of enjoying Lev’s sparkling personality because they were already getting rid of him at the time.

I mean, are we really supposed to believe their motivation for all of this is just pique that they spent thirteen years raising the damn kid and they don’t want to have to do it again for a tithe, and besides, even if they did that’d throw their perfect 10% tithing number off because what does a kid who disappeared count as? But it seems the cops usually get their kid, so they have no reason to think it’s an actual setback, so they’d be going through all this trouble for nothing.

If this kind of thing is meant to be harkening back to Risa saying her only experience with suburbia is through television, that could be cool, but it’s the only explanation suggested and Connor’s only issue is not believing Lev’s parents would ever do such a terrible thing because unwinding their kid doesn’t at all suggest they might not much care about the lives of others. And Lev ponders it like it’s actually possible, although again, he is thirteen.

But anyway, all this is derailed because a police car is rumbling over and a baby is crying. They don’t even know if it’s looking for them because apparently police cars just crusing the area looking for trouble is standard. I guess that’s one way to deal with your population ballooning from extra babies, hire the surplus to constantly watch the rest.

Connor is about to run but Risa grabs him and the book explains that because of this he doesn’t go with his first impulse but sticks around for second thoughts and the realization that running would look hella guilty.

They see what looks like a bus stop up ahead, with other teens congregating. He and Risa start off but Lev’s turns and faces it as the police car approaches. I’m not sure why he doesn’t just go to it. Well, no, obviously because plot, but he really has no reason. He was playing along with the other two because they had him at their mercy. If he runs for the car now, the police officer will protect him and his precious organs. Anyway, Connor just grabs him and turns him around, telling him to get moving.

Lev keeps walking super suspiciously, but I have no idea if he’s doing it because he’s trying to radiate thought waves at the police car or because he’s just stupid. They see the bus coming and start to rush over, with Connor talking loudly about not wanting to miss it.

Connor, Risa, and Lev hurry across the street toward it— all part of the charade, just in case the cops are watching them through their rearview mirror. Of course, thinks Connor, it could backfire on them, and the cops could cite them for jaywalking.

I really wish we could have some idea what the current behavior standards are. I can’t imagine any cop citing kids going toward a schoolbus for jaywalking. I’m pretty sure even when you aren’t a kid going for the bus they don’t cite you unless they really hate you and they’re really bored.

Their plan isn’t to actually get on the bus, they’re banking the police car passing before it actually takes off, because yeah, like the bus driver wouldn’t think anything suspicious about some teens who suddenly bolt away from the bus stop into the woods. Their brilliant plan fails at the last minute when the bus comes to a halt first, so the police car can’t pass it. Their only choice is to get on the bus now.

Then Connor realizes where the crying baby sound is coming from, someone’s porch.

Connor instantly knows what this is. He’s seen it before. He’s seen a storked baby twice on his own doorstep. Even though it’s not the same baby, he stops in his tracks as if it is.

Huh. So, character development?

Risa tells him to get a move on or he’ll miss the bus, but he’s stuck in place.

Because of the way it wails. This is not the same baby! Connor tells himself. Don’t he stupid. Not now!

And he just keeps standing there anyway. I don’t mind, this is the first time Connor’s been interesting, so let’s milk that trauma for whatever it’s worth. Maybe Connor was storked and that’s why storked babies matter so much to him?

Anyway, a little kid opens the door. A fat one, which, maybe we’re supposed to take that as a sign this is a Dudley like house and we should hate them, but it shows his parents are feeding him well and lots of little kids are porky. In this world of abandoned babies that suddenly become obligations, I think seeing someone willing to let a kid eat more than he needs is a mark in your favor. I bet his mom even makes him cookies.

He stares down at the baby. “Aw, no way!” Then he turns and calls back into the house, “Mom! We’ve been storked again!”

I guess either everyone goes to their neighborhood for their babies or at least those that do use similar criteria for picking a house as the unnamed mother earlier. Come to think of it, she listed the short walkway as a major boon. Why wouldn’t people take that kind of thing into account? Or rig up motion detectors? Why wasn’t preventing storkings on the list of reasons for Connor’s girlfriend’s parents’ having the lights go on if anything moved outside?

Really, if this was standard, architecture should have adapted to it, especially among the richer people who can afford to modify their homes more easily.

Most people have two emergency modes. Fight and Flight. But Connor always knew he had three: Fight, Flight, and Screw Up Royally.

It’s hard to figure out exactly what it is, but god, I just don’t like how Connor’s presented. I think it’s a sort of flatness, combined with him being favored by the author. This isn’t really a flaw, for example. He lists as the other example that made him race back toward armed Juvey-cops to rescue Lev instead of just saving himself. just in case we didn’t get it. It’s him being heroic dressed up in false modesty with a saccrine dash of martyrdom for flavor.

He explains that, for some reason, the kid saying “again” is what pushes him over the edge. I was thinking it’s a matter of Connor maybe not being a wanted baby himself, but he seems to be thinking of actual babies.

This is not the same baby!
But to some deep, unreasoning part of his brain, they’re all the same baby.

But annoying martyrdom aside, like I said, this intrigues me and it’s giving Connor more flavor than Asshole Mcblandson. And he runs over to the kid right as the woman shows up. She’s also fat. I’m really thinking this is a Dudley setup where fat=greedy or something because she’s protrayed as quite nasty. She yells at Connor about if he put the kid there. Connor starts stammering and Risa steps in saying she did it to get them away before the cops notice.

She just glares at the woman, whose beady eyes shift from Connor to Risa. “You got caught in the act, little dearie,” she says. The words “little dearie” come out like a curse. “The law might let you stork, but only if you don’t get caught. So take your baby and go, before I call those cops over.”

So I guess the question is, why? What’s the author trying to say here? I mean, babies are actually a lot of work, and even if they’re well off, that doesn’t mean they can easily take on another one – particularly when we have no idea how many kids they currently have if a little kid is treating this as something he’s personally seen before and isn’t too surprising. It might be trying to say that storking kids doesn’t necessarily get them decent treatment, but aside from the fact that’s obvious, we have no reason to think this woman would have abused the baby, just that she’s not to sympathetic to the teenage mom who tried to make it her problem. And all her description is so relentlessly negative. I mean really, “beady eyes”?

Connor’s still stammering so Risa snaps at him to shut up, prompting even more nastiness.

This makes the woman at the door smile, but it’s not a pleasant thing. “Daddy here ruined it for you, didn’t he? He came back instead of just running away.” The woman spares a quick dismissive look at Connor. “First rule of motherhood, dearie: Men are screwups.

That’s how you can tell an extra evil woman, the misandry as well as being physically unattractive.

So Risa picks up the baby and the volume of crying goes down.

“Now get out of here,” says the fat woman, “or you’ll be talking to those cops.”

But what does that mean? She threatened it earlier and presumably cops are meant to arbitrate so you can’t point at anyone walking by and accuse them of being the mom. In the event of a dispute they could check to see if the accused is actually the parent.

On the other hand, do they play any other role? Because she’s still threatening even after they’d taken the baby. If, as speculated, if you’re caught in the act you’ve blown your chance and get the kid registered to you, then that could be why, but in that case, why would she threaten instead of just calling for the police? I mean, it’s not like there’d even be a wait, they’re right by the road right now. So perhaps she’d just issue a complaint about wanting them off her property if they don’t move. And in her defense, she kind of has to be pushy here – if she goes back inside, there’s nothing stopping them from dropping the kid and running for it. The rule that you have to keep it if you’re caught doesn’t seem to have any way of being inforced.

The bus has been waiting all through this.

Lev stands halfway in and halfway out of the bus, keeping the door from closing, a look of utter desperation on his face.

Why on earth would he do that, though? If we hadn’t had his viewpoint chapters I could easily believe he’s ambivilent about what’s going on and has come to feel he should help them, but we know he’s been rubbing his hands together at the thought of their downfall. And if he just wanted to get away, he could’ve hopped on the bus and been done with it.

So they rush over to the bus and Connor beats himself up.

Three fugitives running from the law. And now, thanks to his shortcircuit stupidity; they are three fugitives with a baby.

Well, aside from the fact they no longer fit the police description, they can always just dump the baby on another doorstep if it’s such a big deal.

Plus, how does unwinding interact with teen pregnancy? If you’re forced to keep the kid but also forced to be unwound, who gets the kid? Maybe that’s where all the state-owned kids come from, most mothers screw up the storking but also most families order their kid unwound for getting teen pregnant. That seems pretty convoluted. And getting pregnant itself should grant you a stay of execution since every fetus is sacred – unless they can transplant pregnant uteruses. Actually, they might be all over that – the complications would probably result in most of them miscarrying, but spontaneous abortions get around the letter of the law! A good way to keep the numbers down.

We can be sure that having a kid doesn’t protect you from unwinding, though, or else Risa’s now safe and, presumably, any unwind could become safe by snagging a storked baby. The boys would just have to say someone else left it for them, because storking seems to make you legally equivilent to the birth mother. I wonder if there’s any specific provision about storking only being allowed to people who have registered addresses. The unnamed mother does seem to be talking about doorsteps in particular.