The House at the End of the World

A flashback chapter reveals the short biography of Lupo, one of the three men with whom Katie is obsessed. As a criminal from the age of 11, he is violent and frequently rapes young girls.

As she walks back, Katie plans to protect herself and her island; she doesn’t want to flee Jacob’s Ladder. However, more gunfire changes her mind. She intends to go home, get her go bag with money, and drive her boat to the mainland. Once home, though, she sees that the door to the boathouse is open.

She approaches the boathouse carefully, seeing that the lock has been shot out. In the boathouse, everything seems normal until she sees that the engine for her boat has been removed. Someone is trying to strand her on the island—or take her boat for their own. She intuits that something deeply strange and undecipherable is happening.

In her house, Katie efficiently sweeps the building, looking for intruders. The final place she looks is the cellar, a hidden room where she stores emergency supplies that could last her two or more years. Once she establishes that no one is in her home, she relaxes some. But when she tries to use her phone, it goes blank and unusable in her hand.

With her phone unavailable, Katie is sure that there is a larger conspiracy at work and that she cannot rely on authorities. She retrieves more weapons and a pair of binoculars and goes outside to make a show of being armed and alert. Across the lake, on Oak Haven Island, she sees a woman and a teenage girl relaxing in front of a big white house, having a normal day. But when she trains her binoculars on an apparently still Ringrock, Katie has a deep feeling of fear and terror.

Circling her house again, Katie finds Michael J. sniffing the area of grass that had previously been disturbed. It doesn’t smell of ammonia anymore, but thick green grass has grown overnight to replace what was there. Before she can investigate more fully, a terrifying cry of anger and glee splits the air, startling both her, the fox, and a flock of birds roosting in the trees. Katie goes back inside, terrified.

A flashback tells the biography of Hamal, the second of the three men with whom Katie is obsessed. He looks sweet and handsome but is murderous, bigoted, and cruel. He is also strangely untouchable by the law; no convictions ever stick to him. He becomes Lupo’s mentor in their gang.

Katie continues preparations to keep herself safe in the event that her house loses power. She fights her fear, reminding herself that she is capable of protecting herself, and she begins to make a special meal to calm herself. While cooking, she sees Hampton Rice standing near the edge of the bluff. Arming herself, she goes outside to talk to him. He looks disheveled and disoriented, making odd noises and gestures. She asks what’s wrong with him.

Rice repeats her question back to her and then babbles. She asks him where the boat’s engine is, and he doesn’t answer. Still babbling, he takes a step toward her, and she shoots over his head to warn him off. His words make no sense, but Katie wonders if there is a hidden meaning to them. Suddenly, he grimaces and shudders and then, seemingly lucid, urges Katie to run away from him and from the island. Without a boat, though, she cannot run, so she returns inside to cook and watch the sun set.

A flashback presents the biography of the third young man with whom Katie is obsessed: Parker. From a wealthy family, he is rebellious and stubborn; he uses drugs, runs around with gangs, and abuses young girls. Because of his family connections, he never faces legal consequences. He becomes an honorary member of the gang of which Lupo and Hamal are part. He is part of the trio that ruins Katie’s life.

Katie continues her cooking, making a gourmet meal complete with dessert. She thinks about her resiliency, born out of tragedy and disappointment with authority. Her life has taught her that the world can go mad, and she refuses to join them. Her thoughts are interrupted by Hampton Rice rapping on her window, calling for “Mother.” He says he’s not “combining” well but cannot answer any of her questions about that or anything else. She pulls the shades down, shutting him out, and sets her table for her dinner.