The Talisman

Wolf is in the Box again. He is silent quiet as the sun sets, which makes everyone nervous. Gardener has the boys put Jack in a straitjacket for another interrogation. As they begin the questioning, Wolf changes and breaks out of the Box.

Gardener asks Jack how long he has been able to “migrate” (417). When Jack refuses to answer, they unlace one of the jacket sleeves and Gardener burns Jack’s hand with his lighter. He burns his other hand and he asks Jack about the coin and guitar pick and wants to know their forms in the Territories. Jack screams in pain but refuses to answer.

Wolf rampages through the Sunlight Home, killing and maiming anyone he encounters. Jack hears Wolf’s thought in his head, searching for him. Wolf bites Bast’s hand off through the cast and tears out his throat as he hunts for Jack.

A boy calls Frankie Williams—the cop who brought Jack and Wolf to Gardener—and says they need help. Gardener leaves Jack with Singer, Casey, and Warwick. They take Jack out of the straitjacket so that police can’t see it when they arrive. Wolf breaks in and jumps in front of Jack as Singer fires the pistol twice. He shoots Wolf two more times. Jack hits Singer on the head with a digital radio and Wolf pulls Singer’s arm off. He begins changing back into his human form. As he dies, Wolf says he kept his herd safe.

Jack takes an envelope with his name on it from Gardener’s office. It holds all his possessions. He runs to the backyard, where Cops are examining the Box. Jack makes it to the road without being detected and walks for three hours before he is confident that no one is following. A trucker picks him up and drives towards Illinois.

Jack grieves for Wolf. A man names Myles Kiger gives him a coat, buys him lunch, and leaves him at a diner. He also gives him his newspaper, where Jack reads an article about the arrests at the Sunlight Home. Gardener escaped, but police found five buried bodies. That night, resting in a cheap hotel, Jack looks forward to seeing Richard Sloat the next day. He dreams that Wolf is not hurt. In the dream, Wolf shouts that there are more people coming for Jack. The dream takes him back to the Sunlight Home. Wolf’s body becomes that of Richard Sloat. Richard calls him Jason and accuses him of killing him as Jack wakes.

Jack is at the Thayer library, waiting to find Richard. Outside in the quad, a senior named Etheridge screams at freshmen to obey the rules. A limo pulls up and a white-haired man in a suit gets out.

Jack finds Richard at Nelson House. He knocks on the window and Richard lets him in. Richard demands to know why he and his mother are mistreating Richard’s father. Richard asks if this is “Seabrook Island Stuff” (454). They took a joint family vacation at Seabrook Island after Phil died. Richard always wanted to be a research chemist. He wants to help bring order into the world. He accused Jack of wanting chaos rather than order. From then on, Richard called anything unscientific “Seabrook Island stuff.”

Jack showers in Richard’s room and Richard brings lunch back for him. Jack learns that the student next door was Reuel Gardener, Sunlight’s son. He was a sadist. Jack tells Richard that he is trying to save his mother, possibly with magic. He tells Richard everything about his quest but doesn’t mention Sloat. Richard thinks Jack believes what he is saying and says he can sleep there tonight.