The Girl with All the Gifts

For the first time, Melanie dreams. She has nightmares about zombies, soldiers, and junkers; she imagines herself in Justineau arms, trying to tear into her throat. The dreams signal a reckoning she will have to confront sooner or later. Lying in the dark, she remembers asking Justineau once about going to Beacon and about growing up there. She didn’t understand Justineau’s sad, stricken look at the time, but she does now: “Beacon was never home to [Melanie], and never could be” (162). She also realizes that outside the perimeter fence, everyone’s well-laid plans have fallen apart. They are improvising, and no one has a clear idea of what will happen.

The next morning, the group wakes to the sound of engines approaching. They quickly gather their gear and hide amid the tall weeds of a nearby field. Soon, a group of junkers pulls up to the church, heavily armed and driving a bulldozer and another Humvee. After searching the church and the garage, they drive away. Parks speculates that the junkers are seeking revenge, looking to settle the score with the survivors because two of their own were killed in the encounter with Gallagher outside the base.

After a rushed meal, the survivors set out toward Stotfold. From there, Parks plans to avoid the bombed-out portions of the A1 and join it further south, near Baldock. When they eventually reach the A1, Parks lays out ground rules for traveling on the open road: no talking, use hand signals if anyone sees anything, and don’t run from a hungry—face it and shoot. As the day grows hotter, Parks worries that their sweat will attract hungries, so they must stop and reapply e-blocker. Further down the road, they find an abandoned car, one half-eaten human inside. The engine is dead, and nothing salvageable remains; the bag of cash is antiquated and worthless. 

Caldwell has a fever and is dehydrated. She also continues her research, if only observationally. The man in the car has nearly been picked clean, which strikes her as odd. She wonders why the pathogen wouldn’t stop the hungries after a few bites and allow the victim to mutate into another hungry, thereby propagating itself with maximum efficiency.

As the survivors approach the town of Stevenage, Parks orders the women to stay where they are while he and Gallagher search for a safe shelter. Caldwell and Justineau object, arguing that it would be safer for them to stick together. Parks relents and again sets the ground rules: move slowly and smoothly to avoid triggering the hungries they’re bound to see. They cluster together and move into town, looking for a solitary structure with its door intact. As they enter a more commercial district, they see a group of hungries standing motionless on the street. They move slowly past them, making no sudden movements or eye contact (except for Melanie, who stares intently). They continue past more hungries, Caldwell fearing they’re going too far into town, when Gallagher spots a viable shelter: a large house independent of other structures.

As they move toward the house, Caldwell spots a hungry pushing a baby carriage, a sight so surreal she stops to watch. Moving into the hungry’s path, she lets the carriage bump into her, jolting the hungry to a stop. To avoid sudden movements, the group can only watch. Caldwell cautiously peers into the carriage—something lies under a blanket. When she lifts the blanket, she finds a dead baby, two rats burrowed into its ribcage. Startled, the rats leap out of the carriage and send Caldwell stumbling backward. The hungry responds, moving toward Caldwell until Parks fires a shot through its head. It falls forward, toppling the carriage, and the resulting noise awakens the nearby hungries, who home in on the group. They run. 

Parks takes down several hungries, clearing an escape path. The group reaches the front gate of the house, but it won’t open. Parks orders them to climb over it while he continues shooting. He runs out of ammo and changes the clip, but something in the weapon jams. He instinctively reaches for his sidearm, which costs him precious seconds. As the hungries close in on him, Melanie suddenly leaps between him and the horde, shrieking and waving her arms. Her distraction buys him long enough for Gallagher to pull him through the gate the others have forced open.

They rush inside the house and shut the door—a pointless gesture since two large windows flank the entrance. As they flee up the stairs and hungries crash through the windows, Parks lobs several grenades over his shoulder, destroying the staircase and isolating them on the second floor. As they search their surroundings, they realize the house was a small hospital. They find a room large enough for the entire group, and Caldwell and Melanie remain there as Parks, Gallagher, and Justineau search the rest of the second floor. 

Left alone with Caldwell, Melanie explores the adjacent rooms: a kitchen and a children’s playroom. Lingering in the back of her mind is the terrible realization that she’s a hungry. If she doubted it before, she’s certain of it now. The episode at the gate when she saved Parks’s life was the first clue, but the more pressing evidence is the name: hungry. It perfectly describes the ravenous need inside of her, which haunts her dreams and could push her to devour even Miss Justineau.

Suddenly, Caldwell appears behind her. She vows not to hurt Melanie, but as she reaches for her, Melanie bolts. She dashes into the corridor and is hiding in an alcove when she hears singing. She follows the sound to a nearby room. When she enters, she is blinded by a brilliant sunset. Marveling at the colors, she takes a moment to realize she’s not alone.

In the room, a partially eaten man in a hospital gown sits on the bed singing an old folk tune. Caldwell, who has also heard the singing and traced it to its source, tries to piece together his backstory: admitted to the hospital for a minor ailment only to be devoured by zombies. However, hungries never sing as far as Caldwell knows. The man is also flipping through pictures in a wallet—another uncharacteristic behavior. Caldwell beckons Melanie out of the room. When Melanie refuses, Caldwell draws her gun and points it at Melanie, who eventually complies. Standing in the doorway, Caldwell aims for the hungry’s chest, but Parks pulls her away and fires directly into its head.