The Reunion and the Sacrifice

A Boy and His Dog

Follows the final act: the discovery of Blood starving at the dropshaft, the closing of the city, Quilla June's ultimatum, and the quiet horror of the small fire.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Blood's Starving Vigil Blood's Starving Vigil from "A Boy and His Dog". Blood's Starving Vigil The Dog Who Waited There is a shape against the pillar at dusk: Blood, weak, wounds gone ugly, barely able to lift his head.

Blood's Starving Vigil from "A Boy and His Dog". Blood's Starving Vigil The Dog Who Waited There is a shape against the pillar at dusk: Blood, weak, wounds gone ugly, barely able to lift his head.

Blood's Starving Vigil The Dog Who Waited There is a shape against the pillar at dusk: Blood, weak, wounds gone ugly, barely able to lift his head. He has waited three days on a lizard and nothing else. 'Hey,' he says, and the monosyllable carries the whole weight of their partnership. The Cost of an Obsession Vic's decision to chase Quilla June nearly killed his partner. The dog is a living invoice of the boy's folly, and of his own stubborn love.

The City Shuts Its Doors The City Shuts Its Doors from "A Boy and His Dog". The City Shuts Its Doors The Recon Report The roverpaks learned they were not fried in the gym, Blood reports; the city is marked for both of them.

The City Shuts Its Doors from "A Boy and His Dog". The City Shuts Its Doors The Recon Report The roverpaks learned they were not fried in the gym, Blood reports; the city is marked for both of them.

The City Shuts Its Doors The Recon Report The roverpaks learned they were not fried in the gym, Blood reports; the city is marked for both of them. There is no going back, and with Blood's wounds there is no going forward, and nothing out here to eat. The map of options shrinks to zero. The Arithmetic of Desperation Vic has always known he cannot survive alone in the wasteland. The realization has never been so concrete: without Blood he is dead, and Blood is dying beside him. The crisis is set for the story's final ethical decision.

Quilla June's Ultimatum Quilla June's Ultimatum from "A Boy and His Dog". Quilla June's Ultimatum The Rival's Challenge Quilla June whines that they must hurry before the sentry's masters surface.

Quilla June's Ultimatum from "A Boy and His Dog". Quilla June's Ultimatum The Rival's Challenge Quilla June whines that they must hurry before the sentry's masters surface.

Quilla June's Ultimatum The Rival's Challenge Quilla June whines that they must hurry before the sentry's masters surface. She looks at the dying dog and dismisses him: 'He'll be all right. We have to hurry!' Then she plays her last card: 'If you love me, you'll come on!' The two claims on Vic's heart stand face to face in the falling dark. The Two Kinds of Love Everything her words invoke is a love of possession and convenience. Everything Blood's body on the ground invokes is a love already proven in firefights and burnpits. Vic looks from her to the dog and understands, in the same beat, what he has to do.

The Small Fire The Small Fire from "A Boy and His Dog". The Small Fire The Unspoken Deed The narrative skips the deed itself, showing only its traces: a small fire too small to be spotted from the city, no smoke…

The Small Fire from "A Boy and His Dog". The Small Fire The Unspoken Deed The narrative skips the deed itself, showing only its traces: a small fire too small to be spotted from the city, no smoke…

The Small Fire The Unspoken Deed The narrative skips the deed itself, showing only its traces: a small fire too small to be spotted from the city, no smoke, and afterward Blood with his fill. The ellipsis is the most brutal move in the book, the reader must assemble the horror on their own. The Sentence They Both Carry Vic carries Quilla June's body the mile to the air duct, and they spend the night on a ledge inside. He holds Blood all night, the dog sleeps well, and in the morning the dog is strong enough to walk away. The price of that strength is never spoken aloud.

The Morning Journey The Morning Journey from "A Boy and His Dog". The Morning Journey The Walking Debt They set off across the blasted ground toward some other city, slow because Blood is still limping.

The Morning Journey from "A Boy and His Dog". The Morning Journey The Walking Debt They set off across the blasted ground toward some other city, slow because Blood is still limping.

The Morning Journey The Walking Debt They set off across the blasted ground toward some other city, slow because Blood is still limping. Vic eats nothing; he is not hungry. Quilla June's voice fades in his memory until, at last, he stops hearing it. The Final Definition The book's last line resolves the argument that has run through every chapter: 'A boy loves his dog.' It is not a sentiment, it is a body count. Vic has proven what love means to him in the only currency the wasteland honors, and the reader is left to decide whether it is salvation or damnation.

the evening of the escape, at the access pillar

the same evening, beside the pillar

twilight, on the open ground

just after twilight, on the wasteland

the next morning, in the wasteland