Summary

Chapter 9 begins with Malorie and the children aboard their rowboat. Malorie considers the nature of the word “creatures” that humans have ascribed to their tormentors. She believes it is insufficient. As she ponders, the children hear a engine. A boat’s engine cuts as it draws alongside them and Malorie screams at the children telling them not to remove their blindfolds despite the fact that the man in the boat told them they could. He begins to urge them to remove the blindfolds and see the world around them. He speaks directly to the children saying their mother is a monster who is trying to hide the world from them. Malorie, trapped between the riverbank and the man’s boat, finally manages to push past the boat. The man screams after them but he goes mad and kills himself before he can reach...