Contents
Chapter Eighteen
Overview
Lily executes a plan to oust Tom: she baits coyotes, traps him outside, blinds him with detergent, and wins the hours-to-Christmas challenge. The system banishes Tom. Injured and sight-impaired, he departs. Andrew returns restored, trusting the crew’s care, while Lily, shaken and alone, maintains a protective lie.
Summary
Lily scatters meat beyond the fence to draw predators, steals Tom’s knife, and lures him outside. She barricades the front door as Tom circles the house and nearly forces entry through an upstairs window, but Lily crushes his fingers and shuts him out.
As Tom searches for a way in, coyotes arrive, drawn by the meat. Tom fights them and is bitten, then hurls himself against the front door until Lily, near collapse, splashes detergent into his eyes, blinding him long enough to restore the barricade.
Lily demands both answer the hours-until-Christmas challenge. Tom guesses first; Lily answers differently. The screen declares the correct answer—2,611—and banishes Tom.
Tom, eyes inflamed and injured, begs for help. Lily keeps hold of the knife, assists him to the sink to rinse his eyes, packs his belongings, and guides him to the boundary cut in the fence. Tom silently takes the knife and disappears into the desert.
At dawn, Andrew returns, healthy and grateful to the unseen crew. Seeing Lily bloodied and the scrawled calculations, he asks about Tom. Lily lies that Tom sent kind farewells, and Andrew goes to watch the sunrise while Lily tries to rest.
Who Appears
- LilyProtagonist; orchestrates Tom’s downfall using baited coyotes, barricades, detergent; wins the time challenge; guides blinded Tom to the boundary; lies to Andrew.
- TomAntagonist; lured outside, fights coyotes, blinded by detergent, loses the hours-to-Christmas challenge, is banished, and stumbles into the desert.
- AndrewReturns healthy after removal; trusts the crew’s care; seeks Tom, accepts Lily’s comforting lie, and watches the sunrise.