Chapter 25: Gabe — Summary, Analysis, and Study Notes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

In the sweltering aftermath of Hurricane María, Gabe and Natalia wait in a long line at a water truck, surrounded by the heat and the collective exhaustion of a battered island. Natalia shares what she has heard on the radio: the university has no reopening date, entire mountain towns are cut off by landslides, hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and shortages, and damages are estimated in the billions. The news paints a picture of a territory struggling to survive, with little sign of swift federal aid.

Natalia then tells Gabe a disturbing story about her friend Tamara, who works at a hospital morgue. After the power failure, Tamara heard moaning coming from the corpses, and then watched as the bodies suddenly stood up before collapsing back down. The event shook Tamara so deeply that she left the hospital and has not returned. Gabe feels a chill despite the heat, and though he tries to dismiss the story as a tired mind's invention, he knows better.

The conversation shifts when Natalia asks whether Gabe has called Xavier's parents. Guilt hits him hard; he has not. He changes the subject back to Tamara, but the weight of his neglect lingers. After filling their containers with chlorinated water, Gabe drives Natalia home and helps carry the water up to her apartment. They talk about restaurants, and Gabe kisses her, but the strain of days without showers and the tension between them is palpable.

Before he leaves, Natalia confronts him directly: where did he spend the storm? Gabe admits that he and Bimbo visited a man and obtained two names—the men who killed María—and that these men work for Papalote. He confirms they intend to go after them. Natalia pleads with him not to, her voice carrying the weight of his conscience, and then closes the door. Gabe's heart breaks; he feels like a child who has disappointed his parents. In his car, he plugs in his phone and finds a text from Bimbo: he will pick Gabe up at seven. The chapter ends with Gabe driving away, haunted by the image of dozens of corpses rising in a dark morgue.

Key Events

Gabe and Natalia wait in line at a water truck, discussing the hurricane's devastating toll.
Natalia relays Tamara's story of corpses moaning and standing up in the hospital morgue.
Gabe admits he has not called Xavier's parents, and guilt weighs on him.
After helping Natalia carry water, she confronts him about where he spent the storm.
Gabe reveals he and Bimbo obtained the names of María's killers, who work for Papalote.
Natalia pleads with Gabe not to pursue revenge, then shuts the door.
Gabe receives a text from Bimbo confirming their plan for that evening.

Character Development

Gabe is caught between two worlds in this chapter. On one hand, he feels the pull of normalcy—the desire to be with Natalia, to care for his mother, to imagine a future away from the island's recurring disasters. On the other, he is committed to a violent mission that he knows will hurt the people he loves. His guilt is layered: guilt about Xavier's parents, guilt about lying to Natalia, and even guilt about feeling safe in the chaos because it gives him cover for his revenge plan. The chapter shows him rationalizing his choices while his conscience—embodied by Natalia's voice—refuses to let him rest.

Natalia emerges as a grounding, perceptive force. She sees through Gabe's lies, asks the hard questions, and does not accept his deflections. Her plea is not just about fear for his safety; it is about wanting a life together, a future that does not involve bloodshed. Her decision to close the door is a quiet act of self-protection and disappointment, signaling that her patience has limits.

Bimbo, though absent from the scene, looms over the chapter through his text message and the plan he has set in motion. His earlier words about everyone being distracted echo in Gabe's mind, framing the revenge plot as something that can happen under the cover of disaster.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Colonialism and Neglect: The radio station's commentary on the slow federal response, paired with Gabe's reflection that being a colony hurts more than being a small republic, frames the hurricane as both a natural and political disaster. The island's suffering is compounded by its status as a neglected territory, a theme that runs through the chapter's depiction of scarcity and abandonment.

The Rising Dead: Tamara's story of corpses standing up in the morgue is more than a horror beat. It functions as a symbol of the collective trauma that refuses to stay buried—the dead of the hurricane, and perhaps the dead of the island's history, rising to demand acknowledgment. It also foreshadows the supernatural elements that haunt the novel, blurring the line between reality and nightmare.

Guilt as a Physical Weight: Gabe's guilt is described in visceral terms—it kicks him in the chest, it crumbles something inside him. The chapter repeatedly returns to his inability to look Natalia in the eye, to say the truth, or to call Xavier's parents. Guilt is not an abstract emotion here; it is a force that shapes his every action.

The Door as a Boundary: Natalia closing the door is a small but loaded gesture. It marks the end of her willingness to argue, and it physically separates Gabe from the domestic life he claims to want. The door is both a rejection and a warning.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is a turning point in the novel's emotional and plot-driven arcs. It confirms that Gabe and Bimbo have identified María's killers and are moving forward with their plan, raising the stakes for everything that follows. At the same time, it deepens the cost of that plan by showing the strain it places on Gabe's relationship with Natalia, who represents the possibility of a different life—one built on moving away, on safety, on family.

The chapter also introduces a distinctly supernatural element through Tamara's morgue story, which connects to the book's title and its broader exploration of death, memory, and the unresolved past. The image of corpses rising is both a literal horror and a metaphor for the way trauma resurfaces, refusing to be ignored.

Finally, the chapter grounds the story in the real-world devastation of Hurricane María, giving the novel's violence and desperation a concrete historical and political context. Gabe's revenge is not just personal; it is shaped by a landscape of collapse, where the government has failed and the people are left to fend for themselves.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the hurricane aftermath shape Gabe's decision to pursue revenge?

The hurricane creates a cover of chaos and distraction. Bimbo's earlier observation that no one will pay attention to anything but themselves gives Gabe a sense of safety in pursuing the killers. The disaster also deepens his anger and sense of helplessness—he feels useless in the face of the island's suffering, and revenge offers a way to reclaim agency. At the same time, the devastation makes the stakes of his mission feel more personal, as María's death is part of a larger pattern of loss.

2. What does Natalia's reaction reveal about her character and her relationship with Gabe?

Natalia is perceptive, direct, and unwilling to accept lies. She asks the question Gabe hoped she would not ask, and she reads his face when he tries to deflect. Her plea is rooted in love and a desire for a shared future, not in fear alone. By closing the door, she draws a boundary, showing that she will not be part of a plan she considers self-destructive. Her role as Gabe's conscience is explicit in the text, and her disappointment carries more weight than any argument could.

3. What is the significance of Tamara's story about the corpses rising?

The story serves multiple purposes. It introduces a supernatural element that aligns with the novel's title and its exploration of death and the past. It also functions as a metaphor for collective trauma—the dead of the hurricane, and perhaps the dead of the island's history, refuse to stay buried. For Gabe, the image lingers in his mind as he drives away, suggesting that the horror of the story is not just about the dead, but about what the living are willing to do in their name.