Chapter 10 Summary and Analysis

⚠️ 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

The chapter opens with Jen noticing Mattie's distress and asking her to communicate in writing, but Mattie cannot—she has not written legibly in years. Speaking through a damaged throat, Mattie warns the group that the creature is angry because they entered its cave, and that it will hunt them. She insists the creature is neither fully human nor fully animal in its thinking, and that it had warned her before. Griffin, barely conscious, confirms he understands: the marks near the cabin were a warning because Mattie had gone into the caves.

Mattie proposes a plan: she will stay behind to draw William away while the others take Griffin down the mountain to fetch police. Jen refuses outright, saying they will not leave her with her kidnapper. The word