Fallout

In the pre-attack timeline, months pass. Scott’s parents steadily become more distant as the threat of nuclear war intensifies. Picking up on his parents’ energy, Scott asks his father what to do in the event of nuclear war.

After school the following day, Scott measures the time it would take for him to run home from school, in case the war starts while he is away from the shelter. Ronnie and another boy, who goes by the nickname Why Can’t You Be Like Johnny?, pass by and help Scott to time his sprints. Afterward, Ronnie mentions the bra-snapping incident and asks Scott whether he has seen a naked woman yet. Ronnie encourages Scott to find his father’s Playboy magazines.

In the shelter, the threat of kicking people out remains a source of unspoken tension. Scott, Sparky, and their father all take turns to try to get a reaction out of their mother, but she still doesn’t respond to voices or touch. Scott feels bored and restless and bemoans the lack of privacy. He is not sure how long they have been in the shelter, as there is no sense of night or day.

In the pre-attack timeline, Janet frequently comes over to clean Scott’s home. One day in September, Scott’s mother calls him and his brother and tells them that they will be driving Janet home that day. During the drive, Scott notices that pedestrians and the cashier at the gas station are staring at them strangely. They eventually get Janet home, and Scott realizes that Janet has children. On the way back, Scott’s mother explains that people were staring at them because “[t]hey don’t like Negroes sitting in the same car as white people” (141).

In the shelter, Scott’s father tries the radio again, to no avail. When Ronnie wonders whether the Russians won the nuclear exchange, Mr. McGovern responds with a condescending lecture, assuring everyone that President Kennedy would never allow the Russians to win. Janet and Scott’s mother sit apart from everyone else, as Mr. McGovern is still advocating for them to be kicked out of the shelter. Scott constantly thinks about food, which makes this experience even more horrifying to him.

In the pre-attack timeline, Scott’s mother becomes increasingly distant as her worry about the impending nuclear exchange grows more intense. Although she usually makes Scott finish his homework before going to Ronnie’s house, she now allows him to go over without asking permission. In Ronnie’s room, the two friends play with small hockey sticks. Scott notices that Ronnie has started to sweat more often, which Scott takes as a sign that Ronnie is going through puberty earlier than Scott is.

Ronnie’s mother comes in and tells Scott that it is time for him to go home, but Ronnie makes up a lie so that Scott can stay a little longer. This disturbs Scott, who wonders “how Ronnie had gotten so good at lying” (147). The Shaws invite Scott over for dinner, and as Ronnie takes a shower, Scott admires the wealth and opulence of the Shaw home. Mr. Shaw sits Scott down in the living room, gives him a glass of wine, and quizzes him casually about the family bomb shelter. Mr. Shaw goes on to muse about Europe, discussing the fact that French women often go topless at the beach and give their children alcohol at a younger age than Americans. These topics of conversation confuse Scott, who has never thought to question these aspects of American culture.

In the post-attack timeline, the group finally runs out of toilet paper, and everyone is exhausted by their constant hunger. Scott’s father now barely has the energy to turn the handle of the ventilation pump. However, when he asks Mr. McGovern to take a turn, Mr. McGovern declines, stating that he is saving his strength. Mr. Shaw and Ronnie take over and manage to fill the shelter with fresh air.

Mrs. Shaw insists on bathing, saying that she feels like an animal in a cage. Scott’s father gives her a bowl of water and a bar of soap, and Mrs. Shaw, with no other option, strips and bathes in front of everyone. Seeing the positive effect that the bath has on her, everyone else bathes as well, despite the embarrassment.

The pre-attack timeline resumes. One day, as the neighborhood boys play baseball together, Freak O’Nature notices three silver jets streaking across the sky. Nervous that the war has begun, the boys check the radio but hear only the usual music and news. Paula and her twin brother, Teddy, sit across the street. Teddy is disabled and uses a wheelchair, which scares Scott and the other boys. Unwilling to play near Teddy, the boys sit across the street from Paula, resenting her presence.

Ronnie launches into his usual speech about how Scott needs to see a naked woman before he dies. He confronts Scott on the topic of Paula, using obscene language to claim that he knows about Scott’s crush on her. When Scott denies this, Ronnie accuses Scott of being gay. Scott doesn’t know what this means, so Ronnie explains the concept to him. When Scott asks him for more information, Ronnie refuses to tell him, and Scott accuses Ronnie of being a liar.

Sparky complains of hunger, and when Scott’s father offers him his choice of food, Mr. McGovern and Mrs. Shaw complain. Mr. McGovern argues again that Scott’s mother and Janet should be forced to leave the shelter. Scott wonders whether Mr. McGovern wants to force Janet out simply because she is Black.

While Scott’s father believes they have been in the bunker for about a week, Mr. McGovern contends that it has been eight or nine days. Scott’s father measures the radiation beyond the door; the levels have decreased but are still much too high for the group to leave the shelter.

The pre-attack timeline resumes. At school, the principal announces on the intercom to announce that they are under attack. The children begin to panic, but their teacher explains that the warning is just a drill. The students file into the hall, some weeping and terrified because of the announcement. The principal tells them that the hallway is the safest place to be during a nuclear attack and instructs them to face away from the direction of the blast.

In the shelter, everyone’s hunger continues to worsen. Ronnie and Sparky get into an argument over a game of Parcheesi, and Ronnie flips the board over in anger, then calls Scott’s father dumb for failing to fill the shelter with enough clothing and food. Despite Scott’s worries that his father will react with anger, Scott’s father instead hangs his head in shame and says, “He’s right. I could’ve done better. I should have” (173).

In the pre-attack timeline, the leaves begin to fall, and Scott uses a lawn sweeper to gather the dead leaves into a pile. Freak O’Nature and Ronnie retrieve a jar filled with crickets and a can of gasoline, both of which they dump onto the leaf pile. Scott tosses a lit match onto the leaves and crickets, creating a giant fireball. Ronnie makes a remark equating the crickets to the boys after the nuclear apocalypse.

In the shelter, Mr. McGovern concludes that very few people must have survived the nuclear war, as the shelter is still receiving water from the city’s reserve tanks, which are only designed for a day’s worth of use. Unable to play board games due to exhaustion, Scott fantasizes about his favorite foods. Scott’s father and Mr. McGovern continue to argue about whether Scott’s mother and Janet should be kicked out of the shelter. Mr. McGovern forces a vote on the matter, but the Shaws do not support him.

In school, Mr. Kasman teaches the children about James Meredith, the first Black man admitted to the University of Mississippi. Mr. Kasman uses this story to question the students about their attitudes toward segregation. That night, Scott completes a homework assignment stating his opposition to segregation. He uses the golden rule (treat others as you’d like to be treated) to support his argument.

Conditions in the shelter become even more dire. Although the neighbors previously covered themselves with a curtain while relieving themselves, they no longer bother, showing indifference toward the issue of privacy. Scott’s father continues to try the radio, but Mr. McGovern argues that the power plants have all shut down, causing the silence of the airwaves. Frustrated, Scott’s father confronts Mr. McGovern, questioning his decision to enter the shelter despite his nihilistic attitude.

The pre-attack timeline resumes. One night, Scott’s father brings home a brown shopping bag and shows his sons that the bag contains four gas masks, one for each member of the family. However, Scott’s mother is angry at his father for purchasing them; she is worried that this will scare Scott and Sparky. Scott’s mother sends the boys away, but Scott stands behind a doorway and eavesdrops on their conversation. Scott’s mother reveals that Scott has been pulling out his hair in anxiety. Later, Scott’s father asks him whether this is true and tells him to try to control the urge.