48 pages • 1 hour read
J. C. CervantesThe Storm Runner
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 1-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
After an incident at his previous school, Zane’s mom agreed to let him be homeschooled for a year. However, that year is completed, and Zane must start at a new private school the next day. Zane doesn’t want to go back to school because other students ridicule and bully him because of his disability. (One of Zane’s legs is shorter than the other, and he walks with a cane.) Zane’s mom insists on his return to mainstream school life because she is concerned about his isolation. The family lives in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, and there are no other kids his age. As a back-to-school present, Zane’s mom gives him a cane with the head of a dragon, and although Zane thinks the cane is cool, he thinks, “Nothing, not even this warrior dragon cane, was going to make my being the new kid any easier” (6).
That night, Zane can’t sleep, so he takes his dog out for a walk near the inactive volcano in the backyard, where he discovers an enormous set of footprints that suddenly just ends. A plane comes out of nowhere, flying low, and Zane sees a giant demon in the pilot’s chair before the plane crashes into the volcano.
Chapter 2 Summary
Zane falls down the volcano, sustaining only minor injuries. His mother calls the police and the paramedics, and Zane explains what happened, omitting any mention of the demon. His dog runs back toward the volcano, and Zane follows, where he finds the demon digging in the dirt. It turns to attack him, but an owl attacks it instead, making it disappear. Back at home, Zane finds a picture of the demon in his book of Mayan mythology and identifies it as a demon runner of Xibalba (the underworld). After dousing the picture in holy water, Zane curls up in bed, but sleep eludes him, and he lies awake, immersed in the terror of the idea that he would never “be able to run fast enough to escape the monster” (19).
Chapter 3 Summary
The next day at school, Zane swings his cane at a student who calls him names and pushes him into the lockers. As a result, he is sent to the principal’s office within five minutes of arriving on campus. While he is waiting to see the principal, a beautiful but tough-looking girl joins him and introduces herself as Brooks. Brooks’s folder has a drawing of the demon runner that Zane saw last night, but Zane is called into the office before he can ask her about it. Brooks promises that they’ll talk later. After school, Zane is watching wrestling with his uncle when Brooks shows up at his house, announcing, “I told you we’d talk later. It’s later now” (25).
Chapter 4 Summary
Zane’s mom is angry about his incident at school, and Brooks leaves, telling Zane to meet her tomorrow after school so they can talk. Then she runs down the road, and as Zane watches, she vanishes. The next day, Zane tries unsuccessfully to find her at school, and the secretary informs him that no girls named Brooks attend the school. When he gets home, Brooks is waiting for him. She tells him that he is in danger, and she has something to show him by the volcano. They start toward the backyard, but when Zane’s dog charges Brooks, the girl turns into a hawk.
Chapter 5 Summary
Brooks turns back to human form long enough to tell Zane to meet her at the base of the volcano. When Zane gets there, he shows her the hidden caves he discovered, and Brooks explains that the demons need him. Hundreds of years ago, a prophecy was made, and Brooks claims that Zane is featured in it.
Chapter 6 Summary
Zane doesn’t understand the prophecy, but he makes a deal with Brooks. He promises to tell her what happened with the demon the other night if she shares what she knows. Brooks agrees, and Zane explains everything, down to the strange noise the demon runner made. As it turns out, this noise was actually name of the Mayan god of death: Ah-Puch. Zane learns that long ago, Ah-Puch fought with the other gods and lost. Ever since, he has been imprisoned in an artifact that was buried in Zane’s volcano. The demon runner was looking for the artifact and Zane because the prophecy states that Zane is destined to set Ah-Puch free.
Chapter 7 Summary
By the light of Brooks’s flashlight, the two continue through the volcano. Zane argues that he would never free Ah-Puch. He doesn’t even know if he can trust Brooks. They come across a demon runner that captures Zane, intending to compel him to free Ah-Puch, but Zane stabs it with his cane and then watches as the entire thing “dissolve[s] into a dark pool of thick mucus, cane and all” (65).
Chapter 8 Summary
Zane’s dog is killed in the fight. She disappears into blue mist, which means that she has gone to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. Zane and Brooks stumble outside, where Brooks disappears just as Zane’s blind neighbor pulls up in a truck. Overwhelmed, Zane passes out. When he wakes up, he is at his neighbor’s house. He tells her everything that happened. His neighbor is a Mayan seer and is concerned that Brooks wants Zane to free Ah-Puch. She concludes that Zane’s father must be a supernatural being.
Chapter 9 Summary
Zane’s prophecy will supposedly come true during the solar eclipse on the following evening. Zane is more concerned about getting his dog back, but his neighbor insists that he forget the dog and focus on the impending danger that the prophecy foretells. In Mayan mythology, the gods created several different versions of humans before they found the right combination of intelligence and loyalty. It is likely that when Zane frees Ah-Puch, the god will want to “destroy the world for the fourth time and make new humans that will pay attention to him” (84). Zane makes a deal with his neighbor; if she tries to get his dog back, he promises to stay in his house and to keep away from danger until the eclipse. She agrees, not knowing that he has no intention of keeping his promise.
Chapter 10 Summary
Zane’s house is too quiet without his dog, and Zane’s mood worsens even further when he studies his Mayan book and notes the terrifying types of demon runners. Hitching a ride from another neighbor, Zane goes to the bank where his mom works, but a demon-like creature attacks him and his mom. Brooks appears, grabs the monster, and flies it away. Zane hears bones breaking and hopes that Brook is not injured.
Chapter 11 Summary
Zane’s mom doesn’t understand why the monster attacked them, and Brooks covers for Zane by implying that it was after her. The group goes back to Zane’s house, where he and Brooks talk privately. Brooks delivers the sober truth: “Someone wants to stop you from releasing Ah-Puch, and they’re willing to kill you to do it” (107). Zane falls asleep and wakes three hours before the eclipse. Outside, he hears a howl from the direction of the volcano; the noise sounds like his dog.
Chapters 1-11 Analysis
From the very beginning, the narrative is deeply infused with the trappings of Mayan mythology, and the author establishes the mythological origin story as the primary structure on which the conflict of the novel is based. In both the novel and the original myth, Ah-Puch is the Mayan god of death, destruction, and disaster. He plays other roles across different Mayan cultures, but he is primarily a lord of Xibalba and a figure of fear and hopelessness. Xibalba (which can be roughly translated as “place of fright”) is the Mayan underworld, and it is ruled by the lords of death, of which Ah-Puch is one. In addition to adapting the figure of Ah-Puch into the novel’s main antagonist, the author expands upon Xibalba’s reputation, using it as a threatening liminal space that will eventually become a far more direct danger for both Zane and Brooks. For example, in later chapters, the two teens will learn that Ixtab, the Mayan goddess of suicide by hanging, has overtaken Xibalba. On a practical level, this development will serve as a vehicle for the story to unfold, but it also represents an acknowledgement of the complex ways that cultures transform over time, adapting earlier belief systems to fit new realities and challenges. It is also important to note that Brooks’s talents are taken straight out of mythology, for her shape-shifting abilities make her a nawal (also rendered nagual or nahual). Nawals are included in the myths of multiple Mesoamerican cultures; these creatures can turn into a specific type of animal as befits their personality and skills, and the author builds upon this idea in later chapters by having Brooks’s sister shift into more than one animal form.
Through The Journey of Self-Discovery that Zane inadvertently embarks upon, he must come to terms with both his physical disability and the revelation of his origins, and he will ultimately grow to embrace A Positive Outlook on Differences. Throughout his life, Zane has been ignorant of his true origins, but in his eventual discovery that he is the son of the Mayan creator god, Hurakan, he must come to terms with new levels of “difference” within himself, for as the one who is prophesied to free Ah-Puch, he is set apart even from others who share aspects of his myth-steeped heritage. As the time of the prophecy approaches, Zane’s surroundings begin to reflect his inner turmoil, for the Mayan world begins to manifest, revealing demons and gods and unveiling the true nature of the nearby volcano as Ah-Puch’s ancient prison. As Zane embarks upon a quest to stop Ah-Puch and retrieve his dog from Xibalba, he ultimately comes to terms with his true identity and his destiny.
Yet on a more mundane level, Zane must also come to terms with the ways in which his physical disability affects his life. Having endured extensive bullying, Zane now defines his own self-worth in terms of his disability. In many ways, his dog, who is missing a leg, echoes Zane’s physical attributes and represents a wordless reassurance that emphasizes A Positive Outlook on Differences. Zane originally took her in after finding her abandoned because she felt like a kindred spirit. The connection that dog and boy share makes them a powerful team regardless of their physical limitations, and this dynamic is meant to demonstrate that many types of strength exist in the world. As Zane remains determined to rescue his dog from the underworld, honoring this bond, he is forced to reckon with difficult Choices and Their Consequences, but he never looks back or regrets his actions, even when their results are disastrous. Instead, he moves forward and deals with each new obstacle as it appears, taking on new responsibilities as needed. As his journey progresses , Zane realizes that he must often make difficult decisions in order to help himself and those around him.
