Summary

In the section “Three Years Earlier” Jack is 14. He wakes from a dream his house is on fire to see a line of fire trucks, an ambulance, and two police cars across the street. A few minutes later a truck pulling a crane and a news van arrive.

Libby, meanwhile, is 13. She feels as if she is being suffocated. She cannot move her arms or legs. Libby’s father tells her that help is coming.

In Jack’s section, he watches for the five hours it takes to dismantle the front of Libby’s house. From his roof, he can see when the claw of the crane lifts from inside the house. There are arms and legs sticking out of it. When the claw releases what it has picked up onto a stretcher on the ground, Jack recognizes it as...