Setting

The state of Washington setting is crucial to the story, as it provides a realistic venue for David's kidnapping. Six Rivers Camp is poised on the edge of a huge, uncharted wilderness. Even Chief Park Ranger William Redek notes the difficulty of finding somebody in this area: "we know there are at least six small aircraft crashed somewhere in there. We've never found them. . . . And those aircraft aren't actively trying to hide from us." Besides being big and secluded, the forest is also the place where Katsuk's powers are their strongest, which he notes when he says that he is not afraid of the search helicopters: "All that lived wild around him helped and guarded him. The new voice of the wilderness spoke to him through every creature, every leaf and rock." For David, the setting is a challenge and provides an appropriate background for his change. In...