The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die

Cady goes over the events she remembers and tries to determine if she’s really crazy or not. The man who had tried to kill her in the woods, whom she supposedly killed and who was supposedly a counselor, is dead. But she can’t tell what version of the story is true: hers or the one Dr. Nowell told Officer Dillow. Then she remembers the photo she took from the cabin. Although she hopes the photo will help prove she isn’t making things up, Officer Dillow tells her that they allow photos in mental institutions. She could’ve easily taken the photo during her escape. She then remembers the gun. She tells Officer Dillow she has something else to prove her innocence and points the gun at him. She explains how she took it from the cabin when Michael Brenner tried to kill her. Officer Dillow tries to get her to put the gun down, but she forces him to unlock the doors and switch places with her. Then she locks Officer Dillow into his squad car and takes off in Michael Brenner’s SUV, unsure of who she is or where she’s going.

“Katie” flees from Newberry Ranch, but she’s so stressed that her driving is erratic, and she almost gets into an accident. She pulls off the road, crying. She thinks again about the fact that she’s most likely killed a man. But then she tries pulling herself together and thinks of her options. Based on Google Maps, she can either go to Bend, which is about 40 minutes away or drive a little less than three hours to Portland. She needs food and rest, however, so decides on the shorter distance. She gets back on the road and eventually pulls into a shopping center that will allow the SUV to blend in. She finds money in the SUV and decides to try her luck with getting food from the Dollar Menu at McDonald’s.

Cady walks into McDonald’s and notices a family sitting down. She wonders if her family ever went to McDonald’s, and then realizes she’s staring when the father looks questioningly at her. She turns her attention to the menu to see what she can get for the little bit of money she has. A young man, about her age, is waiting for her to give her order. She also asks for a cup of water, and even though they’re supposed to charge, the server, Ty, says he’ll give it to her at no charge. She receives her food and scarfs it down, and then realizes that Ty is watching her. Next, she takes out a pen and uses a napkin to jot down clues about her situation, making points and circling things to try and find some type of connection. Cady dozes off, and when she’s awakened by Ty, she screams. Looking around, she realizes that she’s the only person in the eatery aside from Ty, who is looking at her bandaged fingernails. She asks if she can use the restroom, and she washes up, trying to think of where she can go. When she opens the bathroom door, she hears voices. Men are talking to Ty, and she realizes that one of them is the voice of the man who ordered her to be killed.

Cady backs quietly and slowly into the bathroom, careful not to make any sound with the door. There’s nowhere for her to run or hide. She wonders if the man with the oxblood shoes will shoot her on site because she killed Brenner. She lifts the gun she’s taken from Brenner and aims it at the door, prepared to shoot whoever enters. The door slowly opens, and just as she decides to pull the trigger, Ty slides in and, seeing the gun, drops to the floor. She apologizes, then looks down the hall and sees that no one else is in the restaurant. Ty explains that he told them she was never in the restaurant, and he brought the janitor cart with him to make it look like he was just cleaning. He also tells her that there were two men asking about her, and that they said she escaped from a mental institution. The look on Ty’s face makes Cady think that he believes the men.

Cady tries to explain her situation: “Would I believe Ty if he were telling me the same story? The scary thing is I don’t think I would” (48). She tells him about her memory loss and how she doesn’t even remember her name. Ty admits that the reason he lied to the men is because he saw the napkin she’d been writing on. He asks her if she hit her head, but she can’t remember. Ty also saw the note she left about her fingernails being pulled out, and Cady confirms that it did happen, but she can’t remember it. Ty says that he believes Cady thinks she’s telling the truth, and he doesn’t believe that someone could pull their own fingernails out. He’s also skeptical that there would be armed guards at a mental hospital, thus allowing her to have taken a gun. In short, the story the men told him doesn’t add up.

Cady thinks about her options. Ty goes to check on Brenner’s SUV but returns with grim news. The two men who asked about her, plus a third, are going through the SUV as they speak. They both realize that the men will soon know she’s in one of the three or four businesses still open. Just as Cady wants to give up, Ty says that he has an idea.

Ty offers to help get Cady out of McDonald’s and out of the shopping center. She’s doubtful, and she doesn’t want to involve him because he can end up killed, just as she’s sure that she will soon be dead. Ty seems like he doesn’t believe her and tells her that her only chance is to trust him. He leaves, then returns with a large trashcan. Cady crams into the foul-smelling can, and Ty wheels her out of the eatery. He takes the can to the shopping mall’s garbage area, then leaves her there to retrieve his car. She waits in silence, realizing that someone else can just as easily search for her in the back and find her. Moreover, the gun is in her pocket, out of reach. She’d have to fall out and then somehow retrieve the gun before getting caught or shot. Then she hears footsteps approaching.

Cady ducks her head out of the trash can and sees a worker whistling. She drops back into the can, but the lid closes and makes a noise. She hopes the guy won’t find her or make a scene, and he eventually just walks by. She then hears a car approach and is relieved when Ty announces that it’s him. Cady gets into the car, while he explains that there are men watching the movie theater and another car watching the SUV. He covers her with a blanket and tells her not to speak so that it doesn’t look like he’s talking to someone. Ty then informs her that they’re being followed. He makes a few turns to see if they really are being followed and, to their relief, they aren’t. Cady wants Ty to let her out somewhere because she doesn’t want to involve a complete stranger, but he refuses. He thinks briefly about taking her to the police, but she explains what happened at Newberry Ranch. Ty tells her that it’s not safe for a girl on the streets. When he explains that he lives on his own and not with his parents, she picks up on something in his voice. But Cady feels that she can at least trust Ty, probably even more than she can trust herself.