Vicious

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Chapters 42-44Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 42 Summary

Days after murdering his professor, Eli goes over his thesis notes. His professor added two terms: Post-Traumatic Death Disorder, and Rebirth Syndrome, a person’s desire to “escape the life they had before, or to redefine themselves based on their ability” (220). Eli is disturbed to recognize himself in this definition, but he tells himself he has a purpose. After graduation, Eli changes his name to Eli Ever and sets out to destroy EOs and restore balance to nature. He dislikes killing and plans poorly but persists, believing he does God’s work and knowing that “practice makes perfect” (223).

Chapter 43 Summary

At the hotel, Victor wonders why Eli kept Serena alive. Mitch calls to say he has one of the cops who’s working with Eli at a nearby location. Victor goes to meet them, leaving Sydney behind because he wants to preserve her notion of Victor as a good person. Victor meets Mitch and the cop in an abandoned building, where he tortures the cop to get the access code to the EO database.

At the hotel, Serena asks Eli if he really thought he killed Sydney. Eli struggles but manages to resist her powers and lie to her that he did believe it. Eli thinks he “should have killed [Serena] when he had the chance” (230).

Chapter 44 Summary

A year before, Eli tracks down Serena at a college Halloween party. Eli plans to kill her but ends up kissing her. When she asks him questions, he answers with the truth, rather than his planned lies, and he realizes her ability is that she causes a “need to please” in others (239). Serena tells Eli he can try to kill her again tomorrow. The next day, she meets him at a café. Under her compulsion, Eli explains his view of EOs—that they are unnatural and dangerous because they lose something when they come back. Serena understands the feeling but doesn’t agree that EOs need to die. Again, she tells Eli he can’t kill her and then leaves for class. Later, she meets up with Eli again and asks more questions about his ability and purpose. Eli explains his system for hunting and destroying EOs. Eli shows her his healing ability.

Chapters 42-44 Analysis

In Chapter 42, Eli studies two additional terms his thesis professor added to the EO research—Post-Traumatic Death Disorder and Rebirth Syndrome. Eli, Victor, and the other EOs struggle with the symptoms of PTDD, including the feeling of missing something. Rebirth syndrome is the idea of using a second chance at life to change oneself. Eli refuses to think too much about rebirth syndrome because it threatens the truth he wishes to believe, which is that his mission is divine and not self-imposed. Paradoxically, his desire to be better than other EOs and be important to God exactly matches the idea that EOs want to redefine themselves around their ability. Eli uses his seeming immortality to distinguish himself from other EOs.

In Chapter 44, Schwab uses Serena’s gift to reveal additional information about Eli and his plan in a way that deepens the thematic exploration of the story. Much of Eli’s personality and intentions are made clear at various points before this chapter, but Serena and Eli’s interaction offers an opportunity to fill in any gaps. Rather than being repetitive or purely expository, Eli’s explanations are accompanied by the reveal of how Serena’s gift works—new information for the reader. Information coming this way also lets Schwab show Eli’s fear. He can’t keep secrets from Serena, and she holds the power to have him reveal himself to anyone. In Serena’s hands, Eli’s beliefs change from a private mission to a threat to his goals.