What Moves the Dead

Madeline, whose face is now covered by her white hair, says that shooting her will not kill her. Her fingers are dark, and there are dark lines running through her arm. Easton realizes Madeline’s heart is not pumping her blood. Using the Gallacian va/van pronouns, which are reserved for children, Madeline explains that it took a few days for “van” to mitigate her broken neck. After asserting that she did not kill Roderick, Madeline coughs up a handful of white hair and explains, “Va filled my lungs, you see. To save me, but now there’s too much” (142). Easton asks who “va” is, and Madeline clarifies that she is referring to the tarn.

While Denton examines Roderick and ascertains that he is alive, Madeline clarifies what she means about the tarn. The tarn first infected animals, which taught it about sight and hearing. Madeline claims that the tarn is more intelligent that humans. Learning how to talk was a challenge, but Madeline and Alice taught van how. After Alice died by suicide, it was more challenging for van to learn. Madeline says that because her own body will soon be unusable, Easton can now take over teaching van.