The Girl with All the Gifts

Still strapped in her chair, Melanie ponders Sergeant Parks’s rage when she told him that Justineau hates him. She understands the root of it is jealousy—an emotion she feels herself when Justineau’s attention is with another student. Hours later, her limbs numb, Melanie hears footsteps in the corridor. Miss Justineau bursts into her cell and frees Melanie from her chair. When Justineau gets close, however, Melanie’s cannibalistic instinct takes over. She begins to salivate, the hunger activated. Justineau has not been chemically sprayed to cover her natural scent (a procedure she undergoes before each class). Melanie screams for Justineau to go away, terrified of her own impulses. She fights the hunger, pushing Justineau toward the door of her cell. Justineau gathers her wits and flees the cell, slamming the door behind her. 

After the incident with Melanie, Justineau realizes that Parks has been right all along. Her empathy is her own worst enemy. She has no hope of saving Melanie or the other children. Her mere presence is the limit of her ability to help them. Lastly, she remembers seeing a figure inside the perimeter of the security fence during her encounter with Parks—not a hungry, but something else.