Paul

"Black hair; Bleak and haunted gray eyes" (Page 22)

"A bit of an outsider" (Page 27)

Paul is an impulsive decision maker, who often regrets his choices later. Even though Paul has had his fair share of heartache in life he is still willing to put himself out there and care for others. He is also a natural born leader.

Adam

• "Soft belly fat; Thuggish face/Small eyes" (Page 1-2)
• "Stupid, unthinking, brutal nature" (Page 184)

Adam is a bully at the beginning of the story who is insecure about himself and uses his size to intimidate others. When the "Infected" start to rise, Adam steps up to the plate as a leader and proves to be more than just a dumb bully.

Setting

"The massive central building had once been a workhouse for the poor, then a sanatorium for tuberculosis sufferers, before ending up as a school...Concentrated unhappiness seemed to have soaked into the walls over time, and turned its stony halls oppressive and gloomy. There was a sense of confinement here that wasn't in the more modern buildings that surrounded it...The grounds were huge, big enough to encompass a small lake, playing fields, tennis courts, half a dozen dorm buildings, and accommodation for staff and visitors....But all of it was inside the wall. Ten feet high, solid stone, it had a single gate that was the only exit from campus." (Page 5) The setting helps establish a mood for the story by it being creepy and gloomy and basically just not fun to be around, just like the "Infected" are extremely hard to escape.

Plot Diagram-Exposition

Kids at Mortingham Boarding Academy are bitten by "silver beetles" one day while trying to take photos of nature. The kids bitten by beetles start to slowly change into machinery, further named the "Infected". These "Infected" start to turn on their peers, spreading rapidly. As "Infected" numbers rise, so does the level of danger for the students. The students and their only remaining adult left on campus, Mr. Sutton, are forced to move to the science block of the building. Everyone helps to board up the windows and make molotov cocktails, to warn off the "Infected." They are attacked multiple times by the "Infected." The first couple of times the attacks are weak until the "Infected" start to work together. As the attacks grow bigger, they lose more students to the "Infected," and are eventually forced to reside to the roof.

Rising Action

When the remaining 19 students or so and Mr. Sutton are forced to move to the roof, they rig it with electrical wires and put students at every door with molotov cocktails and weapons. The cocktails are supposed to "freeze" the "Infected" for a certain amount of time. When Paul, Erika, Adam, Mark, and Mr. Sutton all see a helicopter coming towards the school grounds and landing on the sports building they separate in order to find the pilots and figure out what is going on. Adam is tasked with heading to the basement to find the source of the "Infected," Erika is given the job of managing the remaining students, and Paul and Mr. Sutton head off towards the Sports Hall to rescue their "Rescuers."

Climax

When Mr. Sutton and Paul get inside the Sports Hall, on their way to the roof they encounter an "Infected" in the pool and have to fight it off. When the two reach the roof they find not one but two "Rescuers," one of them a scientist and the other the pilot. The scientist explains to them how the "silver beetles" got loose and that they were just an experiment gone wrong. On the way back to the Science Block, Mr. Sutton sacrifices himself to save the pilot and scientist so that they have a chance at escape. Shortly after they reach the Science Block, the school is attacked again, while Paul and Mark are trying to find an engine for the helicopter, Erika is left to take the Pilot to the Sports Hall safely. When everyone except for Adam meets up at the roof, Paul goes off to the basement to find him.

Falling Action

The pilot threatens to leave without Paul when he is gone for a long time after going in search of Adam. Paul doesn't encounter any of the "Infected" on his way to the basement, but finds their main source of energy when he gets there. Paul stumbles upon Caitlyn, who is now partly "Infected," surprisingly, is able to overcome the virus in her brain to help Paul find Adam. Paul finds Adam in the tunnels and is able to bring him back to the Sport's hall roof just as they are about to take off and find safety without them.

Resolution

The remaining survivors: Adam, Paul, Erika, Mark, Johnny, Pudge, Freckles, the Pilot and the Scientist take off in the helicopter in search of safety and help to stop the "Infected" from spreading further.

Simile

"In the light of the blaze, there were silhouettes, moving behind the windows like some depraved Victorian shadow play." (Page 243)

This piece of figurative language creates meaning by making the reader imagine what it looked like from the character's perspective.