Skink—No Surrender

Skink returns as a mentor and aide, but Richard’s newfound inner strength means that his mentor cannot come back as strong. When Skink arrives on the houseboat, “the damage [of the gator attack] was on full display […] his fake eyeball must have popped out, because the socket was now plugged with a […] snail’s shell” (176). Richard can rely on Skink again, but he must add his strength to Skink’s from now on. They cannot achieve their goals independently.

Skink’s arrival brings with it a new wave of deception. Skink tells Tommy that he is there because “I believe you’ve found my canoe” (179). Malley, meanwhile, reveals how Tommy lied to her when they first online, insisting he was a poet named Talbo Chock. She also slips the pocketknife to Richard while Tommy isn’t looking.

However, Malley also ends the streak of deception. Not only does she confess why she ran away with Tommy, she also decides to tell Tommy, “Carson’s real name is Richard. He’s the cousin I told you about” (192). There are no more false pretenses between the characters. Richard and Skink know Tommy’s actual background, and he knows that they didn’t just happen to show up at the houseboat. Now that the deception has faded, the characters must act. This propels them all toward the climax of the novel.

Tommy throws increasingly dangerous obstacles at Richard and Skink. The most obvious example is his gun. He shoots “out one of the cabin windows” (182) to intimidate them and tells them that Malley “knows what I can do” (183). He also forces Malley to tie them up, presenting a series of obstacles back-to-back as Richard’s journey nears its climax.

After they’re separated from Skink and Tommy, Richard and Malley search for safety. The depth of Tommy’s villainy becomes clearer. Malley confesses that Tommy kissed her without consent “a couple times” (202). There are hints that his abuse was more severe, though Richard never knows for sure. This adds to Tommy’s power as an antagonist, proving that he is impulsive and selfish.

As Tommy becomes a more formidable opponent, the stakes of the situation rise again. In this context, the danger is more immediate. Richard and Skink were always racing against time to find Malley, but they are now in immediately threatening, life-or-death situations. Skink knows that the houseboat anchor is gone when “Another powerful gust of wind came up the river swinging the bow hard” (188). In quick succession, the boat’s engine dies. All four characters are now at the mercy of the river—and its natural forces.

The situation becomes more treacherous, and it pushes Tommy into desperation. He doesn’t want to be caught for his abduction of Malley. Richard knows that, as the crisis escalates, “We were eyewitnesses to a crime, Skink and I, which meant Tommy either had to keep us as prisoners or kill us” (194). The pressure on Tommy builds as Richard, Skink, and Malley take a side against him, and he announces, “I’m gonna kill all three of you and dump your dead bodies in the river” (197). The immediate stakes have never been higher, and the story’s protagonist and his allies can no longer wait; they must respond. When Skink stands up to confront Tommy, Richard follows suit.

At this point, Richard and Skink have two different character goals. Richard is still on his quest to save Malley, but Skink focuses on something else: “The governor was hung up on the bird that Tommy almost shot” (188). While their goals are in alignment, and Skink helps to free Malley, their paths begin to diverge. Richard gets closer to his goal when he and Malley reach the shore. Skink approaches the conclusion of his own journey by staying with the injured Tommy.

Weather becomes a larger obstacle near the climax of the story. As the crisis between Richard, Skink, Malley, and Tommy escalates on the houseboat, “none of us had noticed the wall of weather rolling in. The wind started howling, and with it came lashes of hard chilly rain” (178). Nature acts as both ally and hindrance throughout the novel. Here, it propels the action forward. The weather sends the boat down the river, which increases the danger of the situation.

When Richard and Malley do reach shore, weather and nature continue to impede them: “The hiking [to safety] would have gone easier if we’d had higher, drier ground, but the deep woods that lay ahead of us were low-lying and boggy” (207). The danger posed by Tommy is not a threat at this point, but Richard still faces obstacles. The treachery of nature comes to a head for Richard as the chapter ends and the wild boar charges at him.

Hiaasen balances the danger of nature with its beauty. When Richard and Malley safely wake up on the shore, Richard follows Malley’s “gaze up the branches to where a tall red crested woodpecker was drilling holes in the bark” (200). Richard isn’t convinced that this is an ivory-billed woodpecker, and the bird’s appearance symbolizes Malley’s false sense of safety. She believes that she has survived her ordeal just as she believes the ivory-billed woodpecker is still alive.