57 pages • 1 hour read

Vicious

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Chapters 32-34Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 32 Summary

Sydney arrives at Serena’s school, where Serena introduces her to Eli. Eli hasn’t aged in the last 10 years and claims he’s a college senior. Serena tells Sydney she and Eli have abilities, too, and that Eli “wants to see your trick” (152). Sydney is nervous but after some coaxing from Serena, she agrees.

They drive out to a field where Eli has a body he stole from the university hospital. Sydney brings the dead man back to life, and Eli shoots him dead again. He points the gun at Sydney, saying her gift “goes against nature. Against God” (157). Sydney manages to dodge a killing shot and then runs, not looking back.

Chapter 33 Summary

At the hotel, Sydney tells Victor the entire story of her death and Eli, minus the specific details of her gift. Victor concludes that Eli is on some kind of religious mission to execute EOs. He shows Sydney his gunshot scars and asks her to help them stop Eli. She hesitates, scared of being hurt again. Victor promises no one will harm her “because I’ll hurt them first” (161). Sydney agrees to help and leads them to Serena’s dorm, where an unknown girl answers. Serena gave up her apartment the day before but is likely still living somewhere nearby with Eli. Back at the hotel, Mitch sets up a search matrix to track down EOs so Victor can get one step ahead of Eli.

Chapter 34 Summary

Victor and Sydney wander downtown Merit, discussing Eli and getting the lay of the land. An injured dog lies in an alleyway, and Sydney tells Victor to kill it. Confused, he complies, and Sydney brings the dog back to life. They name the animal Dol, which is a unit for measuring the intensity of pain, and bring it back to the hotel. Sydney’s gift gives Victor an idea for a new plan how to send Eli a message, and they’re “going to need shovels” (172).

Chapters 32-34 Analysis

Serena doesn’t interfere when Eli shoots her sister Sydney, showing how persuasive and powerful Eli has become. Eli completely fabricated his belief that he is the only pure EO and that God has charged him with destroying all other EOs. The self-aggrandizing logic has become his reality, which allows him to convince the younger Serena that the sister she loves is an abomination that must die, even though by the same logic Serena is also an abomination.

Schwab doesn’t define any character in Vicious as hero or villain. Rather, each EO performs both heroic and villainous actions. Though Victor and Eli participate in the conflict around which the book revolves, their battle is not one of hero against villain. Both believe in their cause and are willing to do whatever it takes to emerge victorious, traits associated with both heroes and villains. Though Victor seems more heroic because he aims to stop a murderer, his methods are not heroic, and his origin story is morally compromising. He is willing to deliver pain to anyone who gets in his way, both to secure his victory and to protect those in his group. Schwab portrays Victor more as the lesser of two evils than as a true hero, as Victor’s motivation is revenge rather than altruism.