Carrie: Part 2: Pages 196-215 Summary & Analysis

At 10:25, Sue has become increasingly anxious and keeps finding herself drawn to the kitchen window. As she makes hot chocolate, the whistle over the town hall goes off, which is only reserved for major emergencies. She goes to the window and thinks about how, as a child, they were told to hide under their desks if they ever heard the whistles since it meant that nuclear war was breaking out. Sue looks down towards the school, which goes up in flames as she watches it. As she runs for her coat, the floor shakes from an explosion.

In a 1980 Reader’s Digest article, Norma Watson recounts her experience at the prom. After Carrie and Tommy get up onto the stage, Norma spots a bucket above, which falls and spills red liquid onto the two of them, with Carrie getting it the worst. Norma realizes that it’s blood and says so, causing Tina to scream. Two buckets swing dripping above the stage; one falls and hits Tommy, knocking him out. Carrie opens her eyes, which are starkly white alongside the blood, and everyone begins to laugh—more out of shock than amusement. Carrie stumbles off the stage; Miss Desjardin tries to approach her but is inexplicably flung into a wall and knocked out. Carrie runs through the crowd, getting tripped by someone at some point, and flees the building.

The gym falls silent, with everyone in shock. A student named Josie goes to Tommy, who is still, and calls for a doctor, but everyone is frozen. Norma’s friend Stella looks over at her and says that Carrie is back, and Norma agrees. The lobby doors slam shut, and Carrie is indeed there, grinning and smeared with blood. Nobody can get the doors open, and a few seconds later, the sprinklers start. Norma grabs Tina’s hand and tells her that they have to run. As they move towards the fire doors in the back, Josie is electrocuted on stage and catches on fire. The two girls run out, but Norma looks back at the last second to see all of the live cables in the gym, writhing autonomously like snakes. They hit the water, and everyone inside begins to scream. Tommy, unconscious, dies unaware in the ensuing fire.

The New England AP ticker reports a suspected electrical fire at Ewen High School at 10:46 p.m., with over a hundred people suspected to be trapped inside. Firefighters from neighboring towns have been requested. At 11:22 p.m., the ticker reports a massive explosion at the school, with all firefighting efforts having failed due to hydrants being vandalized and water lines being compromised. Three casualties have been identified, and it’s suspected that the explosion occurred when the fire reached the school’s fuel-oil tanks. At 11:00, Sue takes her mother’s car to the school, but the building explodes before she can reach it. In the ensuing chaos, she sees a man by the police station yelling something that sounds like “don’t hey that ass.” Then, everything explodes.

The White Commission, an investigation commenced after prom night, interrogates Thomas Quillan, a Chamberlain resident. Quillan recounts how he had voluntarily come to be jailed at the police station after getting drunk. In his memory, he’s been left alone in his cell when he hears the fire alarm go off. When he looks out the window, he sees Carrie, whom he identifies despite never having seen her before, and describes some of her thoughts. He sees her telekinetically dismantle the hydrants. As more firetrucks pull up to the road, the school explodes. Quillan runs out of the station and notices that the nearby gas station has all of its pumps running off the hooks. A man with a cigarette runs past towards the station, so Quillan calls out “Hey don’t, that’s gas!” The man doesn’t hear him, so Quillan ducks back into the station, preparing for the inevitable explosion.