The Bone Sparrow: Chapter 28 Summary & Analysis

Subhi feels awful: he should’ve gone to save Jimmie when he had the chance. It’s morning now and the searchlights are still on—soon, the power will go out. They didn’t come on for him, though. They came on because of Eli and the men in Alpha, who piled up their beds against the gates to keep the Jackets out. Now, the Jackets are patrolling the perimeter and won’t let anyone near the fence. Even though only about half of Alpha is on a hunger strike, the Jackets are arranging food and water outside the fence so the men in Alpha can see it but can’t reach it.

Subhi has tried to reach the weak spot in the fence, but there are too many Jackets and he’s already been kicked in the back. Queeny has been treating him like she used to when they were little. But her promises to get Subhi new paper do nothing: Subhi is too upset that everything is wrong and he can’t fix it. He walks the fences and Queeny follows. When their walk takes them past the supply building, Queeny pulls Subhi back. The Jackets are coming out in their riot gear, with the rubber bullets “that don’t kill you but hurt so much that you can’t move after.” Subhi lets Queeny pull him back, since it makes him feel protected. Still, everything feels like a dream.

The Jackets in their riot gear makes some of the kids scream and cry. As the Jackets line up outside Alpha, Subhi thinks that maybe it’s better to not have memories of Outside. He can’t stop thinking that it’s been hours since Jimmie called for help. Suddenly, Queeny turns to Subhi and tells him to wait in the tent, no matter what he sees or hears. Enraged, Subhi screams that Queeny doesn’t really care about him; she only cares about herself. She looks like she’s been slapped. Harvey appears next to Subhi, tells him it’ll be okay, and ushers him into the tent. He gives Subhi a book called One Thousand and One Nights to read to the other kids and then disappears. Seeing the boy who took Nasir’s bed staring at the book, Subhi asks if he can read. He gives the boy the book when the boy nods.

Subhi knows Jimmie needs him. All the kids are talking about the Jackets and their riot gear—and maybe the Jackets and the riot gear can help. Nobody notices as Subhi creeps to the flap. He looks back once and sees Maá looking right at him. Subhi blows her a kiss, which she doesn’t acknowledge, and then he runs out. All the Jackets are watching the men in Alpha and Eli, who’s standing bravely in the middle. Subhi hurries to the fence and shimmies under. The rats watch Subhi go, and Subhi tells them that he’ll give them chocolate when he gets back. He apologizes for killing their baby and walks to the perimeter fence. When Subhi crawls under that fence, the rats cheer and clap. Subhi races until he can’t breathe. He realizes that for the first time, he’s standing on dirt he’s never stood on before.