Scar Island

Jonathan and Sebastian convince the other boys that they should stay on the island for a while and not tell anyone about the dead adults. Jonathan says, “Out there we’re just... troublemakers. Punks. Here we could be kings” (61). Sebastian adds, “[We can] eat whatever we want. Whenever we want” (61). The only boy who objects to the plan is Colin, but he falls silent after Sebastian threatens him.

Jonathan devises a masquerade plan to fool Patrick when he arrives on the island to deliver the mail. They take the coat and hat from the dead body of Mr. Vander, the adult who always greeted the mail deliverer but usually just stood silently in the shadows while the boys unloaded the mail. One of the boys, Gerald, puts on Mr. Vander’s clothes and stands in the shadows to greet Patrick when he arrives with the mail. He stands on Jonathan’s back to look as tall as Mr. Vander and just grunts when Patrick says hello to him. The masquerade works, and Patrick delivers the mail and leaves, unaware of the dead adults.

Jonathan comes up with a plan to put the eight dead adults in a freezer. The boys work together and drag the bodies into the freezer in the kitchen.

Some of the boys talk about what they did that landed them in the reformatory. David admits to breaking a boy’s jaw and giving him a concussion but says it was because the kid made fun of his Japanese heritage. Miguel says he was sent to the reformatory for skipping school. When Miguel asks Jonathan what he did to be sent to Slabhenge, Jonathan does not say anything.

While moving the Admiral’s body into the freezer, Jonathan finds a key that fell out of the Admiral’s pocket. Jonathan puts the key in his pocket.

The boys hold a meeting at the big table. Sebastian sits in the Admiral’s chair and declares, “I’m in charge” (77). When Tony questions why Sebastian should be in charge, Sebastian justifies his self-appointment by noting that he has been on the island the longest and is the oldest. Gerald protests that he is older than Sebastian, but Sebastian dismisses his objection. Colin suggests they hold an election, but Sebastian rejects the idea, telling him to “shut up right now” (77).

Sebastian declares that the boys are not scabs, as the Admiral called them, but scars: “‘Cause you know what you get when you keep picking at a scab? […] You get a scar. And scars are tough. The Admiral was wrong. We ain’t scabs. We’re scars” (78). He says the island now belongs to the boys and dubs it Scar Island.

After the meeting, Jonathan and some of the boys are walking around the reformatory when they come across the dark, roped-off stairwell called the Hatch, where the monster supposedly dwells. Jonathan is curious about what lurks in the dark passageway. “It’s this big, awful secret, right? […] Well, maybe once you know it, it’s not all that terrible after all” (85). The other boys are afraid and turn back, so Jonathan proceeds on his own. At the foot of a door, he sees a human skull. Jonathan screams, falls back, slips, and drops his lantern. The light goes out, plunging him into darkness.