The Watchers

A month after Mina arrives in the coop, there is a two-day storm that keeps her and the others trapped inside during the day as well as the night. On the third day, when the storm clears, everyone goes off on their own. Mina wears a blanket like a shawl, as does Madeline. As Mina goes to get water from the spring, this task gives her the opportunity to wash up. She has lost weight and has begun to be disturbed by her reflection in the mirror. Ciara is still angry at the others for refusing to open the door at the sound of John’s scream. Around Christmastime, Daniel had gotten sick, and Madeline became even more obsessed with cleanliness and insisted on building a fire daily.

Now, when Mina returns to the coop, Madeline is annoyed that she took so long to get the water. Mina sits by the fire and dries her socks. She has been sketching the coop, Daniel, Ciara, and Madeline. Her sketches of Madeline resemble her sketches of “the android” whom she watched at the pub (106). Mina is also building a map of the burrows around the coop, which seem to form a circle.