UnWholly

Chapter 4 begins with parents who have signed an unwind order for their son Noah. They believe the Juvey-cops are a day early, but they eventually begin to realize that the young men are not cops after all.

The fake Juvey-cop is, in fact, Connor—the protagonist of the first book in Shusterman’s series, Unwind. Connor demands the parents tell Noah that they were going to have him unwound. Then, he makes them write down why they signed the unwind order and reads the list of teenage characteristics, like disobedience, aloud. Connor threatens to switch their identities to terrorists if they tell the cops anything other than Noah ran away.

Connor, as well as fellow AWOLs Trace and Hayden, take Noah to the Graveyard, where over 700 AWOL Unwinds live. Hayden first clarifies that they call themselves Whollies and then takes Noah to clean up and get oriented. Connor thinks about Risa, his Whollie friend from the first Unwind book, and the Admiral, who used to run the Graveyard. Trace and Connor talk about Noah.

The next day, some Graveyard residents complain to Connor about things not getting done. A confident Trace (only much later does Connor realize Trace is working on both sides of the resistance) reminds Connor that he has an inner circle and suggests Connor delegate more. Connor listens and thinks about the nature of leadership.

Risa must use a wheelchair because she refused spinal surgery (taking the spine of an unwound kid). Her decommissioned airplane has a ramp, and other injured teens stay there with her. She works in the infirmary jet and meets with Connor daily. Risa thinks about the events of the first novel—the now-legendary escapades that caused the world to believe Connor is dead.

Connor massages her legs, and Risa asks him what is bothering him. He wonders why the Juvies have left them alone. She thinks about another character from the first novel, Lev, a tithe who became a clapper and did not clap (did not self-detonate and complete a terrorist bombing). They talk about the new law capping unwinding at 17, rather than 18, years old. Risa notes Connor is emotionally distant.

Connor meets with a representative from the Anti-Divisional Resistance (ADR) named Joe, and Connor thinks about the problems with the group. After the law capping unwinding at 17 passed, and the 17-year-olds left the Graveyard, support from ADR significantly decreased. Joe claims this is happening because the Graveyard is compromised, and ADR does not want to waste resources on it. Connor argues with Joe and ends up punching him.

After the meeting, Connor goes to the plane that has been turned into a gym and pounds a punching bag. While taking out his frustrations about his past, he considers his arm that was replaced with the arm of an unwound teen named Roland. Connor moves to bench press, and Starkey comes over to spot him. They talk about the arm, which Connor did not consent to receiving.

Connor tries to get a sense of Starkey but fails to suspect that Starkey is plotting against him. They switch and, while Connor spots Starkey, Starkey pretends to be weaker than he is. Starkey tells Connor he respects his choice to save a storked baby, like himself. After Connor is called away, Starkey goes all out on the weights, benching more than Connor.

Later that night, Connor has a meeting with his inner circle in his private jet and thinks about his privileges as leader. Risa does not join them because there is no wheelchair ramp into Connor’s jet. In addition to Trace and Hayden, who run security and communications, respectively, there is Drake, who runs the farm, and Ashley, who deals with interpersonal issues. They discuss how ADR is officially not sending them supplies and a new plane that is arriving soon. Connor suggests they think of an escape plan to get the kids out of the Graveyard if it gets raided.

After the meeting, Connor fires two members of his inner circle: Bambi, for serving spoiled food, and John, the head of maintenance and waste management. Connor finds Starkey doing magic tricks and hires him to take Bambi’s place. He, again, does not see Starkey as a threat, and this promotion will eventually help Starkey work against Connor.

Risa plays a piano that is in the Graveyard while thinking about this regular nightly practice. She also thinks about Connor and feels like he doesn’t love her back. After finishing her Chopin sonata, she heads to Connor’s jet.

Rita throws rocks near Connor’s jet window. When he comes down, they talk about him not putting in a ramp for her wheelchair. She also asks why he is ignoring her. He admits that he loves her and kisses her. She says he would have built a ramp if he wanted to be with her, before leaving.

Once alone, Connor thinks about how the unwound teen whose arm he has, Roland, tried to attack Risa. Connor fears he can’t control the arm and has been keeping his distance because of it. He repeatedly pounds Roland’s fist into the wall in frustration.

Starkey, while hiding his ambitions, works on gaining power in the Graveyard. After being appointed to manage food service, becoming one of Connor’s Holy of Whollies, Starkey visits the airplane that holds the communications and computer center and asks Hayden about his operation. Hayden talks about ethnic diversity, and he shows Starkey the list of teens who are going to be unwound in nearby Arizona.

Starkey gets angry that they aren’t planning to save the storked teens on the list. Hayden says their criteria are based on location and lack of siblings. Starkey suggests changing the criteria, and Hayden tells him to talk to Connor.

After this, Starkey locates the storked teens in the Graveyard and becomes their champion. He gets permission from Connor to reserve time in the Rec Jet for just his Stork Club. Also, Starkey gets storks extra food to win their favor. He flirts with Ashley, when she notes the privileges the storks are getting, to keep her from noticing his plans. During the stork hour at the Rec Jet, Starkey begins to manipulate the storks into thinking less of Connor and supporting him instead.