Vicious

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Chapters 45-48Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 45 Summary

At the hotel, Serena tells Eli he needs to send Victor a message in return by gathering in public with the Merit police. Unable to resist her compulsion, Eli agrees, though he dislikes the idea. Serena tells him “You’re the hero now” (245), and Eli calls Detective Stell.

Chapter 46 Summary

In Serena’s dorm room a year before, Serena shoots Eli and watches, amazed, as the wound heals. Afterwards, they make love. Eli isn’t sure if it’s his own feelings or the result of her compulsion, but being with Serena makes Eli feel “human again.” The next morning, Eli wakes to find Serena gone. Serena returns with two police officers, one of whom is Detective Stell, who works in Merit now. Serena explains that the officers will share their tracking matrix to find EOs. Eli is thrown by their new partnership but can’t undo it. Serena informs the officers that Eli is going to be Merit’s new hero, and under her compulsion, they agree.

Chapter 47 Summary

Back in the abandoned building, Victor gets the database access codes from the officer, as well as additional information on Detective Stell. Victor asks the officer about Eli. The officer says simply “Eli Ever...is...a hero” and that Serena told him as much (253). Victor realizes Serena’s power is her compulsion. He kills the officer and orders Mitch to get Sydney so they can bring him back to life.

Chapter 48 Summary

After Stell and the other officer leave Serena’s apartment, Eli is able to get mad at her for involving Stell—the man who’s investigating the murders Eli committed. Serena didn’t know about that but isn’t bothered because her ability to get Stell on Eli’s side proves “I’m more use to you alive” (255). Serena tells Eli to calm down, and he does. Eli asks about Serena’s sister. Serena doesn’t remember saying Sydney was an EO. She tells Eli her sister is off limits and hands him one of the EO files the officers left.

Chapters 45-48 Analysis

In these chapters, Serena labels Eli as a hero, which is ironic because there is nothing heroic about Eli’s actions. Schwab portrays the use of the word hero to describe a murderer to show how labels get twisted to represent things they don’t normally mean, and how moral designations are manipulated for individual gain, rather than the collective good. Eli’s agenda is based on his personal, if skewed, views. With the help of Serena’s ability, those beliefs become a service to Merit and the police force. Perspective turns murder into killing for the safety of innocent civilians. Serena’s ability to make the police believe Eli is a hero shows the danger of perspective when it is forced upon people. If people in power are led to believe something threatening is true, everyone gets hurt.

In Chapter 46, Eli realizes Serena makes him feel human for the first time since his death. Schwab explores several possibilities for Eli’s change of heart. First, it may be that companionship makes Eli feel whole. These feelings come after he makes love with Serena, and the act of being so close and emotionally involved with someone alleviates him of his guilt over Angie’s death. Second, it may be Serena’s power that makes Eli feel alive. Even without EO interference, having ourselves and our ideas validated comforts us. Serena agreeing with Eli may trigger her gift to communicate to Eli that he is right. This feeling of rightness offers subconscious support that Eli craves, despite his inability to determine its validity. In this way, Schwab portrays Eli and Serena’s relationship with the same ambiguity as Eli’s self-imposed mission.