Search and Rescue: Difference between revisions

From Candypedia
Replace with Fable-generated candidate page
Replace with Fable-generated candidate page
 
Line 10: Line 10:


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The chapter opens at night in the boys' hotel room, where [[Paulo]] and Mike pack their bags and Mike wears bandages on his head and waist. Paulo's verdict on the day is blunt: "Today really ''SUCKED''."<ref name=":c43p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p1}}</ref> From there the story rewinds to that morning and the start of what [[Tess]] insists is a "nature stroll", definitely not a hike.<ref name=":c43p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p2}}</ref>
The chapter opens at night in the boys' hotel room, where [[Paulo]] and Mike pack their bags, Mike bandaged on his head and waist.<ref name=":c43p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p1}}</ref> From there the story rewinds to that morning and the group's hike up the tropical mountainside.<ref name=":c43p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p2}}</ref>


The trail winds up the tropical mountainside until the group reaches a natural rock bridge, spanning the valley high enough to sit level with the clouds.<ref name=":c43p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c43p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p4}}</ref> Mike peeks over the edge, sees the river far below, and freezes. To keep Lucy from spotting the water she fears, he bets her he can "last the longest without looking down", and Lucy takes the bait at top volume.<ref name=":c43p4" />
The trail ends at a high natural rock bridge spanning the valley.<ref name=":c43p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p3}}</ref><ref name=":c43p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p4}}</ref> Mike peeks over the edge, sees the river far below, and freezes. To keep Lucy from spotting the water she fears, he bets her he can "last the longest without looking down", and she furiously takes the bait.<ref name=":c43p4" /> On the span, Paulo and [[David]]'s chest-slamming game cracks the rock, and the bridge crumbles right out from under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p5}}</ref>


Out on the span, Paulo and [[David]] entertain themselves with "KAPOW!!", their chest-slamming game.<ref name=":c43p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p5}}</ref> The fun lasts until David's back-slam landing cracks the rock, and the bridge crumbles right out from under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p7}}</ref> Mike catches the ledge one-handed and swings the dangling Lucy up to grip his waist.<ref name=":c43p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p8}}</ref> Then [[Alec McCain|McCain]] tactlessly observes that the fall is a bigger threat than the water, and Lucy looks down anyway and promptly faints.<ref name=":c43p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p9}}</ref>
Mike catches the ledge one-handed and swings the dangling Lucy up to grip his waist.<ref name=":c43p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p8}}</ref> When she looks down at the river below, she faints and slips backward off him.<ref name=":c43p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p9}}</ref> Mike grabs the ledge with both hands, springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches her in mid-air, and hurls her up to the others before plummeting alone toward the river, marked at the last only by his scarf.<ref name=":c43p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p10}}</ref>


[[File:c43_p10_panel4.png|alt=Silhouetted against the sky, Mike springboards off the underside of the broken bridge and catches the unconscious Lucy in mid-air.|thumb|Just a cool thing Mike did, okay.]]
[[File:c43_p10_panel4.png|alt=Silhouetted against the sky, Mike springboards off the underside of the broken bridge and catches the unconscious Lucy in mid-air.|thumb|Just a cool thing Mike did, okay.]]
As Lucy slips backward off him, Mike grabs the ledge with both hands and springboards off the underside of the bridge. He catches her in mid-air, flips her to face the sky, and hurls her up to the others. Then he plummets alone toward the river, marked at the last only by his scarf.<ref name=":c43p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p10}}</ref>
Up top, [[Lily]] has nearly talked everyone into composure when [[Yashy]] wails "'''JESUS CHRIST WE KILLED HIM!!'''" and restarts the crying wholesale.<ref name=":c43p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p11}}</ref> Once Lucy comes to and asks where Mike is, [[Alec McCain|McCain]] bluntly tells her that he fell, and she crumples, clinging to Paulo.<ref name=":c43p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p14}}</ref> On the trail afterward she insists flatly that Mike drowned, then slides into a giggling, sobbing breakdown.<ref name=":c43p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p15}}</ref>


Up top, grief takes over fast. [[Lily]] has nearly talked everyone into composure when [[Yashy]] wails "'''JESUS CHRIST WE KILLED HIM!!'''" and restarts the crying wholesale.<ref name=":c43p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p11}}</ref> Lily sends [[Blur]] and [[Chirpy]] to find help while the group hunts for a way down.<ref name=":c43p12">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p12}}</ref><ref name=":c43p13">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p13}}</ref> When Lucy comes to and asks where Mike is, McCain answers with two blunt words, "He fell." She crumples on the spot, clinging to a kneeling Paulo.<ref name=":c43p14">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p14}}</ref> On the trail afterward she insists flatly that Mike drowned, then slides into a giggling, sobbing breakdown that has Lily admitting she's worse off than feared.<ref name=":c43p15">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p15}}</ref><ref name=":c43p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p16}}</ref>
Help arrives in the shape of [[Zachary]], hauled up the mountain by [[Blur]] and [[Chirpy]], with mixed news: a perfectly safe rope bridge crosses the valley nearby, and as for the missing Mike, he blurts out "Well he's probably dead." before hastily offering to help find the body.<ref name=":c43p16">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p16}}</ref> He guides the group down to the riverbank.<ref name=":c43p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p17}}</ref> There his clumsy attempt to reassure the water-shy Lucy knocks her out cold.<ref name=":c43p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p20}}</ref>


Help arrives in the shape of [[Zachary]], hauled up the mountain by Blur and Chirpy, and his news is a mixed bag. A perfectly safe rope bridge crosses the valley nearby, so the group braved the crumbling rock formation for nothing. As for their missing friend, he blurts out "Well he's probably dead." before hastily offering to help find the body.<ref name=":c43p16" /> He leads the way toward the stream until something white-eyed and drooling rustles in the bushes, and the stampede that follows piles everyone off a cliff edge.<ref name=":c43p17">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p17}}</ref><ref name=":c43p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p18}}</ref> Everyone survives the drop, and the river is suddenly dead ahead.<ref name=":c43p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p19}}</ref> On the bank, Lucy admits she can't swim, and Zachary's clumsy pep talk knocks her out cold all over again.<ref name=":c43p20">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p20}}</ref>
David dives in after a large-eyebrowed fish and grabs its tail just as it bites a baited hook; the fisherman who reels him ashore is Mike, bruised and entirely alive, having calmly fished while he waited to be found.<ref name=":c43p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p21}}</ref> [[Sue]] hurls herself onto him in tears, and the relief lasts until Paulo presents the once-again-unconscious Lucy with the announcement, "Hey guys? We lost another one."<ref name=":c43p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p22}}</ref>


Then David dives in after a large-eyebrowed fish and grabs its tail just as it bites a baited hook. The fisherman who reels him ashore is Mike, bruised and entirely alive, who has been calmly fishing while he waited to be found.<ref name=":c43p21">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p21}}</ref> [[Sue]] hurls herself onto him in tears. The relief lasts right up until Paulo presents the still-unconscious Lucy with the announcement, "Hey guys? We lost another one."<ref name=":c43p22">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p22}}</ref>
That evening the group settles around a large campfire back in town.<ref name=":c43p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p24}}</ref> When Lucy quietly excuses herself for the bathroom, Mike stands up with an "I'll walk you."<ref name=":c43p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p26}}</ref> Heading for the same restroom a little later, Zachary hears crying, and through the window he sees Lucy sobbing into Mike's chest while Mike holds her and looks away in resentment.<ref name=":c43p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p28}}</ref>
 
A silent, near-black page of Lucy asleep on dark water carries the group back to town.<ref name=":c43p23">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p23}}</ref> She wakes at a large campfire, with [[Catherine]] now in attendance, and her first sight is Mike wavering ghost-like through the flames.<ref name=":c43p24">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p24}}</ref> Sue declares the drama over and starts Truth or Dare, which Paulo eventually hijacks to demand his stereo back from David after three years.<ref name=":c43p25">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p25}}</ref><ref name=":c43p27">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p27}}</ref> When Lucy quietly excuses herself for the bathroom, Mike stands up with an "I'll walk you."<ref name=":c43p26">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p26}}</ref> Zachary heads for the same restroom a little later and hears crying. Through the window he sees Lucy sobbing into Mike's chest while Mike holds her and looks away in resentment.<ref name=":c43p28">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p28}}</ref>


== Critical moments ==
== Critical moments ==
* At the rock bridge, Mike glimpses the river far below and invents a contest about not looking down, purely so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" />
* At the rock bridge, Mike glimpses the river far below and invents a contest about not looking down, purely so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" />
* David's "KAPOW!!" landing cracks the narrow span, and the bridge gives way under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p7" />
* David's "KAPOW!!" landing cracks the narrow span, and the bridge gives way under Mike and Lucy.<ref name=":c43p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p7}}</ref>
* While Mike hangs from the ledge with Lucy gripping his waist, McCain points out that the fall is deadlier than the water. Lucy looks down and faints from sheer terror.<ref name=":c43p9" />
* While Mike hangs from the ledge with Lucy gripping his waist, McCain points out that the fall is deadlier than the water. Lucy looks down and faints from sheer terror.<ref name=":c43p9" />
* Mike springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches the falling Lucy in mid-air, and throws her to safety before dropping alone into the river.<ref name=":c43p10" />
* Mike springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches the falling Lucy in mid-air, and throws her to safety before dropping alone into the river.<ref name=":c43p10" />
Line 40: Line 38:
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Their bond usually runs on competition, and the bridge shows the protective streak underneath it — the no-looking-down "game" exists only so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" /> Back in [[Troubled Waters]], Mike promised her he never wanted her risking herself for him again, and falling alone is that promise kept to the letter.<ref name=":c30p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c43p10" /> Believing him drowned breaks Lucy so thoroughly that Lily sums the whole spectacle up for a baffled Zachary as "Oh, young love~".<ref name=":c43p20" /> By nightfall Mike walks her to the bathroom and lets her cry into his chest, but the look on his face leaves the two of them closer and more strained at once.<ref name=":c43p26" /><ref name=":c43p28" />
* '''Mike and Lucy:''' Their bond usually runs on competition, and the bridge shows the protective streak underneath it — the no-looking-down "game" exists only so Lucy never sees the water.<ref name=":c43p4" /> Back in [[Troubled Waters]], Mike promised her he never wanted her risking herself for him again, and falling alone is that promise kept to the letter.<ref name=":c30p11">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c30/p11}}</ref><ref name=":c43p10" /> Believing him drowned breaks Lucy so thoroughly that Lily sums the whole spectacle up for a baffled Zachary as "Oh, young love~".<ref name=":c43p20" /> By nightfall Mike walks her to the bathroom and lets her cry into his chest, but the look on his face leaves the two of them closer and more strained at once.<ref name=":c43p26" /><ref name=":c43p28" />
* '''Sue and Mike:''' Sue takes his apparent death harder than almost anyone, sobbing at the bridge and throwing herself onto him at the riverbank. Nothing changes between them, but the chapter shows just how much the friendship weighs.<ref name=":c43p11" /><ref name=":c43p22" />
* '''Sue and Mike:''' Sue takes his apparent death harder than almost anyone, sobbing at the bridge and throwing herself onto him at the riverbank. Nothing changes between them, but the chapter shows just how much the friendship weighs.<ref name=":c43p11" /><ref name=":c43p22" />
* '''Zachary and the group:''' He only met these kids the previous chapter.<ref name=":c42p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p18}}</ref> Here the birds recruit him as a rescuer, and he repays being branded "Pedo" and "Creep" by guiding the search anyway.<ref name=":c43p16" /><ref name=":c43p19" /> He ends the night at the campfire with Catherine, and as the only witness to how the day really ended.<ref name=":c43p24" /><ref name=":c43p28" />
* '''Zachary and the group:''' He only met these kids the previous chapter.<ref name=":c42p18">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c42/p18}}</ref> Here the birds recruit him as a rescuer, and he repays being branded "Pedo" and "Creep" by guiding the search anyway.<ref name=":c43p16" /><ref name=":c43p19">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c43/p19}}</ref> He ends the night at the campfire with Catherine, and as the only witness to how the day really ended.<ref name=":c43p24" /><ref name=":c43p28" />


== Trivia & observations ==
== Trivia & observations ==

Latest revision as of 13:13, 21 July 2026

Search and Rescue
Chapter43 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedOctober 2, 2008 (2008-10-02)
Page count28
Major charactersMike, Lucy, Paulo, David, Tess, Sue, Zachary, Lily, Yashy
Minor charactersAlec McCain, Amaya, Blur, Chirpy, Catherine
LocationsSilvershore Islands
Collected inVolume One, Omnibus 1
Chapter navigation
← ArrivalIntervention →
Read chapter

A tropical hike goes very wrong when a rock bridge crumbles under Mike and Lucy. He throws her to safety and drops alone into the river below, leaving his friends hunting for a body and Lucy quietly falling to pieces.

Synopsis

The chapter opens at night in the boys' hotel room, where Paulo and Mike pack their bags, Mike bandaged on his head and waist.[1] From there the story rewinds to that morning and the group's hike up the tropical mountainside.[2]

The trail ends at a high natural rock bridge spanning the valley.[3][4] Mike peeks over the edge, sees the river far below, and freezes. To keep Lucy from spotting the water she fears, he bets her he can "last the longest without looking down", and she furiously takes the bait.[4] On the span, Paulo and David's chest-slamming game cracks the rock, and the bridge crumbles right out from under Mike and Lucy.[5]

Mike catches the ledge one-handed and swings the dangling Lucy up to grip his waist.[6] When she looks down at the river below, she faints and slips backward off him.[7] Mike grabs the ledge with both hands, springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches her in mid-air, and hurls her up to the others before plummeting alone toward the river, marked at the last only by his scarf.[8]

Silhouetted against the sky, Mike springboards off the underside of the broken bridge and catches the unconscious Lucy in mid-air.
Just a cool thing Mike did, okay.

Up top, Lily has nearly talked everyone into composure when Yashy wails "JESUS CHRIST WE KILLED HIM!!" and restarts the crying wholesale.[9] Once Lucy comes to and asks where Mike is, McCain bluntly tells her that he fell, and she crumples, clinging to Paulo.[10] On the trail afterward she insists flatly that Mike drowned, then slides into a giggling, sobbing breakdown.[11]

Help arrives in the shape of Zachary, hauled up the mountain by Blur and Chirpy, with mixed news: a perfectly safe rope bridge crosses the valley nearby, and as for the missing Mike, he blurts out "Well he's probably dead." before hastily offering to help find the body.[12] He guides the group down to the riverbank.[13] There his clumsy attempt to reassure the water-shy Lucy knocks her out cold.[14]

David dives in after a large-eyebrowed fish and grabs its tail just as it bites a baited hook; the fisherman who reels him ashore is Mike, bruised and entirely alive, having calmly fished while he waited to be found.[15] Sue hurls herself onto him in tears, and the relief lasts until Paulo presents the once-again-unconscious Lucy with the announcement, "Hey guys? We lost another one."[16]

That evening the group settles around a large campfire back in town.[17] When Lucy quietly excuses herself for the bathroom, Mike stands up with an "I'll walk you."[18] Heading for the same restroom a little later, Zachary hears crying, and through the window he sees Lucy sobbing into Mike's chest while Mike holds her and looks away in resentment.[19]

Critical moments

  • At the rock bridge, Mike glimpses the river far below and invents a contest about not looking down, purely so Lucy never sees the water.[4]
  • David's "KAPOW!!" landing cracks the narrow span, and the bridge gives way under Mike and Lucy.[20]
  • While Mike hangs from the ledge with Lucy gripping his waist, McCain points out that the fall is deadlier than the water. Lucy looks down and faints from sheer terror.[7]
  • Mike springboards off the underside of the bridge, catches the falling Lucy in mid-air, and throws her to safety before dropping alone into the river.[8]
  • Lucy wakes to the news that Mike fell. She collapses into Paulo's arms, and later breaks down completely, insisting he drowned.[10][11]
  • Diving the river in search of a body, David is reeled in on a fishing line held by a bruised, very alive Mike.[15]
  • In the wordless final pages, Zachary peers out the restroom window and sees Lucy crying into Mike's chest while Mike stares away in resentment.[19]

Character dynamics

Seen through the restroom window, Lucy clings to Mike's waist and cries into his chest while Mike looks off to the side.
Lucy finally gets her reunion. Mike's face says how much he's enjoying it.
  • Mike and Lucy: Their bond usually runs on competition, and the bridge shows the protective streak underneath it — the no-looking-down "game" exists only so Lucy never sees the water.[4] Back in Troubled Waters, Mike promised her he never wanted her risking herself for him again, and falling alone is that promise kept to the letter.[21][8] Believing him drowned breaks Lucy so thoroughly that Lily sums the whole spectacle up for a baffled Zachary as "Oh, young love~".[14] By nightfall Mike walks her to the bathroom and lets her cry into his chest, but the look on his face leaves the two of them closer and more strained at once.[18][19]
  • Sue and Mike: Sue takes his apparent death harder than almost anyone, sobbing at the bridge and throwing herself onto him at the riverbank. Nothing changes between them, but the chapter shows just how much the friendship weighs.[9][16]
  • Zachary and the group: He only met these kids the previous chapter.[22] Here the birds recruit him as a rescuer, and he repays being branded "Pedo" and "Creep" by guiding the search anyway.[12][23] He ends the night at the campfire with Catherine, and as the only witness to how the day really ended.[17][19]

Trivia & observations

  • Mike's scarf is missing in the opening hotel scene. Veronica's canonical explanation is that he took it off while getting ready for bed, though she admits she still missed the error while revising the Omnibus.[1]
  • Mike and Lucy literally break through the panel borders as they fall. Oliver notes the Summer Vacation arc is when Veronica began experimenting with panel layouts for narrative effect, and that straightening those unruled lines in later production was "a nightmare".[20]
  • Veronica calls the mid-air rescue one of the toughest pages she'd made, and answered complaints about its physics with "THIS IS JUST A COOL THING MIKE DID, OKAY. BADASS!!!!!"[8]
  • The beast in the bushes is never identified and never appears again. Veronica's commentary wonders whether it was a bear before concluding "THE LESS WE KNOW, THE BETTER."[13]
  • After the cliff tumble, all the cats land neatly on their feet, while David and McCain, the group's two dogs, land flat on their backs.[23]

Related chapters

  • Intervention: The next chapter opens on this exact alley scene, with Lucy sobbing that she didn't want Mike to die trying and Zachary still watching from the window. The rest of the night unpacks what he saw.[24]
  • Arrival: The previous chapter brings the group to the Silvershore Islands and introduces both Zachary and Catherine. It also sets up Lucy's fear of the water with her panic in the surf.[22][25]
  • Troubled Waters: This is the chapter Mike remembers when he refuses David's rescue offer at the ledge, since David's last heroic leap cost Mike his handhold and nearly drowned everyone involved. It's also where Mike made the promise about Lucy never risking herself for him that the bridge fall makes good on.[26][21]
  • Return: The arc's closing chapter, where Zachary carries what he learned into a beach-side talk confronting Lucy about her attachment to Mike.[27]
  • Another Rescue (side story): An alternate-timeline replay of this chapter's bridge collapse, right down to the KAPOW game and the spreading crack. This time it's Paulo, not Mike, who falls.[28]

References