Blood Brothers Chapters 3–4 Summary & Analysis

Summary: Chapter 3

The story jumps ahead to February 2008. Cal and Fox still live in Hawkins Hollow, where Cal runs the Bowl-a-Rama that was opened by his grandfather while Fox works as a lawyer. Gage is always on the move but returns to Hawkins Hollow on their shared birthday every seven years. Since the mysterious experience they had at Pagan Rock on their tenth birthday, none of the boys has gotten sick or sustained any injuries.

Every seven years since the day of the boys’ tenth birthday, the town is overcome with an evil power that causes the residents to behave in horrible ways, as if possessed. Because this event takes place every seven years, on the seventh day of the seventh month, it has become known as “the Seven.” As the chapter opens, Cal visits Fox in his office, and Fox explains that he’s upset because his assistant, Alice Hawbaker, has just told him that she plans to leave Hawkins Hollow because of “the Seven.” Cal tells Fox that he has started having dreams that he also had around their seventeenth and twenty-fourth birthdays. Fox mentions that he too is having repeated dreams. Cal and Fox express concern about how early the dreams have come this time, and wonder if the evil force that takes over the town is becoming stronger. Cal then goes home to meet with Quinn Black, a writer who’s interested in unexplained phenomena in small towns. As Quinn drives to Cal’s house, she briefly sees something that looks like it could be a child or a dog, but it disappears.

Summary: Chapter 4

When Quinn and Cal first meet at his house, they’re immediately attracted to each other. Quinn begins interviewing Cal about Hawkins Hollow. She reveals what she already knows: Cal is a descendant of the town’s founder, and on their tenth birthday, Cal, Fox, and Gage alerted the fire department that the elementary school was on fire, saving a teacher who had deliberately set the fire. She also mentions their seventeenth and twenty-fourth birthdays, during which several serious crimes were committed, including murder and rape. Cal explains that they know this happens every seven years around their birthday, but they don’t know why or how to stop the cycle from continuing. He hopes that having Quinn as an objective party will help them figure something out before their upcoming birthday. Quinn mentions the figure she saw on the drive to Cal’s house, and Cal wonders if Quinn is somehow connected to Hawkins Hollow. That night, Cal meets Fox at the Bowl-a-Rama, and they discuss what Quinn saw and what it could mean. Quinn arrives and has dinner with them.

Analysis: Chapters 3–4

The immediate attraction between Cal and Quinn illustrates the power of the romance between these two characters. In some ways, the team of six comes together to fight the Big Evil because Cal and Quinn fall in love. When Quinn shows Cal that she can see the evil boy that’s haunted him since he was ten, Cal begins to understand that, for the first time in his life, he can trust an outsider. Through Quinn’s courage and pragmatism, Cal begins to develop hope that perhaps he can finally put an end to the Seven.

The importance of the number seven is also introduced in these chapters: the boys’ birthday is on the seventh day of the seventh month in 1977 and the evil that plagues the town is called the Seven because it occurs every seven years for seven days. Quinn notes that seven is considered a magical number by those who practice both black and white magic. This suggests that, like the events of the Seven, the power of the number seven is complex, containing aspects of both good and evil.

The powers introduced in these chapters are also complex, containing both good and evil. Cal can see into the past, Fox intuits deeply into the present, and Gage has a talent for soothsaying. None of them suffer from illness, and they recover from even serious injury in seconds. The benefit of these powers suggest that what happened at Pagan Stone did more than just open up something evil. It also tapped into a profound and protective good. This good is also apparent in the character of Cal, Fox, and Gage, who are loyal to each other, committed to doing good, and share a desire to put an end to the Seven.

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