Gunnerkrigg Court/Recap/Volume 03/Chapter 027: Spring Heeled

Chapter 27 opens with Jack Hyland, with bandages on his fingers and his mysterious condition seemingly having continued to worsen since, jumping down a flight of stairs and falling in front of Antimony Carver and Katerina Donlan, while unseen pursuers shout after him. Jack stands up, hands Antimony a folded-up note, then dashes over to a window, opens it, and jumps out as his pursuers arrive, revealing themselves to be a young woman, Shell, and a stout, bald man, Aata , both wearing black suits with orange buttons and an orange insignia of a bar over two dots. Shell can't see where Jack went, and is upset over failing to catch him, but Aata, apparently her superior, says she did well. Aata cheerfully tells the crowd of watching students "Nothing to see here, kids. Go back to your educations!", then he and Shell walk off the way they came. Once these apparent authority figures leave, the crowd of students start gossiping about Jack, who one says has "been acting real crazy lately" and another says hasn't been seen "in ages". One student excitedly asks Antimony what the note says, but Antimony says she'll read it later, provoking groans of disappointment from the crowd.

Later, Antimony and Kat read the note— "Meet me at the building by the lake tonight 10:00 13th floor Bring the wolf"

Kat and Reynardine try to dissuade Antimony from going to meet Jack, thinking it's too dangerous. Reynardine particularly worries about Jack's having been "tainted by that demon girl", earning Antimony's reproach for calling Zimmy a "demon girl". Antimony thinks she "shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss Jack" and feels she ought to try to help Jack with his mysterious problem. Reynardine expresses confidence in his ability to overpower Jack should the latter prove threatening, and unsubtly suggests that Antimony is inviting trouble by choosing to "meddle so much", to Kat's agreement and Antimony's annoyance.

That night, under a waxing crescent moon prominently displaying Antimony's fingerprint, Antimony rides Reynardine to the tall building overlooking the lake. Along the way, Antimony tells Reynardine that she's worried about Kat's having been "callous... almost bitter" since they watched the video in about what happened to Jeanne. Reynardine is "not surprised her outlook has darkened" after learning that the founders of the Court, which she always has called home, were "willing to sacrifice others to protect themselves", and he reassures Antimony that "Katerina is a sensitive girl. But also a strong one. She'll pull through."

Climbing the stairs to the thirteenth floor, Antimony and Reynardine meet Jack as he finishes building a makeshift bridge from a windowsill to the top of the wall around the lake. Jack is pleased to see them, scratches his cheek, and announces that they're going to the power station. Not answering Antimony's question as to what's going on, Jack crawls across his bridge, climbs down a rope from the top of the wall to the shore of the lake below, and, with Antimony and Reynardine following, leads them to an inflatable rowboat. Antimony again asks what's going on, and Jack says that he "gotta find out what happened that night" (i.e., in ), that answer lies with either Zimmy or the power station, that he can't find Zimmy, and that he knows Antimony knows about their getting pulled into Zimmy's nightmare world because he saw her there. Jack says that he called out to Antimony in "that... place", but she didn't hear him. As Jack starts rowing the boat across the lake and briefly describes what he saw in Zimmy's dark Birmingham, Reynardine sympathises with him, saying that "Seeing the world through that demon girl's eyes cannot be easy to bear". Before Antimony can chide Reynardine for calling Zimmy a "demon girl" again, Jack surprises them by addressing Reynardine as "Renard", a name otherwise used only by Gillitie denizens and people associated with the Court medium program. Jack explains that he discovered that "Renard" is Reynardine's "real name" while "root[ing] around" in the school's computer network, via which he found information on all the students (in Queslett, at least). He says he "read all about" Antimony and Renard, including that Renard tried to kill Antimony and that Antimony's father "ditched" her; Jack's blunt raising of these topics leaves Renard ashamed and Antimony angered. However, Jack says that he couldn't access any information on Chester and Foley students (such as Zimmy), and that the school's computer network has no connection to the rest of the Court, such as the power station — our first confirmation that the school merely is part of a larger organization.

Jack says that the Court tracks people's movement and vital statistics (presumably he means vital signs) via "these little... things" that they put in "all the food", and therefore he hasn't eaten in days so they won't be able to track him. Antimony points out that not eating is not good for his health, but Jack laughs it off as not concerning compared to whatever else is wrong with him. Antimony thinks it would make more sense for the Court to put tracking devices in their clothes, which too are all Court-issued. Reynardine insists that Jack not take the same approach with that possibility as with the food.

Jack concludes that rowing is more difficult than he had expected, then is startled as the boat begins to move without his help — as Antimony projects into the ether to push the boat using the telekinesis that Coyote taught her in. Jack looks at Antimony's etheric projection and says he can see her; Antimony, on the other hand, does not mention the etheric spider on Jack's head, which has grown markedly larger and has spun more web since.

Eventually, they arrive at the island in the middle of the lake. Jack rushes to the power station, with Antimony following a bit behind. Sneaking into the power station, Jack spots a robot guard, who has an electric torch, a cap with the bismuth symbol, and a painted-on necktie, and is trying to whistle by saying "whistle whiiistle". As the guard thinks aloud that 'saying "whistle" just doesn't sound ri—', Jack picks up a length of rebar from the floor and smashes in the robot's head with it (destroying the CPU ). As Jack does so, the darkness around his eyes intensifies slightly and starts dribbling down his face, which is implied to reflect his actions. Antimony, catching up to Jack, is shocked and saddened over the robot, but Jack brushes her off with "So what? It's just a dumb robot.", contrasting with his affectionate and cooperative interaction with the laser cows in, and walks off further into the power station.

As Antimony and Reynardine follow Jack through the power station, with shadowy machines towering over them in intricate detail, Jack stops and sticks several devices from his backpack onto a wall, saying they're for notifying him in case anyone else passes by them. (UNFINISHED)


 * Just a Machine: Jack's smashing of the guard robot's head and his "just a dumb robot" line currently (August 2018) provide the trope image for Just a Machine, as they have since some time between 8 June 2011 and 8 July 2011, when they replaced a panel from Schlock Mercenary.