The Bones Beneath My Skin

Nate drives back to the cabin. As he pulls up, he sees Alex on the porch, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. Nate finds Alex attractive but is wary about revealing his feelings because he has seen men who come across like Alex—rough, military men—at anti-Pride Parade protests in the past. Alex tells Nate that they need to talk, then leads him to the living room, where Art is waiting.

Alex leaves briefly, then returns with scrunchies. He sits behind Art, parts her hair with his callused hands, and begins to braid it. Alex says that he appreciates Nate being nice, which Art corrects to “hospitable.” Nate asks whether Alex is Art’s father, but Alex states that he is her bodyguard. Nate asks where Art’s parents are. She tells him that her parents are the people whom they have been trying to find.

Nate starts to protest that they’re still being too vague, but Art tells him, “Sometimes you need to take things on faith… [W]hen you open your eyes, you can finally see the truth for what it is” (96). Later, Nate tries to continue to quiz Alex, who only gives vague responses. As Nate watches Alex and Art skip rocks across the lake, and he reflects on his dysfunctional family's sadness, realizing the stark difference between how he and his family members treated each other and how Alex and Art treat each other.

For the next three days, Nate, Art, and Alex live peacefully together in Nate’s cabin. One morning, while Art and Alex are down at the lake, Nate sneaks into their bedroom to snoop through their belongings. Nate goes through their duffel bags but just finds clothing and nothing of particular interest. Later, he unsuccessfully tries to press Alex for more information. Over the following days, Art and Alex make themselves at home, recovering, playing cards, and doing laundry.

One day, Art spies a family photo of a 14-year-old Nate with his parents. She asks if he is sad about their deaths, but he responds that he is angry. She also asks about a photo of Nate’s brother, Ricky, and is surprised by the fact that the two do not much resemble one another. Later, Nate decides to tell Alex about his parents’ deaths. However, Alex still refuses to elaborate on his own situation.

Nate takes Art and Alex to a field of wildflowers that used to be important to him and his mother. In the middle of the field, Nate turns to see Art standing amidst the wildflowers, which have bloomed majestically around her. Nate stares at her, wondering if any of this is even real.

The cabin runs out of bacon, which sends Art into a panic. Nate offers to go into town to pick up some more bacon, along with other supplies. He runs into Big Eddie and Randy at the store, both of whom ask how he is doing up at the cabin. Nate introduces Randy to Big Eddie, who expresses surprise, as he believed that he already knew everyone in the public works department. After Eddie leaves, Randy asks Nate odd questions about whether he has seen anyone else up in the woods. He acts cagey when Nate questions him further.

While he is in town, Nate turns his phone on to check his messages. He finds six messages from Ruth, and in each message, she asks him to contact her as soon as possible. In the final message, Ruth says that men from the government have visited her office, clearly searching for any sign of Alex or Art. However, when Nate calls her back, the phone goes straight to voicemail. Nate calls again, and this time, Ruth answers after a few rings.

Ruth tells Nate that men who claim to be from the NSA are searching for her, but they haven’t yet discovered who requested info on Alex Delgado. She tells Nate that Alex’s name is actually Alex Weir; he has been AWOL from a northern California military base for the past two weeks. Before going AWOL, Alex had been missing for around a decade, with no records of his existence; this indicates that the base, called the Mountain by internal sources, had hidden evidence of Alex’s employment with them. Ruth warns Nate that the government is looking for him and that he needs to grab his things and flee before they find him. However, Nate tells Ruth that he cannot leave because he cannot bring himself to abandon Alex and Art.

On the way back to the cabin, Nate receives a call from Big Eddie, who tells him that Jimmy, the previous water tech, has been found murdered and that the public works department has never employed anybody named Randy. Nate speeds back to the cabin and confesses to Alex that he contacted Ruth. Alex reacts with fury but begins to pack up once Art tells him that they need to leave, as the men with guns are coming for them.

Alex tries to leave without Nate, but Art insists that they take him along. However, they soon encounter Randy standing in the road, blocking their exit. He greets Alex by name, showing that he has been searching for them. Randy claims to Alex that he had always known where they were, and that the government had decided to allow them to spend time at the cabin for a field test for Seventh Sea, the codename that the Mountain gave Art. Alex asks whether Randy is an Enforcer, and Randy is surprised that Alex knows that title. Randy gives Nate the option to leave, but he decides to stay with his friends.

Randy stomps into the woods, and the sound of a helicopter comes from his direction. Alex throws Nate and Art into the cab of the truck, and they take off down the road. They encounter a line of men with rifles, but Art raises her hand, and the bullets ping off the truck as if the metal is bulletproof. In explanation, Art tells Nate that she is not even from the same galaxy as Earth—she is an alien. When they encounter another blockade, Art sticks her hands out again, and the Humvees shoot up into the air, impacting the helicopter and causing it to crash. The three of them blast through the blockade without stopping, protected by Art’s powers.

After escaping from the military, they drive for hours in silence. At one point, Nate demands that Alex pull over. He then proceeds to have a panic attack on the side of the road. Alex gets out and gives Nate water to help him calm down. They head to a local country-western bar, where they ditch Nate’s truck and steal another vehicle in order to better avoid their pursuers.

They drive until the following morning, then stop at a rundown motel to get some sleep. Alex passes out immediately, while Art stays up with Nate, who feels too wired to sleep. Alex awakens Nate in the morning, promising to answer his questions after Nate gets ready to go. They all head to a diner, where Art tells Nate that she was stuck as a prisoner at the Mountain for 30 years before Alex broke her out. They promise to tell him more during the day’s drive.