The Sky So Heavy: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

The days pass and begin to blur together, with still no sign of Greg. Fin and Max spend their time quietly indoors, eating from their reserves and playing cards. They start wearing more layers to fight off the increasing cold in the house. Fin finds himself speculating on the possible horrible fates his parents and Lucy may have met. One day, the boys’ neighbor Mrs. White stops by with her dog, to say hello. She’s surprised and concerned to hear that their father has been gone for several days, but she tries to reassure them that his absence is probably just due to blocked roads.

Fin realizes for the first time how badly he and Max have begun to smell: they haven’t showered since the beginning of their isolation. He notices too that the whole house is in disarray; neither of the boys have been washing their dishes. While Fin is cleaning up, Max, who has poor circulation, confides in him that the cold in the house has really started to affect him. He asks if they can build a fire. Fin is pessimistic, as their firewood has been outside exposed to the elements for months, but he puts on an extra layer and ventures forth to gather some. Weak and damp as it is, the boys manage to start a fire with it.

Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Fin sees two police officers outside, and he grows deeply worried. The police, however, are just doing a sweep of the neighborhood to check on everyone during the power outage. Fin says that they haven’t seen their father since Wednesday, and Constable Lund, a female officer, suggests that the road closures are probably to blame. The police seem concerned that the two boys are home by themselves, but Fin lies and says that he is 18. When he asks them whether the snow is radioactive, they nervously tell him that they don’t know, but they advise him and Max to stick to bottled water. They say that they will return in a few days to check in again.