How It All Goes Down
Jason Bock doesn't know what he believes anymore, spiritually speaking. A self-described agnostic-going-on-atheist, he does know that he doesn't buy into his parents' Catholicism. When the local bully lays him out with a punch, Jason gets a literal new perspective on the town's water tower—the tallest structure in the area, it has a presence. Not to mention a belly full of the stuff-of-life: water.
He figures that worshiping the town water tower is as arbitrary as any other god or religion, so why not? Thus the CTG—Church of the Ten-legged God—is born. He makes up most of the tenets of Chutengodianism on the fly, often as not to provoke others.
But a religion ain't nuthin' without followers, and pretty soon Jason-the-Head-Kahuna has got a few. There's the First Keeper of the Sacred Text, a.k.a. Jason's best friend Shin, a smart science-nerd type; First Acolyte Exaltus Dan Grant—Mr. Ordinary and son of a Methodist preacher; and High Priestess Magda, she of the big eyes, long hair and "lips you can't not look at" (3.28). Then along comes Henry, the guy that sucker-punched Jason. He's actually climbed the water tower, and Jason wants to know how—plus he's a little fascinated by the guy—so he makes him High Priest, which doesn't sit well with Shin who is a frequent recipient of Henry's bullying.
Shin's resentment is compounded by the fact that he can't climb the tower—the kid freezes up in tower-terror—so he's not there for Midnight Mass, when the others climb and open the hatch on top to swim in the Godhead. The shenanigans turn decidedly un-fun, however, when Henry slips and slides over the edge of the tank's top. Fortunately he hits the catwalk just below instead of the ground far below; unfortunately it is a very hard catwalk. He busts his leg in a most gruesome manner.
All the Chutengodians present get rounded up and sent to the hospital or the pokey. (This is an old-fashioned term for jail. We don't know where it came from. Or anyone who actually still uses it.)
Where were we? Oh yeah. Jason, Magda, and Dan are all in big trouble. It cost a lot for the city to sanitize the water tower: "Hmm. Tastes like unwashed teenage bodies" (18.61). So everyone is grounded, walking the plank, etc. Shin is mad hurt that Jason and the others went inside the tank without him—he says he is "called" to climb. He says a lot of stuff that has Jason a bit worried, though. The Shin man seems to take the whole Ten-legged God thing a bit too seriously.
The CTG undergoes a schism—Henry invites his delinquent friends to join, and writes some commandments with Magda. This doesn't sit well with Jason, and we wonder whether he's upset about the commandments, or the fact that Magda spent time with Henry?
This little drama takes a back seat when Shin successfully climbs the tower in the dark of night, just ahead of an advancing storm. (Note: Tall metal structure + electrical storm = unsafe environment.)
Although Jason has sworn off climbing water towers, his best friend is about to get fried to a crisp—so up he goes. As lightening and thunder flash and crash around, Shin refuses to descend, so into the tank they go, to bob safely until the storm passes. During their dip, Shin thanks Jason for opening his eyes to the tower's deity. He shares the Chutengodian ideology that he has channeled from the Ten-legged One. When the storm recedes, Shin refuses to leave—and Jason has no choice but to climb down and call the cops to get him out.
So Henry's busted up. Shin spends a couple of days in the hospital psych ward. And Dan and Magda can't or won't speak to Jason. All the parents seem to think Jason bears a greater amount of culpability (that's totally parent-speak for blame) for being the ringleader.
Jason has a lot of opportunity for reflection. Is he evil? Is Shin crazy? He doesn't come up with solid answers. He does, however, get a reprieve from his dad, who says Jason is old enough to decide what he believes—he can choose whether to attend church or not. Jason is left with a religion but no faith, and envy for those who have an unshakeable belief in something.