How It All Goes Down
In the Basement
- Suddenly, Jack remembers the boiler.
- He's been in the basement since 6 pm, reading the files. Jack is still trying to find the missing piece of information that will make sense of everything. Now it's just after 5 am.
- Quickly, he moves to the boiler. The pressure is super high.
- For a moment, he imagines getting Danny and Wendy and leaving the hotel, letting the boiler blow it up.
- The he remembers that this is his "last chance" (40.16).
- All he has left is a life insurance policy. If he dies in a fire, Wendy will get lots of money.
- He's sure he and Danny will be able to leave the hotel in time.
- Jack is suddenly alert, aware he was daydreaming instead of doing his job.
- Carefully, he released pressure from the boiler and listens to it stabilize.
- Jack would love to have a drink right now.
- He promises himself to watch the boiler very carefully for the rest of the winter.
- His hands are aching and blistered from turning the valve in the boiler.
- A nice drink would numb the pain.
- He remembers hallucinating that the bar in the lounge was fully stocked.
- Now that he's "saved the hotel […] [t]he hotel would want to reward him" (39.51).
- A drink is what he wants, and he moves quickly up the stairs.