Firestarter
Published: 29, September 1980
Genre: American, Classic, Fiction, Genetic Engineering, Horror, Literature, Media Tie-In, Psychic, Science Fiction, Superhero, Suspense, Supernatural, Thriller
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Summary
Andy and Charlene "Charlie" McGee are a father and daughter duo on the run from The Shop, a government organization.
Andy had taken part in a Shop experiment using "Lot 6," a substance with psychoactive effects akin to LSD, during his college years.
The substance provided his future wife, Victoria Tomlinson, limited telekinetic talents and granted him telepathic mind control, which he calls "the push." They both got telepathic talents at the same time.
Andy and Vicky's abilities were biologically restricted; in Andy's case, excessive use of the push causes debilitating migraine headaches and minute brain hemorrhages, but their daughter Charlie gained terrifyingly great pyrokinetic ability.
The story opens in the middle of the action, with Charlie and Andy fleeing from Shop agents in New York City, the latest in a series of failed attempts by The Shop to apprehend Andy and Charlie after a botched raid on the McGee family in suburban Ohio.
A failed plan to abduct Charlie leaves her mother dead after years of Shop monitoring; Andy goes home after seeing a psychic flash while having lunch with coworkers to find his wife slain and his daughter stolen.
He then utilizes his push ability to hunt down Charlie and The Shop agents, eventually catching up with them at an Interstate rest stop. He uses the push to knock out two Shop agents, one of whom is blinded and the other unconscious.
Charlie and Andy depart and begin a life of running and hiding under fictitious names. Before The Shop catches up with them in New York, they travel multiple times to escape being discovered.
The two escape through Albany, New York, and are briefly taken in by a farmer named Irv Manders near the fictional town of Hastings Glen, New York, using a combination of the push, Charlie's power, and hitchhiking; however, they are tracked down by Shop agents, who attempt to kill Andy and kidnap Charlie at the Manders farm.
Charlie uses her power at Andy's command, incinerating the entire farm and fights off the agents, killing a couple of them.
With nowhere else to turn, the two flee to Tashmore, Vermont, where they seek safety in a cabin that previously belonged to Andy's grandpa.
The Shop's director, Captain James "Cap" Hollister, dispatches a Shop assassin called John Rainbird to apprehend the fugitives after the Manders farm operation goes horribly wrong.
Rainbird, a Cherokee and a Vietnam War veteran, is enthralled by Charlie's strength and becomes obsessed with her, seeking to befriend and kill her. The operation is successful this time, and The Shop takes both Andy and Charlie.
The two are separated and imprisoned in The Shop headquarters in Longmont, Virginia, a fictitious Washington, D.C. suburb.
Andy becomes an overweight drug addict after his spirit is crushed, he appears to lose his strength, and The Shop finally declares him useless.
Charlie, on the other hand, firmly refuses to collaborate with The Shop and does not show her skills in their favor.
A power outage marks a turning moment for the two: Andy, sick with dread and self-pity, regains the drive - unconsciously pushing himself to escape his addiction - while Rainbird, posing as a normal janitor, meets Charlie and earns her trust.
Andy obtains critical information by pressuring his doctor while claiming to be feeble and addicted.
Charlie begins to exhibit her power, which has grown to terrifying proportions, under Rainbird's direction.
Andy is able to meet and push Cap after his psychiatrist commits suicide, and uses him to arrange his and Charlie's escape from the facility, as well as to finally connect with Charlie.
Rainbird, on the other hand, finds Andy's scheme and decides to exploit it.
Andy's plan works, and he and Charlie are reunited for the first time in six months in a barn, but Rainbird is already there, ready to kill them both.
Cap, who is losing his wits as a result of being pushed, provides a necessary distraction.
Andy coerces Rainbird into leaping from the barn's top level, fracturing his leg in the process.
Rainbird then shoots Andy in the neck and fires another shot at Charlie, but she uses her power to melt the bullet in mid-flight, igniting Rainbird and Cap.
Andy, who is mortally injured, tells Charlie to utilize her ability to flee and alert the people so that the government can never do anything like this again.
After he dies, Charlie, distraught and enraged, sets fire to the barn; she then uses her pyrokinesis to kill the staff and blow up their escape vehicles. The military is summoned, but Charlie destroys their trucks and melts their bullets when they fire at her. Charlie blows up the structure, destroying the whole Shop complex and killing practically everyone.
The government conceals the incident and portrays it as a terrorist firebomb assault in the media. Under new leadership, the Shop swiftly recovers and launches a pursuit for Charlie, who has returned to the Manders property.
After considerable thought, she devises a strategy and departs the Manders' just ahead of Shop operatives for New York City.
She chooses Rolling Stone magazine as an independent, truthful news source free of government affiliations, and the novel closes when she comes to tell them her story.
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