Zero Days

There is a great deal of foreshadowing in the novel regarding Jack’s pregnancy and Cole’s involvement in Gabe’s murder. First, Cole is the only person Jack tells about Gabe’s death, and she describes his shock and bewilderment in detail. His eagerness to help Jack, including help in eluding the police, could signal his loyalty or his guilt. Next, Cole takes Jack to a church, a place he knows because, he says, he likes to “walk through the graveyard at lunch, sometimes” (148). This detail begins to link Cole to death, as does his employer, Cerberus Security. In Greek mythology, Cerberus guards the entrance to the Underworld. Cole is high in the Cerberus chain of command and doesn’t technically kill Gabe (or anyone else), but he is ultimately responsible for Gabe’s death and any danger that befalls those who are threatened by the zero-day he created. Finally, his willingness to kiss Jack just a few days after Gabe’s death creates additional foreshadowing that Cole is not what he seems.

Jack’s pregnancy is foreshadowed in even more obvious ways. Jack thinks that Hel “had made her own family, a new one—with a future that was bright and beautiful and loving.