American Gods 1
Neil Gaiman
PART ONE - SHADOWS
1. Shadow has been in prison for three years of his six year sentence. He has kept a low profile the entire time to get home as soon as possible. He is excited to be released in a few days and go home to his wife, Lauren. His cell mate, Low Key, tells him it would be safer to stay in prison with the storm that is coming. A few days before his scheduled release, Shadow is told that he is being let out that afternoon because his wife was killed in a car accident. He gets to the airport and the cashier is able to get him on a flight that day instead of 3 days later when his ticket is for. He ends up on a layover due to a storm and misses his next flight. He is put into a different one where a one-eyed man calling himself Wednesday already seems to know Shadow and offers him a job. Shadow does my like the man and declines. He ends up in a small town and goes to a bar where he orders food. He runs into Wednesday in the bathroom who offers him the job again.
Somewhere in America - Los Angeles. 11:26 pm
A woman charges a man to sleep with him. In addition to his payment, she asks him to worship her as if she were a goddess. As they have sex, he preys to and worships him and she absorbs him with her vagina.
2. When Shadow gets to his table, he finds Wednesday ordered food and it is at the same table as his food. They sit down together and are joined by Mad Sweeny who says he is a Leprechaun. Wednesday gets them drinks and brings back a glass of mead, a hero’s drink, for Shadow. After three glasses of mead, the deal for Shadow to work for Wednesday is sealed. Shadow and Mad Sweeny fight. Shadow wins and Mad Sweeny gives him a coin. When Shadow wakes up in the morning in the back of Wednesday’s car, his memory of the previous night comes back slowly as Wednesday drives him to his wife’s funeral. While he looks down at her body, Laura’s best friend Audrey comes up and spits on her face before leaving. Shadow follows her out to get an explaination. Audrey explains Laura was having an affair with her husband, Robby, who was driving when they died. When the casket is out in the ground, Shadow stays for a long time and is the last to leave throwing the coin from Mad Sweeny in before he goes. Audrey drives up next to him as he is walking. She wants to explain her actions, but Shadow doesn’t want to hear it. He tells her she would have fit in well in prison and she drives away. Not long after, a limo drives up and a couple men grab him and through him in the back seat. His hands are bound behind his back and he sits between two large men. Another man asks him about Wednesday’s plans. Shadow admits he has only been working for Wednesday since that morning and would wouldn’t give the man any of to even if he had it. The man lights up a cigarette that seems to be made of electronics. He tells Shadow to give Wednesday a message about him being done and them taking over. Shadow promises to give Wednesday the message and that he can walk to the rest of the way. They let him out of the car and take off.
3. Shadow makes it back to the hotel and delivers the message the Wednesday. He is angry, but doesn’t seem to worried about the threat. He sends Shadow along to eat and sleep. Shadow has a dream of gods saying they are around as long as they are remembered. He wakes up to find Laura in his room. She is solid, but still clearly dead. She asks for a pack of cigarettes saying she isn’t concerned about her health any more. He goes to the lobby and gets a pack. When he gets back, she smokes them, but says it isn’t quite the same. She admits her affair and explains how it got started from her needing a shoulder to cry on. She apologizes for asking him to do what he did which is what landed him in prison. She kisses him goodbye. Shadow is a bit creeped about and goes to tell Wednesday about the encounter. Wednesday admits ghost encounters freak him out too. The woman from the desk is in his bed and he hurries Shadow off saying he doesn’t sleep and needs to occupy his time. He asks Shadow how long they need to stay, but Shadow is ready to put the town and his dead wife behind him.
Coming to America - 813 AD
a group of thirty men sailed to America. They met a scraeling, got him drunk, and at the end of the night, hung him as an offering to their gods. They saw ravens pecking at the body in the morning and decided the offering was accepted. The scraelings come for them and kill all the men and burn their ship to warn others of coming to their land.
4. When they leave the next morning, they go to Chicago. On the way, Wednesday explains they are stopping there to get money and then heading to Madison for a gathering. Shadow asks if Wednesday had anything to do with Laura’s death, but he says he is just as puzzled as Shadow. They come to an apartment building in Chicago and Zoyra Vechernyaya is worried bad news will follow Wednesday in. She leaves to get groceries and the men go upstairs. When they knock, Czernobog answers the door and calls Wednesday “Grimnir.” When Wednesday corrects him, he thinks his new name is a good joke. He lets them in and Zoyra Utrennyaya sends them to the sitting room. Shadow goes to the bathroom and when he comes out, Czernobog is yelling at Wednesday. Utrennyaya warns him not to wake up her sister, Zoyra Polynochnaya. Wednesday asked Czernobog to come with them, but he refuses. Once the Russian has calmed down, Wednesday asks if he has heard anything from his brother Bielebog. Czernobog says he has not. He tells Shadow his brother was the lighter while he was the dark. He thinks they are both gray now and mostly being forgotten. Czernobog asks Wednesday to play checkers, but he declines. Shadow offers to play and Czernobog suggests a wager. If Shadow wins, the Russian comes with them. If Czernobog wins, he gets to smash in Shadow’s head with a sledgehammer. Czernobog wins and Shadow challenges him to a rematch for another swing at his head. Shadow wins the second game and Czernobog agrees to go with them. They eat dinner and agree to spend the night there. Shadow follows Zoyra Polunochnaya onto the roof where there is a wooden bench for them to sit on. She tells him about her family. Her sisters were responsible for opening and closing the gate at dawn and dusk to let in their father’s chariot. She was charged with watching the night and never saw her father. She asks about his life and he says he has no one since his wife died, yet visited him the previous night. She tells him to ask what she wants if she appears again. She tells him to pluck the moon from the sky. He is confused, so she does it and a coin appears in her hand. Shadow can’t figure out her magic trick. The next morning when Shadow wakes up on the sofa, Wednesday tells him they are going to rob a bank.
Coming to America - 1721
Essie Tregowan lived in Corneal and worked in a squire’s kitchen with her mother. She wanted the squire’s son, Bartholomew, so she made an offering on a stone. They slept together and she got pregnant. The baby was stillborn. The bit left for Oxford and Essie found a new lover with a bad reputation who she let ransack the house at nightZ. They were caught and sent to trial. Essie was sent off to America, but she charmed the ship captain into marrying her and she instead went to London. She became very good at shoplifting and always left milk in a wooden bowl at the back door for the piskies. When she was twenty, she tried ran into Bartholomew and tried to pick his pocket. He recognized her and she’s went to trial and was sent to America again. She gave birth to a boy named Anthony, but no one was sure who the actual father was. She would tell her son and her employers children stories of different types of fairies. She ended up marrying a man who had a farm and a daughter and had another son with him. As adults, Anthony would kill the younger son and run away to avoid punishment. Essie marries again to a man with five kids. One day when Essie was very old and shelling peas, a Cornishman that calls himself her cousin, Jack, says that she brought him to the new world with her. He asks her to take his hand and she does. Her body was found still warm.
5. Shadow plays with the coin Zoyra Polunochnaya gave him and Wednesday notices it. They stop at a bank and pick up deposit forms. They go to Kinkos to make copies of the slips. He tells Shadow to think about snow and Shadow fully concentrated on it. Wednesday gets what he needs and then tells Shadow to stop thinking about snow before they get too bad of a storm. He gives Shadow a card saying the name on it, A. Haddock, is who he is going to need to be. They get lunch and Wednesday changes into a blue security guard suit with pink earmuffs. Shadow drops him off at the bank where he puts an out of order sign in the ATM and set up to take people’s deposits. Shadow waits at the pay phone at a convenient store and tells the clerk he is waiting for his girlfriend to call him about car trouble. A little while into it, the police call looking for A. Haddock to check up that Wednesday’s character is legitimate. He plays his roll and hangs up. Wednesday puts everything back in order when he feels they have enough money. They stop at the bank before heading to Madison, Wisconsin. They arrive at a place called the House in the Rock and Wednesday explains roadside attractions draw people in because they are places of power. They make their way through the infinity room. Shadow accidentally drops his coin and Wednesday returns it to him telling him ti he more careful with the gifts people give him. The meet up with Czernobog and head to the carousel. They meet Mr. Nancy on the way, who thinks Shadow isn’t very smart. When they get to the world’s largest carousel, Shadow is amazed at all the lifesized animals in it. There is a sign telling them not to touch, but the three old men get on it and shadow follows. They each pick an animal to ride (Shadow’s is a tiger with an eagle head) and the ride starts up. Shadow feels like he is 10 years-old again. He sees the three men and others now revealed as gods.
6. The next thing Shadow knows, they are riding their live carousel animals to a meeting location. Czernobog tells him it is all happening in his head and not to worry about it. They end up meeting with several other gods. Mr. Nancy tells a story about how he stole a tiger’s huge testicals and tricked him into thinking the monkeys took them instead. Afterwards, the meeting starts. Shadow is shocked to learn Wednesday is actually Odin. He wants the old gods to fight back against the new gods that have started forming in America. Mama-ji isn’t convinced the new gods are after them or even going to be around very long. She doesn’t see the need to take action against them like Orin does. The meeting is adjourned and they all go back to the real world for Shadow to transport them to dinner. He parks the car and makes his way into the restaurant, but is quickly knocked out. He wakes up in an empty cell and two men in suites, Wood and Stone. They play good-cop, bad-cop for a while trying to get information about Wednesday, but Shadow admits he has only been working for him for three days. They beat him up and he passes out. When he wakes up, Laura tells him she killed the guards and he needs to get out of there quickly. He is shocked she could kill so easily, but she says it is different when you are dead. She tells him to get a car and head south. He asks her what she wants and she says she wants to live for real instead of being an animated corpse. She tells him to find a way to make it happen and he promises to do his best.
7. Shadow starts walking south as quickly as he can knowing he will be blamed for the guards’ deaths. One of Wednesday’s ravens appears and tells him to go to Kay-ro. To follow the Mississippi and find Jackel. Shadow is confused, but follows the bird. He comes to a gas station where the attendant shows him a place nicknamed Kay-ro in Illinois. She is also able to hook him up with a guy that sells junker cars. He starts driving, but eventually has to pull over to sleep. He is woken up by a college age girl tapping on his window in the morning to make sure he is alright. He offers her a ride and she tells him she is going to El Paso, Illinois. She gets in and gives him directions. They get to talking and she admits she doesn’t believe in gods and thinks maybe they were aliens or just people messed up. Shadow says he believes and thinks people just don’t run into gods anymore. She tells him if he runs into any gods to say hi to for her. When they stop for lunch, they agree to flip to see who pays and Shadow ends up paying. He takes her to her aunts house and waits for her to get inside before driving off. Later he starts shaking while driving and decides he needs to sleep. He gets a hotel room and turns on the TV to help him sleep. He stops on The Dick Van Dyke show, but the story line is about alcoholism and abuse, which seems odd to him. I Love Lucy comes on next and Lucy starts to talk to him. She explains that TV is a new god. It wants him on their side and is willing to pay a lot more than Wednesday. The sleep timer of the TV is set and shuts it off. The next day, he is along the bank of the Mississippi he is trying out a coin trick for a little girl, but she doesn’t react. A man in gold-rimmed glassed appears. There is a dog and a cat near her and he asks the dog asks what he thinks of the trick. When the dog responds, the girl runs away. Shadow asks which one of them is Jackel. The dog tells him to follow him to a funeral parlor. The man introduces himself as Mister Ibis and offers to buy him dinner while his friend completes his work.
Somewhere in America
Salim came to NYC in America to sell trinkets his brother-in-law, Fuad’s (sister’s husband), company makes. He isn’t having much luck. He gets turned away from appointments and hates the cold. He is running out of money and Fuad is running out of patience. He decides to take a taxi and the driver is covered up and keeps falling asleep. Salim pokes him to wake him up. They talk about Oman and the Lost City of Towers. The driver falls asleep again, and when Salim goes to wake him, he accidentally knocks off his sunglasses. He realizes the driver is a jinn. The driver tells him he doesn’t grant wishes like the stories say and he has been pretty miserable in NYC. When they reach the hotel, Salim leaves him a $20 tip and goes to get dinner. When he gets back to the hotel, the jinn is there waiting for him. They go up to his room and have sex several times. When Salim wakes up the next morning, the jinn is gone, but his keys are still there. Salim decides to take over driving his taxi.
8. They get back to the funeral home and Jackel is examining the body of a girl that was murdered by her boyfriend because she thought she was pregnant and he didn’t think it was his. They offer to have Shadow help them out while he is there. No one knows how long he is supposed to stay there. That night, the cat follows him to bed. He is woken up in the middle of the night by a cat-like woman and they have sex. The next morning, he wakes up to find his bruises are gone, but he has scratches from the night before. He goes for a walk and runs into Mad Sweeny who is desperate to get back the coin he gave him. Shadow explains he doesn’t have it any more. Mad Sweeny says he accidentally gave him the wrong coin when he showed him how to take them. That one was only meant for royalty and his life depended on getting it back. When Shadow says he can’t get it, Mad Sweeny asks him for $20 for a ticket out of there. Shadow gives him the money and they part ways. Shadow is sent out into the snow to pick up an old woman that had died. Not long after, he is sent on a run to pick up a body from under the bridge. It is Mad Sweeny with a bottle in his hand. He straps him to the gurney and starts driving back to the funeral home. Mad Sweeny says he wants a proper wake. That night at dinner, shadow sets an extra place for Mad Sweeny and pours them all drinks of Jameson Gold. He says what little he knows about the dead man and then Ibis recounts his life. Mad Sweeny sits at the table enjoying his wake. He asks Shadow if he remembers how to pull the coins out, but he doesn’t. He again shows him how they are kept in a separate place and how to pick them out. He tells Shadow not to trust Wednesday. The next morning, Wednesday is there to pick up Shadow. They take off in Shadow’s care becausenShadiwwith Wednesday driving because Shadow is too hung over.
PART TWO - MY AINSEL
9. As they drive out of town, Shadow has a lot of questions. Wednesday is not willing to answer them. He does confirm that none of the gods that were with them were captured when Shadow was. They stop for Christmas lunch at a diner and Wednesday tells Shadow about two different cons. The first is “the Violin” (man leaves his violin as collateral to fetch his wallet to pay his tab and another man steps in to say it is worth a lot) and the second (too outdated to work in modern times) is called “the Bishop.” Shadow notices that both schemes need two men to complete. At the end of the dinner, Wednesday invites the young waitress to join him at the local Motel 6. He takes Shadow to the bus station and gives him a ticket to Lakeside, Wisconsin. On the way, Shadow falls asleep and dreams about a buffalo man who he asks how to help Laura. The ground crushes him until he can’t breath and then releases him. A voice asks him what he offers and Shadow says himself. When he arrives, he gets off the bus with two chatty teenage girls. One of them mentions that Shadow looks familiar before they are picked up by a parent. The man that owns the video store, Hinzelmann, comes out and asks Shadow if he is okay. Shadow asks for directions to the address on his key and Hinzelmann offers him a ride in his old ’31 Wendt Phoenix. On the way Hinzelmann tells him a story about the lake freezing a buck he was hunting in his tracks. He fired his gun into the air and the deer jumped out of his skin and antlers. The women of town knitted the deer clothes so it wouldn’t freeze and Hinzelmann kept the antlers. He waits for Shadow to be safely inside his apartment before taking off. Shadow goes to bed and thinks about Laura. He sees her in her parents backyard watching her mother, sister, and sister’s family. He thinks about Wednesday and sees him in his room at the Motel 6. He quickly abandons that thought and looks out over the frozen lake while he goes to sleep.
Meanwhile. A Conversation.
Mr. Road and Mr. Town go to Sam Black Crow’s door asking for information about Shadow. She is suspicious of their generic names and isn’t forthcoming with information. They tell her he was the driver for a robbery, but his friend decided to keep his share. He found them and beat them up. They say they saw her with him in the white Chevy Nova. She says she hasn’t ever seen him or if she had, she already forgot him. She closes the door in their faces.
10. Shadow dreams about being sacrificed. He wakes up and decides he can walk into town to get what he needs. Almost halfway there, he feels like he is going to freeze to death. The Chief of Police, Chad Mulligan, stops him and offers him a ride around town. Shadow tells him he is Mike Ainsle and just moved to town. Shadow gets breakfast from Mabel the waitress/cook first and while Shadow is eating, Chad calls about finding a car for Shadow. They stop for Shadow to pick up some supplies and then go to get the car a mom was selling cheap because her teenage son decided to paint it purple. He drives it back to his apartment. Hinzelmann stops by with a care package. Shadow goes to his neighbor’s door and introduces himself. She gives him some advice on how to keep his apartment warm and he says he will invite her and her young son over sometime. Later that evening, Wednesday arrived in a Lincoln Towncar to get Shadow to go to Las Vegas. Wednesday tells him who they are going to see, but Shadow can’t seem to remember. They get in a gentleman’s red-eye and fly out with a lot of gambling men. A man in a charcoal suit is ignored as he collects money and wonders off with it. He feels drawn to an out of style casino and sits at the bar where he is ignored. He joins Wednesday at his table and listens to his request to be in his side. The man agrees for bottle of soma. Wednesday leaves and the waitress is confused. The man tells her where to go to find a man looking to spend his winnings when she gets off work. She finds herself drawn there, but she doesn’t remember why. Wednesday tells Shadow the cost of their new alley. Soma is a drink specifically for the gods brewed from people’s love and worship of them. Shadow asks if Wednesday knows how to bring back Laura. Wednesday lists off the charms he has learned (and one he keeps secret from everyone) before saying he doesn’t know. Shadow tells him about giving Laura the coin Mad Sweeny had accidentally given him. Wednesday says he’ll have ti deal with his own mess. Wednesday drops him back off at his apartment and tells him to keep a low profile.
11. A few days later, Shadow goes to Hinzzelmann’s video store and the old man shows him his lures for fishing. He tells him how every year they put a car out on the frozen late and sell tickets for specific times the car will fall and sink into the lake. Shadow spends $40 on tickets for the morning of March 23. He goes to the library to see what he can learn about Thunderbirds. While he is reading, he sees his neighbor’s son, Leon Olsen, and shows him a coin trick. He runs off to tell his mom and Marguerite tells him to keep the magic away from her son. She tells him he should go to the book sale on one of the lower levels to support updates for the library. He goes and buys a few books. As he walks down the street, Chief Mulligan pulls up to see how he is doing. Shadow asks about Marguerite’s closed off behavior. The Chief explains her husband and Marguerite moved there after they were married, had two kids, and then he lost his job and became a drunk. She filed for divorce and he left town. He would come back occasionally to see their two sons and one of them, Sandy, ran away to live with him and no one has been able to find him. That night, Shadow reads over some town history and sees a man that must have been related to Chief Mulligan. He looks around for anyone that may relate to Hinzelmann, but doesn’t see anything. He falls asleep and dreams of Star people and asks them about the Thunderbirds for Laura. Shadow starts climbing a tower of bones to get answers. At the top of the tower, he sees the birds he has been looking for. The phone rings and Wednesday tells him to stop because everyone knows what he was dreaming, which is it good for keeping a low profile. The next day, they go to San Francisco ti meet with Easter. She tries to act like she is fine, but the truth is that she is only remembered because of the association with Christianity. She agrees to join his side. She asks Shadow what he dreamt about. He tells her about the thunderbirds and the mountain of his own skulls he had to climb. She tells Wednesday shadow is a keeper before leaving. Wednesday tries to short the waitress $10 and Shadow gives it to her by saying she dropped it. Wednesday is upset by it and starts telling Shadow about the awful things people do. Shadow sticks to his principals and thinks he did the right thing. The next morning, Chief Mulligan knocks in his door to ask if he has seen a girl that went missing, Alison McGovern, one of the girls Shadow saw on the bus on his way into town. He joins the search party. And is paired up with Hinzelmann and a man named Brogan. After searching for a while, they end up at a tavern. A woman named. Allie talks about how great their town is before asking Shadow what he does. Shadow tells him he moves antique furniture for his uncle and shows them one of his coin tricks. On the way home, he stops at the store and runs into Alison’s friend from the bus, Sophie. She says she is going to leave Lakeside to go live with her mom as soon as possible because kids keep going missing. Sandy Olsen last year and Jo Ming the year before. The year before those two, Sarah was lost on a hike and never found.
Coming to America - 1778
A set of 12 year-old twins, Agasu and Wututu, live in Africa until they are sold into slavery by their uncle. They are separated and live separate lives. When Agasu is 25, his hand is bitten by a spider and the resulting infection causes his arm to be amputated at the shoulder. At this time, Wututu’s arm withers. In 1791, there were slave revolts. Agasu becomes possessed by the Nigerian god Elegba and fights. He dies a few year before the revolt is won and Haiti becomes free. Meanwhile, Wututu had a miserable time as a slave and eventually ends up in New Orleans. Once her arm withered, she became a house slave. She became known as Mama Zouzou. People started coming to her for cures and charms. A mixed girl called the Widow Paris tells Mama Zouzou that is time for her to be taught what the old slave knows. Mama Zouzou teaches her everything. She tries to teach her about the Gods from the old land, but the Widow Paris isn’t interested in the gods. Eventually, she would become Marie Laveau, and he daughter would become famous with the same name. While dancing in the swamps with Marie Laveau, Mama Zouzou has a vision of her brother and says she will join him soon.
12. Wednesday trades in his car for a Winnebago. Shadow is driving when a police car tries to pull them over. Wednesday tells Shadow to keep driving slowly. There is a roadblock ahead and Wednesday tells him to take the Winnebago off road and Shadow does so. They abandon the camper and start walking. There is a mechanical looking spider and Wednesday indicates they should avoid it. Shadow slips on the snowy, icy mountainside. He catches himself on a rock and when he touches one that looks like a thighbone, he sees the viewpoint of an officer. He is telling the local police the Winnebago did not disappear, it was just an optical illusion from the snow. Mister Town calls Mister World to update him on the situation. Wednesday and Shadow keep going. After a while, Shadow starts to feel sick and Wednesday gives him something to drink to help. Wednesday explains they are “behind the scenes” which isn’t good for Shadow in large doses, but will allow them to travel without being followed. They come to an oddly pieced together structure. They go inside and find Whiskey Jack and Apple Johnny (John Chapman). They feed Wednesday and Shadow. They have already heard about Wednesday’s recruitment efforts, but both refuse to join him. Whiskey Jack tells Shadow a story about a fox that said everyone would live forever and a wolf that convinced him what lives must die. When the wolf died, it tried to get the fox to bring him back to life, but the fox had been confined the wolf was right in his theory. Whiskey Jack asks Shadow about his dream. After telling him about the Thunderbirds and tower of skulls, Whiskey Jack warns him that Laura belongs to the wolf. He tells Shadow to come back and see him once he has found his tribe. John Chapman leads them out and back to civilization. They hitch a ride in the reservation to go find Harry Bluejay. Harry isn’t happy to see Johnny, but Johnny gives him the message from his uncle (who Harry insists is not his uncle) that he is to give Wednesday and Shadow his car in exchange for the Winnebago. Harry cleans out his car and give it to them. Shadow sees the date is February 14th when they had last been on the road in January. Wednesday explains that time “behind the scenes” moves differently. They make their way back to Lakeside and Shadow sees a missing poster for Alison McGovern. When Wednesday drops him back off at his apartment, Shadow looks at the lake telling it his date and time again. Marguerite has her bet on the early evening of April 3rd. Shadow falls into a routine in Lakeside. Chief Mulligan asks if he has ever considered law enforcement and Shadow says he’ll consider it if the job with his uncle falls through. Wednesday comes to get him and they take trips. Mabel recommends Shadow go east on the County Q for a nice view. He starts walking down the road and runs into a cat and then a cemetery. Laura arrives and tells him about her death. She started going South because the cold feels like nothingness and she doesn’t like it. She tells him she tried to go to Galveston because she has some memory of it and feeding seagulls. Shadow doesn’t remember her telling him anything like it before. Laura came back north because she felt Shadow calling her, but it was someone else. She says it is hard being dead because it just keeps going. She thinks it must be hard for Shadow to not be alive and explains he has always been like a void. She would look right past him and not even notice him. He would sit and do nothing for hours. What she liked about Robbie was that he was alive and wanted things and filled space. She says now that she has seen him, she will go back somewhere warm. He goes to put his arm around her and she pulls away. He leaves and she watches.
Interlude
There are several odd deaths throughout North America. In LA, Bilquis only takes the clients she choses. A young, rich man in a limo makes an offer and she gets in to discuss. He smells like burning wires. He calls her by her name and she panics because she didn’t tell it to him. She jumps from the movie vehicle, but the limo chases her down and runs her over. She curses him. It backs up to run her over again before taking off
Interlude 2
Marguerite returns a call to Sammy and tells her about her new neighbor and the missing Alison McGovern. Sammy asks how Marguerite is doing. She is worried about her big sister and says she is coming to visit while her school is closed due to the furnaces being out. She plans to hitchhike, but Marguerite begs her not to because that is how Alison disappeared. Marguerite says she’ll send her money. Sammy says she’ll get Hinzelmann to drive her over.
Interlude 3
In Jacksonville, Florida, Laura goes into a gas station and asks for a job on the overnight shift. The place has been short staffed and he is desperate. He hires her despite her looking horrible. She says it is a medical condition.
13. Marguerite invites Shadow over for dinner one night and he agrees to go. She tells him it is just a social visit and not a date. He goes and picks up some wine and flowers. When he gets there, Leon is excited to see him and wants to learn magic. Shadow shows him a move with a coin and has him practice. When Sammy arrives with sour cream (for spaghetti?! WTF?), Shadow tries to will her into not remembering him, but she does. She doesn’t say anything and they have dinner. After dinner, Sammy says she is going to have Shadow drive her somewhere to have an excuse to talk. Once they are in the car, she realizes she is in alone in a car with a guy she thinks killed two people. He doesn’t think she’ll believe his story, but she goes on about all the things she can believe in. He tells her his dead wife killed the men. They get to the tavern. A woman starts screaming and Shadow finds everyone is staring at him. Audrey is there screaming about how he is wanted for murder. Chief Mulligan asks him to come outside with him. Shadow agrees, but Sammy stops Shadow to kiss him first. She says he does pretty good for a man. Outside Audrey tries to follow, but Mulligan sends her back inside. He asks Shadow to come down to the station with him and Shadow agrees. Mulligan says it will be better if no one starts accusing him of Alison’s disappearance. When they get to the station, Shadow shows Mulligan the book of town minutes and his relative’s picture. Shadow tries to call out to Wednesday for help. When he is able to make a call, he calls Jackel and asks him to tell Wednesday what is going on. Mulligan finds out Shadow is using a fake name and places him under arrest for breaking parole. When the shirt change comes, the lady officer has Shadow change into an orange jump suit. He opts for cuffs instead of a cell with a broken toilet. She points the TV so he can see. He watches an episode of Cheers until the TV god takes it over and changes it to show the talks of the old gods and new gods trying to negotiate. Wednesday says he cannot make a deal by speaking for all the old gods and he does not trust the new gods will keep their word. The new gods say they have Wednesday’s boy in custody. A laser pointer shots his glass eye and Wednesday’s face melts. A call comes in and he has to be put in the cell. Mulligan comes to get him for the Lafayette Sheriff to transport Shadow away. He thinks about trying to get away, but knows it is hopeless. The deputies turn out to be Mister Nancy and Czernabog. He asks if Wednesday is really dead and Czernabogs face confirms it.
Coming to America - 14,000 BC
Atsula the priestess, Gugwei the tribal elder, Yanu the war leader, and Kalanu the scout travel through a frozen tundra. Atsula makes an offering to Nunyunnini, who uses a mammoth skull placed on a head to talk through the wearer. He warns them of what is to come. He tells them to go to where the sun rises and they will be safe. He will guide and protect them. Atsula refuses. Nunyunnini says Atsula has lost her faith and will die before all of them. The rest of them agree to do as their god says. Kalanu (woman who told a young woman, Dalani as a bride) says there will be a rough climb ahead. Atsula says she will be the sacrifice to get them through. There is a strange flash of light. Atsula dies at the foot of the cliff. They make it to the new land. Dalani seemed to have had Gugwei’a children and people thought they were Kalanu. The new animals became gods and new tribes formed. A few generations later, the mammoth skull is found and tossed down a hull to prevent their new gods from being jealous before the tribes moved south. Nunyunnini was eventually completely forgotten.
14. Alviss son of Vindalf gives them a Volkswagen bus in exchange for their cop car. Alviss says they cannot trust the new gods now that they have killed Wednesday and his people will be ready when the fight starts. He gives Shadow his sympathies for his lost. When they stop, Mr. Nancy makes a deal with the new gods to meet in a neutral place to get Wednesday’s body, which is important for both sides. Czernabog thinks it is a trap, but they don’t have a choice. They stop in Cherryvale, Kansas and Czernabog leads them to a field where a lot of people died. He goes to talk to ghosts and comes back seeming healthier. They are going to the center. A place where no god wants to go. All of America has it to some extent, but the center is the worst. When they get to the hotel, a woman outside introduces herself as Media. The fat kid is there waiting for them. Media convinces them to be civil. Town is in the shadows and says Shadow killed his friends Stone and Wood. Shadow asks if he had sex with Wood’s widow yet. Town gets up, but Shadow warns him not to start fight he can’t finish. They go to their rooms. Shadow dreams of following a wolf to a bonfire with animal heads carved out into wood Wednesday’s voice tells him how nine animals - one a man - were sacrificed. The voice tells him it Sinnott the death that matters but the ability to reincarnate. A knock on the door wakes Shadow up saying food has arrived. They all gather in the lobby to eat McDonald that was brought from 50 miles away. Shadow wonders out loud why they don’t just take the body and leave. czernabog says there are rules they must follow. Afterwards, Shadow goes outside to see the center and Mr. Nancy goes with him. Shadow doesn’t understand the game let alone the rules and is frustrated. Mr. Nancy points out that things will only get worse. Town comes out and is upset Shadow killed his men. Shadow admits he didn’t do it and they walk in together. When Shadow gets back to his room Media is waiting for him to ask him to switch sides again. He declines and she leaves. The fat kid (Mister World?) comes by unsettled because they are so far from civilization. He asks to stay with Shadow, but Shadow tells him to stay in his own room. He later hears him throwing himself against the wall. Low Key appears in his room and he suddenly understands his cell mate was really Loki. He tries to explain what being a god is like. He is the driver for the other side. Loki is all about evolution and wants to be in the winning side. Shadow asks why he seems important. They all want him because Wednesday did. At five minutes until midnight, Loki and Shadow go into room 5 where Wednesday’s body is. Loki starts lighting candles and the others join them. A few people say a few words and everyone looks to Shadow who has nothing to say. Mr. Nancy says they will pay blood for blood. The new gods leave first with Loki driving them away. Shadow carries Wednesday’s body to the car and they start driving. Mr. Nancy tells Shadow he should lay low in Canada until the fight is over. He will not be able to go “behind the scenes” to help fight. He insists on standing vigil for Wednesday as was part of his contract. He is stripped down and strung up in a tree.
15. After the first day, Shadow doesn’t know how he will survive. He does what he has to do to jeep himself in a position ti stay breathing because the only alternative is death. The rain comes with the start of the real storm of old vs new gods. He hears a chattering and sees a squirrel up close. He hallucinates Laura. He knows it is a hallucination because she is alive. The squirrel gives him walnut shells of water. Shadow feels like he becomes the tree. A hawk comes and says he is Horas, the falcon of the morning. He says the fight is starting. Laura visits and offers to cut him down. He refuses but asks her to stay. She says she lost her job because people complained. She says nothing will hurt him while she is there. Everything slows down and he dies.
16. Shadow is back at Czernabog’s apartment. He walks down the stairs and meets Zoyra Polunochnaya. She says he can ask any questions he wants, but cannot unlearn the answers. He gives her back the coin and she puts it back in the sky and it becomes the moon. The path forks in front of him - truths or lies. He chooses truth and she says he will have to give her his real name. She puts her hand in his head and pulls out a light. Shadow starts his journey nameless and turns to thank Polunochnaya, but she is gone. He sees himself beating up Powers and West after they tried to keep his cut from the robbery. He continues down the path to a hospital room in Chicago where his mother died when he was 16. He goes back faster and sees his mother dancing with Wednesday, who looks about the same. He stops on the path and a woman touches his back. She points out the three paths. One will make him wise, one will make him whole, and one will kill him. He thinks he’s already dead, but she says that is relative. He knows who she is. She says she will chose the way if he trusts her. He consents and she says she will need his heart. She takes it from his chest and tells him to take the middle path. He asks who they are, but she tells him to hurry because his body is getting cold. When he comes to the split, he looks down the first and knows he has been thee: the endless memorial to the gods. The third one didn’t seem right. He goes down the middle and goes through the doorway. He comes to water and a boat being pulled by a tall figure with a bird head. Shadow calls out to it. The pilot invites him onto the boat. He walks into the water and gets in. He knows the pilot - Mr. Ibis. He escorts the living to the world of the dead. He asked to be the one to take Shadow. They walk ashore and Mr. Ibis ties up the boat. A large dog head growls and Mr. Jackel tells him it is time for judgement. Shadow sees all his crimes, guilts and shames. When it is over, he asks for Shadow’s heart. The woman is there. The feather is weighed against his heart and they balance. He gets to chose where he goes next and he wants to rest and let it end. A door is opened and he walks into darkness.
17. Lookout Mountain in Rock City is a sacred place. People (gods) are starting to gather there from all around. Shadow tells Laura to go tot he farmhouse for water. She does and is given some. She falls to the floor and when she wakes up, she is alive again. She realizes she drank the water of time. New and old gods of all shapes and sizes gather at the mountain. The fat kid is there. Mister World tells Mister Town to go to a specific tree and cut off a stick a couple of feet long. Town drives around until he finds the place and sees it is the tree Shadow is tied to. Town gets a ladder from the house and uses it to reach a branch that meets World’s specifications. He cuts it off and tells Shadow he hates him. When he returns the ladder, he goes inside. For a second, he thinks he sees two women: one knitting and the other smiling and dragging her finger across her throat. When he looks again, he doesn’t see anyone. He goes back to the car and finds both his watch and the car’s clock are off. Shadow has a wound in his side that starts to bleed. Easter stays back a ways from the Mountain. Macha of the Morrigan arrives and says war is coming. Easter supposes it is and pulls a tulip from the ground. Horus lands by her and she asks who he really is. He becomes a man and says Shadow needs her help. Town tries to leave the farm, but no matter which way he drives, he keeps ending up back at the farm. He sees a woman, Laura, walking down the road. She says she can get him there and she gets in the car. He introduces himself as Mack. The fat kid goes up to World tells him everything is set up as he asked. In private, the fat kid asks what they are waiting for. He has been troubled since he killed the woman in LA. He knows the old ones will die out eventually and the new gods will have everything. Many are ready to end it peaceably. World says there are many things he doesn’t understand. Once his lips were sewn shut. They are waiting on a stick that World will throw over the battle. It will become a spear and dedicate the battle to Odin. He then stabs the fat kid in the side and dedicates the death to Odin.
18. The Morrigan declares it is time for the war to start. The old gods cheer in agreement. Whiskey Jack finds Shadow after searching everywhere for him. He brings him to his place. Harry Bluejay ended up trading in the Winnabago in for a hello Miata, crashed it, and died. Whiskey Jack is a culture hero (like a god, but screws up more). Whiskey Jack says it is going to be a bloodbath rather than a war. Shadow realizes it is a two man con. Shadow feels something pulling at him and he is in the darkness again. He feels pain. Easter arrives at the tree and sees Shadow. She and Horus get him down and put him down in the meadow. Easter says they need to warm him, but Horus is reluctant because it has been a long time. He flies up high up into the air and the sun shines on him. Easter starts to breath in him and then kisses him. Blood starts to flow out of the wound again and then stops. Shadow wakes up and is upset to be called back. She tells him the war is about to start. Her part was to bring him back to do his part. The war has started and gods are dying. Town and Laura talk the entire drive. He is in love with her. He tells her about his friends dying and he doesn’t know how it happened. He offers to get her a hotel room and they can take a bath together after his delivery. He drops her off and she asks for a hug. She asks if he wants to know what happened to Stone and Wood. When he says yes, she shows him. Shadow finds his clothes in a bag and puts them on. Instead of coins, there is a white marble in his pocket. They make their way to the forest. Easter say the bird can’t carry both of them and she will find her own way home. A thunderbird is there and Horus says he brought him. He gets on the thunderbird and takes off. Laura leaves Town in the front seat and takes the stick. She goes to the mountain and runs into World. He is surprised to see her especially not as decayed as she should be. She tells him about the water Shadow told him to ask for and he tells her it won’t last. He wants the stick the represents a spear. She wants answers. He tells her it isn’t about old or new, but cycles. He is on the winning side. She agrees to give him the stick. She waits from him to get close enough. Shadow is overjoyed on the flight. He tells the bird in his dream he was hunting them. The bird says they used to hunt them for their feathers and eagle stones. They would give the eagle stones to their dying to heal them and when the human is healed, the bird dies. Laura waits for World to get closer. She says she dedicates the death to Shadow and stabs herself and runs into him to stab World as well. He stabs her and tries to get away. They slip in their own blood and go to the ground. Shadow arrives and in a flash of lightning and the bird is gone. He sees a car on the side of the road and opens it to find Town dead and still warm. He recognizes Laura’s scent. He walks into Rock City. He hears “To Odin.” He finds a dark cave where Wednesday tells him he is proud of him. Shadow was the distraction he needed to do the con he planned. He asks to see Loki and Laura. Loki has already thrown the spear and dedicated the battle to Odin. Wednesday is there and says Shadow knows too much. Wednesday explains how his death drew them all together. They betrayed both sides to get the blood sacrifice of gods. Wednesday feeds on death dedicated to him. Loki feeds on chaos. They admit they tried to get rid of her for his own good. He asks where Laura went. Loki paints to the back of the cave. Wednesday points out he is a ghost and Loki is a corpse, but they will still win from the battle. Shadow goes up to the battlefield and sees it is abandoned. He tries to remember how he felt going to Whiskey Jack’s and the carousel. Suddenly, he is backstage. He sees the war around him. He tells them it is not a real war and it is a bad land for gods. The old are forgotten and the new are outdated quickly. He tells them the story of how Odin and Loki tricked them into this war. When they finally understand, the gods start to leave. Mr. Nancy comes up to him in his spider form and says they need to get him back to the regular world. Mr. Nancy is wounded, but says he will be okay. Helicopters are on the way to clean up the mess. Shadow finds Laura and she looks dead. She says she didn’t like how World said he was going to put a stick through his eye. He tells her she killed him and she is glad. They declare their love for each other and he takes the gold coin from around her neck. She becomes a real corpse.
PART FOUR
19. Shadow and Mr. Nancy drive the VW Bus down to Florida. Shadow has kept some of what he learned from the tree, but some of it has gone away. They arrive at Mr. Nancy’s house and he insists Shadow stay the night. They go to the bar at the end of the street for a drink. Shadow looked for Czernabog after the fight, but he was gone. Mr. Nancy says he went home and will be waiting for Shadow to show up. Mr. Nancy pushes Shadow into karaoke. When they drunkenly walk home, he is still singing. The buffalo man comes to him in his dream to tell him he did well. Shadow asks if he is a god. The buffalo says he is the land. After breakfast, Mr. Nancy opens up a trunk and gives Shadow an ancient remedy. Shadow admits he misses Wednesday even after what he put them all through. Shadow asks if there is a god with an elephant head. Mr. Nancy tells him about Ganesh, an Indian god. Shadow realizes it is in the trunk. He has to leave suddenly and takes off.
20. Shadow goes back to Lakeside and makes his way out to the clunker car on the lake. He snaps off the antenna and uses it to unlock the door. He pops the trunk and finds Alison McGovern’s body. The ice cracks and the car, body, and Shadow go into the icy water. His coat is caught on the car, but he is able to push the car away and make his way back to the ice. He presses his face against it to find some air and then is pulled out. He passes out and wakes up in Hinzelmann’s tub. Shadow questions why Hinzelmann bothered to save him considering he is the one that has been killing the children every year. Hinzelmann says he was told to look out for Shadow as part of a debt. Shadow realizes why Wednesday had him stay in Lakeside. Hinzelmann admits he gives children he likes for their prosperity. No one comes into the town that he doesn’t want to. Shadow points out Laura come there. So did Audrey and Sammy Black Crow. Hinzelmann wanted Shadow out of the town without it being his fault. Shadow points out he let Alison’s body out of the trunk and it will be found. Hinzelmann has been taking children since before the Romans came to the Black Forest. Shadow is not the first one to discover his secret. Chad Mulligan’s father found him out and Hinzelmann killed him. A child is sacrificed with iron rods through him. The remains are put in a box and worshiped. Chad Mulligan shows up and had heard what Hinzelmann said. Hinzelmann throws the fire poker at Mulligan, who shoots Hinzelman in the head. Shadow gets his clothes from the dryer and puts it on. Chad puts Hinzelmann’s face in the fire and uses newspapers to catch the rest of it on fire to cover up the murder. Mulligan takes Shadow to a store and goes in to get him shoes. Shadow asks what happened to Audrey. She left when Shadow did and told Mulligan it would never work out between them. Mulligan considers suicide from his guilt about killing Hinzelmann. Shadow thinks Hinzelmann did it on purpose to be able to leave the town. Shadow goes to the place where he created the snow. He tells Mulligan to let it go because the town is going to need a police Chief that has experience. He says Marguerite will need him and that gets his attention. Shadow gets out of the police car and goes to his rental car. He goes to Madison where Sammy works at a coffee shop. He sees her leaving with a girl with pigtails. They don’t notice them and he slips six white roses into Sammy’s hand when he passes them. Sammy’s date, Natalie, asks about the flowers, but neither of them know where they came from. Sammy’s next girlfriend would be told the story of the ghost flowers, but would never really believe it. Shadow goes to Chicago to see Czernabog. They are spring cleaning and everyone seems much happier than his last visit. Both Zorya Vechernyaya and Utrennyaya tell him to leave and come back the next day. He knows if he tried to leave, he would just end up back at their door. He must honor his deal with the god. When Czernabog returns, he thanks Shadow for what he has done for them. Instead of bashing his head in with his hammer, he taps him gently and tell him to come back if he ever wants to play checkers again. Shadow leaves
POST SCRIPT
Shadow goes to Reykjavik in Iceland. While he is walking, he realizes he is being watched. A thin hippie guy tells tries to talk to him, but Shadow says he only speaks American. He says his people came there a long time ago and it was a bad place for gods. Iceland’s version of Odin introduces himself and tells him things wait for him in America. Shadow gives him Wednesday’s glass eye using a magic trick. When Odin asks how, Shadow says it was magic. Odin asks for more and Shadow pulls a regular gold coin like Mad Sweeny taught him. He tosses it in the air and it disappears.
APPENDIX
Shadow meets Jesus while he is strung up to the tree. Jesus tells him to be a god, you have to give up all you are to be what everyone else wants and/or needs. He asks how the wine is, and Shadow tells him it is a bit sour. Jesus says he can’t make good wine. Jesus explains he is glad there are new gods because he gets blamed for so much. The squirrel chatters in his ear.