How Did "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller End? All of the Plot Twists and Spoilers!

 

How does "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller end? Have you finished reading "The Dog Stars" and desperately need to discuss it? Or maybe you've read it, but can't remember how "The Dog Stars" ends, or do you want to skip ahead to discover all the spoilers? Need a refresher on "The Dog Stars" before heading off to book club tonight or before seeing the movie? Keep reading to discuss this fiction novel and all the twists and turns at the end!

 

 

Spoilers ahead!

 

How Did "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller End?

What Are the Twists and Spoilers?

Cima and Hig successfully take off in the airplane

Cima and Hig get into the plane with two lambs and their other packed items. It is a difficult takeoff. The airplane manual said that they needed more runway than they have. Cima's father would've added too much weight, so he waits up the highway. Hig lands to pick up Pop, and they fly to Grand Junction.

The Grand Junction signal was a trap

Grand Junction looks like it predictably would, but it's no less unsettling for Cima and her father, who have not seen the city in years. Much of the city is burned down. There are burned cars and homes and a scene of left-behind chaos. There are also many scattered bones. The sight of the city makes Cima physically sick.

While flying, Hig sends out a signal to the airport he received a message from three years ago. A woman responds, and Hig is excited. She tells Hig that he is clear to land. While Hig can see that the landing strip is well maintained, there are many burnt-out planes scattered around. At the last second, Hig's intuition tells him to bail, so he does. As the plane heads back up, Hig sees a cable running across the landing strip. The runway was a trap meant to cause them to crash.

Hig lands the plane at the airport

They are almost out of gas; Hig is furious about their betrayal. His hopes are crushed. Hig and Pops decide to land on the runway anyway, this time avoiding the cable. After landing, Cima is shaken and decides to stay in the plane with a gun.  Hig and Pops leave and make plans to attack whoever is in the tower. They determine that they are not stealing fuel from the planes, but are making them crash so that they can gather supplies from onboard. 

The people inside the tower fire shots at Hig and Pops. Hig helps create a diversion so that Pops can get inside the building. Outside, Hig waits and hears a shot fired from Pop's gun. Pops comes back for Hig. Together they dynamite open a locked door and head up the stairs to the control tower. Inside the control tower, they find the dying man Pops shot. They also find an older woman, likely his wife, and shoot her.

Pops interrogates the dying man as the man pleads for him to end his life. He finds out that there is fuel for airplanes in a tank and gets the key from the man. Afterwards, he shoots the man. They fuel up the airplane and take off. 

The crew flies back to Erie to meet Hangley 

The sight out of the window on the way from Grand Rapids to Erie reveals nature taking back over the land as animals roam together, from deer to grizzly bears. They stop to refuel. Cima asks to go inside an old restaurant. Hig is at first hesitant but then agrees. Inside they find a mirror and Cima cries.

They continue to fly and get to Eerie. Hig realizes that he is nervous to see Bangley. Hig has been gone for over six weeks. As Hig lands he realizes that there has been a fire or attack and that half of the hangar he is flying into has been ripped apart.

There was an attack while Hig was away

As Hig lands and explores, he sees that Bangley's house has been attacked - windows are shot out, and there was a fire as well. Hig also notices that weeds are growing in their garden - this is especially unlike Bangley, particularly because right before leaving, Hig learned that Bangley came from a family of farmers.

Hig lands and runs into Bangley's home and finds gunshot holes inside. They head upstairs and find more bullet holes and hunting arrows. In Bangley's room they find a hole in the roof and floor. Hig had never been in Bangley's room before and notices that his bedroom window was the perfect lookout spot. Hig feels guilty for leaving and making Bangley more vulnerable

" And so when I left, he knew exactly the increase in threat, in danger. Could probably calibrate it to an exact and lethal degree...knew with chilling precision he would be living her alone without me and Jasper, then just me, as a warning system... And that somehow made the surly and ultimately brief resistance to me leaving even more touching..." ( page 297)

Hig finds Bangley inside a wall

While inside the house, they hear gunshots outside. Hig and Pops run out to check on Cima. They see where the shots came from, but no one is there. They hear scraping inside the airplane hangar. Investigating, they find Bangley hiding in the wall. Bangley is covered in dried blood, his eyes are swollen shut, and his leg appears to be broken, but he's alive! Cima helps nurse him back to health for two weeks, but it is touch-and-go as he recovers. Bangley calls Cima 'Mrs. Hig,' but Cima jokingly corrects him, 'Doctor Hig to you'.

Pops and Cima get the lay of the land

While Bangley recovers, Hig takes Pops up in their plane and teaches him about different local landmarks, including the Mennonite village Hig visits. As Hig watches Cima care for Bangley, his admiration and love for her continues to grow. They all settle into a routine together. Bagnley and Pops have an understanding and admiration of each other for surviving in their own ways. Pops tells Bangley that he was a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan as a young man. Bangley is visibly shaken by his near-death experience and the attack.

Cima and Hig visit the Mennonite families. Hig explains to Cima that the families are contagious. Cima understands and chooses to continue to interact with the children and families. Cima puts on gloves and helps examine each child and adult - treating wounds and ailments when she can. Cima informs Hig that he can not get the virus unless fluids are transferred, much like HIV.

The final chapter of "The Dog Stars"

The ending of "The Dog Stars" is certainly abrupt. Hig drops Cima off to offer the Mennonite families a Vitamin D infusion. There were theories before society collapsed that the virus inhibited vitamin D absorption. When Hig returns home, he works in the garden. While in the garden, Hig hears a plane overhead. He runs to his airplane to send them a message over the radio; he picks up their signal, but they are speaking in Arabic. Over the radio, he tries to get their attention, but they do not respond. 

Over the following weeks, he sees more large planes overhead. The book ends with Pops, Hig, Cima, and Bangley together and safe, but the reader is left to wonder about the planes.

What else were you surprised by reading "The Dog Stars" by Peter Heller? Did you see the ending coming for each character? Did "The Dog Stars" end how you had hoped? Comment down below and let me know!