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Why did Stebbins die?
Here is the excerpt:
He couldn't go on.
He would just tell Stebbins. He was up ahead a little, limping quite a bit now, and looking emaciated. Garraty was very tired, but he was no longer afraid. He felt calm. He felt okay. He made himself go faster until he could put a hand on Stebbins's shoulder. "Stebbins," he said.
Stebbins turned and looked at Garraty with huge, floating eyes that saw nothing for a moment. Then recognition came and he reached out and clawed at Garraty's shirt, pulling it open. The crowd screamed its anger at this interference, but only Garraty was close enough to see the horror in Stebbins's eyes, the horror, the darkness, and only Garraty knew that Stebbins's grip was a last despairing reach for rescue.
"Oh Garraty!" he cried, and fell down.
Now the sound of the crowd was apocalyptic. It was the sound of mountains falling and breaking, the earth shattering. The sound crushed Garraty easily beneath it. It would have killed him if he had heard it. But he heard nothing but his own voice.
"Stebbins?" he said curiously. He bent and somehow managed to turn Stebbins over. Stebbins still stared at him, but the despair had already skimmed over. His head rolled bonelessly on his neck.
He put a cupped hand in front of Stebbins's mouth. "Stebbins?" he said again.
But Stebbins was dead.
Fan Theories
- My fan-fiction from McVries point-of-view shows that McVries poisoned Stebbins right before McVries sat down for the last time. The slow acting poison finally kicked in right as Garraty was about to give up.
- The squad can listen in on conversations with sensitive listening equipment. They overheard Stebbins say that he's the bastard son of the Major and that he plans to move in with his father when he wins. That recorded conversation got back to the Major who decided to poison his son if it looked like he was going to win. Either they slipped something into his food-belt or they gave him a tainted canteen.
- Someone in the crowd who had a lot of money riding on Garraty killed Stebbins with something like a poison blow-dart. Garraty had 12-to-1 Vegas odds so a $1000 bet would win $12,000. It is clear that most people in America are poor. There are no millionaires. Perhaps American is a communist country now. They have a lot to gain if Garraty wins. Stebbins Vegas odds were probably much lower, meaning if he won, those who bet on Stebbins would win less that winning with Garraty.
- Maine pride. Garraty was "Maine's own" and they spend most of the walk in Maine. On average, there should be two walkers from each state, but this time Garraty was the only walker for Maine. Someone in the crowd may have poisoned Stebbins with something like a poison blow-dart.
- Walking for 4.5 days can probably form blood-clots in your feet and legs. The muscles start to cramp up. A blood-clot can break off and move to the brain and cause a stroke, or move to the heart and cause a heart-attack, or move to the lungs and cause partial lung failure. There are a lot of ways a blood clot can cut off blood supply to critical organs and kill you.
- Stebbins had been hurting for days but hid it well. He wanted to use the old psy-war (psychological warfare) by appearing unbeatable so other walkers would get discouraged and give up. His body had been shutting down for a long time, it's just that he could no longer pretend when he collapsed. His body had given up.