Byatt

a drawing of byatt from laya rose art

Byatt Winsor is one of the main characters in "*Wilder Girls*". Close friends with Hetty Chapin and an acquaintance of Reese Harker's, Byatt is a seemingly sweet girl that holds a place of respect at Raxter School for Girls.

Byatt is infected by the Tox just like every other girl at Raxter. Her first flareup caused an extra spine to protrude from her body. She is especially close with Hetty, though she still trusts Reese. Hetty and Byatt share a bunk in their dorm room, take walks together, and braid each other's hair. Hetty describes Byatt as her "lifeline." It is unknown if Byatt is queer or not—she is, however, shown to have a romantic interest in Teddy.

Byatt grew up in a home where her parents were negligent and blamed her for many things. Byatt seems to have acted out or was a problem child when she was younger. Her parents sent her to Raxter to "start again." One of the most common ways Byatt acts out is through lying, especially when she is bored. She has learned to manipulate others through lying and appealing to their emotions to get what she wants. On page 157, Byatt retells the story of how, at ten, she lied to her school friend about having a friend named Erin who died. The story was so upsetting, the girl cried. There doesn't seem to be a reason as to why Byatt did this other than, "I liked—I *like*—to see what I can do" (158).

After Hetty is assigned to Boat Shift, Byatt has a flareup that leaves her incapacitated. Her symptoms are bad enough that she is taken to the infirmary, where only the worse-off girls are taken. This prompts Hetty and Reese to search for her, breaking quarantine by leaving school grounds. Byatt is taken by Welch to a make-shift medical center on Raxter Island where she is tested on by CDC doctors such as Dr. Paretta, who has been studying the Tox and Raxter for years.

During Byatt's final day in the hospital, Dr. Paretta and the Navy evacuate the island because Byatt infected Teddy with the Tox and Hetty and Reese broke quarantine. Paretta puts an oxygen mask on Byatt and tells her to breathe. Byatt can tell the tank is not filled with oxygen, but rather filled with a gas meant to kill the Tox and consequently Byatt.

After Paretta leaves, Byatt breathes the gas and her fingers turn black like Raxter Crabs and Irises when they die. She recognizes this and takes off the mask, thinking she is about to die. As she is walking out of the building to die outside, she finds the Tox parasite inside her and removes it with a scalpel. Because she removed the Tox, Byatt survives the gas, but it seems to take away Byatt's sense of self, leaving her in a vegetable-like coma state. Although Byatt escaped the medical center and was found by Hetty and Reese, she is unable to speak or understand what others say to her.

## Tox

* “She doesn’t look any different-just a sore throat she can’t shake and that serrated ridge of bone down her back, bits of it peaking through her skin-but I remember every second of it. How she bled through our old mattress until it dripped onto the floorboards underneath our bunk. How she looked more confused than anything as the skin over her spine split open.” *Page 13*