The Ruins

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This article is about the novel. For the 2008 film adaptation, see The Ruins (film)

The Ruins
First edition cover
Author	Scott Smith
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror novel
Publisher	Vintage
Publication date	July 18, 2006
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	384 pp
ISBN	ISBN 1-4000-4387-5

The Ruins is the second novel by American author Scott Smith, whose first novel was A Simple Plan. The Ruins is a horror story set on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It was released on July 18, 2006 (ISBN 1-4000-4387-5). A film adaptation of the novel was released in the United States and Canada on April 4 2008.^[1]

[edit] Plot summary

The novel follows a group of tourists on vacation in Cancún who decide to make a fateful visit to a set of Mayan ruins.

Two American couples (Jeff & Amy; Eric & Stacy) decide to help a new-found German friend, Mathias, look for his brother Henrich, who has supposedly joined an archaeological dig. "Pablo," one of a group of Greek travelers, goes as well. The other Greeks say they may follow later. Following a crude map that Henrich drew for Mathias, the group makes its way to a location 11 miles outside of Coba. The taxi driver who has brought them the last step of the way tells them their destination is a "bad place," but they continue on.

Soon the group stumbles upon a Mayan village, whose inhabitants ignore them or indicate that they should leave. The group finally finds a path to the ruins, though someone has tried to conceal it. Following the path, they find a clearing, beyond which is a hill covered in vines and red flowers. A villager suddenly appears on horseback, armed with a pistol. He wants them to leave, but other villagers, armed with bows and arrows, soon appear and the Mayans begin to argue among themselves. Amy, trying to take a picture of the scene, backs up to get a better shot and mistakenly steps into the vines. After this happens, the Mayans change their behavior and will no longer let the tourists leave. Mathias investigates what looks like a nearby mound of flowers, and discovers the corpse of his brother, riddled with arrows. As he tears off the plants, his hands are burned by the acidic sap of the vines. The Mayans watch but do nothing.

With no other option, the tourists head up the hill, where they find a small, abandoned camp. They find a mineshaft with a windlass and rope and hear what sounds like a cellphone ringing at the bottom of the shaft. Thinking they may be able to call for help, the group tries to recover it. While Pablo is being lowered into the shaft, the rope breaks, having been weakened by acid from crushed vines. Pablo falls and is seriously injured. After the rope is repaired, Eric is lowered down. He cuts his knee on broken glass, but finds Pablo, whose back is broken. The group rigs a backboard and is able to lift Pablo out. They are not able to find the cellphone.

Jeff, the unofficial leader of the group, convinces the others to start rationing their food and water, and to post watches to see whether the Mayans leave or the other Greeks arrive to help. Taking the first watch, Jeff finds that the Mayans have ringed the hill with bonfires and armed men, and seem to be simply waiting. Jeff tries to post a sign to warn others not to cross the clearing, but when he returns later the sign is gone. He finds it in the vines, and also finds a metal pan on the bottom of which has been scratched "PELIGRO" (danger). He also finds, as do others, that there are a number of other mounds of vines and flowers on and around the hill, and that each conceals a set of human remains.

During the night, Eric finds that a tendril of the vine has crept into his wound. They remove it, but Eric becomes obsessed with the idea that the plant is growing inside him. Later, Jeff checks on Pablo and finds that the vines have wrapped themselves around Pablo's lower legs and have eaten into them, down to the bone. Jeff decides they have to amputate Pablo's legs, and he and Mathias do so. Later, the cellphone is heard again, and Jeff and Amy again try to find it. Amy rushes toward the sound but is stopped just in time by Jeff, who realizes that the sound is coming from the vines' flowers. They see that the vines appeared to be leading them toward a steep drop, at the bottom of which are many bones. They begin to accept that there is something sentient and malevolent about the vines.

The group begins to fragment. Some get drunk on tequila and argue, and they find that the flowers have the ability to mimic things they have said, repeating especially hurtful comments. Jeff finds the others drunk and is disgusted at their lack of responsibility. He and Amy fight. As night falls, Amy seems to be reaching out to Jeff to apologize, but he turns away. The next morning, he finds Amy dead, smothered by the vines. Eric has also been attacked, the vines again reaching into his wounds. Mathias makes incisions to remove the tendrils, but Eric remains convinced they haven't gotten them all. Later, Jeff is again on watch when a storm approaches. When the Mayans take shelter from the storm, Jeff decides to make a run for it, due to the poor visibility, but he is hit and killed by arrows.

Meanwhile, Mathias, Eric and Stacy find that Pablo has died, and realize Jeff has not returned. Mathias and Stacy go down the trail to look for Jeff and find his body. When they return for Eric, he is in the process of flaying himself alive, trying to get the vines out. When Mathias tries to stop him, Eric defensively stabs him in the heart, killing him. Eric, delirious and obviously dying, begs Stacy to kill him. She eventually retrieves the knife and does so. Stacy then goes to the bottom of the hill and slashes her wrists, hoping to leave her dead body as a warning sign for others. But as she dies, she realizes that the vine will move her, too, just as it had moved the warning signs placed by others. Realizing she is the last, the Mayans break camp and leave.

Three days later, Pablo's friends finally arrive, with a few other tourists they have befriended. They walk across the clearing and towards the hill, presumably to suffer the same fate as the others.