“I didn’t care. It was worth it to defend Darius. He and I had a code. A code of honor. We looked out for each other, no matter what.”
The basis of the narrative is living by a code of honor to avoid conflicting thoughts during times of crisis. As kids, Kamran and Darius swear an oath in seven written rules that include being strong and brave, helping the helpless, and being truthful and loyal. However, as an adult, Kamran is torn between defending his brother—who is suspected of a terrorist attack—and honoring his country. Though they wrote the code as children, Kamran feels the obligation to honor it because he believes Darius still honors it too. It allows him to give his brother the benefit of doubt rather than accept that Darius has deflected to the enemy’s side. One of the crucial rules in their code is killing all monsters which they embark on as a sense of duty to their country. Though Kamran has to temporarily betray his country to prove his brother's innocence, he eventually executes a patriotic act. Through honoring the code, Kamran manages to conduct investigations that allow the government to find out the truth too.
“But what if Darius really was messing with us? What if the clues he was feeding us were deliberate fakes? What if he knew he was in Arizona all along, and was dropping these clues to throw me off the scent, knowing I would be the one person in the world who would do anything I could to find him?”
Kamran has faith in his brother to stick by the code of honor despite the recent events. However, his belief in him might be misplaced as Darius could have decided to betray his country. Through the hints that Kamran seems to decipher in his brother’s messages, he believes that he is indeed on their side. Everyone has already made up their mind and insists that Darius has been initiated as a terrorist in the extremist group. Through his investigation, Kamran also begins to doubt himself and thinks about whether the clues are truthful or misleading. Darius is smart enough to know that his brother might go along with his charade, therefore, it could be a setup. Sticking to one's instincts is not a simple task, especially for a young individual like Kamran, thereby, his doubts are warranted.
“But nobody cared about facts. They’d already decided I was Muslim, and that I was going to turn on America, just like my brother had.”
The narrative addresses racial discrimination and prejudice against minority races living in the United States. Kamran and his family are of Persian descent but most people refer to them as Arabs, mistaking their ethnicity. As such, highlights the stereotypes and assumptions that are ingrained in the western world regarding people with Middle Eastern ancestry. The students make fun of his identity, claim that he can betray his country, and become an extremist. Though his family is not religious his fellow students refer to him as Muslim. Thus, he lives in America with double consciousness since his identity is marred with misconceptions. Kamran is a suspect in the eyes of many especially after his brother is linked with the terrorist attack. All he wants is to succeed in sports and academics in order to join the army in West Point like his older brother. However, the prejudices in society limit his aspirations but as a US soldier, he will receive respect and decency.
