Chap­ter XXII takes a deep dive into the anx­i­ety and uncer­tain­ty sur­round­ing the char­ac­ters as they unknow­ing­ly embark on a jour­ney, trapped in a web of decep­tion and dif­fi­cult deci­sions. After sneak­ing aboard Lester’s bus, they thought they would be head­ing direct­ly to Sali­na, but the group soon real­izes that they are head­ing into the unknown, unsure of what awaits them. Lill, one of their com­pan­ions, reacts with an uncom­fort­able silence, which only adds to the ten­sion as they all try to under­stand the mag­ni­tude of their sit­u­a­tion. While the chil­dren try to process the events unfold­ing, Bobbi’s tat­too omi­nous­ly repeat­ing, “We’re dead,” reflects the doom they feel, remind­ing them of the grav­i­ty of what’s at stake. As the moment drags on, they express their fears aloud, unsure of what will hap­pen next and the impact of their deci­sions.

Lill, unable to keep the res­ig­na­tion from her voice, starts reflect­ing on the toll this jour­ney has tak­en on her, men­tion­ing how she has already lost so much, includ­ing her job and car. As the group grap­ples with the uncer­tain­ty, Lill steps into a lead­er­ship role, decid­ing that the best course of action is to head east toward Lin­coln and find a motel to spend the night. She knows the impor­tance of keep­ing the chil­dren safe, so she also plans to call their par­ents to reas­sure them. How­ev­er, the nar­ra­tor feels a deep weight of respon­si­bil­i­ty, unsure if reach­ing Pop­pa will need to be put on hold until the morn­ing. Though they all know it’s nec­es­sary, the chil­dren are left to con­sid­er the impact of wait­ing, caught between a need for safe­ty and the desire to take action right away.

As the group set­tles into their new plan, Lill and the chil­dren solid­i­fy their alliance, mak­ing a promise to each oth­er to make a call home once they find a safe haven. While Lill counts her cash, the chil­dren quick­ly come to real­ize that there will be enough mon­ey to secure motel rooms, which Lester agrees to arrange. Despite his reluc­tance to share a room with them, Lester takes Lill’s cash and arranges accom­mo­da­tions at the “Lin­coln Sleepy 10,” a small, some­what seclud­ed motel that will pro­vide them with some much-need­ed pri­va­cy. For the chil­dren, it’s a relief to have a roof over their heads for the night, though there’s still a lin­ger­ing unease due to the recent devel­op­ments and the loom­ing fear of being dis­cov­ered. The group tries to set­tle into a sense of nor­mal­cy, but with each step for­ward, the ten­sion in the air grows.

Arriv­ing at the motel, the group finds com­fort in the fact that it’s near­ly emp­ty, offer­ing them the peace and qui­et they des­per­ate­ly need. Yet, the nar­ra­tor can’t shake the fear that their secret may be exposed. The knowl­edge that their faces were shown on TV as miss­ing chil­dren height­ens their anx­i­ety, and the uncer­tain­ty of what will hap­pen if they are found out looms large. They briefly dis­cuss the pos­si­bil­i­ty that Lester may aban­don them, but his reas­sur­ance that he won’t leave them eas­es some of their con­cerns. Still, the weight of their choic­es is felt by all, and the ques­tion of what comes next remains unan­swered.

As the group heads up to the sec­ond floor, Fish notices the closed swim­ming pool, which for a moment sym­bol­izes child­hood free­dom and all the things they’ve been miss­ing out on. Yet, the feel­ing is bit­ter­sweet, as the com­plex­i­ties of their cur­rent sit­u­a­tion cloud any thoughts of care­free enjoy­ment. Lill, focused on keep­ing the group mov­ing for­ward, com­mands them to stay on task, yet the nar­ra­tor takes a moment to con­fide in Bob­bi and Fish. She shares their plan to avoid call­ing home, a deci­sion meant to pro­tect their secre­cy and avoid unnec­es­sary com­pli­ca­tions. This qui­et exchange between the three adds a lay­er of inti­ma­cy and sus­pense to the nar­ra­tive, show­ing how they are work­ing togeth­er to pro­tect each oth­er and man­age the con­se­quences of their actions. The chap­ter ends with a qui­et but pal­pa­ble sense of ten­sion, as the group walks a fine line between their desires and the real­i­ty of the con­se­quences they’re try­ing to avoid.