The chap­ter opens with the group leav­ing a chapel, led by Rolf, as they care­ful­ly nav­i­gate a dark field. Theo reflects on his con­flict­ing emotions—wonder, excite­ment, and irritation—while observ­ing the group’s dynam­ics. Despite his reser­va­tions about their plan, he feels bound to Julian and her unborn child, recall­ing his past guilt over anoth­er child’s death. The group reach­es Theo’s car, and he con­sid­ers con­tact­ing Xan, the War­den, but ulti­mate­ly decides against it, rec­og­niz­ing their des­per­ate need for his help.

Theo attempts to per­suade Julian to let him nego­ti­ate with Xan, but Rolf dis­miss­es the idea, insist­ing on their orig­i­nal plan to flee and find shel­ter. Miri­am rein­forces their lack of options, empha­siz­ing their pre­car­i­ous sit­u­a­tion. Theo sar­cas­ti­cal­ly mocks their ide­al­ized vision of sur­vival in a remote cot­tage, yet he acknowl­edges his inescapable com­mit­ment to them. His con­nec­tion to Julian and the child, as well as his poten­tial influ­ence with author­i­ties, solid­i­fies his role in their jour­ney.

Ten­sions rise between Theo and Rolf, cul­mi­nat­ing in a heat­ed exchange where Rolf accus­es Theo of elit­ism and cow­ardice. Theo coun­ters by blam­ing Rolf for Gas­coigne’s cap­ture and pos­si­ble death, reveal­ing under­ly­ing guilt and resent­ment. Miri­am inter­venes, urg­ing them to focus on sur­vival. They agree to head north­west into Wales, avoid­ing major roads. Theo sug­gests stop­ping at his friend Jasper’s house to secure anoth­er car and sup­plies, a plan Rolf reluc­tant­ly accepts after ques­tion­ing its fea­si­bil­i­ty.

As they approach Jasper’s house, Theo insists on han­dling the nego­ti­a­tion alone, choos­ing Miri­am as his com­pan­ion due to her prac­ti­cal knowl­edge. Rolf’s dis­trust lingers, but Theo pri­or­i­tizes Julian’s safe­ty over their con­flict. The chap­ter ends with Theo and Miri­am enter­ing Jasper’s prop­er­ty, not­ing the open gate, hint­ing at an unex­pect­ed devel­op­ment. Theo remains acute­ly aware of his loy­al­ty to Julian and the child, despite the group’s inter­nal strife and the over­whelm­ing odds against them.