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Jonas notices the road narrowing and growing rough as maintained surfaces give way to stones and ruts. A fall twists Jonas’s ankle and scrapes his knees, though Gabriel remains safe in the seat. With search planes gone, Jonas risks daytime travel, wary of unfamiliar hazards as forests thicken and streams appear.

They witness a waterfall and their first wildlife. Gabriel mistakes a bird for a plane, prompting Jonas to hide before recognizing it from memories. Jonas marvels at birds, deer, and a curious small animal, pausing to enjoy wildflowers, birdsong, and wind—moments of happiness unknown in his community of Sameness.

Food runs out after they leave cultivated fields. Jonas repeatedly fails to catch fish by hand, then crafts a net from Gabriel’s blanket and a stick, finally securing two fish, which he cuts and eats raw with Gabriel. They find berries but fail to catch a bird. At night, hunger torments Jonas as he recalls banquet memories that only deepen his emptiness. He recognizes he is truly starving and wrestles with regret over choosing to leave, then realizes staying would have left him starved for feelings—and Gabriel dead.

As hills rise, Jonas’s injured ankle throbs and rain arrives for two days, chilling both travelers. Gabriel, silent until now, cries from hunger and cold; Jonas cries too, overwhelmed by weakness and fear that he cannot save Gabriel, even as he continues onward.