Chapter 5

At daybreak, Natalie inspects the dilapidated house, noting rotted floors, gaps in the ceiling, and a sparse kitchen of jars and staples. The older girl grows wary when Natalie examines a red syrup and asks if Natalie has a headache, which Natalie denies.

She registers the stark absence of modern conveniences—no refrigerator, laundry room, or bathroom—and observes that the floor plan matches her own home but with straw mattresses and scant clothing in the children’s rooms. The parallel layout makes the place feel like a battered replica of her life.

Needing the restroom, Natalie is brusquely told to go. Outside, with her head throbbing—a reminder of that morning’s clash with Caleb—she takes in the autumn scenery and distant mountains. Her attention shifts to the paddocks, where Noah leads out a horse that looks like Snickers yet differs in markings, undermining the illusion that this could be her exact home.

The sight triggers memories of debating the wisdom of buying a horse and deepens her sense of dislocation. Overwhelmed by the vastness and threat of the landscape, Natalie bolts to the outhouse, shutting herself in like a child hiding from monsters.

Desperate to reverse whatever has happened, Natalie tries a Wizard-of-Oz heel-click, repeating “There’s no place like home.” When she flings the door open, nothing has changed; she curses, facing the same unaltered, alien reality.