Watching footage of the devastated mountains, Grandin resolves to leave camp, return to Feathermore, and find his father before it is too late.

Writing in the Camp Rogers Gazette, Harmony reports that the press conference ignited immediate unrest. Protesters occupied Incident Command headquarters, fights broke out, and arrests were made. Officials refused all interview requests, and the camp was locked down with a dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed through Halloween.

Ashanti observes that the curfew quiets the camp’s public spaces, but anger continues behind closed doors, and people slip out into the dark at night.

In a letter to Aunt Beckie, Harmony writes that she could barely recognize the places shown in the footage. No one she knows has fallen ill, yet anxiety persists. Her mother, furious that protesters were detained, is coordinating with other faith leaders to advocate on their behalf. Harmony raises questions about civil rights within an emergency camp and whether their film footage could serve as legal evidence. Privately, she admits she no longer believes they will ever go home.

In his Film Production Diary, Teddy questions what kind of invisible toxin kills indiscriminately and why no one addresses the contamination’s cause. He concludes that his documentary has fundamentally changed and wonders what happens when there is no home to return to.

Teddy rushes into the mess hall to announce that Ramón obtained the press conference video files for his documentary, only to find the others tense: Grandin has declared his intention to sneak out and return to Feathermore to find his father. Harmony and Ashanti argue that the contaminated zones are too dangerous, but Grandin is resolute, insisting that even if he fails, he will at least have more information. He becomes emotional watching Popcorn play outside with Pax, then asks the group to care for the dog and refuses to share his plan, saying the less they know, the better.

Grandin hides in the dark trunk of Ramón’s car inside a camp warehouse and waits.

Writing to Aunt Beckie, Harmony says she understands Grandin’s need to leave. She remarks that after her father left, her own family was like an uninhabitable zone. Just as she did then, Grandin now needs the truth in order to end the suffering caused by uncertainty.

At daylight, the warehouse opens, Ramón starts the car, and Grandin lies still. The car passes through the gate and accelerates onto the highway away from camp.

Cramped in the trunk, Grandin plans to climb out once the car is far enough from camp and travel the remaining distance on foot.

Almost a week after Grandin left, Harmony and Ashanti find Teddy reviewing press conference footage in the Emerald City. There is still no word about Grandin. Harmony reports that Incident Command is adding a movie theater, a bingo hall, a bowling alley, an arcade, a karaoke room, and a frozen yogurt machine to the camp. When Ashanti recalls an old television in a supply closet, Teddy immediately runs to retrieve it.

Walking west across open prairie, Grandin keeps the sun ahead of him, trusting that the mountains are out there even though he cannot yet see them.

In his Film Production Diary, Teddy writes that the larger TV monitor has transformed his editing. Everyone in camp is circulating the same rumors about the contamination’s cause—pipelines, dead birds, mysterious illness—but without facts, none of it adds up.

After many identical days of walking, Grandin spots the snowy Rocky Mountain peaks on the western horizon. A pickup truck stops beside him, and the driver offers a ride.

Eighteen months into the evacuation, Harmony’s Gazette article reports that the camp curfew has been extended by four weeks and solicits volunteers for the second annual New Year’s Evacu-Eve event.

Grandin wakes in the Camp Rogers infirmary with a broken arm and a concussion from a truck accident; guardsmen brought him back. His mother is in the hallway with the doctor. Grandin refuses pain medication, describing himself as numb with failure. When he learns that the evacuation is not over, he concludes that nothing is okay.

That evening, Teddy is studying the press conference footage when Harmony and Pax burst in with news that Grandin is back. Teddy is too engrossed to process the information, frustrating Harmony. The next day, the group visits Grandin, who is withdrawn and only asks whether Ramón is angry. The mood lifts when Pax sneaks Popcorn into the room and the dog leaps onto the bed.

Ashanti notes that Popcorn prompts the first trace of a smile from Grandin and reflects that his wound goes far deeper than broken bones.

Lying in the infirmary, Grandin reflects that his escape only returned him helpless to where he started. The ache he feels comes less from his injuries than from a profound sense of defeat.

An Incident Command Media Advisory announces that the governor’s Council for Displaced Coloradans will purchase properties deemed permanently uninhabitable at fair market value and help owners relocate. Applications are available at DACs in all shelters.

Nineteen months in, Harmony’s Gazette article reports that evacuees lined up in the snow to apply for the property buyout. A rancher and a professor describe the plan as a financial lifeline, while Harmony’s mother questions what support will be available to renters and low-wage workers who own nothing to sell.

Teddy shows Harmony the official footage of the devastated evacuation zones on the large TV and points out a shadow inconsistent with the surrounding light sources. He declares that the footage is cheaply produced CGI and is surprised no one else has noticed. He invokes Nellie Bly as a model for pursuing the truth regardless of consequences.

Ashanti writes that her father wants to accept the buyout while her mother insists on waiting for more information. She compares her mother’s stance to that of Penelope in The Odyssey, who held off suitors for seven years, certain that her husband Odysseus would return. Like Penelope, her mother continues to hold out hope that things will eventually return to what they were.

Grandin finds Ramón washing his car and apologizes. Ramón says nothing at first, continuing to scrub the tires. When Grandin clarifies that he is sorry for everything, Ramón squeezes his arm and hands him a towel, telling him that next time, he should simply ask.

Gathered in the Emerald City, Teddy shows the group the CGI evidence. Grandin confirms that he saw no devastation during his time out west and describes a boy he encountered who called himself Mustang: Mustang’s family never evacuated, a network of kids remains in the mountains, and the reported damage is exaggerated or invented. Together with the doctored footage, the group concludes that someone is lying. They debate why mainstream media has ignored the story, with Grandin arguing that the interior of the country is routinely dismissed, and Teddy adding that adults often underestimate what children are capable of.

Grandin describes how the most effective cattle chutes curve so the animals cannot see their destination and remain docile all the way to slaughter.

Applying Grandin’s metaphor, Teddy identifies the new camp amenities as deliberate distractions intended to stave off unrest among the evacuees. Grandin notes that the buyout would look like a windfall to ranchers already in financial trouble. The group entertains the possibility that the contamination threat is a hoax and debates the motive, with Teddy suggesting mining or drilling before Ashanti asks what could be worth even more than oil and gas.

Grandin lists images of severe drought—a parched cow, dry fields, and rain gauges clogged with dead flies.

Grandin retrieves an atlas and points to the Eldorado River Basin. Harmony cross-references her interview notes and realizes every evacuee they have spoken with comes from a town along the river or its tributaries. Grandin declares that the entire scheme is about water, which he argues is more valuable than oil or gas.

Ashanti draws a parallel to the myth of Demeter, whose grief caused a drought that threatened all life, and asks who could want water desperately enough to steal an entire river.

Writing to Aunt Beckie, Harmony lays out the water theory and uses the six-rung ladder of journalism taught by Mr. Sedillo to map the investigation: The doctored video, river-town evacuations, and the 20-month timeline are established facts, while the motive remains a theory and the perpetrators are entirely unknown. She commits to proving both before drawing any conclusions.

In his Film Production Diary, Teddy rewrites his documentary’s premise: four kids uncovering a large-scale conspiracy. He compares its potential significance to Watergate and warns himself to proceed with caution, since whoever is responsible will be highly motivated to protect themselves.

A new Incident Command Media Advisory sets a 90-day deadline for Emergency Purchase Plan applications. The plan expires in six months, and any unsold properties may be condemned.

Weeks later, the group acknowledges they have made no progress. Grandin argues the situation exceeds what they can manage alone and suggests involving an adult. They debate who can be trusted, and Harmony proposes following “communication pathways”—speaking first to their own parents and guardians. They commit to a plan they call “Operation Safe to Tell.”

Harmony writes to Aunt Beckie that their parents and guardians dismissed the theory as imagination, excessive movie consumption, or paranoia from “refugee syndrome.” Grandin chose not to tell his mother at all. School officials were equally dismissive, and a promised Incident Command interview never materialized. Harmony concludes they will have to break the story themselves.

Grandin reveals that Ramón believes them. Ramón admits he sensed something was wrong but didn’t know who to trust. He agrees to eavesdrop while driving commanders and share relevant information—provided Grandin swears never to take advantage of him again.

The group discusses their next move. Teddy suggests following anything that doesn’t make sense, starting with the fake footage. Grandin reveals that Mustang gave him a contact number, and Teddy speculates that their phones were confiscated specifically to prevent communication. Harmony concludes that they need to find a working phone.

Ashanti recalls that her mother’s medical bag contains an old cell phone kept for emergencies and likely forgotten. She resolves to take it.

Grandin powers on Ashanti’s mother’s phone but finds no signal. Teddy then produces a SIM card he quietly kept when their phones were surrendered during the evacuation. Inserted into the phone, it immediately registers signal, and Harmony tells Grandin to make the call.

Grandin dials Mustang’s number. It goes straight to a silent voicemail prompt. He leaves a message identifying himself as the boy from the truck crash and saying they need help.

The group debates what proof will be needed. Teddy argues that they need photographs showing that the zones are inhabited and that the devastation is false, but Grandin points out that photos alone could be dismissed as fabricated. Ashanti recalls a film in which a dated newspaper visible in a photograph serves as irrefutable proof. Grandin concludes that photos of people in the zones holding dated issues of the Gazette would be difficult to refute.

While the group waits in silence, the phone vibrates. Everyone startles. Grandin answers.

Pax and Popcorn burst in before Grandin can speak freely. He hides the phone and slips down the hall. Pax demonstrates Popcorn’s new trick—making him wait before eating a treat balanced on his paw. When Grandin returns, he glances at Pax and tells the others they are ready to proceed.

In his Film Production Diary, Teddy reflects on the paradox of making a documentary about a conspiracy conducted through fabricated film, questioning whether they are the story, participants in someone else’s story, or something in between.

Grandin reports two developments: Mustang warns that security around the evacuation zones is tightening, and Ramón says statewide riots have prompted Incident Command to add curfews and search all bags and vehicles. Teddy proposes maintaining their cover by continuing to publish ordinary camp stories while keeping the investigation hidden. Looking out the window at Pax throwing a stick for Popcorn, Grandin identifies the dog as their solution for smuggling the Gazette.

Twenty-two months into the evacuation, Harmony’s Gazette article covers a recent snowfall at camp and promotes a snowman-sculpting contest and opportunities to help shovel walkways.

Ashanti notes that Popcorn’s easy rapport with every guard—including those at a rarely visited gate in the north woods—allows the group to pass as ordinary kids on ordinary walks. She wonders whether the guards’ machine guns are meant to contain the camp’s residents or prevent outsiders from entering.

Writing to Aunt Beckie, Harmony insists that their handoff plan must be executed without error. She admits privately that she sometimes wonders whether, if she had been more perfect, her father might never have left.

The copier jams mid-print, and Harmony breaks down. Grandin disassembles the machine and fixes it. They finish printing copies of the Gazette on bright orange paper, roll them tightly into a weighted paper towel tube, and seal it with tape. Grandin texts Mustang the go signal.

At dusk, the group walks Popcorn toward a remote wooded gate where Private Liu, a guard with whom they’ve become friendly, is on duty. Harmony and Ashanti engage him in conversation and hand him a fresh copy of the Gazette. With his back turned, Grandin swaps Popcorn’s fetch stick for the tube filled with copies of the Gazette and throws it as far as possible into the woods. Popcorn disappears after it. The group stalls until Grandin whistles and Popcorn emerges from the trees empty-mouthed. They say goodnight to Private Liu and head back.

Back in the Emerald City, Harmony writes to Aunt Beckie that the handoff succeeded and Grandin has received a confirmation text from Mustang. Popcorn seemed to sense he had done something important and knocked himself over with his wagging tail. Now all they can do is wait.

Grandin reflects that gathering proof will take time and patience. He compares the network of mountain kids to an aspen grove, in which what appear to be many separate trees actually comprise a single organism connected by a vast, hidden root system. He settles in to wait.