In a letter to her Aunt Beckie, composed after the events of Part 1, Harmony Addams-Paul reflects on the days before a major evacuation, wondering whether foreknowledge could have changed the outcome. She concludes that she likely would not have believed a warning from her future self, observing that reality is often more bizarre than anything one could invent.

A Tuesday evening KRKY 97 broadcast establishes the situation in Colorado: new curfews and mandatory travel checkpoints are in effect, record heat continues, and fire danger is high across the mountains.

At a Millerville public pool after swim practice, 12-year-old Ashanti Johnson—who habitually frames everyday life through Greek mythology—waits while her mother finishes reading. Ashanti asks permission to sleep over at her friend Emma’s house on Friday; after a thorough round of parental questions, her mother agrees.