Sam encounters Quinn fishing on the beach. Quinn shows Sam a large halibut he plans to trade to Albert, who has refrigeration and cooking equipment. Sam argues the fish should go to the neediest children, but reluctantly agrees Albert is best equipped to handle it.

At Coates Academy, Diana finds Caine thrashing in his sleep, crying out about being “hungry in the dark” (158). She confronts him about his nightmares and the creature he calls the gaiaphage, which she connects to the Darkness that gave Drake his whip hand. Caine accuses Diana of helping Computer Jack and Sam, then threatens her, giving her two days to retrieve Jack or face consequences.

At McDonald’s, Quinn arrives with three fish. Albert proposes a business partnership: He will provide six workers for Quinn to train as fishermen, and they will split proceeds 70/30. Quinn agrees.

At the day care, the arrival of fried fish attracts the throng of hungry children. The smell triggers Mary’s eating disorder, and feeling it would be sinful to eat only to vomit, she flees to the bathroom while the children eat.

Sam visits Astrid’s house to reconcile after their argument. They agree not to let disagreements about running the town damage their personal relationship. Sam goes to bed in the guest room, noticing Mary’s weight loss on the way; she lies and says she is eating enough.

Sam has a vivid dream in which he relives his fifteenth birthday “poof,” the term the kids use to describe the vanishing. He recalls being lured by an illusion of his mother and choosing to not cross over. In the dream, a mysterious girl is present. Astrid wakes Sam in a panic and reports something is wrong with Little Pete. They find his room filled with tangible physical monsters that cast shadows and produce sounds and smells. Sam and Astrid back into the hallway to draw the creatures away from Pete, but when Astrid shouts for him to wake up, the monsters attack. Sam incinerates several before they all abruptly vanish when Little Pete wakes.

Sam looks out the window and sees the girl from his dream across the street, later revealed to be Orsay. He runs outside, but she has vanished. Back inside, Pete says he made someone be quiet, then repeats “hungry in the dark” (180) before falling back asleep.

Bug reports to Caine that Orsay fell into a trance while inside Sam’s dream. Caine questions her; she reports that Sam’s dreams are simple and unfocused, with no concern about the power plant, but that she felt the gaiaphage in Little Pete’s dreams and that the creature was learning how to create physical things.

Alone, Caine reflects on his feeling of being controlled by the Darkness. A flashback reveals a childhood lesson—one can only be trapped by one’s own fear—and he realizes that because he is genuinely terrified of the gaiaphage, he cannot bluff or defy it.

At the town hall, Little Pete tells Astrid that someone is “hungry in the dark” (189) and that he will not let this person talk because his words are bad.

Edilio takes a group of children to harvest cantaloupes, walks into the field himself to demonstrate safety, and discovers the zekes—mutant worms—have spread there. He barely escapes, horrified that he nearly sent the children to their deaths.

Computer Jack bursts into Sam’s office, upset that Sam refuses to activate the phone system Jack has repaired and complaining that a boy named Zil is publicly mocking him. Edilio interrupts to report that the zekes have spread to the melon field, and Sam leaves to fight the worms.

At the field, Dekka uses her gravity-canceling power to levitate pillars of dirt and worms while Sam incinerates them with blasts of light. They repeat the process three times, but when Orc tests an untreated area, worms immediately attack his hand. Sam feels defeated, having failed to eliminate the threat.

At the tennis courts, Lana practices shooting at a target depicting a coyote. After firing two clips, she feels the psychic call of the Darkness and prepares to answer it the following day.

To retrieve Jack for Caine, Diana shaves her head, disguises herself as a boy, and sneaks into Perdido Beach.

At Astrid’s house, Astrid examines photographs from Sam’s fight with the zekes and discovers that despite having no eyes, the worms all twisted to face Sam. She shares her theory that they function as a single hive organism and proposes using SUVs on their steel rims to harvest crops safely, as well as the possibility of negotiating with the creature. Sam embraces the practical idea but dismisses negotiation, angering Astrid with his condescension.

Computer Jack is struggling to build an internet without a powerful router when Brianna visits him, leading to an awkward exchange that Jack later realizes was an invitation to the club. At the club, Zil insults Brianna and tensions flare between mutants and non-mutants before Dekka and Quinn intervene. Brianna asks Jack to dance, but he doesn’t know how. When Jack mentions he has fixed the phones, Brianna warns him to keep it secret. Jack notices a boy with a shaved head staring at him, recognizes Diana’s voice, and flees in fear.

Diana follows Jack to the beach and manipulates him by appealing to his crush on her and his frustration that Sam won’t let him use his skills. She tempts him with the promise of an ultimate technological challenge at Coates, issues an ultimatum, and walks away, confident that Jack will follow.

At the house Zil shares with Hunter and others, Zil accuses Hunter of stealing his beef jerky. The argument escalates into a confrontation over mutants versus non-mutants, and when Zil grabs a fireplace poker, their housemate Harry jumps between them and is accidentally struck by Hunter’s power of microwave energy. A massive blister forms on Harry’s neck. Zil screams that Hunter is a murderer, and Hunter flees to find Lana.

Sam is awakened by the sound of Mary vomiting. Unable to sleep, he connects a detail from his dream to Caine’s scouts and concludes that Caine is about to attack the power plant. He gathers Edilio and a group of fighters and sends Brianna ahead to warn the others guarding the plant. On the way, Zil flags them down and reports that Hunter killed Harry. Sam makes the difficult decision to address the death first, while Zil leaves to rally other “normals,” further escalating tensions.

Quinn drives Albert, Lana, her dog Patrick, and Cookie on a secret nighttime mission to retrieve hidden gold from the ruins of a cabin belonging to a man known as Hermit Jim. Albert explains his plan to create a gold-backed currency. Lana reflects that no amount of gold can buy her freedom from the Darkness—she will need to confront or kill it instead.

Caine’s convoy, including Diana, Jack, Drake, and armed soldiers, heads toward the power plant. They spot Brianna speeding past and realize she will warn the guards. Arriving at the locked gate, Caine hurls a vehicle through it to tear it open, and Brianna disappears.

Sam and Dekka enter the boys’ house and find Harry dead. They realize the death could ignite a war between mutants and “normals.” When Edilio arrives with Dahra instead of Lana, Dahra confirms Harry is dead and determines the blister suggests he was cooked from the inside. Dekka, who has experienced exclusion as a black lesbian, warns Sam that divisions between mutants and the others are inevitable.

Inside the power plant grounds, Drake shoots and wounds a guard named Josh, then tortures him until Caine orders him to stop. The group advances to the control room and finds the door locked behind heavy steel. Caine’s attempt to break it down with a hurled tool chest fails. At Diana’s suggestion, Jack tries to force the door open with his super-strength, and Caine uses his power to embed wrenches in the floor to give Jack footholds.

Edilio arrives at Astrid’s house to find a mob led by Zil threatening Hunter, whom Astrid is defending. Edilio tries to confiscate a shotgun from a boy named Hank, but it accidentally discharges. Another boy strikes Edilio with a baseball bat and accidentally hits Astrid in the face on the backswing. The mob panics and flees. When Edilio and Astrid go inside to arrest Hunter, they discover he has escaped through the back door.

Inside the control room, guard Brittney Donegal stands alone after the others flee. As the reinforced door begins to bulge inward under immense pressure, she prepares to defend the room, accepting she will likely die fighting Caine.

An exhausted Brianna finds Astrid and Edilio after the mob confrontation and reports that Caine is attacking the power plant. Edilio sends her to find Sam and gather their forces. Brianna finds Sam, who is furious at himself for letting the murder investigation distract him from the real threat. She also reports that Astrid was struck during the confrontation, and that she spotted Lana, Quinn, Albert, and Cookie driving on the highway. Sam sends Brianna to carry out his orders.

At Hermit Jim’s ruins, Quinn and Albert locate a cellar and retrieve dozens of heavy gold bricks. Albert explains his plan to melt the gold and cast it into coins. He asks Quinn to keep their discovery from Sam for now, and Quinn reluctantly agrees. After loading the truck, they discover that Lana, Cookie, and Patrick have vanished. Quinn finds a note from Lana on the steering wheel telling them not to follow and that she knows what she is doing. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Albert and Quinn agree they must tell Sam.