Carolyn dies the following winter. A month later, Ralph begins to experience insomnia. Ralph refuses to visit his physician, Dr. Litchfield, out of resentment for his initial misdiagnosis of Carolyn’s brain tumor. Instead, he researches the condition on his own and learns that he has an uncommon variety of insomnia that causes him to wake prematurely, after which it becomes difficult to sleep. This initially doesn’t bother him, but then he starts waking up earlier each morning. He worries that his insomnia is a symptom of another mental illness, like depression. He takes up gardening until Bill expresses concern that Ralph’s habits are becoming unhealthy.

Ralph tries walking again around Derry and comes across a flyer made by the Maine LifeWatch Committee. The flyer is styled like a wanted poster, warning a woman named Susan Edwina Day to stay out of Derry. Ralph remembers Susan Day’s name from Ed’s protest chant, realizing that it referred to a prominent political activist.

The memory of Ed distracts Ralph as he interacts with the town bookseller, Hamilton Davenport. Davenport suggests a remedy for Ralph’s insomnia, though by then, Ralph has already tried several remedies suggested by other people, all of which have failed to help.

Referring to the Susan Day flyer, Davenport clarifies that that he and several others are trying to petition her to speak in Derry in support of WomanCare, a local women’s support center. The previous year, an anti-abortion activist named Charlie Pickering attempted to bomb WomanCare. Though Ralph is ambivalent about the abortion rights debate, he signs Davenport’s petition, believing that Carolyn would have wanted to hear Susan Day speak.

Ralph gets dizzy on the way home, eliciting the concern of his neighbor, Lois Chasse. When Lois presses him to explain why he had taken an uphill route home, Ralph admits that he avoided an easier route that reminded him of Carolyn. A widow herself, Lois apologizes. She urges him to take care of himself, making Ralph wonder if she has romantic feelings for him. He dismisses the thought, then invites Lois to visit him and Bill at the duplex.

Ralph cancels an appointment with Dr. Litchfield, still frustrated over Carolyn’s misdiagnosis. He similarly gives up on folk remedies, fearing that some of them may lead to other problems like dependency.

Over time, Ralph becomes concerned that insomnia is affecting his perception, making the world look dull gray, while also impacting his decision-making ability and his short-term memory. Ralph tries more scientifically-backed remedies, such as “delayed sleep.” They only drive resentment for his body and his bed. In the early hours, the only other presence Ralph registers is that of Rosalie, a limping stray dog that scavenges the neighborhood trash for food.

Ralph goes to the Red Apple convenience store to buy soup. Ed’s wife, Helen, staggers near the store covered in blood, wounds, and bruises. She is also carrying her baby daughter, Natalie. Ralph rushes to their aid, but Helen is too dazed to tell him what happened. Bill finds them and assists with the baby while Ralph attends to Helen. When Ralph wants to call emergency services, Helen asks him not to. Ralph intuits that Ed physically abused Helen, which Helen confirms.

As much as he wants to respect Helen’s wishes, Ralph calls the police out of moral obligation. Helen explains Ed abused her after she signed a petition in support of WomanCare, which she did so absentmindedly as she was trying to manage Natalie at the same time. Ed became angry with her when he saw her name on the petition. Helen does not know where to go if Ed gets arrested, considering that she has no job or money of her own. Ralph reassures her that she has friends who will help her, then sets out to confront Ed.

Ed welcomes Ralph and Bill to his home, behaving as if nothing has happened. Ralph tries to get Ed to confirm that he abused Helen. Ed knocks Ralph down and takes on a sinister manner. Ed claims that he was “fated” to see Helen’s signature on the petition, signaling her allegiance to the Centurions and the Crimson King. Ed rants about abortion, claiming that healthcare providers have industrialized it to exploit the value of fetal tissue. He elaborates that this is the plan of the Crimson King, who previously took the form of King Herod to slaughter large numbers of children in search of the Messiah. Ed believes that the Crimson King has foreseen the Messiah’s arrival in Derry and is using abortion to prevent it.

The police and the paramedics arrive with Helen and Natalie. Before he is arrested, Ed assures Ralph that his knowledge was revealed to him by another man, who helped him to see that black colors were taking over the world. Ed then feigns disbelief as he yields to the police, downplaying the severity of his abuse as a family argument.

The officer who arrests Ed introduces himself to Ralph and Bill as Detective John Leydecker. Since Helen hasn’t said anything that would send Ed to prison, Leydecker speculates that the trial will likely result in Ed being ordered to seek therapy. He hopes that Ralph can provide a statement to help build the case against Ed. Bill is shocked when he learns that state laws enable Ed to seek bail for only $25, though this is predicated on his commitment to maintain no contact with Helen.

Ralph calls Derry Home Hospital to check in on Helen. Helen is recovering but has asked the hospital to restrict visitors. Ralph understands that Helen has done this out of shame over her abuse. Helen later calls back to thank Ralph for his help, admitting that she was angry with him at first, but changed her mind after she was visited by a woman named Gretchen Tillbury. Gretchen, a family-abuse counsellor from WomanCare, shared her personal experience of abuse with Helen. This convinced Helen to admit that Ed has been abusing her since before her pregnancy. Helen has now committed herself to another counseling session with Gretchen. She plans to move herself and Natalie to an abuse survivors’ house called High Ridge. Helen acknowledges that while she still loves Ed, she knows that her love won’t fix him.

Ralph joins Bill on the porch to chat about the day’s events and the Old Crocks, a group of contemporaries who play chess in the picnic area. They then watch as two medical professionals visit the house of their neighbor, May Locher, to deliver her oxygen supply. May has emphysema, which she developed over several years working at a textile mill. Bill recalls May in her youth before alluding to his own life as a young gay man, suggesting that he cares for May out of sentimentality. Ralph notices that Bill isn’t wearing his favorite Panama hat. Bill explains that it went missing earlier that morning, which he blames on age-related cognitive changes. Ralph purposefully misquotes Carolyn to reassure him, recalling how her illness shortchanged her after such a wonderful life.

Ralph sees a glow manifest itself over three girls playing hopscotch across the street. Bill expresses his belief that the Deepneaus’ family issues will never be fully resolved. He predicts that Helen will ultimately return to Ed, with Ed perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Lois joins them on the porch, prompting Bill to charm her.

Early the next morning, Ralph is bothered by the memory of Dorrance telling him that he couldn’t see Ralph’s hands anymore.

Ralph receives a letter from Helen informing him of her move to High Ridge. She describes her life at the house, where she has found solidarity with other abuse survivors and their children. Finally, Helen declares her intention of divorcing Ed, whom she acknowledges has become paranoid over an imaginary figure he calls the “little bald doctor” (119). Ed is now staying at a housing compound provided by the laboratory where he works. He has written Helen to apologize and has sent money to provide for her and Natalie’s needs. Helen is skeptical, however, as Ed did not indicate any resolve to enter therapy. She ends the letter by acknowledging the strength that Ralph’s friendship gives her. The letter leaves Ralph teary-eyed.

As the months go by, Ralph’s insomnia gets worse, prompting more people to reach out with folk remedies. By September, Ralph is prepared to resign himself to a consultation with Dr. Litchfield. His last resort is to try using sleep medication. He plans to buy some at the Rite Aid drugstore, where he knows no one will recognize him.

At the park, Bill and Lois tell Ralph about a protest held by the religious anti-abortion group, The Friends of Life, at WomanCare. Following an alleged attempt to assault the facility doctors, several protesters, including Ed, were arrested. Before Ralph leaves for the drugstore, Lois comments that Ralph is looking better than before. Ralph notices bright lines streaming out of Lois’s fingers, alarming him. He tries to dismiss the distortions in his perception as symptoms of his insomnia.

At the drugstore, Ralph is unsure which sleeping aid he should try. A pharmacist named Joe Wyzer offers to guide him. After Ralph shares his symptoms, Wyzer advises him against using sleeping aids. Wyzer asks Ralph about his dreams. Ralph answers that his dreams are still vivid and coherent. On occasion, Ralph also experiences lucid dreams. Wyzer, a sleep disorder expert, invites Ralph to have coffee.

Ralph and Wyzer visit a diner called Day Break, Sun Down to talk. Wyzer describes sleep as one of humanity’s essential needs. Citing the direct relationship between dream capacity and cognitive ability, he uses Ralph’s lucid dreams as evidence that he can still access good sleep. When Wyzer mentions a perceptual issue called “hyper-reality,” Ralph observes an aura glowing around a nearby diner patron. Wyzer defines hyper-reality as “heightened sensory awareness” (143).

Wyzer offers to connect Ralph with two specialists, acupuncturist James Roy Hong and hypnotist Anthony Forbes. On the way back to the drugstore, they come across the faux wanted poster for Susan Day, modified to call for her death. They find the poster repulsive. Wyzer calls Hong’s office and sets up an appointment for the first week of October.

When Ralph leaves the drugstore, he is stunned by the widespread appearance of the auras he’d seen in the diner. Everything is imbued with an aura, though Ralph can adjust his perception to isolate the auras of people. Each person has a ribbon of light stretching up into the sky. Ralph calls these ribbons “balloon-strings.” When people interact with one another, so do their auras, sometimes intertwining or changing colors to express their moods.

Ralph connects this phenomenon with what Wyzer described as hyper-reality to assure himself that what he is seeing isn’t real. Eventually, the auras disappear, bringing Ralph back to a regular state of perception. Though he theorizes that his mind is self-regulating his exposure to the auras for his well-being, he hopes that he can experience them again.

Ralph catches up with Bill and Lois at Lois’s house. They watch a news report on the protest at WomanCare, which was organized in reaction to the news that Susan Day has agreed to visit Derry. Ed is confirmed to have been arrested while the rumors of physical assault are dismissed as false. In an interview, Leydecker reveals that the protestors used dismembered toy dolls in fake blood bags to break the windows at WomanCare. This terrified some of the WomanCare employees.

The report cuts to an interview with two of The Friends of Life who were arrested and have since been released: shop owner Dan Dalton and Ed. They denounce WomanCare, claiming it is a site of “mass slaughter.” Ed similarly frames The Friends of Life’s actions as vigilance against what they claim is injustice, contrasting themselves against the passive “good Germans” during the Holocaust. Dan tries to be more constructive, discussing a rezoning plan to force WomanCare to stop its operations. Ed affirms their resolve to act until they have achieved their objectives, which they claim they will accomplish through non-violent means. When asked, Ed fails to guarantee Susan Day’s safety.

Bill, Lois, and Ralph are horrified by the outcome of recent events, which have favored The Friends of Life. Ralph shares the story of Ed’s car accident. Bill suggests that Ralph should tell Leydecker what he knows.

Back at home, Ralph continues to watch the news, which identifies Dan as the leader of The Friends of Life. He thinks this is a front for Ed, whom he believes is the real group leader. Ralph is unsure about following Bill’s suggestion to speak to Leydecker. However, he realizes that Ed had alluded to the auras before, referring to them as the black “colors” taking over the world.

The phone rings, but Ralph is cautious about picking up because it gives off a red aura. He answers anyway, and it is Ed. Ed warns Ralph against telling Leydecker anything that would incriminate him. Ralph intuits that Ed is calling because he isn’t sure of his behavior anymore. This upsets Ed, who asks Ralph if he has seen the colors yet. He warns Ralph against getting involved with the larger entities working in Derry. Ed claims that he learned what was happening because the “bald doctor” told him, suggesting that the same doctor will come to Ralph if he continues to meddle.