Janner runs through the factory floor but becomes disoriented in the maze of machinery. He finds his bearings at the main furnace and runs for the exit stairs as five older boys pursue him. On the stairs, a girl with luminous eyes calls his name, asking him not to run. Her voice captivates him, and he hesitates. The Maintenance Managers seize him, beat him, and throw him down the stairs. Before they drag him away, the girl leans close and tells him that her name is Sara Cobbler.

Janner wakes in complete darkness inside a coffin-like box. He screams and scratches at the walls, cycling through moments of panic, weeping, and despair as he longs for his family. Eventually growing too tired to panic, he thinks of Sara and realizes that she was the girl taken by the Black Carriage the previous year.

After two days, the box opens. Mobrik tells him that the Overseer wants to see him. Janner emerges changed; he is now more determined to escape, and he vows to one day destroy the factory.