The narrator is so full that they don’t wake with the sunrise. One of the men from the town finds the dead coyote and the narrator. The narrator hopes the man recognizes how they helped the people, but the man only yells and throws a bottle at the narrator. As the narrator leaves, they look back and see the man looking at them just as their father did.

The narrator hides again. They watch as two boys walk by holding hands. One boy talks about being a poet and the narrator is fascinated by the hands, which could commit violence, instead grasping each other. The narrator believes it is a poet of sorts. When they find a deer left by its herd, the narrator kills it and eats its heart first. Though this will make the meat spoil faster, the narrator enjoys the independence the kill brings. With the meat, the narrator will not need to depend on the town for some time.

The voices of hikers plague the narrator, who cannot understand why they can close their eyes but not their ears. They hear people talking about their lives and problems, always saying that something is not a big deal when it in fact is. They call the place around them many different names, confusing the narrator. The narrator hears one hiker complain about fame and their loss of anonymity. Hikers talk of the earthquake, dismissing it, while simultaneously considering fire to be the more real and serious threat.

At night, the narrator drags the deer up toward the cave. When the narrator sees an owl, they move closer, looking into the owl’s eyes. In them, the narrator finally sees Los Angeles clearly, and is astounded by its lights and size. The narrator cannot believe this is all one place, understanding why hikers use so many different names.

While walking through the park, the narrator discovers a wildlife camera. After the narrator sees the flash of it, it waits for another. When it does not come, the narrator knocks the camera over, breaking it. The narrator wonders what the camera captured.

The narrator wakes up to the smell of an easy kill. Two older people walk slowly by. The narrator realizes that this is what coyotes must smell as they circle their victims, as well as how the narrator’s father saw them when he attacked. The narrator thinks of how their skin is sagging and age is beginning to appear. The narrator considers old age a sign of resilience and survival.

One night, the narrator hears an explosion and sees a flash of light. Fireworks go off in the sky, to the cheers of many people. The narrator, however, worries about the sparks drifting down from the sky, and the anxiety prevents the narrator from eating.

The trauma of the fireworks stays with the narrator. One day, the narrator sits on the ledge above their cave, and watches as two men approach while evening falls. They walk at a distance apart from each other, looking at their phones. When they go into the cave, the narrator climbs down to see what they are doing. The narrator sees one man put his mouth on the other’s neck.

Seeing the men brings back memories for the narrator. The best deer they ever ate was one they did not kill. When the narrator drew close to the long death, their father stopped hunting them. The narrator could hear the long death. When a deer stopped in front of the narrator, the narrator froze, just as the deer did. In this moment, another mountain lion attacked the deer and killed it. This other mountain seemed to invite the narrator to eat from the deer with him, and when the narrator did and the other cat did not attack, the narrator realized they had found someone special.

The narrator sneaks into the cave and hides. They watch the two men, on their knees, having sex. The narrator watches, and recognizes the shape they make together as one resembling them. Their movements, though reminiscent of the earthquake, seem natural to the narrator.

For days, the narrator and the other mountain lion, whom the narrator dubbed “the Kill Sharer,” would meet to eat the deer. It slowly dwindled, and the narrator would watch the Kill Sharer and grew fond of him. The narrator saved the last bite for the Kill Sharer, but when he did not appear, the narrator decided it was time to cross the long death. The narrator spent all night pacing on the side of the long death, unsure of how to cross. When morning broke, the narrator saw the broken body of the Kill Sharer on the road. Upset, the narrator dashed across the long death, hoping to die.

The two men leave the cave, neither noticing the narrator. Afterward, the narrator goes to the spot on the ground they had disturbed and lies down. The narrator thinks of the Kill Sharer and imagines him appearing in the cave. The narrator imagines having sex with the Kill Sharer, just as the two men did.

The narrator hears more voices and sees two men approach. They talk about a woman while they smoke. It is night, and the narrator is completely hidden. The narrator recognizes the men. One is the man with the whip, and the other his friend. The narrator immediately sees the bulging vein in the man with the whip’s neck. When the narrator realizes that the two men will not have sex like those that came before, they follow them as they walk away.

The friend goes to urinate, but soon turns back, complaining that there is an unhoused encampment past the bushes. The man with the whip complains, saying that the city is no longer safe, and that it should be with how much rent he pays. The narrator watches as the man with the whip takes his lighter, walks into the encampment, and starts a fire. The man with the whip and his friend walk away, while the narrator watches the tents go up in flames.

The narrator watches as the people from the town rush out of their tents and try to put out the fire. When one of the men emerges, his leg on fire, the narrator jumps out from the bushes and pounces on him, trying to put out the fire and drag him to safety. The fire spreads, and the other people of the town, not understanding what the narrator is doing, begin throwing sticks and stones. The narrator flees as the fire rises and grows, running away, toward the city.

The smoke from the fire is disorienting, and the narrator cannot tell where they are going or how much time passes. Days pass and the narrator’s hunger grows, just as their strength drains. They feel like they lose their body. The day after, the wind changes, and the narrator begins to feel normal again, searching through the abandoned belongings of hikers who fled the fire, hoping for food.

The narrator explores the park, coming across a merry-go-round. The narrator stands under it, hoping to be impaled like the other animals. As their wandering continues, the narrator hears the roar of a long death, and realizes this is the edge of the park. There is nowhere else to escape to, but the narrator does not want to die hungry.