As Sheena is rushing to get home and complete the virtual transfer of the ransom funds, she nearly hits a deer standing on the road. Sheena becomes impatient with the deer causing a delay, until she realizes that the deer is accompanied by two young fawns and is cautiously guiding them across the road. The deer symbolizes the power of nurturing the vulnerable. The deer is a mother caring for two offspring, just like Sheena herself; the deer’s protective instinct to block the road until the fawns safely cross reveals the common nature of a parental instinct, shared by Jessa, Sheena, and Sheena’s father.

However, the mother deer is herself in danger when she steps onto the road. The deer—just like Sheena, Jessa, and the mother who dives into the ocean to rescue her toddler—takes risks to protect her offspring but is ultimately successful. Since the deer is able to safeguard her fawns, she symbolizes how there is power in protecting the vulnerable: She forces Sheena’s car to stop, not through power but because Sheena recognizes their shared bond and wants to safeguard the animals.

The symbolism of the deer is heightened by a number of similes and metaphors comparing Sage to a gangly fawn. Like the baby deer, Sage is slender, with long legs. She is able to run extremely fast, but she must do so because she is pursued. Sage is likened to a hunted animal when she is pursued by an adult man with a gun. These comparisons heighten the associations between women or girls and animals: Within the world of the novel, both are often threatened by men and have to rely on their instincts and drive to care for others. Jessa’s instinct to protect the vulnerable also kicks in despite her resistance and leads her to care for the children of others as if they were her own.