Gabrielle’s presence terrifies the villagers even though Sister Tabitha tries to reassure them that vicious, quick-moving Unconsecrated like “the Fast One” have been an occasional issue since the Return. Mary is determined to find out what happened to Gabrielle, so on the night before the Binding ceremony, she follows the tunnel under the Cathedral and finds a room. Unbolting the door, she is unnerved by the room’s silence and darkness. She panics and runs, but instead of going back to the Cathedral, she finds herself at the top of the steps that lead to the ring where Sister Tabitha first threatened her into “choosing” the Sisterhood. After a moment of tearful indecision, Mary returns to the room and enters.

Mary finds a book of Scripture and opens it to discover that its white spaces are covered with notes that seem like reflections, observations, or methods of experimentation. One note reads, “As expected, extreme and complete isolation was the cause of her immense strength and speed” (108-09). As Mary flees the room, she realizes that unlike every other doorway in the village, this one has no Scripture carved outside; instead, it bears a list of names that ends with Gabrielle’s, which has been freshly carved. Mary retreats to her room and wishes that Travis would come, but he does not.

That evening, Mary waits at the small cottage that will be hers and Harry’s. Sister Tabitha arrives and says that she will prepare Mary for the Binding, but she begins by lecturing Mary about commitment and the importance of not questioning traditions. Sister Tabitha then surprises Mary by revealing that Mary’s mother had “lost children” (114).

Sister Tabitha explains that because it was very difficult for Mary’s mother to carry a pregnancy to term, she lost several children; Sister Tabitha opines that it was as if Mary was not supposed to be born at all. She then lectures Mary about the importance of accepting the “happiness” that she, Sister Tabitha, has arranged for her. She urges Mary to pray to God for children, just like her mother did.

When someone knocks, Mary still hopes that the visitor will be Travis, but it is Harry. He brings Mary a puppy as a wedding gift, and Mary names the puppy Argos. Sister Tabitha binds their hands with the cord, then leaves. Mary recalls a joyful afternoon that she and Harry had as children, dancing and spinning in a clearing in the village corn maze. However, she confesses to Harry that she will only be happy if and when she can escape the village. He is confused but does not grow angry or judge her. Even as Mary allows Harry to kiss her, she reflects that marrying him was never her choice.

Mary wakes abruptly the next morning to the sound of the siren and realizes that the Unconsecrated have breached the fence and are now attacking the villagers. Harry cuts the Binding with the knife, then gives the blade to Mary for a weapon. He gathers food and two bladders of water. Mary sees Gabrielle and other Unconsecrated out the window, then glimpses two small children trying to escape. The boy, Jacob, trips, so Harry rushes outside, grabs him up, and returns. Harry then gathers the supplies and an ax, throws Jacob over his shoulder, and opens the door. He and Mary run for the platforms, but there are no ladders within easy range. Mary sees Travis and Cass waiting to climb a ladder in the distance, and another ladder being taken up. Harry motions for Mary to run to the Cathedral, but an Unconsecrated woman attacks her. Mary stabs the undead woman, who falls on her, trying to bite.

The length of the Binding knife keeps the woman just far enough away to prevent her from biting Mary. Harry beheads the woman. Still carrying Jacob, Mary and Harry flee for the Cathedral, where Guardians and Sisters alike are shooting arrows from the second story and bolting shutters on the first floor. Sister Tabitha lingers over a stuck shutter. After she secures it, she runs for the front door, then sees Harry and Mary. As she waits for them, Gabrielle attacks from the side, and the sisters close the door. The only place left to flee is the gated, fenced path, so Mary and Harry run there, entering safely along with Argos. Gabrielle flings herself at Mary through the fence, and although Mary tries to tell Harry that the Sisters made Gabrielle what she is, he insists that it does not matter. Gabrielle heads to the village. Suddenly, Mary sees Cass and Travis approaching.

Travis and Cass are now inside the fenced path with Harry, Mary, Jacob, and Argos. Harry debates whether they should return and help the surviving villagers. At the moment, they are all standing in a line to keep safely away from the fences. Travis briefly takes Mary’s hand, then feels the remains of the Binding Rope and lets go. Meanwhile, the Unconsecrated press too heavily against the gate, preventing their exit, so the survivors decide to move further down the path to encourage the undead to go back to the village. Harry hopes that the people on the platforms might conquer the invaders in the night. Mary suddenly realizes that many of the newly Unconsecrated were villagers who had not been given enough time to reach the platforms before those ahead of them yanked up the ladders. She peers down the unknown path, vowing to follow it even if no one will go with her.

During the rainy night, they all sit in a line, with Harry facing the village and Mary facing the Forest. Cass grows fearful when a few undead grip the fence nearby, and Mary tries to comfort her by encouraging her to think beyond the village and seek hope in the thought of the ocean or the prospect of seeing new sights further down the path. She insists that they must think of Jacob, not of themselves, as their lives are already so tinged with death. However, Cass declares that Mary is selfish to want to follow her “whims” and insists that they not give up on the other survivors. Mary wonders why Cass and Travis have no Binding Ropes on their wrists, and she realizes that they might have rejected the Binding.

In the morning, Jed and Beth join them in the fenced path. Jed bears the grim news that the entire village is now lost because the Fast One was able to turn so many victims, leaving the Guardians unable to conquer their numbers. Jed reveals that the Sisters long ago instructed the Guardians to fortify the path and station weapons and supplies in case of such a breach. Harry is incensed; he argues that he—as an Apprentice Guardian—did not know about the fence fortifications. Jed insists that it does not matter, that only the Sisters know where the path leads, and that he (Jed) was not a Guild member, so he does not know all the Sisterhood secrets. Mary confirms that the Sisters indeed kept secrets, but she does not elaborate.

They travel down the path. Harry is in the lead with Argos, and Jed and Mary bring up the rear. After a morning of walking, Jed hangs back and admits to Mary that Beth has been infected. He says that he cannot bring himself to kill her yet because he just wants one more day to be with her. He says that he truly loves Beth, then comments that if Mary knows what true love means, she will understand and keep his secret. Feeling guilty for having allowed herself to be Bound to Harry, Mary agrees.

The path widens to a clearing. The group sees a wooden trunk carved with the symbols “XVIII.” Mary recalls the “XIV” that Gabrielle drew on the window at the Cathedral. Harry smashes the trunk’s lock with the ax; inside are food, water, and more axes. They sleep for a while, then wake up later when Gabrielle arrives and smashes violently against the fence, trying to get to them. She has been shot with arrows and has a broken or dislocated arm, but these injuries do not quell her fury or her speed. Other slower Unconsecrated catch up to her and start clawing at the fence. The survivors start down the path again, and although the slow undead fall behind, Gabrielle speeds ahead and drops back to the survivors repeatedly, trying to find a way in. Mary realizes that whatever the Sisters did to Gabrielle has led to the village’s destruction.

They come to a gate marked with a metal bar marked with the symbols “XIX.” Cass tries to stop Mary from opening the gate, but Mary points out that they must open the gate to keep going. Mary sees that Beth is growing sicker; she knows that her brother must kill his wife that night. At a fork, the single path branches into two, and they agree to follow the left one so that Gabrielle, who is to their right, will not be able to follow them. Over the course of the afternoon, the path forks two more times, but their random choices lead them to a dead end by evening.