Adam and Herb lift off to return home. Suddenly, the enemy Cessna appears beside them and opens fire. Adam performs a sharp dive and bank to evade, then cuts his throttle as the faster plane closes for a second pass, causing it to overshoot. Adam dives toward the river valley to use the terrain for cover.

At Herb’s request for a level shot, Adam flies low and slow along the valley wall to bait the Cessna into matching his speed. On Herb’s countdown, Adam abruptly slows again, causing the Cessna to overshoot once more. This time Adam gets on its tail, and Herb fires repeatedly into the plane. The Cessna crashes into the valley wall and explodes.

Rather than feeling triumphant, Adam feels drained. After a smooth landing, he tells Herb he accepts his responsibility for the enemy deaths and “just want[s] to eat” (364).

After three days of rest, Adam brings lunch to the captured attacker, who is recovering from surgery and restrained to his hospital bed. Following Herb’s coaching, Adam frees one wrist while armed and lies to the captive, telling him that Olde Burnham was their ally and Eden Mills retaliated by killing hundreds of the attackers. The prisoner admits his group knows about Eden Mills and that they had planned to make it their next target.

The prisoner also confirms his group destroyed a police station with superior weapons, including grenades and rocket launchers. Herb steps out from behind a curtain and offers cooperation in exchange for survival and possible freedom. The prisoner quickly agrees to tell them everything. Herb dismisses Adam, telling him he has done enough and should spend the evening with Lori while Herb continues the interrogation.

The next night, Herb and Kate convene a committee meeting to address the community’s fear surrounding the attack. Herb reports that the enemy is a rogue reserve military unit augmented by ex-military personnel and criminals. They have four times as many people, are heavily armed with superior weapons, and are aware of Eden Mills. They execute prisoners and have already discussed attacking the neighborhood.

Herb explains that Eden Mills cannot withstand a direct assault because of the enemy’s numbers and weapons. Surrender would mean death, and the enemy does not negotiate. Running before the harvest would leave them without food for winter, and the attack could come within two or three weeks.

When asked what options remain, Herb proposes the only choice: attack the enemy first. Though the committee erupts in concern, Herb argues they have the element of surprise and Adam’s ultralight for aerial advantage. He admits they may not win the first battle but insists he has a broader plan for the coming war. When Judge Roberts asks if Herb believes they can succeed, Herb answers simply: Yes.

For a week, Rachel and Danny stay with the Petersons so Adam’s house can serve as “war headquarters” where community leaders plan their attack. Herb organizes evacuation contingencies, dividing residents into 32 supply groups. Adam’s group, the best armed, plans to fall back to the Peterson farm if evacuation becomes necessary.

The ultralight has been modified with metal plating for protection and painted dull gray to blend with the sky, making it heavier and more sluggish but safer from gunfire. The attack is scheduled for 4:00 am, and Adam takes the plane out to confirm that all units are in place. Lori, on wall guard duty, kisses Adam goodbye. They exchange promises about staying safe and meeting at a planned evacuation spot if necessary.

At 3:15 am, Adam and Herb take off in complete darkness using night-vision goggles. A carpenter’s level has been mounted on the controls to help Adam maintain level flight without visual references. En route, Herb confides his fears about karmic punishment for past deeds, wondering if he deserves to die for things he has done. Adam reassures him that perhaps all those times Herb was kept alive were for this moment, to save their community. The first explosions erupt in the distance, signaling the attack has begun.

Adam dives low toward the enemy compound as fires and explosions erupt from the attack. Herb removes grenades from his bag, pulls the pins, and drops them in quick succession over the burning compound. Blast waves buffet the ultralight as they peel away into darkness.

Herb spots enemy headlights chasing their retreating people along Burnham road and orders Adam to intercept before the convoy reaches the ambush site where Kate and Todd are positioned. Adam closes on the convoy from behind, flying low and slow while Herb lights and drops Molotov cocktails and grenades onto the trucks. The explosions cause fires and pileups, forcing the convoy to retreat.

As the enemy drives back toward their compound, Herb prepares to drop the entire remaining bag of explosives for one massive detonation. Adam brings the ultralight dangerously close despite taking fire that strikes the plane. Herb drops the bag onto a lead vehicle, and the resulting explosion wipes out multiple trucks in the convoy.

Herb reveals that the ultralight’s tail has been partly shot away. Adam focuses on getting them home safely, flying carefully despite the damage. Herb predicts the enemy will mount a counterattack quickly, possibly as soon as the next morning. As they approach home and see the Christmas lights marking their walls, they exchange a grim Christmas greeting, knowing they have won a battle, but the war is just beginning.

After only a few hours of sleep, Adam drives with Lori to the bridge while the entire neighborhood anxiously awaits retaliation. Landing with a nearly destroyed tail was terrifying and damaged the ultralight’s landing gear, but Mr. Nicholas is working to have the craft ready to fly again by noon.

Adam tells Lori that Herb has secretly secured a nearby abandoned house with a garage containing a working truck, weapons, ammunition, fuel, and food as a fallback point for community leaders. Only Adam, his mother, and Herb know about it.

At the bridge, Eden Mills has established a roadblock with overturned cars and two dozen armed guards. Herb explains to Lori that other routes exist across the river, and they may need to provoke the enemy to ensure the battle happens at the bridge rather than at the neighborhood walls.

A radio call reports that the enemy convoy is on the move. Adam, Lori, and Herb race back to the neighborhood to get the ultralight in the air.

Adam and Herb take off, carrying a fresh bag of grenades and Molotov cocktails. Scouts relay convoy updates by walkie-talkie while many noncombatants relocate to designated safe houses. Lori has left with Rachel and Danny.

From the air, Adam and Herb spot the convoy on Burnham road—initially 26 or 27 vehicles, with more trailing behind. Adam flies low over the road while Herb drops Molotov cocktails onto abandoned cars to slow the convoy and compress it for the bridge trap and its layered defenses: barricades of overturned cars, tire-puncturing debris, booby-trapped cables strung between supports, and shooters positioned along both banks. Adam knows that his mother is somewhere among the defenders.

The convoy smashes through the first barricade and opens fire upward at the ultralight. As they dive closer, Herb fires his rifle at the lead truck. One truck hits a booby-trapped explosive and ignites, but the next truck pushes the burning vehicle through the guardrail and continues across the span, followed by more trucks. The entire convoy is now on the bridge.

Massive pre-placed charges detonate, collapsing one of the bridge’s gigantic concrete pillars. The entire structure buckles and melts away, dropping all the trucks and hundreds of attackers into the valley below. Shock waves buffet the ultralight as Adam struggles to maintain control.

Adam circles back through the dust cloud and sees wrecked trucks littering the valley floor and river. The bridge is gone, along with everyone who was on it. Herb confirms they are safe—at least for today.