The next day, Bongo returns unharmed. Attached to his collar is a note with the word “HELP” and a drawing of the “Kilroy was here” character. Thrown, Mouse wonders if Cotgrave is perhaps alive after all, or if the message came from someone who knew him. She also considers the possibility that the message is a trap set by the holler people but can’t suppress the impulse to respond. She goes to Foxy’s house, where she explains that she intends to go back into the woods with Bongo, asking her to make sure her aunt adopts Bongo if he returns and Mouse doesn’t. After a brief nap, she then drives to the coffee shop to wrap up her work obligations and to research Cotgrave online. She discovers his obituary, which mentions his membership in the Society of the Embers of Dawn.

Mouse calls the Society and learns more about the circumstances surrounding Cotgrave’s death 19 years prior: He may have died of exposure, but by the time his body was found, “the scavengers [had been] at him” (258). The man warns her to stay away from the dangerous holler people. Mouse then types a message for her family and gathers protective hickory twigs from a tree as she leaves the coffee shop.

Back at Foxy’s house, Mouse prepares to venture into the woods. Foxy insists on accompanying her, convincing a reluctant Tomas to stay behind. Led by Bongo, Foxy and Mouse find the strange tunnel made of a wicker-like material. As they enter, Mouse feels a supernatural urgency, while Foxy feels a physical force pushing her back.

Inside, they hear the sound of an effigy moving through the woods just outside, pacing them as they begin running. The creature begins to strike the tunnel, shaking the entire structure. Mouse can’t keep track of which side it’s on and wonders if there is more than one effigy: “Oh God, let that be echoes let it not be two of them I can’t handle two of them I can’t even handle one of them oh God” (269). As the attacks intensify, Mouse and Foxy flee through the passage, finally stumbling out of the exit and onto the hilltop.

In the otherworldly field’s gray light, Foxy shows Mouse a supernatural injury on her hand; she kept hold of Mouse’s backpack during their flight through the tunnel, and the skin is now raw. Foxy recalls the difficulty she felt moving forward and concludes, “I’m not supposed to come along” (272). They head toward the large white stone, which Mouse feels drawn to, but the spell is broken when a hickory twig in her pocket brushes her hand. She puts on the hickory rosary for added protection and tells Foxy about the odd feeling. They examine the stone and see that one side is carved to resemble two horned beings mating, an image that has a hypnotic, disturbing influence on Mouse.

Foxy pulls her away but admits she, too, felt aroused; they discuss the story of the girl who was impregnated by looking at a stone. A pale woman suddenly appears, claiming she bore children from the stone: “I have borne seven […] Five drew no breaths. Of the other two…but we will speak of that later” (282). She introduces herself as Anna just as another preternaturally tall and pale figure, this one a man, appears. Suddenly, dozens of effigies materialize, circling them. Anna declares that they are trespassers and must follow her deeper into their world.

Mouse protests, but the pale man threatens them with death if they refuse to comply. Anna calms Bongo with a magical gesture so that he will not resist going forward. Escorted by effigies, Mouse, Foxy, and Bongo are led through a stone archway that acts as a threshold between worlds. They descend into a silent city of pale stone with huge, nest-like structures protruding from the walls.

Anna explains they are being taken to a holding place to await their fate and leads the group across a vast square and into an opening in a hillside. Inside, they walk down a sloping, winding corridor lit by oil lamps. She leads them to a small stone room, promises to return, and locks them inside.

Foxy and Mouse discuss the situation. Mouse admits that while she didn’t expect to survive this adventure, she is nevertheless overwhelmed by the strangeness of their circumstances.

Hours later, Anna enters the cell, closing the door behind her to keep the effigies outside. Abruptly, she drops her magical glamour and reveals a desperate woman begging for help. She has been a prisoner since 1973; she followed a woman who appeared to her while she was high, but that woman has since left. What she calls the “poppets” will not let her leave for more than brief outings. Realizing that Anna is the girl Cotgrave mentioned seeing in the woods, Mouse accuses her of sending the note with Bongo. Anna admits this, explaining that she hoped Mouse had “hidden folk” ancestry from Cotgrave. Anna herself has such heritage, which is why she was brought here. However, her hopes are dashed when Mouse clarifies that Cotgrave was her step-grandfather. Clutching her hickory beads, Mouse briefly sees Anna’s human and inhuman forms simultaneously.

Anna elaborates on her desperation to escape, saying that she can no longer become pregnant: “I can’t do what they want. It’s not working” (310). Mouse tentatively offers to help her leave but questions whether the other holler people will pursue her. In response, Anna reveals that only she and her companion, Uriah, are left of their kind. She warns them that the poppets will soon take them to a place called the Building and urges them to be ready. She reassumes her authoritative guise and leaves.

Foxy expresses deep mistrust of Anna, and Mouse agrees that there is something “off” about her. They discuss the apparent absence of other holler people, wondering who is making the effigies and forcing Anna to become pregnant. Exhausted, they eat the sandwiches Foxy packed and try to rest.