Over the following weeks, hunters avoid selecting Raven despite her high ranking. She adjusts to Upper Level privileges, including better accommodations and the ability to send letters. Perri attempts to corner her in the showers, but Kit and Yara intervene. Raven decides to write to Gray in code to request help.

One afternoon, Larch angrily summons Vale from the workshop for missing a “board meeting.” Raven follows and eavesdrops, overhearing Vale speak with Larch, Endlock CEO Pharil Coates, and Councilor Caltriona Elder. Vale subtly pressures Coates by invoking a reporter named Blythe Levine. The group discusses declining profits and giving hunters better odds. An approaching guard forces Raven to flee before she hears their solution.

Back in the workshop, Vale dismisses the inmates without his usual tool inventory. Raven seizes the chance to steal wire cutters. Later, she confronts Vale about the meeting, and he reveals that the board plans to upgrade inmate wristbands with thermal imaging, proximity alerts, and debilitating electric shocks to sell to hunters.

Vale proposes a trade: information about Blythe Levine for the story behind Raven’s strike marks. She explains that she took both her and Jed’s marks when their parents were arrested. Vale reveals that Blythe uncovered that the Council and Endlock Enterprises engineered the Lower Sector food shortage 10 years ago to increase crime and fill the prison, timing that matches Raven’s memories of suddenly having less.

Raven finds Gus and Kit in the mess hall and shares what she learned. Now trusting her, they explain their plan: Kit can reverse-engineer the wristbands to disable tracking and make them immune to Endlock weapons, but she needs a networked tablet and a private workspace. Gus says he has the workspace covered, but Kit refuses to risk using a Collective-aligned guard’s tablet. Raven mentions the rifle she hid on the grounds, and Kit responds enthusiastically.

Graylin responds to Raven’s letter, saying that providing a tablet would compromise Collective operatives. She hides the stolen wire cutters in her toilet tank. Engineers arrive at Endlock to work on wristband upgrades. Yara learns from a guard that the crematorium malfunctioned, and they are burying prisoners on the hunting grounds. Raven also discovers that Perri has fallen from Larch’s favor.

On hunt day, Raven finds an anonymous note instructing her to hide the wire cutters in her uniform. She complies. The hunters include teenage girls celebrating a birthday and Verona Shields wearing a headband of teeth. Raven and Gus deliberately provoke selection.

In the prep room, Vale secretly warns that Larch has added lethal obstacles to the grounds—leg traps, spiked pits, and an electrified perimeter fence—with guards escorting hunters to protect them from the hazards. During the pat-down, Vale pretends not to feel the wire cutters against Raven’s back.

During the hunt, Raven witnesses an inmate caught in a leg trap and another die in a spiked trench. She and Gus pass fresh graves arranged in a strange curving pattern. They reach a concealed section of fence, where Perri and her henchman Cyril confront them, accusing them of planning an escape. A fight erupts; Gus shoves Cyril into the electrified fence, which they realize has been electrified when it kills him instantly. Raven plants the wire cutters beside the body to stage an escape attempt, and they leave the grieving Perri behind.

They reach the Blood Tree in second and third place, though two inmates are shot just before safety. Back at Endlock, Larch announces that both Cyril and Mort died on the fence, casting Mort as a hero who tried to stop an escape. Raven notes that Mort was not present during the fight and must have died separately. She feels only relief. When Larch asks for witnesses, no one—including Perri—speaks.

That night, Raven wakes up when all the cell doors unlock without the usual alarms or lights, and the cameras go dark. Suspecting an attack, she creates a decoy in her bed and hides. She hears a violent disturbance next door and rushes out when the lights return. Gus lies on the floor with a shattered ankle, a copper pipe lying beside him. Jed identifies it as industrial plumbing equipment, and Yara confirms that Perri recently transferred to plumbing under Hyde’s supervision.

Vale arrives and addresses Gus as Gus, hinting at familiarity. Raven accuses Perri, noting that Hyde, who clearly accepts bribes from her, had handled cell security. Larch tries to dismiss the accusation, but other inmates step forward to testify. Dr. Amelia Row determines she must set Gus’s ankle without surgery, and Larch orders Raven to help Vale carry Gus to the infirmary.

In the hallway, Vale embraces Raven, admitting that he feared she was the victim. They overhear Larch escorting Perri to solitary, furious that her actions made him appear incompetent. Vale pulls Raven into the dark workshop and confesses his overwhelming worry for her safety. The tension leads to a passionate kiss, which intensifies until Raven pulls away, sobered by their circumstances and Gus’s injury. Vale walks her back to her cellblock. Raven lies awake, conflicted about her feelings for a guard.

Two days later, Gus is released from the infirmary on crutches, and Perri exits solitary confinement. In the mess hall, Perri tries to trip Gus; Raven retaliates by spilling hot porridge on her.

Larch announces an unscheduled hunt for visiting Councilors Baskan and Elder, and Roald Baskan. He personally selects Gus for his survival record, Raven for her defiance, and Jed at Roald’s request. The inmates remain silent during the pre-hunt blessing, a show of solidarity that angers Larch but goes unpunished.

During the hunt, Vale admits that he killed Mort at the electrified fence after finding him pulling teeth from Cyril’s body, and he feels no regret. He leads Raven, Jed, and Gus to a hidden entrance concealed by foliage. They descend a ladder into an underground chamber stocked with supplies. He explains the chamber is part of an old tunnel system from the original prison running beneath the grounds, and he and Gus discovered it by accident. Larch believes that the old tunnels have collapsed, but Vale and Gus discovered that this section leads near the Blood Tree. They have used it to help Momo, Kit, and Yara survive hunts. They believe another section leads completely off the grounds but have not yet found it. They enter the tunnel to bypass the hunters.

Vale and Gus reveal that they have known each other since childhood. Vale confirms that he will help them escape and plans to accompany them to the North Settlement. Gus admits that he initially withheld this because he distrusted Raven as a former bounty hunter, and Vale adds that he feared she would never trust a guard.

Vale reveals that his father was a Collective member, but he was killed by Eris, explaining Vale’s hatred for the organization and his presence at Vern’s bar. He and Gus became friends when Vale volunteered at the medical center where Gus worked as a doctor. After Gus’s arrest, Vale stopped volunteering. Vale also reveals that he took Mort’s tablet for Kit after he killed him—since Mort is dead, the activity cannot be traced.

They reach a second chamber with an exit ladder. As Raven climbs, the final rung splinters and she falls, gashing her palm. Vale bandages the wound, and they nearly kiss before Gus interrupts. They emerge and reach the Blood Tree, with only one other inmate surviving. The visiting Councilors are seen storming away, angry about the failed hunt.

Vale escorts Raven to the infirmary, but Dr. Row is called away and leaves him to stitch the wound without anesthetic while a camera records them. They maintain professional distance, though the tension is evident. Out of the camera’s view, Raven briefly touches his knee.

While showering, Raven is ambushed by Perri, who blames her for Cyril’s death and her punishment. Realizing that Perri is alone, Raven fights back and breaks her nose. She leaves Perri on the floor; the two guards posted outside do not intervene.

Raven encounters Vale heading toward the commotion. Seeing the cut on her cheek, he pulls her into a supply closet when footsteps approach. In the confined space, they share information about their fathers and past traumas. He tells her that she deserves protection and recognizes that she has been the one protecting others all along. The emotional intimacy leads to a passionate kiss. Vale pauses to ensure he is not coercing her, given his position; Raven confirms that she wants him to continue.

Footsteps stop outside the door. Vale covers her mouth as guards converse in the hallway, then touches her intimately, the risk heightening the moment. His radio crackles, summoning him to the shower incident. Raven urges him to respond before Larch becomes involved, and Vale reluctantly leaves.