After three weeks on the rig, Shane starts coughing and grows weak. They are both unsure of what may be causing his illness, since it seems impossible for germs to spread in such an isolated place. Both Julie and Shane worry that it could be years before someone comes, and they entertain the possibility of needing to survive that long. As a week passes, Shane does not improve. He feels best when sitting in the fresh air, so Julie helps situate him on the deck each morning. Sometimes she catches fish or sits and talks with Shane, but she also spends a lot of time alone in the bedroom, sleeping.

On day 31, Julie starts coughing as well, and immediately realizes the cause: mold. They have been breathing in bacteria for weeks unknowingly, and they both decide they will have to sleep and live outside. They move two mattresses to an alcove outside the storage room and do their best to keep things dry when rains fall. Julie stops marking the calendar, and both wonder how long they will be able to bear their survival situation.