Content Warning: This section of the guide describes the murder of a child.

They slam the door closed, and the grubs still in the room disappear, but thousands remain in the hallway beyond. Carl realizes that the bugs must be spawning somewhere. Mordecai explains that they are the waste disposal system, but he has never seen a spawning creature on the second level. Carl tells Brandon of the Meadow Lark group to meet them in the hallway outside the quadrant. Carl and Donut slowly approach the rendezvous point, attempting not to kill grubs because doing so causes more to spawn.

Imani and Chris wear leather straps and are pulling a contraption behind them. It resembles a set of rollercoaster cars, and all the elderly people are riding on it. The cars are attached by a glowing metal chain. Mrs. McGibbons—who is 99 years old—is on the last train with her companions, Jack and Randall. She chats and playfully flirts with Carl. Donut jumps into Mrs. McGibbons’s lap. Brandon thanks Carl for helping Meadow Lark. Carl says, “If we get to the point where we don’t help each other anymore, that’s when we stop being human” (324).