There is no text from Zampanò in this chapter, which is comprised of a series of dated journal entries from Johnny in the main text. They range from May to November 1998, and are out of chronological order, as Johnny moves back and forth in time.

In May, Johnny embarks on his journey to find the house on Ash Tree Lane and travels to many locations in Virginia, such as Jamestown Colony, Colonial Williamsburg, William and Mary College, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Monticello.   

However, he realizes he is really on a journey to find his mother, and he visits “The Whale,” the psychiatric institution where she resided. Though it is now closed, Johnny breaks in and sits in her former room. He also visits the location of his former house, which is now a lumber yard.  

By the end of August, Johnny is in Flagstaff, Arizona. He wanders into a bar and listens to live music. The band plays a song called “Five and a Half Minute Hallway” and later explains it’s inspired by a book called House of Leaves, with introduction and notes by Johnny Truant. Johnny reads through the book, seeing his own work and the band’s notes in the margins.