Roughly an hour before the town is overrun in fire and death, Chris and Billy return to The Cavalier, unaware of the extent of the destruction they have unleashed. Billy tears off Chris’s shirt; she retaliates by punching him, but this does not deter him. He beats her up with the intention of raping her, and they descend “into a red, thrashing unconsciousness” (267). Over the music of the bar and their own exclamations, neither hears the explosions and sirens outside.

They later awaken to one of Billy’s friends, who alerts them to Carrie’s destruction of the town. Chris is worried that someone will connect their prank with the destruction, but Billy allays her fear, suggesting that they could run away to California (though he has no intention of taking her). When they leave the bar, Billy experiences the projection of Carrie’s presence in his mind and sees her standing nearby. Billy tries to run Carrie down in his car as her presence fills both his and Chris’s minds, but Carrie redirects the car into The Cavalier: Billy and Chris die on impact, and their bodies burn in the resulting fire. Carrie collapses soon after, the extraordinary use of power having worn out her heart, wanting to turn and look at the stars before she dies.