After finding the traces of an agent surveilling their cabin, Andy and Charlie prepare to flee. Andy guesses that the Shop intercepted his letters and makes plans to go directly to The New York Times to reveal the Lot Six experiments.

As he and Charlie emerge from the cabin, Rainbird shoots Charlie with a powerful drug, neutralizing her pyrokinesis. Another Shop agent sneaks up on Andy from behind and incapacitates him.

The narrative resumes five months after Charlie and Andy are captured by the Shop. Andy is addicted to the antipsychotic Thorazine. The Shop keeps him in a medicated state, particularly after his ability to push people has waned and their studies run dry. Charlie, separated from her father, has proven a tough subject to study. She has refused all the examiners’ attempts to get her to use her power.

Rainbird has been undercover as her custodian the entire time. He isn’t able to connect with her until one evening when the power goes out in the Shop facility where she is being held. Locked in a dark room, Charlie and Rainbird bond. Charlie tells Rainbird everything, drawing the two together.

In another dark room, Andy lapses into withdrawal after not taking his next dose of medication.