While driving across Traneberg bridge, a man named Benny Molin spots Håkan in the road and swerves to avoid hitting him. Molin’s car hits the siderails, and when he exits to yell at Håkan, he quickly gets back in his car after seeing Håkan’s face. The search for Håkan has already begun by the time Molin gets home, takes a shot of alcohol, and finally tries getting some sleep.

The massive manhunt for Håkan begins in Judarn Forest. Håkan is extremely dangerous for several reasons, the most pressing being that he’s somehow alive despite falling and dying, and that he murdered Benke Edwards so brutally—the remains look “mutilated by rats, foxes, perhaps wolverines and bears” (296)—that it’s impossible to identify the body apart from the wedding band Benke wore. After hours of searching, the police conclude that Håkan must be dead. They shift their search to finding his corpse.

After cutting herself all night and sucking on her wounds, Virginia understands that she needs to drink someone else’s blood to feel better. She senses the infection inside her, which she likens to a writhing snake. Virginia knows the sun is her nemesis, and craving rest, drags blankets into the closet to sleep.