Cassie’s crush, Ben Parish, is living in a survivors’ camp outside the walls of Wright-Patterson Airforce base. He suffers from the third wave’s Ebola-like disease. His tent mate, Chris, comes to check on him from a distance and talks about the disease. Rumor has it that the illness escaped from a scientific lab, but Chris doesn’t believe it because it’s too coincidental that the first two waves drew people inland in close proximity. After Chris leaves, Ben hears gunshots and believes the base is under attack. A soldier wanders into his tent and says, “They’re already here—been here—right here—inside of us—the whole time—inside us” (123). Two more soldiers show up and drag the first away. They scan Ben with a silver disk and then take him to the base.

Ben is treated for the virus by Dr. Pam at the base hospital. He grows worse at first, but by the sixth day, he improves.

Ben is taken to a hangar where he is examined by Dr. Pam. She injects a small silver-gray pellet into the back of his neck. She then hooks him up to a computer that runs a program she calls Wonderland. When the program starts, Ben finds himself reliving certain moments in his life—including the night he ran from his family home after it was invaded by intruders.