Traveling further, the boy spots smoke on the horizon. The man decides to carefully take a closer look but finds nothing. The small town they explore has a few faint signs of life, including a dog barking in the distance. The next night, the boy sees another strange boy dart out of sight. The father strictly forbids going after the stranger, and the boy sobs with uncontrolled grief. “I’m afraid for that little boy,” says the boy (86).

Their food reserves begin to run low. They pass by an old barn which had been the scene of a massacre. There are human heads painted and lifted on pikes. The next morning they wake to the sound of footsteps and see a large group of cruel-looking marauders walking down the road with handmade pikes, followed by a contingent of slaves. “They’re on the move. It’s not a good sign,” says the man (92). They remain in safe hiding and move on.

As the boy and man travel on through the snow, they are weak from hunger. The man struggles to build a fire among the snow in the woods. At night, the dead trees fall with a terrifying sound, and the boy and the man hide, exhausted.