As mountain snow begins to melt, the narrator explains that Bunny has already been dead for weeks, and that it took ten days for anyone to find the body. The delayed discovery triggers one of the biggest manhunts in Vermont history, involving state troopers, the FBI, an army helicopter, and widespread disruption around Hampden.

The narrator reflects that the group’s plan, devised by Henry, was meant to look like a simple hiking accident. They did not actually conceal Bunny’s body; they left it where it fell in a ravine, expecting a passerby to find it quickly and accept the evidence of a slip—loose rocks, a broken neck, and skidmarks in the mud—as accidental.

Instead, an unexpected snowfall that night covers the body completely. As searchers comb Mount Cataract, they unknowingly walk over Bunny repeatedly until the snow packs down “like ice,” delaying discovery and intensifying the search and public spectacle.

The narrator finds it surreal to move through the crowds, cameras, and authorities without arousing suspicion, yet admits that escaping psychologically is harder than avoiding blame. Though the narrator once believed leaving the ravine behind ended the danger, the memory and dread remain vivid and inescapable.

In a flashback to the moment itself, Bunny arrives and finds four people waiting for him; Henry coolly claims they are “looking for new ferns.” Afterward, the group whispers, checks for anything left behind, and leaves single file through the woods, while the narrator looks back at the ravine and understands that this image—and this guilt—will never go away.