When Grace is away from the room, Patch copes by imagining her moving through bright, ordinary places far from the darkness of captivity. He cannot picture her exact face, so he tries to see the world through her eyes instead, using those thoughts to hold back his fear.

When Grace returns, Patch stays close to her and finally puts his arm around her. Grace leans against him, and their physical closeness makes their bond feel deeper and more urgent. Patch tells Grace that people are searching for the missing victims, including police, locals, media, and trained investigators, trying to give her hope that they have not been abandoned.

Grace admits that sometimes she wants their captor dead, and Patch silently understands. They talk about the good people in Patch's life, including the police chief who watches over his house and Dr. Tooms, and Grace insists that Patch will not need them once he is free. When Patch begins to ask what happens when Grace leaves the room, Grace stops him and explains that leaving does not mean a simple return to normal life; in her view, captivity has changed everything so completely that they can never truly go back.

Grace shifts into her usual strange, poetic way of speaking and jokes about her own appearance, which briefly makes Patch smile. Then the sound of keys interrupts them. Patch murmurs that they should go somewhere else, and later that night he finally works the loose brick free, advancing his chance of escape. As heavy footsteps cross the floor, Patch kneels to pray and notices a smell of chard and metal, only realizing later that the metallic scent was gunshot.