Demon lives out of his Impala for days until Maggot finds him and brings him back to Mrs. Peggot’s house. Mrs. Peggot wants Demon to move in, partly for Maggot’s sake and partly because the house needs help after Mr. Peggot’s long illness and death. Demon agrees, but he and Maggot immediately go on a bender that wipes out weeks.

Grief over Dori drives Demon from merely avoiding withdrawal into actively chasing oblivion. Demon loses his co-op job and contributes almost nothing at Mrs. Peggot’s except occasional grocery runs. Demon vaguely plans to earn money in tobacco season, while noticing the county’s drug-saturated labor shortage and the influx of workers and heroin.

The one responsibility Demon clings to is the “Red Neck” comic. Tommy produces rough panel drafts, and Demon forces himself sober once a week to revise them because readers expect Demon’s style. Demon recognizes Tommy’s drafts as darker and truer, nicknames them “Neckbones,” and asks to keep them.

In June, Demon and Maggot go to the Woodway crack house to help Maggot score, while Demon coasts on oxy he has multiplied since getting a bottle from Thelma at Dori’s funeral. Rose Dartell arrives delivering pizza and recognizes Demon. Rose reveals Fast Forward is back in Lee County, living in a hard-to-find place near Spurlock/Duffield, and she invites Demon to follow her there; Demon, fueled by anger over Emmy, decides to go and drags Maggot along.

On the way, a sudden downpour turns Dry Creek Road into a torrent and they find Hammer Kelly stranded with a flat tire. Demon tries to change it while Maggot gets Hammer high in the Impala; the floodwater washes away the lug nuts, forcing them to abandon Hammer’s truck. Rose persuades Demon to stop at Fast Forward’s nearby to dry out. At the house, they meet Temple, Fast Forward’s attractive, uneasy host, who says Fast Forward has gone driving with Big Bear Howe and others to Devil’s Bathtub. Hearing this, Hammer abruptly insists they leave immediately, abandoning his usual politeness.