Demon explains he is trying to tell his story in order, without pretending his childhood misery was manageable or forgettable. As a boy, Demon prefers watching and wondering over asking questions, because adults rarely give children straight answers.

Living next to the Peggots, Demon fixates on odd, half-abandoned things: a pole birdhouse made of hanging gourds that no birds ever use, and a dog pen with no dog. Maggot claims the birdhouse was made by Humvee, an uncle who is never discussed; Demon notices the Peggot family talks freely about most relatives except Humvee and Maggot’s mother, who is in prison. Demon describes Peg (Mr. Peggot) as outdoorsy and skilled—taking the boys into the woods for ginseng and sassafras, teaching them bird calls, and later showing them hunting and how to dress a deer—while Mrs. Peggot cooks and runs the house with strict expectations.

Demon and Maggot often use the empty dog pen as a refuge, sleeping there when power outages stop TV. After Demon breaks the TV during a Nintendo Duck Hunt challenge, Maggot takes the blame so Demon will not be harshly punished, and Mrs. Peggot silently accepts the lie. Demon recognizes this as a rare “golden patch” of childhood made possible by people who protected him, even though he did not appreciate it then.

Demon contrasts the Peggot home—orderly, rules enforced, groceries put away—with his own home with his mother, where mess and neglect feel normal. He describes roaming the area with other kids, playing on coal-camp ruins and in creeks, especially Peggot’s Branch behind their houses, where water feels like a private, rich world. The trailer where Demon and his mother live belongs to the Peggots and is rented from them, which helps explain why the Peggots watch out for Demon and his mother as if filling in for family.

Demon admits he called Mrs. Peggot “Mammaw” and treated the Peggots like a substitute extended family, complete with the realities of poverty supports like free lunches and caseworkers. Mrs. Peggot insists on using Demon’s real given name, Damon Fields, long after nicknames take over in their community. Demon reflects on how his name—often mocked into “Demon”—eventually shifts again as people connect him to his dead father’s nickname, and he becomes known as “Demon Copperhead,” a name that draws attention and carries its own power.