Demon meets with his DSS caseworker, Miss Barks, and learns he will not automatically go home after three weeks. He will get supervised visits with his mother while she is in rehab, and any return home will depend on drug tests and "learning to get along" with Stoner Stone. Demon reports Mr. Crickson’s cruelty toward Tommy and Swap-Out, but Miss Barks says those boys are under a different foster company and not her responsibility.

Back at Creaky Farm, Demon describes the filthy, vermin-filled house and the night noises that keep the boys on edge. He clings to Fast Forward’s attention as their main comfort, and Fast Forward pushes Demon to produce drawings for the group. Demon creates superhero cartoons that flatter Fast Forward as “Force Fastward/Fast Man” and cast Mr. Crickson as the villain “Creak Evil,” earning praise and a sense of value despite the abusive environment.

Demon’s supervised visits with his mother take place at McDonald’s under Miss Barks’s watch. Demon’s mother is upbeat about rehab and says Stoner is paying for it, framing sobriety as something Demon motivates: her future is Demon. Demon feels this as pressure and distrusts Stoner’s “thoughtful” gestures, but still wants the visit over and focuses on the goal of getting home.

On a Saturday workday, the Peggots unexpectedly arrive at Creaky Farm after finding Demon’s location through a bus-driver connection. Demon is briefly sure they have come to take him home, but they are only visiting; their presence still makes Demon feel rescued. Mrs. Peggot is horrified by the house’s dirt, shares food, and urges Demon to keep praying, while Maggot and Demon reconnect.

Fast Forward arrives and easily impresses the Peggots with his charisma. After the visit ends and supper begins, Mr. Crickson demands to know where Tommy is, and Demon realizes he left Tommy alone for hours in the field with the rolled barbed wire, trusting Demon to return.