School starts, and Demon is relieved to escape the home “lockdown” Stoner has imposed. He and Maggot walk to the highway bus stop because the road is washed out, and at school they quickly fall back into their usual routine of goofing off and scavenging food, with Demon feeling safe and far away from Stoner.

After school Demon stalls with Maggot before heading home, trying to avoid trouble. At home Demon has tracked in mud, and Stoner explodes, forcing Demon to clean as punishment. Demon mops, but Stoner demands Demon scrub the kitchen floor on his knees with bleach while Demon’s mother watches silently and then tells Demon to “clean it again,” backing Stoner instead of defending Demon.

Stoner escalates the humiliation by accusing Demon of tracking mud onto the living-room carpet and orders Demon to scrub stains with carpet cleaner and bleach. Sickened by fumes and rage, Demon loses control, yells back, and throws things; Stoner restrains Demon in a hammerlock and covers Demon’s mouth. Demon bites Stoner’s hand until he tastes blood, and afterward Demon is left with a busted lip.

Stoner barricades Demon in his bedroom by stacking heavy weights against the door. Demon cries and vomits in his trash can, considers running away, and thinks of possible refuges like Aunt June or Emmy in Knoxville but has no workable plan. Stoner even keeps Demon home from school for a day despite his mother’s warning about attendance officers, and Demon returns to school only under continued lockdown.

Late one night Stoner opens Demon’s door and claims Demon’s mother “wants to see” Demon. Demon finds the house in disarray and discovers his mother passed out on the bed, with an empty gin bottle nearby and pill bottles on the nightstand. Fearing an overdose, Demon orders Stoner to call 911, realizing their life as it has been is collapsing.