Rosabelle regained consciousness under harsh lights, hearing medical monitors, and realized she was not dreaming. She assessed the dated but refurbished medical equipment and concluded she had reached The New Republic, though she could not recall how she got there. Anxious about exposure and lacking a timeline for her stay, she focused on escape while reminding herself that a Reestablishment contact was supposed to reach her within forty-eight hours.

James sat by her bed, physically recovered, and offered her a glass of water and a table full of food. His calm presence unsettled her, and she questioned why he was being kind. James framed his behavior as normal decency and urged her to sit up and eat. When he asked how long since her last proper meal, the question spiked her anxiety; she eventually claimed three days, which hardened James’s demeanor.

Rosabelle surveyed the room, noting it was likely a holding cell with an observation area behind a large painting. From James’s clean, rested appearance, she inferred time had passed and that he was operating with authorization and a plan. Concluding the food was a test rather than a mercy, she drank some water and realized her lack of thirst was due to IV fluids. James set a plate of pre-cut chicken before her.

As Rosabelle tried to eat, intense hunger collided with trauma and guilt. Memories surfaced of a girl who once kept a list titled “Things I Will Eat One Day” with entries like “chikin” and “candy,” and imagined banquets and real meat. Battling nausea and an accelerating heart rate, she forced a piece of real chicken into her mouth, finding its texture unfamiliar and overwhelming. The monitors reacted to her distress as she continued to push herself.

James, alarmed, urged her to stop, but Rosabelle insisted on continuing, switching to eating with her hands as her body broke into a clammy sweat and her stomach cramped. James grabbed her hands and apologized, trying to halt the attempt. The strain became too great, and Rosabelle lost control and vomited on James.

The chapter closed with Rosabelle’s physical and emotional collapse underscoring the depth of her deprivation and conditioning, as well as the charged dynamic between her and James during what she perceived as an assessment.