Kemper woke from a pounding-heart dream, momentarily believing she was at home with her husband, Noel, before remembering she was alone in a death row cell and that Noel was dead. The distant beeping in the prison evoked her old alarm clock, intensifying the contrast between her former life and her current reality. She noted that her dreams of Noel had become increasingly vivid, especially recalling their first meeting at a café.

Shivering under a flimsy blanket in the unheated cell, Kemper described the extreme discomfort of prison conditions and the indignities of solitary confinement. As dawn light seeped through the small window, she heard a scratching sound and spotted a large, fearless rat in the corner, emboldened by the fact that she had no means to harm it beyond a plastic spork. She wondered if rats bite and, in her loneliness, briefly considered making the rat a pet, even naming it “Pat the Rat.”

Her thoughts turned to the day’s scheduled in-person meeting with her attorney, Clarence Bowman, about her appeal. She reflected bitterly on her conviction, insisting she had no motive or criminal history and that she had an alibi with her friend Kinsey at a restaurant when Noel was killed, corroborated by staff. She recalled the prosecutor’s argument that she orchestrated the killing regardless of the alibi, asserting that without her, Noel would still be alive.

The rat suddenly appeared on her bed, its eyes glowing in the low light, and Kemper screamed despite her earlier plan to befriend it. A guard shouted through the door, demanding to know if she was injured. Realizing the rat had fled, Kemper decided not to report it, believing nothing would be done and not wanting the rat harmed. She told the guard she had a bad dream and, after a curt order to be quiet, lay back down.

The chapter ended with Kemper, still shaken and exhausted, unexpectedly falling back asleep, caught between vivid memories of Noel and the harsh present of death row as she awaited her crucial appeal discussion.