The cohort is flown to the Point for night city drills: climb a partially missing ladder up a five-story building, then make an unrigged rooftop jump to a lower roof, and descend. Tyler Struck rebukes Bryce Granger’s complaint about the lack of safety gear, openly mocking her reliance on her father’s influence, while Xavier Ford backs Struck’s hardline stance. Teams are set for timed heats; Wren is paired with Lyddie, Roe Redden, and Jones.

During the ascent, Lyddie struggles at the ladder gaps, and Wren coaches her through handholds and movement despite Roe’s impatience. They reach the roof; Wren wrestles with a fleeting temptation to accept life within the Program. At the jump, Lyddie nearly balks, but Wren talks her across; Roe clears it first, then Wren and Jones follow, and they finish with Ford stopping their time. There is brief banter between Roe and Wren, and the next heats begin.

As other teams jump, a scream erupts and a blur falls past. Glin Cotter has missed and fallen, becoming impaled on the fence between buildings. Wren, Kaine Sutler, Betima, and Roe rush to help; Glin thrashes in agony while Ford and Struck arrive and try to stabilize him. Betima, shaken, holds Glin’s arms at Ford’s order until he weakens and dies; she vomits from shock. Wren comforts Betima and notices Roe watching her with suspicion.

The group returns to base in silence. Betima, still in shock, slips out of the barracks; Wren follows her to the training facility’s roof. Betima smokes euca, and the two speak quietly about death and loss—Betima admits she “felt” Glin die. Their moment is interrupted when Roe and Anson enter and block the exit.

Roe toys with them, revealing a handgun in his waistband and forcing a pause under threat. He monologues about General Merrick Redden’s rigged murder-mystery dinner parties and says he’s good at spotting tells. He accuses there being an Aberrant “among us,” needling Wren while Anson guards the door. Wren and Betima try to leave, but Roe aims the gun and releases the safety.

Roe claims he saw “veins” when Betima touched Glin and that her expression gave her away, concluding she is an empath. He advances, presses the gun barrel to Betima’s forehead as she denies it, and asserts she felt Glin’s death. Ignoring their protests, Roe’s finger tightens on the trigger; the chapter ends as he pulls the trigger.