Kayla is pursued by Globalofficers and runs deeper into the forest, where she finds Mfumbe washing clothes at the river. Mfumbe leads her to a shed, and they hide in an abandoned mine shaft. Unable to return to the cabin now that the Oasis has been discovered, Mfumbe and Kayla decide to head for the Adirondacks. They leave the forest and hop into the back of an unsupervised delivery truck stocked with groceries. They are shut in by the unsuspecting driver, who begins driving north toward the Adirondacks. After several hours, they arrive at the southern base of the Adirondacks. They exit the truck and continue on foot, shoplifting necessities along the way. After three weeks of travel, Mfumbe admits his love for Kayla, which she returns. One night as they stop to rest, she believes that she sees Zekeal in the distance, but when she wakes Mfumbe, Zekeal is gone.

Kayla gets sick, and Mfumbe is forced to steal medicine for her. When the store employee calls the local police, Mfumbe stays behind to buy time for Kayla to flee. Meanwhile, Nedra is acting as the spokesperson for Tattoo Generation; she writes an article reporting that the promising future Yale student,