Twilly Spree gets back into the Prius, where Nick and Marta are hiding in the backseat. Nick demands that Twilly take them to see Mrs. Starch. On the drive, Nick talks about Edward Abbey, whose books he has come to cherish; both Nick and Marta ask about who set the fire and what happened to Mrs. Starch, but Twilly refuses to give straight answers. Twilly parks the car at the edge of the swamp and motions the kids to follow. Slowly, the city gives way to the wilderness, and Marta wonders whether he is planning to feed them to the alligators. But they follow Twilly to a secret campsite deep in the forest, totally hidden from the outside world. 

Meanwhile, Jimmy Lee Bayliss arrives at the emergency room to see Drake McBride, who has injured himself riding his new horse, King Thunderbolt. Bayliss tells McBride that the arson has been successfully pinned on Duane Jr., but the interference with the Red Diamond drilling operation is ongoing: someone has bubble-wrapped Melton to a tree again, and the state game wardens have been alerted to the possible presence of a Florida panther in the area, so they are snooping around the secret drilling site.