Annie spots three vans heading for the sheriff’s station. The vehicles stop, and the passengers take out guns. Recognizing what is happening as “the conspiracy” after Luke, Annie runs to the barbershop and convinces Drummer Denton to open his gun locker.

At the sheriff’s station, the deputies watch footage of Ward A: They see filthy, half-starved children eating from troughs, making meaningless sounds and gestures, and lying on cots staring vacantly at the ceiling.

The footage ends, and Luke feels sick. He asks to step outside for air, and Tim and Deputy Wendy Gullickson accompany him. Outside, Luke sees a couple approaching the station—and recognizes the woman from his kidnapping.

Back at the Institute, Avery and his friends release the Ward A children and lead them through the tunnel between Back Half and Front Half—only to be trapped behind a locked door. Seeing no other alternative, they telepathically reach out to Luke for help.

Luke, Tim, and Wendy return to the front office, where the suspicious couple is speaking with Sheriff Ashworth. Luke runs into the room, shouting that the woman killed his parents. When the Sheriff asks the couple for identification, they pull out guns. Tim shoots the woman, and Luke uses his telekinesis to move the man’s gun before he shoots Tim.