The chapter opens with a flashback to the previous chapter, in which the narrator explains that he doesn't remember what happened to the mermaid. He's not sure why they're there, and he's worried that the monster is going to find out what they told him. The narrator says that if they find out, they'll tell the monster what they've told him, and then he'll be able to figure out what to do next. He says that they need to watch out for the monster, because if he finds out, he will destroy everything in his path. They need to be ready to kill him, he says, because he is a "chront" . Time heals all wounds, the narrator says, except for the ones that are "pretty fucking dark."