The chapter opens with a flashback to the previous chapter, in which the two young lovers are hanging out together in the woods. They're not back yet, but they're getting ready to go back out on the trail. The narrator tells us that he's lost his mind, and that he wants to get back to his cabin. He wants to know why the two haven't come back yet. He's also worried about his girlfriend, who's hanging out with her boyfriend. He tells her to "stumble thump" and "slink thump" , and he wants her to give him a "smile" . He also tells her that he has a crush on her, and she's overreacting. She tells him to "stop overreacting," and he agrees. They get back on track, and the narrator asks if the two of them are "a real couple," and she says that they are. He asks her why she feels guilty about what happened, and then he asks her if she'll call a doctor if something is wrong with the guy's neck. She says that's fine, but she doesn't want to worry her like that.