Chapters 12, 13, and 14 Summary

On the second day after finding his father, Robey watches hundreds of women searching the fields for their loved ones. He then sees the girl whom he watched being raped. She approaches him and they recognize each other. She says to him "You could have stopped him" (p. 137) in reference to the assault. Robey is uncertain how to respond—that was not his purpose; he has come to find his father. She says she is fifteen years old; Robey is fourteen years old. She says her name is Rachel and she points to a distant farm and tells Robey that the three of them are staying in the farm. She then departs. Throughout the day Robey sees many scavengers robbing corpses. He also sees numerous sightseers performing a sort of battlefield tourism. Various birds and small rodents begin eating the...