Summary

One day, Lanny tells Jolie about a dream he had. In the dream, he had been transferred to a deer’s body and began running with other deer, but the other deer sensed his humanness and attacked him. Lanny then asks Jolie if she believes in heaven, to which she replies, “I do, sort of. Yes” (87). Lanny says that Pete believes that when people died, they become spirits that can fully view and comprehend the world. Jolie thinks that that is a nice notion. The story then shifts to Toothwort, who moves unseen through the town. Because he is so close to the town’s population now, the villagers’ words become louder and more muddled. The narration states that Toothwort “is up to something” (91).

One night, Robert awakes in his bed, and he hears sounds downstairs. He picks up a cricket bat and goes...