Rye rides the Washington Boulevard bus to visit the last group of relatives she believes is alive — a brother and two kids in Pasadena. On the bus, two young men get into a disagreement and begin to hit one another. At the next stop, Rye jumps out. A man pulls up in a car and motions to Rye, and she gestures to him that there is a fight occurring on the bus. The man pulls back his jacket to show her a LAPD badge, which confuses her — the LAPD no longer exists. The man throws something into the bus and it quickly fills with gas, forcing everyone to get off the vehicle. The man continues to gesture to Rye, and she shakes her head, dismissing him. He persists. Rye hesitates — she's been alone for three years. The illness has killed her entire family. Rye decides to go with the man. They get in his car and he begins to drive. The man hands her a pendant with a glassy black rock, so she chooses to think of him as Obsidian. She in turn hands him her own name symbol — a golden stalk of wheat. Through gesturing, Rye learns that Obsidian can still read, and she is very jealous of this. She gestures to Obsidian that she can still speak, and he is in turn envious of her ability. The illness has taken language from both of them, just in different ways. Rye and Obsidian get in the backseat of the car and have sex. After, Rye asks Obsidian if he will come with her to her home to stay with her. He eventually agrees. They begin to drive, and after a while a woman runs in front of Obsidian's car, chased closely by a man with a knife. Obsidian jumps out of the car and Rye follows. The man stabs the woman; Obsidian shoots the man. Rye examines the woman — she is dead. All of a sudden, the man whom Obsidian shot grabs Obsidian's gun and shoots him in the temple. The man who has just shot Obsidian collapses and dies, and Rye finds herself with three corpses. Two small children appear from across the street and begin shaking the dead woman's arm as though trying to wake her. Rye is about to drive away and leave them all, but she turns back. The children can still speak fluently, and Rye speaks to them and begins to comfort them. She brings the children with her to her car.