Chapter 28

The narrator, imprisoned in a cell, forms a bond with a small bird named Nee while devising an escape plan. Using a bone from her meager meal, she begins fashioning tools to pick the locks of her cell and shackles.

The narrator receives a poor meal from a masked guard and uses the opportunity to reveal a small, battered bird she has hidden—Nee—whom she has been keeping concealed. She names the bird after markings on its abdomen and plays with it, drawing comfort from its presence. While tending to Nee, she speaks in what appears to be an ancient language, invoking the name Slátra and expressing her will to survive. Forced to eat the moldy, gritty food provided, the narrator discovers a bone with marrow in it and forms a plan. She uses her shackle to break the bone in half, then begins grinding one piece against the ground to create lock picks. Throughout, she maintains an internal monologue mixing dark humor with determination, and references someone called Pah whom she views as controlling. The chapter closes with her resolute commitment to escape, repeating in the foreign language: "We will survive."