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In Chapter 13 we finally get to the caves. But first, Uncle Jeb has revived Wanderer enough so that she has regained her senses, but is so overcome with emotion that she does not even distinguish herself from Melanie. “‘Jamie, Jared!!’ Our whisper burned like a shout. ‘Jared was with Jamie. Our brother! Are they here?’”
Uncle Jeb tells Wanderer that Jared and Jamie never made it, leaves her some water, and tells her he’ll be back. When Jeb returns at dawn he has 5 men and 2 women with him, all holding make-shift weapons, all clearly unhappy.
Wanderer and Melanie’s consciousnesses separate again; Melanie is overjoyed to see so many humans alive, while Wanderer sees only her impending death at the hands of these fierce humans. “We should have been wiser; we should have died yesterday.”
For the first time we learn that Wanderer has a secret, one that she has actually kept from Melanie. Wanderer uses Mel’s own trick of throwing up a “wall in [her] head to hide behind” and decides that she would have to kill herself before she would give up this information (which continues to be a mystery to the reader). We clearly learn Wanderer is no heroine in this way, however. The prospect of torture or suicide scares her almost beyond words. “I wasn’t as strong as Melanie; I had no doubt she could endure torture. How much pain could I stand before I gave them anything they wanted?”
A human named Kyle steps forward to kill Wanderer, but Jeb stops him. Another human, who Wanderer reasons must be Kyle’s brother, also supports killing Wanderer but is slightly less fervent. When Kyle moves to kill her, Jeb pulls out his rifle and stops him. During this standoff, Melanie recognizes one of the women in the crowd and before Wanderer can stop her, blurts out “Aunt Maggie? You’re here? How? Is Sharon–” Aunt Maggie immediately slaps her as hard as she can, which sends Melanie emotionally reeling. Maggie shouts “You won’t fool us, you parasite. We know how you work. We know how well you can mimic us.” The humans obviously think that Wanderer is a Seeker, so Wanderer begs Melanie to keep quiet.
After more tense moments, Uncle Jeb finally offers Wanderer his hand to help her up and says he is bringing her back to the caves. This elicits an outcry from all the humans. In response, we get the first of many of Jeb’s: “It’s my place. I’ll do what I want.” Jeb blindfolds Wanderer on Ian’s suggestion and leads her slowly by the hand across the desert.
Ian questions Jeb while they walk, saying “Please tell me this wasn’t about sympathy. After all you’ve seen…” Uncle Jeb replies, “After all I’ve seen, if I hadn’t learned compassion, I wouldn’t be worth much.” Jeb finally admits that “curiosity” is what made him keep Wanderer alive.
After much more walking Wanderer realizes that they have entered some sort of enclosure. As Jeb guides Wanderer, she hears babbling noises which Melanie identifies as several people arguing. Jeb removes the blindfold and Wanderer enters a large room, somehow lighted, and the arguing gives way to complete silence. The room is filled with a crowd of humans, still and shocked, with hatred evident on their faces.
Melanie is excited to see so many humans and begins to count them. (She gets to at least 27.) Wanderer tries to remind her of how precarious their position is, but Mel can’t get over this human haven.
One man steps forward from the crowd, and though he holds no weapons, both of his hands are clenched into fists. Wanderer/Melanie begins to recognize his face and choke on who it is.
