The next evening, Tally and Shay find Zane and a group of Crims gathered by the river, as if they were runaways. After the attack on the Armory, the authorities are out in force, so Tally and Shay warn the group to be extra careful—though they do not tell them that they will be following them in order to find the New Smoke. First, they must free Zane of his tracking collar. He requests that Tally be the one to do it. Once he is freed of the device, he and his fellow Crims release their collars and wristbands into the sky on balloons.

Zane again urges Tally to break the bonds of whatever has been done to her brain in the process of becoming Special, but she does not want to do so. She likes being Special, and she wants Zane to join her. He wants her to make up her own mind about which side she fights for. Finally, Zane and the others leave while Tally and Shay trail invisibly behind in their sneak suits.