Summary

In Chapter 4, Welch wakes Hetty before sunrise the next morning to go for supplies. Downstairs, she joins Julia and Carson. Julia has deep bruises that never fade. During her most recent flare-up, Carson tore off three fingernails while trying to escape from the infirmary. Each of the four has on something red so they can more easily find each other if they are separated. Welch hands Hetty a bowie knife, which each girl carries with her always, even on campus. Hetty notes that the campus has changed, with trees encroaching on the fence “like they're reaching for us” (58). To keep animals out, the girls have fortified the fence with shards of glass and lids from soup cans. Foxes and other animals have grown larger than usual and are vicious predators. Trees are also larger and split into more branches. Hetty feels strange being...