Chapter 19 opens with Ava lying on the ground, seemingly with nothing better to do than stare up at the sky and take occasional glances at the plants around her. Then she mentions that "the man" is lying on top of her. In her naive world, Ava is not sure what Bird Man is doing to her. She even assists him when he attempts to take off her clothes. Then she feels pain and finally has a vague idea that she is being raped.

Despite this violent act against her, Ava wants to follow Bird Man when he stands and begins walking back to the boat. She wants him to love and need her. So when Bird Man calls out for her to come, Ava begins to walk toward him. 

A voice inside Ava's head, which she thinks sounds like her mother talking to her, tells Ava to run away. The voice is fearful of Bird Man. He has lied to her. There is no underworld, and there is a chance that he knows no better where they are in the swamp than Ava does. So Ava, trusting her body's reaction more so than her mind and emotions, decides to run. Before she turns away from Bird Man, she takes her small red alligator pet out of her pocket, untapes the alligator's jaws, and flings the reptile at Bird Man. As the man struggles with the alligator, Ava begins to run.

She does not know how long she runs and she has no idea in what direction her home lies. All she thinks about is getting away from Bird Man. There are still moments that the thought of going back to him lingers in her mind and she wonders if Bird Man is her only chance of staying alive in this hostile environment. These moments do not last long, however; they stop each time Ava feels new pangs of pain from his having raped her.

To stave off her hunger, thirst, and fear, Ava computes mathematical problems in her head as she continues running. Over time, her thirst grows so intense the she finally decides that the muddy water all around her is better to drink than no water at all.

When she stops running, she listens to the sounds around her. She thinks that maybe Bird Man is not chasing her after all. Once she is able to relax even a little, her survival skills, ones that she has learned from living her entire life in the swamps, begin coming back to her. For instance, to confirm that she is going in the right direction, Ava unlaces one of her shoe strings, ties it to a cypress root, and watches the string float on the water. The current in the swamps, she knows, always moves toward the Gulf of Mexico to the southwest. As she stares at the shoe string, she sees the water pulling at it. That must be the southwest, she concludes, and adjusts her journey toward her home.

There is nothing but fields of saw grass, forests, and muddy water all around her. There are no houses, no sounds from humans, no smoke from campfires, no signs of cultivation. Her father and grandfather have always warned her to stick to designated trails when she wanders away from home. Even experienced hunters and fishermen get lost in the swamps. There are ten thousand islands in the swamp and thousands of indistinguishable watery trails. Every small riverway looks just like all the others.

Ava is miserable. She does not know if she will be lucky enough to make it home. She does not know if her sister, Ossie, is still alive. She has no idea where Bird Man is or if he is following her. All she knows is that Bird Man is the only person who knows where she is. She also knows that she is thirsty like she has never been in her life. One other thing she knows is that if she does not find higher ground before dark, she could become some wild animal's meal before the next morning.