Skink—No Surrender

Skink is in bad shape from his fight with the alligator, and his fake eye is gone, replaced by a snail shell. Tommy panics, aiming the gun between Richard and Skink. As Malley grabs a first-aid kit for Skink, the weather changes; a storm rolls in. 

Skink lies and tells Tommy that he’s there for his canoe. Tommy refuses. He tries to handcuff Richard and Skink together, but the cuffs won’t fit over Skink’s wrists. Instead, Tommy commands Malley to find a rope in the boat hatch. She ties Richard and Skink’s wrists at Tommy’s orders. Tommy fires the gun through a window to prove his lethality.

When thunder distracts Tommy, Malley sneaks Richard’s pocketknife into his hand. He begins to saw at the rope around his wrist. As he does, Malley explains that Tommy lured her online with a fake name and promise of a life away from the New Hampshire boarding school where her parents are sending her.

Skink continues to ask Tommy and Malley questions, distracting and frustrating Tommy. The storm outside grows more powerful. The houseboat loses its anchor and begins floating down the Choctawhatchee River with Richard, Skink, Malley, and Tommy onboard.