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TARON IS STANDING by the window, examining a mysterious red plant growing wildly outside, beginning to invade the basement by growing on the windowsills. He breaks off a piece of the weed-like plant, studying it with furrowed eyebrows.
Taron left Eleanor just a few minutes ago to look out of the window once again, thus finding that the tripods are still doing their mysterious work; he's becoming nervous that the tripods won't leave, for if they don't then he and Eleanor will be stuck down here longer than they'd like.
The two of them have been silent for most of their time in their asylum. Eleanor merely stares into space or picks at the fuzz on her sleeves while Taron tries his best not to glance at her; she hasn't even laid down, and that worries him the most. She always lays down.
For once, Taron doesn't know what to say; Eleanor might have just lost her brother and father, and who knows what the fate of Mary Ann could be. Taron lost his mother and the rest of his family is across the sea. They're both substantially solemn, and the eerie presence of Harland is doing nothing to help.
Suddenly anxious about leaving her alone, Taron glances back to the staircase, where Eleanor was sitting. Harland is sitting next to her on a step.
"Do you miss your mom?" Harland asks her. "I had a daughter nearly your age. Y'know, if anything happens to your friend, I'll take care of you."
"I can take care of myself, thanks," Eleanor says, disgusted. She stands up and quickly walks down the staircase as she crosses her arms over her torso, covering herself with her denim jacket. Taron walks toward her with a livid expression on his face. He stands protectively in front of her, staring at Harland.
"Oi, you don't have anything to say to her, d'you understand? If you want to talk to somebody, you talk to me," Taron tells him, distinctly angry without yelling.
"What exactly is your plan, Taron? I know what I'm gonna do — how about you? You gonna sit here, wait for them to come get you? Is that your plan?" Harland asks as he walks down the staircase. "Maybe you want to get caught. Hiding in a basement is too much for you, I bet. You'll probably turn yourself right in!"
Taron opens his mouth to retort before he notices an absence of murmurs. The tripods outside have stopped moving, causing the background noise of rumbles to cease. Eleanor notices it, too.
"Listen," Taron says. "It stopped."
Still angry, Harland continues. "Maybe you'll be okay. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll train you as their pet. You know, train you, feed you, teach you how to do tricks...."
"Will you shut up and listen?" Taron says, nearly yelling.
The three of them watch as pieces of wood fall from the hole created by the initial trembling. A slender, snake-like robot with some sort of camera resembling a single, large eye descends into the basement, a headlight of sorts turning on as it looks around the dim room. Taron immediately grabs Eleanor's hand and pulls her behind the stairs to hide.
