David
- After hours of work, Tally takes a break with David. Her hands are all raw and blistery, so it's about time.
- David takes Tally to see a collapsed tunnel and all the railroad tracks buried under there. (Oh, how romantic.)
- The boulders seem pretty solid, but Tally thinks about how a small shift would bring down all that weight on them—which sounds (to her) a lot like Dr. Cable and the city (crushing her).
- David brought her here because he can tell that she's taking this seriously. Some other runaways just think about this like a fun adventure, like camping out for a while.
- But for David, this place is home—he was born here, since his parents were runaways.
- And so Tally thinks that she can't call Dr. Cable because that would destroy David's home. (It's one thing to bring your runaway friend home; it's a much worse thing to destroy the only home a guy's ever known.)