Sanctuary

The following morning, Vali and Ernie take the subway to a stop in Queens, then locate Sister Lottie’s church. Sister Lottie, a church preschool teacher, answers the door, then offers them food and water. Other undocumented immigrants are hiding out in the church as well. After they eat, Sister Lottie gives Vali and Ernie fresh clothes, and they wash up in the bathrooms. Ernie asks if Mami is coming, and Vali says they’ll see. That evening, they sleep in the pews of the church.

Sister Lottie promises to help Vali and Ernie to the best of her ability, although she can’t promise a positive outcome. She is confused that Ernie thinks Mami will be meeting them until Vali explains she misled Ernie to keep him walking. They eat breakfast, then prepare to leave for the day to avoid notice during the church’s usual activities; the undocumented immigrants can’t come back until the evening. The only alternative to going out for the day is hiding in a broom closet, so Vali and Ernie decide to go out. Sister Lottie instructs them not to speak to strangers or to the other immigrants from the church; they cannot appear to know each other, or this might raise suspicions. Sister Lottie gives them some snacks to pack.

Vali does her best to distract Ernie from his expectations to find Mami. They see a man from the church collecting cans and bottles, and Vali explains to Ernie that he can get money if he finds enough of them and returns them to a recycling machine. Vali takes Ernie to a playground. While Ernie plays, Vali overhears two women speaking Spanish, discussing how a “coyote” could transport them to California. Coyotes are often the best bet for safe passage, but they are a risk since the people being transported cannot safely report any wrongdoings the coyote may commit.

Although she knows the risk of speaking to strangers, Vali asks one of the women how she can find a coyote. The woman says it costs $5,000 per person; if Vali goes that route, she should be careful. Vali and Ernie return to the church; Ernie is still confused about how long they have to stay here without Mami.

The following day, Vali and Ernie collect cans and bottles. Vali sets a goal of $50, but they only make $7. Over a few days, they still don’t raise nearly enough for a coyote. Vali does not tell Ernie that this is why they are raising money. One day, they see DF officers outside the church and run, which makes the DF officers follow them. They retreat back into the church and hide in a closet. The DF officers knock on the locked church door and demand to search the premises. Sister Lottie says the church is a sanctuary and they cannot come inside. The DF agents leave but promise they will be back.

Vali admits to Ernie that Mami is not going to meet them and that she has no idea where Mami is or how to help her. Vali asks Sister Lottie about coyotes. Sister Lottie confirms that she knows how to contact them. She warns Vali that coyotes are dangerous and unpredictable, and that DF presence is even more dense near California. She offers to pay for their passage to California via coyote, but does not explain how a preschool teacher at a church has overnight access to $10,000.

In the middle of the night, Sister Lottie walks Vali and Ernie to their coyote driver’s truck. They get in the cargo section, which is full of cow carcasses and several other undocumented immigrants. The other passengers include people of all ages from a variety of countries, speaking different languages. A four-year-old named Tomas is riding with his mother, Rosa, and his baby sister Guadalupe. Tomas is friendly and talkative, and doesn’t stop talking when the driver pulls over, presumably to use the restroom. A man who Vali nicknames “Volcanoman” fusses at Tomas to stop speaking. Vali offers to play “super ninja” with Tomas, which means they must be silent while passing around Ernie’s soccer ball. Ernie befriends Tomas and the group stays in the truck for what might be days; they can’t tell how much time passes because it is dangerous to use their phones.

Later, the truck stops again, but this time, the passengers hear voices outside. A DF agent wants to search the back of the truck. The driver shoots the DF agent, killing him, then opens the back of the truck.

The coyote driver, Jorge, was supposed to drive the group to Scutter, Oklahoma, where they would transfer to a different truck driven by a different man named BJ, who would shuttle them the rest of the way to California. Now that Jorge has murdered a DF officer to avoid getting caught, he is curtailing the rest of the trip. He requires the passengers to leave the truck. Everyone protests because they all paid him a large sum of cash for safe passage, but Jorge threatens them with his gun. They are about 60 miles from Scutter, Oklahoma, and they need to travel southwest to reach that destination. Jorge abandons them and the others debate what to do.

Vali checks their current location on her phone and uses the address Jorge left them to map out the best route. Some people want to take the deceased DF agent’s car and drive the rest of the way, but others (including Vali and Volcanoman) think this would be too dangerous, because the authorities will be looking for the car. The immigrants split into two groups. Vali, Ernie, Volcanoman, Rosa, Tomas, baby Guadalupe, and a teenage boy named Malakas set out on foot, planning to walk the 61 miles southwest along Route 44 to Scutter.