Unaware of all of the events happening back in North Carolina, Lula and Sailor continue on their way until – according to Lula – they witness a bad omen: the aftermath of a two-car accident, and the only survivor, a young woman, dies in front of them. With little money left, Sailor heads for Big Tuna, Texas, where he contacts "old friend" Perdita Durango, who might be able to help them, although she secretly knows he is under contract to be killed by Lula's mother. While Sailor agrees to join up with gangster Bobby Peru in a feed store robbery, Lula waits for him in the hotel room, trying to conceal that she is pregnant with Sailor's child. While Sailor is out Peru enters the room and forces Lula to implore him to make love with her, but in the end he refuses, stating he has no time. This traumatizes Lula, who had survived a rape as a child.