Nastya wakes up with a cold. She mutters about spiritual complexities similar to those of Voschev. Chiklin drapes three coats over her body for warm, but the activist, still upset about the intelligence letter from management, steals one of them from her. Zhachev tells Chiklin about the aforementioned letter, and Chiklin becomes suspicious of the activist's optimism and energy. Chiklin kills him with a sledgehammer. The activist's body is sent down the river like the kulaks were. The bear begins to weep, feeling isolated from the group. Voschev explains the bear feels that way because he has no purpose in life except to work. Nastya's condition is also worsening. "Bring me Mama's bones," she continues to say. "I want them." The workers decide to bring her back to the worksite. Prushevsky, however, stays in the village in order to teach the children. Nastya dies the next morning.