The Wild Robot Escapes

As Brightbill and Roz make their way across the countryside, a triangle-shaped airship passes overhead. Roz can see RECO robots inside the ship, though some were destroyed in the battle on the island. Thinking quickly, Roz sends Brightbill ahead, and she ducks into a wheat field. Brightbill flies to a tree branch as the airship passes by again. Once it is gone, Roz emerges from the field, where she had disguised herself as a sheaf of wheat. It was a close call, and they must keep moving.

Roz walks on land, disguising herself with mud and debris while Brightbill flies above, monitoring for any danger ahead. Having mastered the flight patterns of many types of birds on the island, Brightbill uses his skills to help Roz move safely through the countryside. 

Roz and Brightbill pass many kinds of farms that use a variety of ways to produce food. Roz looks at the robots working on the farms and wonders if they also want to escape.

The landscape changes from flat farmland to hills and craggy mountains. Roz could keep going indefinitely, but Brightbill needs to rest, so they find a safe place each night to camp, where Roz uses her lighter to make campfires. Roz enjoys being back out in nature, but she still misses the island. Even though Roz thinks she is camouflaging herself well, someone is watching her.

Roz feels exposed as they pass through a mountain meadow, and suddenly, she sees movement in the grass and smells wolves in the air. Roz quickly tosses Brightbill into the air and takes off in a run, but she slips and falls, and soon the wolves Shadow and Barb have her surrounded. Shadow taunts Roz for not having her rifle to defend herself and threatens to find Brightbill. Roz asks the wolves where the rest of the pack is, and the question angers Shadow. They jump at Roz, but she launches herself into the air, leaping and bounding away. The wolves catch up and knock Roz against the tree where Brightbill is hiding, but she manages to hold onto the trunk. She tells the wolves they will never catch her or her son, and Shadow responds, “You still don’t get it, Roz […] I’m not hunting you for food. I’m hunting you for revenge” (158).

The wolves remain under the tree, waiting for Roz and Brightbill to come down, but Barb is hungry and wants to go hunting for animals. Shadow says they can hunt after they destroy the robot, but the wolves soon get tired and fall asleep. Roz remembers when wild animals slept in her home on the island and marveled at the sight of fire. Roz grabs a branch and uses her lighter to create a torch. When she drops out of the tree with the flaming torch, the wolves are frightened and run away.

With the wolves gone, Roz and Brightbill continue moving north. Soon, the weather shifts and it begins to hail. The hailstones ping right off Roz, but knowing they could be deadly to Brightbill, she tucks him into her arms to shield him and takes off running for shelter. Roz sees a cabin and rushes to get them inside and out of the storm.

Brightbill and Roz are lucky to make it to the cabin as the hailstorm leaves a lot of damage and some animals are badly wounded. Brightbill is bruised and needs to rest. He tells Roz to leave him and go on without her, but Roz refuses to leave her son. She scans the contents of the cabin and realizes something is living there. Soon, a small voice calls out from the shadows, and Roz introduces herself and Brightbill. Sprinkles the skunk comes out of hiding and tells Roz she knows all about them because the geese have been telling their story. Roz is hesitant about Sprinkles at first, but she reminds Roz, “skunks only get stinky when we’re nervous” (168). Sprinkles listens to Roz tell of their journey and offers Roz and Brightbill to stay until he is recovered. A few days later, he is well enough for them to move on, and Roz and the goose thank Sprinkles for her generosity.

The weather remains dreary, but the sun breaks out occasionally, warming Roz and Brightbill. They come upon an abandoned coal mine, and the surrounding forest is full of broken machinery and “No Hunting” signs. Robot crews are cleaning the area and building a new mine, and Roz and Brightbill keep their distance to remain hidden.

Gunshots ring out through the forest, and Roz and Brightbill move quickly but carefully through the woods. Brightbill becomes frightened by the bullets and flies to the top of a tree, but the hunters see him and decide to shoot him and eat him for dinner. Just as the hunter aims his gun, Roz bounds through the trees, still wearing her camouflage, and destroys their weapons. The hunters run away, and Roz comforts a very frightened Brightbill.

The landscape changes to craggy cliffs, and Roz uses her rock-climbing experience from the island to help her navigate the difficult terrain. Out of nowhere, a ram charges Roz, knocking her to the ground. The ram quickly apologizes and introduces himself as Thud. He explains that his instincts are strong, but he will try to keep them in check and help Roz and Brightbill get out of the mountains. Thud guides them through the mountains to a beautiful meadow, and for the first time since leaving, Roz thinks of Hilltop and wonders how the farm is managing without her. Thud tells the sheep grazing in the meadow that he is helping Roz and Brightbill find their way. The ram leads them to the top of a tall peak, which reminds Roz of the island where she used to watch the sunset. Thud shows them the path, and for a moment it looks like he might charge, but he keeps his cool and says goodbye to his new friends.

Dense fog makes it hard to see, but Roz and Brightbill’s senses tell them they are close to the ocean. They hear a ship’s horn, which turns out to be a howling wolf. Roz takes off in a run but slips and falls, and Shadow is on top of her before she can get up. Shadow grips Roz’s tool belt with his teeth and shakes her violently, so Roz unclips the belt, releasing herself from his grip long enough to run. Brightbill flies overhead, giving Roz directions, and she runs through a small village to the shoreline. When Roz reaches the water, her survival instincts make her stop, and Shadow tells her she is trapped. Suddenly, Brightbill sees a boat, and Roz launches herself from the water into the boat; mother and son row away into the ocean. Shadow shouts at Roz that she has ruined his life because his pack left him, but all Roz can think of is how frightened she is of the deep ocean.

The fog lifts as Roz rows through the water and Brightbill flies overhead. Brightbill reports they are in a bay and tells Roz which way to row. Roz spins her head around so she can face forward while rowing, but the waves are large, and she is worried the boat will not make it. Since she is a powerful robot, Roz can row very fast, but she rows too hard, and the oars break. The boat crests a large wave, and when it crashes down on the other side, the boat splinters into pieces, and Brightbill can only watch helplessly as his mother sinks beneath the waves.

Brightbill watches Roz sink until he can no longer see her. Suddenly, a whale surfaces with Roz on its back, but Roz is not moving.

Brightbill clicks Roz’s power button, and she comes to life and speaks to him in animal language. However, she cannot move her limbs. As Brightbill and Roz ride on the whale’s back and Roz dries out, Roz begins to move her body. The whale introduces herself as Coral, and she tells them she heard their story from a flock of geese. When Coral saw them hop into the old rowboat, she decided to follow them in case they needed help. Brightbill directs Coral where to swim, and the whale takes them to a cove. Once on dry land again, Roz and Brightbill thank Coral for her help and offer to repay her kindness, but she just winks and sinks back into the ocean. Crossing the bay almost killed Roz, and they are both frightened to think about the ocean crossing still ahead if they want to get back to the island.