The soldier marches Nicolás to the rancho, never taking the M16 off his back. Nicolás is presented to the lieutenant who asks him his name and where he is from. Nicolás decides to tell the truth, that this is his family home and that before the guerrillas came it was just he and his grandfather. He speaks respectfully to the lieutenant, calling him Teniente. When the lieutenant asks where his grandfather is, Nicolás decides to lie. He tells him that the guerrillas took he and his grandfather, but he escaped. Nicolás explains that Dolores heard over the radio that the Army was coming and gave orders for everyone to leave. He explains that he wants to wait at the rancho for his grandfather to return.

The lieutenant and a soldier discuss killing Nicolás like they killed the little boy in the forest (probably Mario), and decide that since he has information about the guerrilleros they will take him to the captain instead. The lieutenant gives orders to torch whatever remains of the rancho. Nicolás wishes they would just kill him, so at least he would be in heaven, where his family and rancho would be intact.