Chapter 84

Carl's group reunites at the Hairpin bar entrance to the Desperado Club with about thirty crawlers ready to execute their plan. Carl arrives transformed into a dachshund, still suffering from slugpox, which Imani quickly cures. The group's morale is high despite the weight of recent deaths, and they prepare to proceed with what Carl calls robbing a casino.

Carl, Samantha, and Donut navigate back toward the Vendor Village in a truck driven by Samantha, with Jamal left behind to guard it. An AI notification redirects them toward the race in the opposite direction. As they jog through the abandoned Vendor Village, Donut and Elle discuss their decision to eliminate the tracksuit crawlers who had betrayed them—Elle notes the tracksuits had a way out but chose deception instead, and that even Ivan had committed crimes like dismantling a bridge for scrap metal that caused a train accident. Carl's slugpox erupts again, producing a new level 30 slug named Lil' Mello Haze wearing a backward baseball cap and mace-head tail; the slug wanders off and doesn't follow. Elle and Carl discuss their inability to hate the dead, understanding their fear. Upon reaching the Hairpin bar, Carl finds about thirty crawlers waiting, including Chris, who has been transformed into a werewolf but retains mostly human form in his original work overalls—a sight that moves Carl with sadness and hope, as Chris's transformation will end when they descend stairs, meaning if successful, he'll never go down another stairwell. Elle has become a goblin, Prepotente holds a glowing Apito crystal, Jurgen stands with a protective eye on Lucia Mar in her beautiful-woman form, and Jacobus has been temporarily transformed into a small red starfish. The group bursts into laughter at Carl's dachshund appearance, and Imani cures his slugpox with a spell. Louis makes a crude joke about Carl's anatomy, which Donut attributes to Carl's reaction to Imani. Carl dismisses their laughter and announces they're ready to rob a casino.