Carl’s truck reaches the river and survives a pack attack from flying piranhas because the shield has recharged. Donut uses her Fresh into Salt spell on the river to finish many of the fish, and the truck kills most of the rest. Olga and Quemada remain unconscious during the drive, while Finley grows increasingly distressed, blaming himself for sedating Quemada so heavily and for failing to protect Olga.

The team finally reaches the pit stop in the Lost City of Upano. Inside, all the racers’ suburban houses have been rearranged into one long street, with some garages already occupied and two homes boarded up, suggesting lost teams. Carl sees that his group has arrived near the front of the field, but Hedy explains the major danger of the pit stop: safe room rules do not apply, the garage door cannot be closed, and the vehicle cannot leave again until the two-hour timer ends.

While inspecting the garage, Carl and Donut discover Jamal stuck upside down on the ceiling. Jamal admits he climbed up to see everything because he is terrified that Carl’s death would erase all of them, and he becomes too frightened to come down. Donut floats up, talks him down gently, and later explains that worrying about uncontrollable loss only ruins what they still have; she tells Jamal that he is family and that family helps each other when someone is in trouble.

Donut orders Mongo and Jamal to stay behind and guard Hedy. Finley then emerges carrying Olga and Quemada and announces that he is going into town to look for a temple or healer, insisting that they are his family and that he will do whatever it takes to protect them. The moment Finley steps into the street, Team One Fine Pig’s speeding APV slams into him, Olga, and Quemada, killing all three instantly and ending the chapter with system notices of their deaths.