A Parade of Horribles
by Matt Dinniman
Contents
Chapter 64
Overview
In the doll-packing room, Carl and Donut find Genesis and Rapture’s GTO wrecked in a trap hole and rescue the unconscious Corky from a swarm of cocaine-infused dolls. The rescue succeeds, but Genesis and Rapture are left behind, Corky is badly injured, and the truck itself is threatened by enemies that can pass through its defenses. As the race nears its end, Grigori and Porky wake Corky and begin the process of restoring him, forcing Carl to resume driving under intense time pressure.
Summary
Carl and Donut drive out of a cloud of toddler cocaine into the doll-packing room while Prepotente reports that Bianca has been incapacitated by the drugs and must stop for aid before she can grab Corky. The room is packed with crates and is unnaturally bright, which makes Carl suspect a trap. His suspicion is confirmed when Donut spots Genesis and Rapture’s damaged GTO in a large hole in the floor, apparently dropped there by a collapsed section of boards or an explosive.
Carl backs the truck to the edge and sees that the GTO is wrecked beyond use: the shield is down, the axle is broken, and Corky is still strapped inside unconscious. Genesis and Rapture are alive but groaning, both marked as Strung Out. At the same time, cocaine-infused dolls and action figures swarm the crashed car and begin tearing it apart, while nearby crates start breaking open with more of them inside. Because Donut can teleport only herself, she jumps down, casts Puddle Jumper, and brings Corky up to the road beside the truck so Carl can haul him inside.
Once Carl gets Corky into the truck, he realizes the GTO’s containment shield is not active and Corky is effectively being cooked inside his hot suit. Carl does not stop to rescue Genesis or Rapture. A doll fused to Corky’s suit hitchhikes into the truck, and when Carl throws it out, he tears a hole in the suit and exposes Corky’s guts, causing his health to start dropping. Donut heals Corky, but more pass-through dolls and action figures attack the truck, suggesting the creatures can ignore the vehicle’s shield.
As the race timer drops to twenty minutes, Grigori and Porky cast on Corky and remove his debuffs. Corky wakes in confusion, and Porky tells him it is time for them to become whole again, while Dong calls desperately to his friend. Carl tries to climb back to the driver’s seat over the two mantaurs, but the improvised table collapses, worsening Corky’s injury. With the next room approaching and Dong unable to manage the ceiling-driving controls, Carl orders Dong out of the seat, takes the wheel again, and speeds the truck onward while the others try to save Corky.
Who Appears
- CarlDrives the truck, discovers the trap, pulls Corky from danger, and retakes the wheel under time pressure.
- DonutSpots the crashed GTO, uses Puddle Jumper to extract Corky, and heals him inside the truck.
- CorkyUnconscious target rescued from the wrecked GTO; badly burned and injured before waking confused.
- PorkyMoves to Corky’s side and tells him it is time for them to become whole again.
- DongHelps keep order in the truck, calls to Corky, and gives up the driver’s seat to aid him.
- GrigoriToo sick to drive, but later helps remove Corky’s debuffs and urges the suit to be removed quickly.
- PrepotenteReports Bianca’s drug-induced illness, briefly halting his pursuit before rejoining the race.
- GenesisTrapped alive but strung out in the crashed GTO as Carl prioritizes rescuing Corky.
- RaptureAlso survives the crash but is left in the wreck while dolls tear the vehicle apart.
- BiancaRendered strung out by the cocaine cloud, forcing Prepotente to stop and tend to her.