Chapter 53 of 74 · Book 6, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Chapter 53 — Flee rules

Book: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride · Part: The Bedlam · Previous: Chapter 52 — Two of five · Next: Chapter 54 — Demon Eviction · Floor: Floor 8 — The Ghosts of Earth · Series: the series

Opening

I returned to the saferoom long enough to grab Samantha.

Summary

Guanajay past midnight; duendes at a pile-up ignored. Donut on the Harley: 'Are you planning on growing a mullet as well? […] a metallic penis extension that comes with a free probation officer and a traumatic brain injury'; 'I watched Sons of Anarchy, Carl.' 'You tried to get me to pick this exact motorcycle!' 'I tried to get you to pick the chaps.' Samantha lashed to the handlebars going vroom; Katia tuned it; the copper chopper's riding skill, now level nine. Cascadia's phase-three announcement: 'we no longer have to worry about our good friend the system AI'; keyless squads placed at keyholders' doors, maybe several to a door; all final battles are card battles; the Flee card now costs a keyholder a random key, transferred to the ultimate victor; keys cannot be dropped or given — the only way to hand one over is to start a battle and Flee. 'Some of the top crawlers are being forced to face off against one another. It's going to be amazing.' 'Go fuck yourself, Cascadia.' East. 'Your location has been pinpointed by the Eye in the Sky' — Mordecai: a rare level-10 scroll, Find Crawler plus Ping across the whole area; someone now knows where and what level they are. Quan flies; Imani reports him gone from the church and a big battle shaking the walls outside — the crabs and the seals. Donut: what if Imani gets no key? Carl's plan: force Imani to fight them, Donut Flees, Imani gets the key, and Carl opens the door with the jacket's mysterious bone-key benefit. 'I'm pretty sure you need your bones, too.' 'It will only take one. Maybe it won't be an important one.' 'They're all important, Carl.' 'Are we going to fight people we like?' 'We'll do what we have to, Donut.'

Characters

• Carl — Rides his father's bike to a fight; would trade a bone for Imani.
• Princess Donut — Sons of Anarchy; 'They're all important, Carl.'
• Samantha — Vroom.
• Cascadia — Flee rules; 'kill, kill, kill.'
• Mordecai — The Eye in the Sky explained.
• Imani — Watching from the saferoom door.
• Quan Ch — Airborne somewhere.

Locations

• Guanajay — A small town on the road east to the coast.

Motifs

• The three phases — Flee as the only way to give a key; several keyless squads per door.
• The bone key — 'It will only take one.'
• Carl's family — A biker's son defending bikers.
• The Chowder War — A battle shaking a church.