The Death of Osvaldo
Osvaldo's route out of the heat depended on a rule and a murder. The new containment rules let a racer cross the finish line outside a vehicle or mount if and only if that vehicle or mount had been destroyed, so he rigged Bruna to die: a grenade, a dose of poison, and a string of poison dart bombs dropped behind him as he went. He was faster than anyone else — the moment Carl blew the roof he was gone so quickly it looked like he had turned invisible, using Launch and his supernatural dexterity — but he had to wait for the gnu to actually die. The crawlers kept her alive with a liquid drop shield, an explosion blanket, a smoke curtain, Donut's own shield, a stand of conjured trees and half a dozen emergency gremlins. Osvaldo hit the portal wall at speed and was stunned, and Britney Proskurina, who had jumped away seconds earlier while Florin shouted at her to protect Louis, killed him where he hung. His corpse hit the lobby floor and she landed on top of it, smashing it further into the ground; a golden player-killer skull opened over her and her eyes glowed. Team Three, Team Flamengo, was eliminated with its last racer, leaving Carl's team the only one in the heat. Carl's reaction is a whimper and one thought: you stubborn idiot.
Book 8 appearances
- Chapter 83 — Osvaldo launches for the roof the instant Carl blows it, leaving a grenade and poison to finish Bruna and legalise an on-foot finish; the shields hold, he is stunned against the gate, and Britney kills him for the bounty, eliminating Team Flamengo.
- Chapter 84 — Carl tells Elle he keeps expecting to be angry at Osvaldo and at the Russians and is not — he thinks they were scared, and with so few crawlers left they cannot afford to hate each other.
Related entries
- Osvaldo (Character)
- Britney (Character)
- Team Flamengo (Character)
- Bruna the Slaughter Gnu (Creature)
- Carl (Character)
- Princess Donut (Character)
- Florin (Character)
- Louis Santiago 2 (Character)
- Emergency Gremlin (Item)
- Fragmenting Potion Balls (Item)
- Ysalte (the Vinegar Bitch) (Character)
- Memorial Crystal (Item)
Browse
- All Events & Milestones
- Everything debuting in Book 8, Chapter 83
- All of A Parade of Horribles