Chomp

Content Warning: This section of the guide features descriptions of gun violence and a hostage situation.

Badger ventures out from his dark hiding space, simultaneously relieved and disappointed that he hasn’t turned into a vampire. He tries unsuccessfully to dislodge the airboat from its sandy embankment. As rain begins to fall and the boat begins to fill with water, he uses his helmet camera to bail it out. Eventually, he takes cover under a stand of bay trees, a big mistake during a thunderstorm. Soon enough, a bolt of lightning strikes the tree he’s sitting under.

Raven Stark calls her boss, Gerry Germaine, and fills him in on the shooting, the missing airboats, and Badger’s still-missing status. She has called the police, but they can’t search for Badger in the bad weather. Meanwhile, Germaine is already seeking Badger’s replacement. Raven also reports that Mickey has been “abducted,” but Germaine is indifferent to this news. In an attempt to salvage her job, Raven tries to convince Germaine that they have enough exciting footage to “stitch together” a nearly complete show, minus an ending.

The narrative shifts to Wahoo’s perspective. When another airboat speeds toward them in the blinding rain, Wahoo recalls an incident as a young boy when he was nearly run over by a freight train.