1931 Winter: The Time of the Oasis/Chapter 2: The Rabbits Huddle Close in the Darkness

Synopsis
The origins of Jacuzzi's Gang are made clear; each one of the people in it didn't have anywhere else to go. As such, they began to slowly accumulate around Jacuzzi Splot, someone who is incredibly cowardly but possesses a "personal magnetism" that makes others want to stick by him. After the Russo Family made examples out of eight of the members of their gang, every single remaining member of the gang had participated in the attack on several Russo speakeasies throughout Chicago. Rather than being loyal because Jacuzzi has power or influence, they stick closely to him because they would have nowhere else to go if they were to run from him; he'd cared about them and made a place for them.

The night of December 30, the retrieval team of the gang has arrived at the apparently empty bungalows. Melody requests that everyone gather in roughly twenty-eight seconds, sparking a severe round of off-topic chaotic bickering through the rest of the gang. In order to quiet them, Melody rings her bells, then reminds the rest of the delinquents that they need to kill time until the train arrives in the morning. After more pointless bickering, one of the boys whose front teeth are missing auggests the gang hurry and get inside one of the bungalows to avoid the chill, and the gang begin to follow suit. Melody, however, remains outside, looking at the road running past the bungalows. When asked why, she remarks that there were an awful lot of tracks on the road for an area that doesn't look like it gets much traffic.

While Jacuzzi's gang settles down in a bungalow, 'he' has been asleep in the bungalow furthest from theirs, bungalow 7. 'He' had come from northwestern California, and had been separated from his family. Although 'he' should have started hibernating already, 'he' hadn't been able to settle into sleep, and had remained unnoticed indoors. Even though 'he' was sleeping, 'he' could hear bells and the sound of humans talking, which had begun to bring him out of his stupor.

In bungalow 1, Jacuzzi's Gang begins preparing to sleep, having thought to make use of beds they'd found inside and blankets they'd brought with them. Suddenly, one of the boys keeping watch informs the rest of them that someone has just driven up to the bungalows, sparking panicked discussion between the gang members. They watch as three girls and a boy exit the truck and begin to peek at the trucks the delinquents had brought with them.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Melody
 * Chaini
 * Charkie (unnamed)
 * Pamela
 * Lana
 * Sonia Bake
 * Carzelio Runorata