Chapter 279: Chapter Two Hundred Eighty

In the end we got six of the twelve remaining F-ranked chits to split  between us, and left Dale's with everyone else heading to dinner with  Wren and Vector. They had arranged a meal with the rest of the Spear  Legion, but I was confused about where. "So wait." I said, perplexed.  "They aren't staying at the Blue Robin with you? I figured they were in  their rooms or just not around. Why aren't they sharing accommodations  with you guys?"

I said they, but it was more like she,  since Lament was the one we were all most interested in. Wren just  shrugged. "The Robin is one of the safest places in Doomtown, but Lament  doesn't really care about that. Our handler is E-ranked, and got  special dispensation to come down here, though he can't act except in  self defense. The two of them decided to stay in one of the  more...exciting areas. Some of the Doomtown hotels run by the local  forces have interesting games and activities if you're willing to accept  the possibility of death every time you turn around."

Mel  groaned. "She's staying at the Chaotic Wombat, isn't she?" I turned my  eyes to her, confused by the statement. She shrugged. "The Wombat is  infamous. Abel went once, though I never bothered. The Wombat has a  gimmick where every person who enters is stamped with a marking. Once  every twenty four hours, at a random time, the markings all light up  green. One person has a red marking and everyone else is supposed to  attack them. The person who kills them gets ten F-ranked chits, and if  they survive they get ten E-ranked chits, though to my knowledge it's  only happened three times."

Abel grinned. "Oh yeah, the  Wombat is a blast. Since the rooms are all in various wings and levels  the whole mess turns into kind of a scavenger hunt. I was kind of hoping  to get picked as sacrifice when I went, but it ended up being this  annoying F-ranker named Kamahl. His ability was changing the size of  things after touching them. He did it on a delay so he would throw like,  rocks at you and they would turn into boulders. He was only early  F-rank, or he wouldn't have been down here, but he still didn't last too  long. I think one of Silent Dagger's people got him."

"That's  horrible." Callie said, appalled. "Who would even go somewhere like  that? Does everyone die when they get picked?" She looked horrified by  the casual nature of the violence, and I didn't blame her. It was  horrible that there were places you could die just for going. Hell, even  knowing how lawless and awful Doomtown was supposed to be, the whole  macabre nature of the game was just unconscionable.

Seeming  to sense how upset she was, Mel put both hands up placatingly. "Not at  all. Plenty of people escape. Usually the ones who get killed are  unlikable. Your friends are free to intervene even if you get picked,  and most people's do. You just don't get the payout if you leave the  premises. The sacrifice lasts for three hours, and if you leave it's  considered a forfeit." She patted Callie's shoulder to console her.  "It's really not that bad."

It was easy to forget Mel and  Abel weren't Unity. The WCP seemed like a quirky but stable place most  of the time, but there was a reason it was considered a black market  underground force. Then again, based on what Zeke had said it was  probable that other factions might not be much better. The Black Sorrow  Cult seemed like a pretty horrible environment based on their ruthless  use of sleepers. Maybe the universe was just kind of a shithole. It was  something to think about when we finally got off this planet. Being an  Ascendant wasn't all wine and roses. Monsters weren't necessarily the  biggest dangers.

With the knowledge that we could have  friends step in though, I wasn't QUITE as opposed to going. Abel  chuckled at the indecision. "It's fine kid. It's still early for dinner,  and while it IS random when they do the sacrifice, it's usually when  there are plenty of people around. It's what..." He checked his scan  ring. "Five PM? Most people won't be eating for a few more hours. We'll  be gone before they start the festivities."

I was sort of  ambivalent here. With Abel and Mel, not to mention Wren, we should be  fine even if one of us got picked, and if it wasn't likely to even  happen, it might be safe enough. The sacrifice could happen at any time  during a twenty four hour period, and it could happen to only one  person. That made the chances of being there and being picked  vanishingly small if we were only there for a short time. In the end, I  just left the decision up to Callie, cocking my head at her so she knew  it was her call.

She bit her lip, looking indecisive. In  the end though, we came here for the danger, so we could improve. If we  avoided dangerous situations we might as well have stayed up in  G-district. I could see that same realization show up on her face. She  nodded grudgingly. "Ok. Fine. But I want to make it clear that if the  sacrifice DOES happen while we're there, even if we aren't picked we're  not participating. I'm not hunting and killing another person for fun.  That's awful. If possible I even want to help them. Is that ok with all  of you? If not we'll skip it."

I beamed at her. I was so  proud of her for coming to that conclusion. I don't think I would have  thought to specify everyone help whoever got picked. To my surprise Abel  just shrugged. "Sure. Sounds like a party. I prefer odds to be against  me anyway. Still don't think it's likely to happen, but if it does I'm  down to play defense."

We all rolled our eyes, because  that was the most Abel answer possible and we probably should have  expected it. Mel, to my surprise, also nodded though. "That's doable.  I'll be honest, it's been a long time since I worried about that kind of  thing. It's so common down here there doesn't seem to be a point most  days. Still, if that's what you feel you have to do kid, we're behind  you."

Callie looked poleaxed. "But...you're teaching us.  Shouldn't you demand we toughen up and do what you think is best? Don't  you think I'm being naive?" She sounded so confused at the concept of  her teachers not forcing her to follow their example it broke my heard. I  was pretty sure I had a guess at why.

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Either Mel didn't  figure it out or was too nice to bring up because she just laughed. "No.  We're not trying to turn you into us. You kids are talented and you've  helped us out, so we're giving you some lessons and a hand with this.  Plus we might benefit, but we aren't you. Trying to brainwash someone  into doing what you would do isn't teaching. You're ultimately Unity  members, and doing things their way isn't always wrong. Sure, it might  seem a little naive to us sometimes, but being naive is fine as long as  you're smart about it."

Based on the shine in her eyes  Callie looked ready to cry for a second, but she shook it off. "Thanks. I  guess I didn't realize the baggage I had about teachers." She gave a  steady nod. "Yeah. Like I said. If someone gets picked, we help them.  Even if it isn't to our benefit. I won't stand by while someone gets  hurt for no reason." Her voice strengthened as she repeated her  decision, steel in her tone.

Wren cleared his throat.  "So...we ARE going? As for the sacrifice you won't need to worry about  us if you get picked. Lament isn't one to gang up on others. It's  beneath her dignity, and she wouldn't let any of the rest of us pile on  eithe. Though if she does get selected probably don't try to help. She  would be more annoyed at you for getting in her way than anything else."

With  that decided we headed back into the city, following Abel to the  Chaotic Wombat. He was the only one of us who had been there, so he took  the lead. once again we walked through Doomtown, and as we moved the  streets around us subtly changed. Unlike Sunshine Avenue, the red light  in this new area didn't fade, it got just deepened to a darker color.  Not just dimmer, but more scarlet somehow.

Abel took in a  deep, happy breath. "Ah, Damnation Row. Been years since I've even  thought about this place. If Doomtown could be said to have a 'bad part  of town' it would be here. Most of the city is anarchy, but the Row is  always just a little worse. Don't you just love the smell or complete  mayhem in the afternoon?"

As we  walked, the stone facades of the buildings became more dilapidated and  worn down. I wondered in passing what all the other buildings were. We  passed dozens of them everywhere we went, and they couldn't all be  casinos and fighting clubs or whatever. On second thought though I kind  of didn't want to know. Considering how messed up the stuff we had  already seen was, I had a feel random back alley businesses might be  even worse.

When  we finally came to a stop, I was a bit underwhelmed. All the other  places we'd been had stood out from the outside, been taller or more  ostentatious than most of these places. This one was just one of a  parade of squat stone buildings. I looked over at Abel, my tone  disbelieving as I said. "Really? This is the Chaotic Wombat? How can you  even tell? It looks so...average. You'd think they would put up a sign  around here or something at least. We could've walked right past this  place and never noticed."

It  was hard not to be disappointed at the lackluster exterior. I wasn't  exactly looking forward to our visit, but this place seemed significant  if nothing else. Abel just shrugged. "The Wombat isn't really a standout  kind of place. Most of the places we took you were important or well  known. The Wombat is the kind of place that only desperate or stupid  people go." He paused, getting a strange look. "Or..you know. Really  confident warriors who aren't afraid of death."

Mel  choked back a snicked at her boyfriend calling himself an idiot by  mistake and cut in. "Yeah, plenty of places don't bother to make their  location easily noticeable. Damnation Row is the kind of place where  successful businesses get raided. Of course, they STILL get raided by  neighbors and customers sometimes, but keeping the outside nondescript  stops random tourists from paying attention and joining in."

We  all approached the door, but Abel stepped up ahead to pound on the dark  metal. A hatch on the door at eye level slid aside. "What?" Snapped a  hostile voice. I was starting to feel like no one in the WCP knew how to  hire someone to watch their fucking door. Was a hello too much to ask  for?

Abel  just glared. "Let me the fuck in, that's what. You think anyone would  come stand outside this shithole for no reason? Like I picked this one  building to ask to use the bathroom out of this whole gods forsaken  street? We're here to ride the Wombat, now let us in." I had to stifle a  chuckle at the ridiculous password, but it seemed to work because after  a few clicks the door swung open and the man let us in. As we entered  he took out a stamp pad and placed a tiny mark that looked like an  animal head on each of our hands. I REALLY hoped we weren't here when  they changed color.

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