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The Merchant always freaked Leo out.
Nearly as much as this place did.
This place…
Leo couldn’t describe its existence.
An unremarkable location, easy to miss, easy to overlook, easy to never suspect. Meanwhile, in its bottomless belly, it digested its horrors with cold precision. Leo didn’t know how many floors into the earth it went, how deep this beast was, or how many people were confined in it, at the mercy of wealthy, twisted consumers.
If you were here, you weren’t going to come out.
It was that simple.
Unless you were killed or bought, your existence belonged to the operatives that worked for the High Table.
“I’m interested in investing in the Flesh Trade,” George murmured.
“It’s a tricky trade,” the Merchant responded. “There are more cogs in a wheel, so to speak, but we have mastered the railway, and it spans far, Mr Itani.”
“How exotic are we talking?”
“We can bring any Flesh in, but certain places take longer. Nowadays, we opt to tradeoutinstead of bring in.”
George made a thoughtful sound. “They like their western whores.”
“Virgins or experienced—they all hold value.”
Mr Itani made another sound. “It’s too hard to break into, too dangerous when my name is held in such high regard. In another world, if I had a bit of anonymity, I may have been able to explore that further.”
“So, what exactly are you referring to then?”
“The gambling pits.”
The Merchant clucked his tongue. “I see. I didn’t take you for a gambler, Mr Itani.”
George chuckled. “No, Merchant, I’m talking aboutpossessingContenders.”
The Merchant made a surprised sound. “Ah, yes, okay, I understand you completely now.”
“I want to see these pits.”
“The training pits or the cells?”
“All of it.”
*
A few hours later, Leo returned home. In front of his father, he walked steadily out of the room, head held high. The second he was out of view, he ran up the stairs, hurrying down the hallway to his bedroom. His body broke out in chills as he sped to his bathroom, bent over the toilet and vomited.
Everything came out of him—everything, and yet not enough. He couldn’t expel the disgust that sat heavy in his stomach. It churned, waves of heavy revulsion coursing through him.
His entire body shook as he clenched the toilet bowl, sweat slicking his skin. There were dark edges in his vision now; he smacked his head, trying to rid it, trying his hardest not to blink and see images of such brutality.
What they did to each other—
What they later did toher—
He vomited, and then his body shook for a different reason. He collapsed to the ground, forehead hitting the cold floor as he sobbed.
