Benjamin Wray - Acid Reign - Genesis

Two huge men guarded the main entrance where all of these people waited in a line that stretched for a city block. Seeing the line, Bean excitedly grabbed Lilly’s hand.

“C’mon, hurry up,” Bean said childishly, pulling a reluctant Lilly behind her. “Oh, look at that line of people,” she said with growing excitement.

“Looks like they’re full tonight. We’ll have to try again,” Lilly said in hopes of breaking down some of Bean’s determination.

“We don’t have to wait in line Lil,” Bean said with the biggest smile. “Come on! What are you draggin’ your feet for? It’ll be spectacular.”

“Can’t wait,” Lilly whispered to herself.

“Don’t have to wait. I told you,” Bean said as she looked at Lilly as if she wasn’t a very good listener.

“Not what I meant. Never mind,” Lilly surrendered.

Bean laughed at Lilly, then pulled her towards the front of the line where a man was trying to convince one of the bouncers to let him in. They both ignored his pleadings and motioned for him to get back in line.

“Busy night, T?” Bean asked with a pouty face, as if she was talking to a toddler.

“Ay, ma,” The bouncer replied.

“Good! Gotta feed you big boys.”

“Who’s the girl, Ma?”

“She’s with me, and don’t be gettin’ any ideas, now,” She said with a damning scowl.

“Doesn’t look like she wants to be here.”

He realized he should have kept his observation to himself as the look on Bean’s face turned from proud momma to a look Lilly could only describe as building rage.

“You should know when to shut your mouth,” Bean said motioning for him to lean in closer to her.

The shamed behemoth leaned in slowly, and squeezed his eyes shut. Lilly jumped, as an unexpected loud, hard slap shot across his face.

“Sorry Ma, didn’t mean it like that,” he said as he straightened.

“You know better,” Bean said as she grabbed Lilly’s arm again and pulled her to the entrance.

The man that was trying to get into the pits earlier pointed and laughed until he got the bouncer’s attention.

“Funny?” the bouncer asked the man loudly as he walked over to him.

“Kinda,” the little man replied smiling at a group of barely dressed women.

“Ah.”

The bouncer looked at the young man that was obviously confused about how things worked at the pits, and smiled at the women, too.

Without warning, the bouncer smashed the man’s face with a heavy punch that sent him backwards into the wall. The bouncer calmly walked back as the man’s limp body slid down and slumped over to one side.

“Let’s go see the bookie,” Bean said, still holding on to Lilly’s arm.

Inside the pits, every social class in Nucrea; wealthy, destitute, privileged, desperate, drunk and sober crammed into every square foot of space. Smoke and undecipherable voices of all volumes filled the air.

That was the smell, Lilly thought to herself.

In the Pits, everything could be made into a bet, from whom would get the next council seat to whether it would rain in the next ten minutes or not.

There were many rooms with social areas and table games but the main attractions were the fighting pits. Anything that might put up a fight was thrown in with anything else that might fight back. Some match-ups were carefully planned out, but most of the patrons couldn’t afford those fights, so they settled on whatever came out.

One of the pit crowds cheered as a deformed rooster and some kind of crab were thrown into a pit together. The cheering soon faded as the rooster and crab just avoided each other. Luckily, these arenas were set up in anticipation for just such a thing. A man wearing a red vest raised his arms to calm the crowd and pulled a lever, making the walls of the cage push together.

The fights ended with a celebration by the winners and a short moment of gratitude from everyone as the losing, and sometimes winning, animals were taken to the cook and served, ensuring that nothing went to waste.

Serving girls pushed their way through perverted crowds as some gamblers cheered at their wins and others looked away groaning in all levels of pain at their losses.

“I think I see him!” Bean screamed over the noise of the pits.

It made sense to Lilly why Bean was so loud all of the time. She realized that she must just be used to talking over hundreds of people all screaming and cheering at the same time.

In front of them, a fight between a well-dressed man and a scantily clad woman broke out. Employees with red vests tried to break it up, just as wagers were being made about who would win. The woman punched him in the throat and took him down with a twist of her body. The crowd cheered as she sat on top of him and kept swinging. To Lilly, it looked like the man might have actually been enjoying it. Bean made a single burst of laughter and turned.

“Bookie!” Bean yelled as she pushed her way through another line of people.

A pale, hairless man stood calmly in the middle of a swarm of brightly layered folds of cloth. His face was kind and his smile seemed as though it was most likely permanent.

“Madam Bean,” the bookie said with a glow.

“How do, Bookie?”

“Very well, thank you,” he said as he bowed his head slightly. “What would you like to wager on tonight Madam Bean?”

Bean looked past him to a large board where scribbled names filled every square. She squinted and twisted her face as she thought deeply.

“The Hog for five hundred. Umm. And…Bo for a thousand.”

The fabrics quickly swirled around the bookie like a dust storm and came to a graceful stop. He held out a soft hairless hand, which gracefully took Bean’s credit files and then disappeared again into a whirlwind of color.

Lilly, hypnotized by the man’s robes, didn’t hear him the first time.

“And you, miss?” he repeated with kindness.

She reached into a pocket on her leg and presented the credits that Gus had given her.

“Not me thank you, but all of this on Scratches, for Gus.”

The bookie gave an enchanting smile.

“He’s been betting on that wonderfully mangy feline for over two years. Ninety lives that one has. Never wins but always pulls through somehow. Is he betting on survival or win Miss?”

Lilly thought about the difference and felt a surge of revenge fill her mind for being left behind.

“All on a win, please.”

The bookie gave her a look as though he had read her thoughts.

“Very well.”

The same soft hand shot out of the colored folds, took the credit files, and gracefully disappeared again.

“Nothing for you at all?” he asked with piercing eyes.

Bean was ready to move on and shuffled her feet in agitation.

“Oh, hell! Put down three thousand for her. And for a win.”

Bean didn’t blink at the amount, but Lilly wondered how she had so many credits.

“What are the odds for a win?” Bean asked for Lilly’s sake.

“Highest in the pits. Thirty to one,” he said with confidence.

“I know you are only here for the atmosphere, but the excitement can be fulfilling to even the most adventurous of souls,” he said to Lilly with a wink.

Lilly started to think he really could read her thoughts. She looked around at all of the drunk people yelling and falling over each other. She saw angry losers throwing their drinks on the ground, a serving girl who slapped a man that grabbed at her, and another woman that threw up in a corner.

He’s funny , she thought to herself.

“What pit?” Bean asked impatiently.

“Pit three, Madam Bean.”

“C’mon Lil’!”

Bean went to grab Lilly’s arm again but missed this time. With no thought of trying again Bean pushed past a group of people and charged over to a half empty pit with a large white “3” on the wall above it. Lilly looked at Bean and thought of how obnoxious she was.