What could go wrong? Honestly, the plan was foolproof. Go into the Center, investigate Blood, arrest a seller and get out! Easy! Even his sister Hazel could do that. Matthew felt confident that he could enter the most infamous place in Calonia and walk out unphased. Sort of. Ok, he was kind of worried but he had his friends there at least!
Demitri sat opposite him on his bed with a tooth pick in his mouth, mimicking the mannerisms of an old timey detective. "So, here's what we got. The center is a place filled with bad people. It's an ancient place with centuries old history. Blood is a drug that is being sold around in there. Got that?"
"A-ffirmative," Zayne gave him a big thumbs up.
Lauren nodded along with Matthew.
Demitri continued, now having a hat on and walking around the room slowly. "Blood is a dangerous drug that increases a living organism's strength by a large margin. Pretty bad. It has devastating draw backs though. Sadly, we do not know what triggers which after effect. Got that?"
"A-ffirmative," Zayne gave him a big thumbs up.
Lauren nodded along with Matthew.
Demitri wore an oversized trench coat, standing on his balcony and looking out into the night majestically. "Its gonna be a dangerous mission, friends, are you all prepared to die with me?"
"A-ffirmative," Zayne gave him a big thumbs up.
Lauren nodded along with Matthew.
Demitri looked at his comrades with teary eyes, he was so lucky to have such friends. "So, my family has a big library and I did a lot of research into Calonia. There is only one way to get into the Center, and that is through the giant hole in the middle of Calonia. There are problems though. Problem number 1, the closer we get to the center, the less laws and the more chaos there is. When we get to the Center, anarchy will reign supreme. Problem 2, we have to get back to the Grand Oak by 7am, or everybody will leave on the train without us. Got that?"
"A-ffirmative," Zayne gave him a big thumbs up.
Lauren nodded along with Matthew.
"Great! Teacher Julius is gonna be so surprised." Demitri grinned. "Let's go!"
Like thieves in the night, the four tiny daredevils escaped their temporary shelter, braving the streets. Outmaneuvering the guards proved easy. Matthew would through pieces of his earthen soles to distract the guards, Zayne would muffle the sounds of their footsteps via his wind magic, Demitri had memorized the escape route and Lauren covered their tracks.
Time 9:40pm
After traversing the streets for a while, the group had finally made it to the border that separated the Center to the rest of Calonia. The distinction of where Calonia ended and the Center started was quite clear. The iron pavement that encompassed all of Calonia halted, giving way to lifeless dirt that served as the basis for decrepit wooden houses. The sight was quite jarring, as Matthew had grown so accustomed to the eternal color pallet of iron. He did feel a lot better though. Having solid earth under his feet again meant he now had all his options back.
Matthew sighed, smiling as he rubbed his feet in the dirt. 'I missed you~.'
The group continued.
There was an oddly lacking amount of security around the border. Matthew thought the place would be sprawling with police, but he guessed that with the lawless nature of the Center, that would be pretty useless. During the jungle walk, Teacher Julius had talked about the history of Calonia. It seemed that during the early years of the city's emergence, they had to rely on the underground black money that the Center had garnered to survive. That was because at the time nobody wanted to deal with Calonia. It wasn't until their ancestors finally convinced the outer nations, cities and countries to use their iron that they were somewhat freed from the Center. Somewhat freed. Like a cancer, it had grown fat on the corruption inside Calonia and became too troublesome to deal with. So, a treaty was formed. All dealings and acts inside the Center would stay inside it, while such actions were prohibited outside. It was simple.
The outer region of the Center oddly reminded Matthew of the slums. The houses were run down, garbage was thrown everywhere, there were the odd elderly people who seemed out of their minds, the rare child who scurried through the darkness and the shady man who exuded a dangerous aura. It really felt like home.
Demitri seemed affected by the living standards of the Center, wincing whenever he saw an elderly laying lifelessly on the dirt. Zayne acted like he wasn't phased at all while Lauren actually showed the smallest hint of discomfort.
'Tick discomfort off the mental bingo list.' Matthew joked internally.
"I can't believe places like this actually exist sometimes...." Demitri frowned, eyes glued to the oasis of poverty. "Makes me realize just how lucky I am."
Matthew shrugged, "you get used to it." He paused, pulling his friends into an alley. Suddenly, Matthew looked grim. "We're being followed. One guy. The shady man from before. When he passes, we grab him."
The three looked at him warily, eyes full of caution but laced heavily with determination.
All noise halted, no crickets, no bugs, even the sound of the midnight jays ceased. It was quiet, say for the sounds of heavy, rhythmic footsteps. The four of them stood still, the air of anticipation choking them.
Then, a cold hand touched Matthew by the arm.
"What is it, Demitri?"
"What? I didn't say anything."
"Zayne?"
"I think you're going crazy, pal."
'Lauren isn't the type to ask questions...meaning.' Matthew's face paled, an intense shrill of fear gripped his heart as he turned around.
A ghostly face was inches away from his, skin bruised and wearing rags. It was a slum child. Matthew's eyes darted past, observing the shadows. There were two- no, wait...Matthew looked beyond at the darkness of the alley. 'No...' dimly illuminated by the moon were at least ten more of them.
Then, before he could scream, the child put their hand around his mouth, pulling him closer, putting a finger to their lip and speaking in a horse, barely audible rasp.
"Quiet, or the red man will take you."