Puzzled Max stared at Daniel as he stood up his hand proudly outstretched while his dog circled his legs “sorry, but come again”

“In order to join you have to give me half of your bit points”

Confused Max sent the funds to Daniel's account and as his eyes lit up Max couldn't help but feel like she missed something. Ushering her out of the room Daniel quickly swept himself inside as Max was met with the soft embrace of Sadie “hiya friendo, welcome to the vermin clan. You can call me Sadie the one that's gonna fit you up with your mask real quick”.

Tugging on Max could feel her shoulder start to loosen and stretch forcing her forward as a means of not dislocating her arm. Following Sadie, through the hole and into the empty halls of the abandoned wing Max peered through the windows watching as multiple activities were taking place in each room. One housed a targeting range another acted as a lab, and they went on until Max saw Arron. His limbs were nailed to the wall, while blood dripped from his hanging head. Inching closer Max tried to get a better look only to get pulled away by Sadie’s' stranglehold of a grip. Passing a few more rooms Max found herself in what appeared to be a studio as cans of paint, brushes, and pails of dirty water littered the room, with the walls lined with masks nailed in place.

As she was running her hands over their rough texture Max heard the soft click of the door locking behind her, wheeling around Max eyed Sadie as she rocked back and forth in front of the door “So what did Daniel say to you?”. Bewildered by the strangeness of the question Max wanted to retort yet the image of Arron nailed to the wall flooded her mind. Relaxing her body as best she could Max tried to seem composed as she crossed her arms “what do you mean, just the same welcome to the clan bullshit every leader says”.

Just as those words left her mouth Max found herself gasping for air as she slumped to the ground with Sadie standing over her “don't you dare insult Daniel like that ever again”. Wheezing weakly Max tried to regain some of the air she lost ‘I know she was fast but feeling it is something else’. Picking her up by the hem of her shirt Sadie glared at Max before slamming her against the wall “listen up, I know Daniel thinks you're the ‘final piece’ and ‘key to his plans’ but to me, you're just another scum-sucking parasite ready to leech off of his hard work”. Dropping Max Sadie turned to leave kicking one of the masks to the side before stopping and turning with a smile “so don't you try to do anything to hurt my Danny wanny or else ill bash your skull in, okay?”.

Hastily nodding Max watched as Sadie left, her breathing falling in rhythm allowing her some semblance of calm ‘what the fuck is wrong with her?’. Picking herself up Max took her time before leaving the room scooping up the mask that Sadie kicked aside as a means of avoiding any suspicion from the rest of the clan. Pushing the door aside the sudden outpour of screams sent a jolt of shock through her mind, with her train of thought abandoned Max crept down the hall to see what was going on.

Rounding the corner Max peered through the window of Arron's room to see Sadie carefully running an apple peeler down the length of his arm. The long strips of skin coming off like pencil shavings until the end was ripped like a band aid, Max could only wince at what she saw until Sadie pointed her hand towards him and green light began to encircle his wound. Slowly the skin grew over with not so much as a scar to note and like that the process began again. Backing away from the Max simply shuddered until a hand clamped over her mouth causing her to jump in fear, strafing her eyes to the side she saw it was Jessica holding a finger to her lips before dragging Max off to the side.

“So is this your whole thing now? You just sneak up on people and torture your enemies, besides that why the hell are you following me?!”

Cringing slightly Jessica turned to Max with a concerned look “No. That's just Sadie, its best to stay away from her she’s a bit… off”

“By off do you mean batshit crazy?”

“Well she certainly thinks she is”

“Huh”

“Just stay away from her and stay away from Daniel when she's around, as for why I'm following you I'm just making sure you're not gonna try any sort of revenge for my friends bullshit”

Pausing for a moment Max realized she hadn't thought about her friends at all. Unnerved by the realization Max tried to flee the conversation walking down the darkened corridors away from the other rats, before she was too far Jessica stopped her “just remember to be back by sundown, tonight you're coming with us”. Brushing Jessica’s hand away Max retreaded to the halls leaving Jessica to watch Sadie’s' gruesome show.

As the final rays of the day were left behind max found herself walking in step with Daniel and his entourage. Glancing between Jessica and Sadie Max wondered if she was going to be tested to prove herself to the rats but instead she found the group heading towards the bleachers near the football field. Max knew this is where the Herbodia stayed and no one bothered them yet as the group dew closer she couldn't help but wonder if the person she just decided to rally behind was just some loser who was just high out of mind. 

The area was little more than a campsite as members laid about while a fire roared off to the side yet near the end of the path sat the small blue podium with a silver book indicative of the cash crossroads. Max noticed a small mound buried off to the side but was immediately pulled away by Jessica as they moved forward “okay Jessica I get it ‘stick with the group’ but how about you tell me why I had to be brought here in the first place”

Rolling her eyes Jessica watched as Daniel approached the podium and began smugly leaning on Max “how about I answer your question with a question; why doe nobody come to the cash crossroads anymore?

Shoving Jessica Max glared at the girl before turning to Daniel “I don't know, why?”

“It’s because after the committee made the school a safe zone no weapons could be bought from the store anymore only items, and since most people spent their points on health potions and food very few of them have buffing items like Sadie’s ring of swiftness”

“Wow thanks for the history lesson but I still don't see why I should care”

Slapping the back of Max's head Jessica grinned as the small blue podium shifted into a long tower holding a row of multicolored balls “well you should also know that ring was won in the gacha mode”

“The what…”

It’s basically a random item generator with each item being randomized each day, yet one item is always guaranteed to be there. The key

Okay and I should care because

You should care because it allows one player to bypass the level cap in any set zone but it’s a one in ten chance of getting it

Oh so you're saying me being the key was bullshit and he just needed my money

As each ball came down Daniel furiously swiped the air before him dismissing each gray, blue, or green screen that came before him until his eyes were filled by purple light while a smile slowly grew across his face. Suddenly a golden light exploded around him in a shower of sparks before dissipating into nothingness, staring at the screen before him Daniel gave a curious glance at the words before him “hmm… I can make this work”. As Daniel began tapping and scrolling through the air Jessica simply turned to Max and with a smile said “in a way, yes”.