On the other side of the Purgatory road, a dream-scanner is called. Not even the glow of the L.E.D light. "Yes ma'am, I'm sorry. I will attend to the investigation immediately. Were is the noise coming from?" said the dream-scanner.

Inside the barbershop Nadine watched Ellen collect tickets from the not to conspicuous looking peers, that he did not recognize from before they had entered the building. Did Slephner recruit new men? She had no idea -- but there was something about them, that gave me bad vibes. The ones renting the place still had not payed rent for that month, evidenced by the light that was buzzing in and out in the overhead, and so Richard barely saw her sitting in the bleachers.

At first she observed the dog fight through the dream-display, with my trodes plugged into the pink ocean-sea. Nadine had a hard time not smirking -- she couldn't help it, as it looked to her like dogs playing at first. A special breed of pooch, one would purchase on the black market. Modeled after the pit-bull and the wolf.

At the moment, Nadine started to feel a little bit of guilt.

Not only for how he treated Ellen, in the diner -- but also for those dogs in the ring. Even despite the fact that she was not the one who said the remark, it was Malcolm. Then she wondered how Ellen must feel. It was strange how you grow up one way, get used to that. Then it's abruptly switched up on you like a speeding train. As much as you try to get used to the new life there is still something deep inside that still get's to you. That feeling of being another dog in the ring on the hallucination.

Nadine longed instead for the dream, of the meadow of gold; for the oceans, deserts, and forests that were never there. She dreamed of the sky, yet at this point was familiar enough with pod-net, that it was all a distorted nightmare.

So to take those thoughts away, she tried to look at Ellen whenever she could.

Nadine could not push her thoughts away from that dream, that dream he always wanted; a piece of electronic paradise. Not just a momentary paradise, that illusion of the ocean-sea. Something like eternity. Something that became very obvious was not here. She saw Slephner turn around to look at Ellen multi-tasking with monitoring his Pit-wolf in the arena, and tending the concession stand. Ellen gave a thumbs up sign to Slephner when he asked if snacks were covered, despite giving one herself a free pretzel bag. Nadine suspected a disinterested gaze to the glow of the screen from Ellen. Malcolm's pooch was on the other side of the dream-display.

Nothing could take away Slephner's confidence that he would win this dog fight. This pooch, that belong to Nadine's best friend, or whatever he could call one at this point, was like a hemp rope chopped through by sharp teeth.

Slephner's pooch swiftly clawed first strike.

The conspicuous peers that were not part of either of our groups, were sitting at a table as The Fallen un-plugged the trodes. It was the furthest place you could get from a normal audience seat. They stood at the back wall, waiting. Something about them scared Nadine -- it unnerved her even more than Slephner himself. Not the feeling of something human, but some demon that was not a demon.

A silence that was not quite silent. Somehow they reminded her of the guard, that tried to grab her to bring him back to the boarding school. But for whatever reason, they did not recognize her.

Nadine stared at the circular stage, into the multi-window-pane dream display. Then heard one of them make a statement to his friend to the side as he looked onward. "So you want to place a bet?" he said.

"Oh boss, isn't that--" his friend said.

"Oh relax, were already," the guy who appeared to be the main guy said. Nadne at a brief moments glance, saw him place the pipe in his mouth. And could barely ear the rest of his statement. "breaking the law anyway doing this. Technically. Remember though. This is Purgatory."

"... O I bet a fifty." the other said.

"Raise you double." the leader-like man said.

"Your on, lets watch the match."

Nadine knew, even if Malcolm's pit-wolf lost one of it's ears, a brew for a another ear could in theory be generated from its gene code. Though it's not like the group could have afforded it. Broke, inside and out. It was Malcolm, who felt more attached to his pit-wolf -- since according to what he's told Nadine -- he has grown up with it. Nadine could barely imagine growing up with these ghouls, but that thing?

"Your not going anywhere." Nadine heard the man near the back say. "I knew it, I fucking knew it you know? Your Richy, your mother's been looking for you. Don't you realize how worried she is?" A voice, a growl, that broke the silence. From the dream-scanner chief.

And then Slephner's dog jumped at the two cops.

The remaining dogs, owned by Slephner and Blanci misunderstood the gesture. Then all scale bloodbath. The pit-wolves started attacking everyone. One even tried to bite Nadine's prosthetic, but I swatted it.

She knew he needed to find Ellen.

It was only Nadine and Ellen that survived the game of dogs. Nadine was abruptly thrown from her memory, hugged by Ellen, who had her face in his chest. She was shaking, and getting his shirt wet.

"Let's go somewhere far away, start a new life." Ellen said.

I thought the dogs cry out, we pout with agony. Like lonely sheep torn apart by wild dogs. Me and Ellen, were on the run, hiding out in another sector of the metropolis. Beneath the floating city.

"So where are we going to go?" Ellen said.

"Someplace, somewhere. Not here. Anywhere." Nadine said.

"How are your limbs?"

"Good enough, why?"

"I just wondered," she said to Nadine, who could feel her behind her. She was not sure what Nadine was going to do her. The previous incident the night before has made her ancy. "I know you were walking funny."

"I will be fine, thanks."

Even if Nadine did not trust Ellen, she still wished he had met her in any other circumstance, other than this.