Leo started walking around the slums, mostly just trying anything to keep his mind from wandering towards thoughts of the pure mask. His body still felt sluggish and tired as he walked. Usually whenever his body felt too heavy to move, he just sat down on the sidewalk to rest.
Most slumfolk just tended to leave him alone if he sat down, which suited Leo just fine. Around midday Leo walked into one of the very few gambling dens in the slums to pass some time. The puritans didn't care much for the gambling dens, but they also didn't bother to eliminate them either. Every gambling den was either run by or affiliated with a gang, no matter the sector of the slum they were found in.
This den in particularly belonged to the Folk and was fairly well established. Of the three major gangs in this section of the slums, the Folk were the largest and most fair to ordinary slumfolk. In terms of strength, they were the second strongest just due to sheer numbers. Individually, the Hollows were stronger and more violent while on the whole the Crows were the most dangerous and unhinged.
Leo was hoping to waste time and maybe watch a 'high roller' play. Listening to the 'high rollers' was quite funny when they lost it all. Unfortunately for Leo though, it seemed that no high rollers were in today and the place was mostly empty.
Well... maybe a game or two wouldn't hurt. I have some extra money anyways from working all those extra hours...
Thinking to himself, Leo sat down at a table where they were playing cards. Most of the games available in the gambling den had to do with cards or dice. Leo knew of a gambling den in another sector that spun a ball, but that was too extravagant for this location.
Leo had very poor luck with the dice and usually played cards. Mostly Leo just wanted a distraction from the gnawing ache to just run to the abandoned building and put on the pure mask right this moment.
There was only one other person sitting at the table when Leo sat down, and they were apparently doing well, having just won a hand. Leo knocked on the table to be dealt a hand and began to relax as the cards were shuffled.
***
As Leo walked out of the gambling den an hour later, he was rather satisfied. He managed to not lose all of the money he had set aside for the trip. The main reason he left was simply that he lost three hands in a row that wiped out all of his winnings and went a little bit into the negatives.
Realizing it was time to stop, he simply got up and accepted the loss. Wandering through the Folks section of the slums left Leo uneasy as an unaffiliated slumfolk. Even if the Folk were the least likely to harass a passerby, that didn't mean they wouldn't.
Not wanting to risk it, he walked out of the territory using the main road that led to the gambling den. In order to not scare away potential customers, the Folk never harassed anyone on this particular route.
After walking around for a couple minutes Leo caught himself unconsciously heading towards the abandoned building. Shaking his head and readjusting his mind to reject the temptation of the pure mask, Leo began to walk to the fountain.
Leo knew that Cal was off for the day as well, and while they didn't make any plans, he knew that Cal liked to spend time there with Katie. An hour of walking, and a couple stops along the way, and Leo was standing in front of the fountain.
He didn't see Cal or Katie and sighed. Either way the fountain was a nice place to just sit and relax, for now at least. From his interaction with the Hollows the other day, Leo suspected that they were expanding their territory once more. The once peaceful fountain might not be a good meeting location in a few weeks.
Part of Leo hoped one of the minor gangs would push into this space to block the Hollows, but considering the Hollows reputation, it seemed unlikely.
At least they aren't the Crows.
Leo let his mind wander, though on guard for any thoughts that might lead him to the mask. A couple of minutes pass by, mostly of Leo watching other slumfolk walking by or meeting up before Leo got bored. It was becoming increasingly difficult waiting for Tom to finish his work for the day.
Normally Leo would just wander the slums with Cal or take up a couple hours at the dump to be able to afford an extra dinner. These past couple of days it had become increasingly difficult to resist going to check on the mask, until today where Leo was actually having withdraw symptoms.
Leo knew them well just from observations, never did he expect to actually suffer them himself. Without any other stimulus to push the feelings away, suffering through was really the only way Leo could pass the time. Of course, Leo could always give in and go put the mask on, but until Leo knew what he wanted to do with the mask, the power that it granted him was just too intoxicating.
Almost lost in his own head, Leo missed seeing Katie walk up to him.
"Hey Leo, what's going on?"
Leo briefly forgot what he was thinking about as the young women flicked him in the forehead.
"Leeeeeeoooooo"
Leo swatted her hand away, annoyed at first before realizing who it was. "Oh, hi Katie."
"Whatcha doing here all on your lonesome? Haily working today?"
"Aye, I'm just killing time. Where's Cal? Normally you two are attached at the hip on days off."
"Oh, well that lughead said he was busy with something today, so I've just been walking around waiting for my shift."
"Night shift today?"
Night shift today." She said with a sigh.
Leo put his hand to his chin, thinking about what Cal could be busy with before a smirk covered his face.
"That sucks to hear."
Truthfully, it had been a while since Leo had actually talked to Katie with just the two of them. Usually, Cal was around so with the two of them alone, Leo wasn't quite sure what to talk about.
"Hey Katie, I got a question for you."
"Hmmm? Sure, go ahead." Seemingly not expecting a question, Katie was curious what Leo had to ask.
"Hypothetically, if you knew something that would cause the puritans to hunt you, would you try to forget about it and try to stay with those you love, or would you leave to save those you love?" Leo was almost surprised at his question himself.
Katie sat down besides Leo, and he could tell she was seriously thinking about the question.
For a minute she sat there in silence. Finally, she looked at him. "I honestly don't know. I of course wouldn't want to put those I love in danger, but equally I couldn't imagine leaving my family or Cal. That's a tough one Leo, I think I wouldn't be able to answer unless I found myself in that scenario. All hypothetical of course."
The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then Leo started laughing at the how stupid this situation was.
"Sorry, I'm not used to talking to you when it's just the two of us and I go ahead and ask a stupid question like that."
Katie chuckled in response.
"No, it's ok. Do you mind if I ask a question in return?"
"Yeah sure, go ahead."
"Do you think Cal is going to make me a mask?" She said almost in a whisper.
"Not a doubt in my mind." Leo said with a smile. "He's crazy about you, every day at the dump we can hardly get him to shut up about you."
Katie looked at Leo and her eyes seemed to lighten up. "Thank you, Leo. It means a lot to me."
***
The pair sat and chatted about Cal and his antics for a while. Before long, it had begun to turn dark, and Leo recognized it was soon time for him to meet up with Tom.
Leo stood up, said goodbye to Katie and left for Finch courtyard. After talking with Katie for so long, Leo had noticed his mind had become clearer, sharper and focused; much more than it had been earlier in the day. He wasn't quite sure why, but he had a feeling it had to do with being distracted from the masks lingering influence on his soul.
As he approached the statue that he agreed to meet Tom at, he saw the old man standing nearby waiting for him. The pair exchanged nods, and without a word they walked into the abandoned building. They silently walked towards the basement and turned on their torches.
The smell of the basement was as horrid as it was before; both of them gagging as the putrid air filled their mouths. Now he was about to come into contact with the cursed object once more, Leo began to steel himself, not wishing to give the mask any power over him.
Each step down the stairs felt heavier and heavier for Leo, and he suspected that the nature of the mask was already corrupting this place. The presence of the streetwalker had already cursed this place, but now that the pure mask had been here for a week, the air was thick with an unnatural feeling of unease.
It seemed that being away from the pure mask for so long had reduced his immunity to its awful aura.
As they entered the basement proper, Tom held up a hand to pause the pair.
"I'll ask you this once more, are you sure you want to go check on it? We can turn around and just leave still."
Leo contemplated the question. He knew the old man's heart was in the right place and he very well may be right. Yet something in the back of Leo's mind told him that to not do so would be a mistake. Knowing full well that that nagging feeling could very easily just be the mask's influence over him, Leo wanted to press on.
"Aye."
Then the pair took their first steps into the dark basement, their path illuminated only by the torches they held onto.