"What do you mean?" Adam said as he turned around to look at Salvatore.
"What I mean is this is as far as I go." He repeated. "That building over there?" He said pointing to the airport terminal. "I can't go in there."
"What?" Adam said again super confused what he was talking about.
"It's the rules here." Salvatore said with some bitterness. "Ghouls don't enter the main building."
"What?!" Adam said a third time but now with some anger. "The fuck? Are they racist?"
"Yes." Salvatore said curtly with a sharp gaze. "They claim it's for public safety, can't let the potentially dangerous ghouls roam about freely." He said, like he was vitriolically repeating a line he was fed from somewhere. He then gestured with his thumb to the shanty town looking area.
"That's where the ghouls go."
"This is- this is crazy! Why would they do that!" Adam said getting heated.
"Calm down kid, it's not that weird." Salvatore shrugged. "Not everyone is as kind to ghouls as the folks in Naper. Most places have rules about them, some don't let them in at all. Don't worry about it, I'm used to it."
"That doesn't make it okay!" Adam said with some force.
"No, it doesn't but I don't give enough a shit to fight it so leave it alone." He said as he started heading to the shanty town part of the airport. "If you need me I'll be in the Golden Gecko" Adam kept his mouth shut and swallowed his anger at the treatment Salvatore was receiving but was not over it. Perhaps it was a norm in this world but it didn't sit right with him.
"Alright, I'll come find you when I'm ready to head back out." Adam said with a measured tone, withholding his anger with this settlement for segregation.Salvatore just raised a hand, acknowledging Adam's comment and started walking to the shanty town. Adam stood there for a moment, just watching Salvatore walk off for a bit before he sighed and then started to walk towards the airport proper, ready to see what this Midway was like.
There were several entrances to the airport visible even from where Adam was standing, though it was clear that the main entrance to the airport was the intended entrance, the rest were just side entrances. So, since he didn't know where he was going yet, he figured heading right to the main entrance was the best idea.
The front of the airport looked mostly unchanged, the area where cops would sit, cars would drop off people and luggage was all there, the vast tracts of mostly parking lots were visible behind him. He was only just noticing now as he got to the glass door entrances that there were no cars in sight. They must have all been moved to somewhere else since there were no cars in the parking lot or in front of the building, a very unlikely situation to have come about naturally. The area in front of the main entrance was also well cleaned and organized, flowerbeds well maintained stretched the entire length of the edge where the road met the sidewalk, except of course, where one would step onto the sidewalk. The exterior of the doors too had a number of string lights stapled to the wall around the edges to illuminate the outside and give the doors a glow. All of this to say, it looked nice, people put effort into this. Then he stepped inside.
If the exterior was still obviously an airport entrance once he was inside he could no longer tell it was an airport. Where once people would have come to check their bags now was transformed into a giant community space. Houses, shops, and other things littered the ground giving no indication of the once open space, now it was more like a maze. But they did not extend up into the impressively high ceiling so he could see over the roofs of some of the buildings in front of him to the second floor, up a series of escalators, some working some not that also seemed to have been converted to living spaces. There were lampposts indoors, clearly marked walking paths, string lights, sign posts, and a ton more, all giving Adam the sense immediately that this place was not only drastically changed, but home to a ton of people. Adam didn't even know where to begin, it was a bit overwhelming. That was when he saw a kid come up to him, a young boy, probably no older than 13. The boy was wearing a blue baseball cap and oversized overalls as well as a red shirt. He looked scruffy but not gross and unkempt.
"Heya mister." he said with a grin. "You new to Midway?"
"Oh um, yeah, how could you tell?" Adam asked curiously.
"Pretty obvious when you are looking around like you ain't never seen so many buildings before." He chuckled a tiny bit and then continued. "Lucky for you Midway's best guide is willing to show you all the best spots for a measly 5 caps." He said with a wide grin, gesturing to himself with his thumb. Adam chuckled, taken in by the kid's spunk.
He reached into his caps pouch and pulled out 10 caps, handing them over to the kid as soon as he counted them.
"10 caps and you tell me the goings on here too, I want to know what areas to stay clear of and who to watch out for." The kid's eyes lit up as he got the money and smiled widely.
"Of course! I know all the best AND worst spots in town!" He said proudly. "Stick with me and I'll have you knowing the ins and outs of the city in no time!" He shoves the caps into his pocket and then turns around to lead Adam.
"Follow me, I'll take you around!" He said with pep in his step as he led Adam along. Adam obliged, following at the kid's pace. Adam began to turn down the main thoroughfare outside the main entrance, there was a lot of foot traffic, as well as a ton of other people standing near the entrance selling themselves, either as guides, bodyguards, or prostitutes. Luckily for the kids he noticed on occasion as he began to enter the city proper, the women selling themselves were fully clothed, though the subtext of what they were selling was not hard to get. There were even a few men who seemed to be advertising for businesses in Midway, the only one that Adam could hear over the cacophony of voices was a man informing everyone about a courier service.
Adam also quickly saw that this front most area had mostly shops, it all looked more flea market like with goods from armor, weapons, medical supplies, to even a butcher's shop, as they slowly left the front most area, weaving through the streets, the buildings became more and more households. They were on the smaller side, smaller than the ones in Naper. Probably only 3 rooms each, but considering they were building indoors it seemed adequate.
"I assume since you are new in town you don't have a place to stay yet right" The kid asked as Adam followed, lost in his thoughts as he examined the spaces around him.
"Oh, uh yeah." Adam said with a nod.
"I figured." The boy said as he thumbed his nose like he was proud of himself. "Well I know all the hotels and inns in town, you rich mister?" He asked, as he led Adam up one of the escalators that still worked, turning around to look at him as he stepped on the moving staircase.
Adam just laughed at the question. "I'm not poor if that's what you are asking." Adam smiled.
"Got a budget in mind? I know places you can sleep for as little as 5 caps but…" He paused looking pensive. "Even I wouldn't recommend it. Then the best places on the top floor can run you a few hundred caps a night." Adam was impressed, this city was not failing him in any way. Though he was curious about the richest rooms he could rent, he could theoretically afford them after all, but he was not looking to blow all his money in one place.
"Well…" Adam paused to think. "I'm not sure, I only really have experience with Naper prices in this… area…" he said, petering off, as he decided not to go into too much detail.
"Oh yeah? Naper huh? Heard it's a nice place!" He said with a nod as he put his hand to his chin to think. "Well what are you looking for in a place to stay? Just a bed or do you want something more?"
"Ideally I'd like a place with a private room, clean bed and sheets, and an attached bathroom." The kid nodded as Adam spoke.
"Okay so you will need one of the nicer places, not many places have a bathroom." He looked around left and right as they got to the top of the escalator and then he took a left. "Come on, follow me, I think I know a good place." He said as he led Adam along the route through the second floor.
Unlike the first floor which was mostly a wide open space and then the, now mostly gone, counters where passengers would hand off their bags, the second floor was much thinner as such there were no constructed buildings, instead all the alcove stores and booths had been converted to living quarters or the occasional store. There was also communal sitting and relaxing spaces available, a lot of people were out and about enjoying their day not even noticing Adam at all. In fact, now that he thought about it, not a single person had noticed him since he got here. Much different to Naper where his blue jumpsuit made him stand out, here, he was just part of the crowd. The sheer population difference between the two settlements was incomparable, there were already a ton of people Adam had seen and he had only explored a little bit so far.
The two of them walked for a while longer going past a ton of altered spaces, some with buildings lining the walls others with nothing but the airport stores changed into something else. All the while the kid took the time to talk about some of the local hotspots, the best restaurants, the best areas and the worst areas. The best of the best seemed to be on the third floor but people paid more proportionally to what floor they were on, the worst part, according to the kid, was the south eastern side of the first floor. It was basically the slums and it was a breeding ground for gang violence. The kid strongly warned Adam to not go back there, saying there was nothing worth seeing back there anyway. Eventually, after wandering through halls for some time they arrived at the kid's destination. Gate 31.
"I think you will like this one." The kid said as he stopped in front of the Gate. "Welcome to the Delta." He grinned.