The game was announced as soon as Elijah and Valerie went into the junkyard. Around a dozen other spades were waiting when they got there. But all of a sudden, the announcement was heard, and it seemed that the rest of the spades heard the news as well. They looked at Valerie when her new name was called, but nobody said anything about it. Instead they ran around the junkyard, looking to see if any hostages were inside.
Valerie took the back with six other Spades, racing around the old beat up cars for any signs of life, trying to listen for anything that sounded out of the ordinary. She thought she heard something on the top of an old stack of cars and got a boost, but all that was there was a cat walking around the roof. She jumped down and raced across the sandy ground of the junkyard, inspecting each busted up vehicle for any sign of life. But it admittedly didn't have her full attention. Her moment to show the spades who she really was for the first time was just gone, and that felt worse then she thought it would. It felt as though a stain was on her record, and it could never be removed. But she tried her best to push forward. She tried opening the door to an ancient rusted pile of metal that allegedly resembled a truck at some point, having to jerk her hand back to avoid the rusted nail sticking out of the door. But all that was there was a bunch of discarded cigarette butts.
"Yo, Trav!" One Spade yelled from behind her.
"He's a chick now, dude!" Another Spade said, elbowing him.
"Sorry, Trav!" He said before getting elbowed again. "Anyway, Elijah found a guy, and we don't think anyone else is here. We're forming a search party outside the Junkyard, so get your car ready!"
As she got into the car, the voice shouted out that Elijah had passed this round. She went as fast as she could as she entered the city proper, swerving by cars as she passed them. But she was so focused on finding a place to park in the crowded streets, the point of a red light only entered her mind after she had passed, slamming on the breaks in the middle of the street. A passing police officer took notice and began approaching the car. Valerie panicked at what could happen, but the officer looked confused when he glanced into the car.
"Alright, who was in the driver's seat?" He asked the three of them. But it suddenly hit Valerie. To him, it was two of them. So she quickly climbed into the backseat and opened a back door, fleeing into the glitzy evening life of Ritzrub.
She was out of place, that was the first thing to note. Second thing to note is that she had no idea where to start looking. Everything seemed normal, so the chance of anyone being tied up in a major building was unlikely, unless it was a basement or something. She quickly shot a message to the Spades group chat, hoping her phone was also invisible as she did.
'check the smaller buildings or anything that might have a basement.'
She got started on that herself, running through the streets for any signs of what she was looking for. But the lights of the centre of Ritzrub were blinding. Lights on top of lights. But she pressed on, finding a local pizza joint and dashing into the bathroom. Nothing there. Her phone buzzed. One message from Elijah.
'Yo check the casino. Think there's a basement that doesn't get checked much'
The next message was a searchr maps link to the Caravan Wonderland casino. A larger building than anything surrounding it, a circular light on each inch of the pillar, with a neon outline of a sexy bikini babe on the side. As she went inside, she was immediately stopped by a muscular bouncer in a tight shirt looking for ID. Well, shit. She turned eighteen a few weeks ago, but she still didn't apply for an age card and didn't think to bring something like a passport. So she left to her plan B.
She tried turning invisible. She couldn't pinpoint the exact feeling, but her body felt lighter for a few seconds after she turned. But she wasn't turning invisible no matter what she did. Clenching her butt cheeks, pinching herself, nothing worked. But as she checked the intersection in front of the highway, she saw Ulysses on the other side of the street. He hadn't noticed her, but a pang of panic overcame her for a brief moment, and her body felt lighter. Without any hesitation, she ran past the bouncer who didn't notice her and ran into the casinos. It was nothing but bright lights, slot machines with a few tables, and some garishly designed carpets. Complete abominations of random bright colours thrown on top of each other to the point staring directly into the lights seemed like less eye strain. But that didn't matter, she had to find the basement.
She rushed past the suited men and bikinied ladies working the place, taking slight comfort in the fact nobody seemed to notice her. She bumped into a large man holding a drink which spilled all over him. The man was clearly drunk and not paying much attention to his surroundings, just looking around for whatever slighted him, getting more and more pissed until he looked at the man next to him playing a slot machine. He hurled some abuse at the slot guy, who hurled more back until a full on fist-fight escalated. Some staff were called in, and Valerie kept running. She looked for any signs of a staircase, and finally found one that led downwards.
The walls went from beige to grey as she went downwards, until she finally found the basement. It was thankfully unlocked and nobody was there, except for one man tied up. He was silent. Looked elderly with a bunch of weird spots on his body. When Valerie approached him, his faint breath was the only sign he was even alive. She untied him, and the announcement that she had survived rang in her ears. She felt more lightness and realized she was visible again. All she could do was sneak out while the fight was still happening. But as she left, she heard someone scream about a junkie in the basement.
Sorry man, hope you sort your life out.