The crowd roared again.
Louder this time.
David stood at the edge of the pit, eyes locked on the fighters below. One was already slowing—breathing heavy, blood running down his arm. The other circled him, patient.
Waiting.
Jason's hand tightened slightly on David's shoulder.
"Move," he said.
David didn't.
"I just—"
"Now."
There was something different in Jason's voice.
Not just caution.
Tension.
David finally stepped back.
They pushed through the crowd.
The noise didn't fade—it changed.
Less shouting.
More voices layered together.
Trade.
Deals.
Arguments.
Graveyard wasn't just a pit.
It was everything.
David's eyes moved across the place as they walked.
A trapper crouched near a fire, dragging a blade along the thick hide of a gecko. The creature's body lay stretched beside him—long, scaled, its teeth still visible even in death.
"Population's getting bad," the trapper muttered to someone nearby.
"Won't be long before they start coming closer to the roads."
Another man snorted.
"Sell the hides, let someone else deal with it."
David slowed slightly.
Jason didn't.
"Keep moving," Jason said.
They passed a table where a radio crackled under the weight of static.
"…repeat… emergency broadcast…"
David turned his head.
"—Vault-Tec system still active… requesting—"
The signal snapped out.
One of the traders smacked the radio.
"Piece of junk," he muttered.
"Whole place is talking about it," another said.
"You think it's real?"
The man shrugged.
"Real enough people are heading north."
David glanced at Jason.
Jason didn't react.
"Careful heading east," another voice said as they passed.
"Tribes don't talk anymore."
David frowned.
"They ever?" someone asked.
"Not like this," the man replied.
"People started going missing."
David slowed again.
"Raiders?" he asked.
The man looked at him for a second.
Then shook his head.
"Raiders leave bodies."
David felt something cold settle in his chest.
They kept walking.
Further in.
The structures got tighter. The guards more noticeable.
Jason moved like he knew exactly where he was going.
That bothered David.
"You've been here," he said.
Jason didn't answer.
"Jason."
The voice cut clean through the noise.
Jason stopped.
Slowly.
David turned.
A man stepped toward them—tall, lean, rifle slung across his back.
He looked at Jason like he already knew how this ended.
"Didn't think you'd come back," the man said.
"Didn't plan to," Jason replied.
The man's eyes shifted to David.
"New one?"
David didn't respond.
The man nodded slightly.
"Figures."
"They're watching," the man said quietly.
Jason's hand rested near his revolver.
"I figured."
"You're not welcome here," the man added.
Jason didn't react.
"We're not staying."
"That'd be smart."
The man glanced toward the pit.
"Boss is running things tonight."
Jason didn't move.
The crowd erupted again.
David turned.
The fight was ending.
One fighter dropped to his knees.
The other didn't hesitate.
The final hit landed hard.
The crowd exploded—shouting, cheering, caps changing hands.
David stepped back slightly.
"That's it?" he asked.
Jason didn't answer.
Something shifted.
The crowd didn't leave.
They moved.
Tightened.
Focused.
The energy changed.
David frowned.
"What are they doing?"
Jason's voice dropped.
"Stay back."
A platform near the pit lit up under hanging lamps.
Guards stepped into place.
A man climbed up onto it, raising a hand just enough to quiet the noise.
"Alright," he called.
"Let's keep things moving."
David felt his stomach tighten.
Another figure was brought up beside him.
Hands bound.
Head down.
David froze.
"…no," he said quietly.
"Starting bid—"
"Don't," Jason said.
David didn't move.
The crowd leaned in.
Voices called out numbers.
Fast.
Casual.
Like it meant nothing.
David's grip tightened on his rifle.
"They're just—"
"Yeah," Jason said.
"They are."
David looked at him.
"You're not doing anything?"
Jason didn't look at the platform.
"No."
David stared at him.
"Why?"
Jason finally met his eyes.
"Because this isn't a fight we will win," he said.
The bidding continued.
Calm.
Controlled.
Efficient.
Like everything else in Graveyard.
David looked back at the platform.
Then at the crowd.
Then at Jason.
For the first time—
The place didn't just feel dangerous.
It felt wrong.
"Come on," Jason said.
"We get what we need. Then we leave."
David didn't move right away.
Because now—
He understood something.
Graveyard wasn't just a place people survived.
It was a place people changed.
And the closer they got to the vault…
The more it was going to look like this.