Sodom was pacing up and down his house. He didn't have enough cash to pay the Phantom when he returned. He needed to sell at least one more person to get enough. Looking outside his window he finally saw Stick and Yumo walking with people thrown over their backs.
He smiled walking outside.
"Finally," Sodom said. He looked around again looking for Nero. When he didn't see him, his anger was palpable. "Where's the boy."
"We have these two what do we need him for," asked Yumo, his confusion obvious.
"That boy would have fetched the highest prices we have ever seen. An unregistered avatar! He would set us up for generations. Fuck paying the Phantom, we could move to Canocopy or Ufordia."
Stick and Yumo remained silent. They dumped the bodies of Astrea and Eddie on the ground. Stick looked to Yumo seemingly waiting for confirmation that looking for Nero was a good idea.
"We'll find him," Yumo said.
They immediately set off again to look for Nero.
Sodom dragged the bodies into his house. He bound both their hands and feet together and covered their mouths. After sitting down, he pondered on how this boy, Nero, was his ticket out.
"The high life…It's all I've ever wanted," he said absentmindedly to himself. "Just need the boy."
It took time to find out if Nero was who he truly said he was. He had the mark but the odds he was an unregistered avatar was too low for Sodom to take a chance. So, he had sent Nero out on recon to at least make himself useful. Normally all avatars were registered and taken to the capitol from birth. The fact of the matter is that Nero shouldn't exist. Not as he is now.
"House by the lake, maybe even settle down, find a nice woman, kids could be nice someday…" Sodom thought out loud.
He stood up to get a beer. Noticing a framed photo on the counter he grabbed it looking softly over it's contents. Two small children, a boy and a girl, looked into the lens of the camara with mischievous looks on their faces. Cuts, bandages and plasters covered their bodies. It would be difficult to find people who looked happier than them.
"If only my sister was here, we could enjoy our riches together. I miss you Gomorrah. Wherever you are" Sodom thought
As he started to leave the house again, he saw Astrea's eyes were wide open staring directly at him.
"It's a shame really, if you had died that night you wouldn't need to endure the hell that you're going to experience," Sodom started, sounding genuinely sad about what was going to happen. "If you're lucky you could become a maid, but luck isn't something everyone can have".
Just from her eyes Sodom could tell she was scared. All that bravery she had shown a few days ago had vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of fear. Her whole body shook, terrified of what horrors could await her.
"I'll ship you out tonight. Already got people waiting to buy someone like you," Sodom said.
With that he left his house deciding to join the search for Nero himself. He couldn't afford to keep the Phantom waiting.