Chapter 76 - 76

Words : 1496 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Trusting Derek, Adam opened the door and saw a rather nice looking hotel lobby inside with a check-in desk at the front. "Welcome to The Layover sir." The man at the front desk said as Adam slowly walked in. Derek walked in too, though keeping a good distance away to give Adam the space. "Thank you." Adam said as he finished looking around the lobby and approached the desk. "I heard you guys might have rooms available?" "Yes, of course sir." He said with a polite smile. Unlike the lady at the desk from Delta who was always chipper, this man was calm and professional. Different stripes for different cats was all. "Wonderful, how much is a room for a night?" "All our rooms come in at 125 caps a night, but for an additional 25 caps you can get our layover package." He paused to let Adam process. "And what does this package include?" Adam asked, predictably. "It comes with complimentary soaps, access to our washer/ dryer service, 24/hour room service, fees applied separately, and a meal voucher good for one meal from any participating vendor." Adam stopped to consider and then turned to look at derek. "Is the voucher good?" Derek shrugged. "Yeah, I think so, I've seen a few places accept them." "Indeed so sir." The worker politely chimes in. "We have partnered with over 50 vendors throughout Midway to ensure excellent value for our customers." Adam nodded slowly. He had over 2500 caps, he actually had enough money to hire Salvatore again, ironically. Damn, scavenging was a lucrative line of work, but it was very easy to see why not many people did it. After all yesterday he could have easily been crab food. Had he been alone, had Salvatore not been his partner, had he not chanced upon the machine gun. But he was getting off track. "Alright, I'll do the 150 cap package then." Adam figured the meal voucher alone would, hopefully, make up for the 25 cap investment, though he somehow doubted that would be the case. It wouldn't be a profitable offer if his meal costs more than 25 caps. But having soaps for him specifically, and access to a washer drier, something he had never actually gotten to use since he had awoken, it seemed worth it to give it a shot for 25 caps. "Wonderful sir.' The man smiled as he reached towards the back wall to collect a room key, meanwhile Adam took out the caps to pay him. "How many nights will you be staying with us?" "Two for now." He said as he put down 300 caps worth of vouchers. "Fantastic. Here you go." He said handing over the key to Adam. "Your room is just off to the left at the end of the hall. The laundry room is to my right 5 doors down, labeled for your convenience. If you wish to use the room please let our staff know and they will gladly unlock it for you at all hours of the day. If you have any questions about your stay, room service, or anything else, please do not hesitate to ask. I hope you enjoy your stay with us sir." Adam was once more impressed with how professional the hotel staff seemed in Midway. Very different to how it was in Naper. Much more business-like and less personal, which was fine. Though it was making Adam curious about the other places, if he got a cheaper hotel would they still be this professional? What about the highest end places? Would he be bathing in gold bathtubs? It was a good question and he would love to sate his curiosity, but that could come maybe later when he was rolling in caps, for now he was satisfied to have a decent room to stay in. Adam pocketed the key and turned to walk over to Derek, reaching into his pouch to tip him again. "Oh, no." Derek stopped Adam as soon as he saw him beginning to grab money for him. "This was on me." He smiled. "You saved me earlier after all, taking the time to bring you here was my way of saying thank you." He grinned. Adam chuckled and then rubbed Derek's head. Derek pouted and crossed his arms, swatting Adam's hand away a moment later. "Thanks Derek." Derek nodded proudly. "I'll be around if you need me!" Derek then walked away, leaving The Layover to head home in all likelihood. Adam turned around and began to follow the path left towards his new home for the next two nights. The room he got, once he opened the door, was very similar to a normal looking hotel room. Big fluffy sheets, stacks of pillows, two comfy looking chairs, a desk, an attached bathroom and shower, a closet, a safe, and a minifridge with nothing inside. The room was also notably larger than the Delta, probably because it was an actual space and not just built inside a plane. Though, truthfully, Adam was just happy to have a place to strip off all his gear. Which he did happily. He was curious what this space was used for before it was converted to a hotel space. It was entirely possible it was a hotel back when Midway was still an airport, but he truly had no way of knowing. At least at a glance The Layover offered no clues to whatever formerly occupied the space. Finally free of his burdens he heard a knock at the door. When he opened it he saw a hotel worker walking away and a tray on the ground in front of his room, on it was a small selection of soaps and shampoos, two towels, two tickets that read 'meal voucher', and 2 washer/dryer coins. Adam took the tray inside his room and then immediately disrobed, he had been sweating and stuck in a damp mall for too long, not to mention the effort he had expended to carry the stuff to sell, he desperately wanted to clean up. A nice long shower later, Adam was now finally feeling refreshed again. He was tired and wanted to nap, but knew that if he did he would wake up at night, too late to get food from the food court, so he shook it off, put his belt and gun back on, and then walked towards the food court. He found out pretty quickly the meal voucher was not as helpful as he had hoped. First of all, the first two places he tried to get food from said they didn't accept it. Second it only covered food not a drink, as he found out when he got to a third place that did accept the voucher. And third, his selection was limited when using the voucher. However, despite all these downsides he was still able to get a filling meal, was it worth the price he paid to get the voucher? No. But considering the other benefits it broke even. After paying 15 caps for a drink to go with his meal he took a seat in the food court at a table alone. After he sat down to eat he noticed the same men from earlier. The ones in purple robes, who Salvatore called the 'Cult of Pestilence', were walking around the food court, likely looking for food to buy too. However they looked incredibly suspicious, especially since their hoods were still up and most of their bodies were covered. It looked like they were about to become mad bombers, or assassinate someone. So Adam watched them carefully for a few minutes only to see them do nothing out of the ordinary. That is until some biker looking punks with green hair sauntered up to them. They sported the same symbol that the raiders who were fighting that weirdo on the roof who was shouting his attacks like spells had. A flame symbol sitting behind two crossed swords. It looked like it might come to blows, the bikers making aggressive overtures and the cultists not backing down. However after a rather violent verbal exchange the two groups broke off and went their separate ways. It seemed to Adam like he had nearly just seen the start of a war. If the cultists represented the Horseman Pestilence, then the bikers with that flame symbol probably represented War. Midway truly let anyone inside the walls huh? Though they let Adam in without a background check so he couldn't be that mad. But hopefully if it does come to blow between those two groups, it doesn't happen anywhere near him. He would hate to be caught up in a giant conflict. All he wanted to do was find some answers, not get involved in the fate of Chicago. So he ate his food quietly. Choosing not to dwell on it any longer.

Chapter 76 - 76

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