Chapter 130

  Darren's POV

  I looked around. This place looked like a shit hole.

  The bar was dimly-lit with the pungent odor of stale beer and unwashed bodies. The smell plainly hit me like a freight train.

  The patrons were a motley crew of disheveled characters, their faces twisted in various stages of drunkenness and rage. The cheap, disgusting alcohol flowed freely, fueling the chaos that swirled around me. The air was thick with cigarette smoke, and the walls were coated in a layer of grime that seemed to have accumulated over many years. The tables and chairs were mismatched and worn, some missing legs or arms, others so rickety that they threatened to collapse at any moment.

  I couldn't help but notice the poor souls slumped over their drinks, their eyes glazed and unfocused. A group of men in the corner were arguing loudly, their voices slurred and angry.