Shame
Legacy Name: Shame

The bar seemed to appear out of nowhere. As many times as Landon's been down this street, the dark brown brick building had never stuck out. The swinging "Pub" sign got a humorless chuckle out of him. What era was this place from - nobody called bars pubs anymore. The bell over the door jingled as he pushed it open and the coolness of the AC hit him almost immediately.

A drink would settle his nerves. It wouldn't hurt to have just one.

-Hadn't he been heading somewhere?-

The other patrons of the bar didn't look up at him as he meandered by. Probably for the best, he didn't think he'd handle it very well if someone recognized him right now. The bar counter itself was nearly empty with only one or two men sitting near the opposite end, so he decided to sit as far down as possible. He didn't wanna be bothered by idle chatter.

-He had been heading somewhere. He needed to hurry. Where was he going?-

"Ahem. Sir?"

Had he always been so easily startled? He'd jumped like a cat at the voice, and his heart was pounding. Looking up he found himself drawn into possibly the brightest amber-golden eyes he'd ever seen. The owner - a man that looked to be in his late 20's at most - smiled charmingly at him from behind the bar.

"What can I get you, sinner?" he asked in a cadence that both calmed his racing heart, and made it beat harder. The sounds of the bar seemed to fade away as the man smiled seemingly only for him. His palms sweating, his breath caught, he could barely choke out a sentence.

"I...I-I shouldn't be here." Landon managed to gasp. The bartender's smile dropped just barely before coming back in full force.

"That's what they all say, sir. Don't worry...I won't tell." the bartender said chuckling. A shout from the other end of the bar distracted the man momentarily, and with an apologetic glance the Bartender was off to help other patrons. Finally air came easier, and with shaky hands Landon lifted his glass to his lips, downing half of it in one go.

-What was he drinking? When had he ordered a drink?-

Landon let his eyes slowly take in the rest of the bar, swirling his drink in his hand. A few guys leisurely played pool, while a few others sat amongst the various tables. While it seemed like everything was calm, he found himself uncomfortable. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like anyone was looking at him. At least...he didn't think they were.

-He couldn't catch anyone's eyes. He couldn't see their faces.-

The clinking of ice startled him back to facing forward in his chair. The bartender had returned and was filling his cup again with...something. Landon went to ask what he was drinking but the smile from the bartender shut him up.

"Thinking hard, sinner? Or hardly thinking?" the golden eyed man chuckled.

"I'm gonna be late for a trial." Landon responded without thinking. The bartender's expression dropped slowly. He leaned over on the counter in front of Landon's seat of made direct eye contact with him. Piercing, steady eye contact that made Landon feel less like he was in a bar, and more like he was in an interrogation room.

"A trial...sir?", the bartender's eyes looked over him quickly before returning to his face, "You sure don't look the lawyer type. Are you...ok?"

"It's a divorce hearing. My..." Landon choked as the bartender's eyes narrowed at him suddenly, "My w-wife is filed for divorce. Says I cheated. I got rid of any proof she had though. Gonna take everything from her."

A blink and the bartender leaned back. Landon's heart tried to quiet in it's chest as the tension in the air seemed to lessen. The man behind the bar stared hard at him for a moment before he grinned slowly and reached down to pick up a rag. The smile wasn't as charming as before, no. Now it felt like a predator that was playing with it's meal...before the final blow.

"Oh my. An actual sinner on our hands boys. Now what are you gonna do to that poor woman?" the bartender grinned wickedly, "Don't you think it'd be best to do right by her and scram?"

Shoving himself back from the bar, Landon stood so fast he knocked his seat over. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING. She's gonna PAY for what she did. I lost friends, respect, and people are calling me worthless! Who do you think got screwed over more?!"

"She did."

Landon froze at the frigid tone. His back went ramrod straight and that intense feeling of "wrong" washed over him again. The bartender was now openly glaring at him, moving to sit sidesaddle on the bar.

"Ya know, Landon. People like you are both the worst, and my favorite. The worst cause you're too much of a child to take responsibility for your behavior. It's always everyone else's fault right?" he said picking up the now abandoned glass and dumping it in the sink, "But you're also my favorite because you're so...weak. Minded."

Sound had stopped around Landon, and as he turned to look around he found all eyes - all the eyes and faces he couldn't see before - were turned to face him. Every set of dull, lifeless eyes set in droopy drained faces had locked on. And though every single atom in his body screamed "RUN!" he could not move. He was frozen there, under the empty and yet judgemental gazes.

"I never did welcome you properly did I, sinner?" the barkeep's voice came, seemingly from every mouth in the establishment. The frozen fool could only shake his head as the terror welled up inside him.

Golden eyes found him again, now seeming to glow in the low light. And a smile filled with sharpened teeth was thrown his way.

"Welcome to 'Dead End', sinner. My name is Shame, and this? This is my domain. Where the drinks keep, but the shameless? They never do."