Ella Theater

  And rot it did. The walls sagged, the interior chipped, balconies fell. Then an enterprising Grey Streets landlord saw opportunity, and turned the interior into apartments, with a few shops and food stalls in the orchestra pit.   Immediately, rumors spread of odd happenings, people disappearing, renters staying up all night in fear of stray sounds. Fruit oil lamps ran all day and night, but never seemed to brighten the interior. One by one, the renters left, and the place again fell to ruin.   The darkness inside called to the underground. Illicit meetings took place in the abandoned shop area, and all manner of illegal items exchanged hands. Undershanks, fleeing from syndicates and rings and chasers, would nip inside and hide among the debris. The place came synonymous for desperate shank surprise attacks, as the rubble provided significant cover. It soon became known as a place for escape.   Street rats sometimes nosed about, looking for a secluded cubby, but none stayed long. There was a feel to the place, something cold even on the brightest, warmest of Midyear days. They often saw shadows in dark corners, and assuming them shanks, vacated, unwilling to be caught by a nasty underground criminal for nefarious purposes.   People living in the neighborhood noted that odd lights appeared during specific nights. They stayed away because they assumed syndicate or ring shanks met for business, even if they had no evidence of that. Some claimed they heard howls during the coldest nights, and rumors spread that a ghost haunted the theater.   Ghost rumors played into the hands of the underground, and it became a busier place for shank business—until Scar the Red and his bodyguards disappeared after a meeting with another, unknown ring in its depths. No one mourned Scar, notorious for his uncouth behavior and nasty personality, but the underground wondered, because he and his were well-versed in street fighting techniques. Who took him out?   The week after, lights filled the theater, lighting the night sky around it in red, and the sounds of off-key music accompanied it. Neighbors watched in dread, waited for something terrible to happen, but the lights went away and all returned to normal.   After that week, the Grey Streets only had one bit of advice concerning the theater; if you weren’t a guttershank or undershank, stay away.