Into The Darkness
Just outside the border of the Eyehole, there stood an old red warning sign. It was battered by time and covered in rust streaks. Anyone could tell it had been there for ages.
Past that sign, oddly enough, there was a small marketplace. Traders hung out there, dealing in goods and buying unique items that the alphas brought from the Polluted Zone. A lot of regular folks also passed through.
Even though the area around the Polluted Zone was known to be risky, especially near the infamous Eyehole, people seemed to forget how close they were to the dangers.
"In the Polluted Zone, there are different situations," Ren explained to Kestrel. "Some parts are super unpredictable, growing unexpectedly and taking over places and people nearby. But then there are areas which, even if they're hazardous inside, remain mostly unchanged. That's why folks like to gather at the borders to trade."