I’m using freeskins.com to do the offer and I wanted to ask if anyone has completed the offer? I have 10 days left to get to level 130 (unlock Egypt rising machine) and Im level 57 think I might not complete it, because my coins keep running out (I put 1000 coins bet on slots) and I’m not levelling up fast enough, does anyone have a strategy to complete this offer? (I already used those sites that give you free coin links and spins too).

Hey guys, I have a bit of a long DD on ACAC / Playstudios. You can read the text below. If you want to see the full post with all the nice pictures, you can check it out here. I was too lazy to upload each picture individually to Imgur. Apologies in advance.
I've seen numerous people on Reddit compare the ACAC / Playstudios SPAC to Skillz, and some even to Draftkings. I think this is mainly because they're all in the online gaming / gambling industry, but aside from that, the companies themselves are quite different.
I think a more apt comparison should be between Playstudios and Playtika (Ticker: PLTK), since they operate in the same vertical, compete against one another in mobile slots games, and Playtika has publicly available financial data in which I will be making comparisons against.
Playtika Analysis
You can find Playtika's prospectus here
First and foremost, Playtika is one of the leaders in the mobile casino space. They have an assortment of games, and they themselves are diversifying into more casual games (similar to what Playstudios says they are trying to do), but their bread and butter are casino games, and the ones that make the most money for them are slots.
Slotomania, House of Fun, and Caesars Slots are all mobile slots games, and as you can see from the above, they generate a significant portion of Playtika's revenues (roughly 50% of their 2020 revenues).
OK, so why do I keep bringing up Playtika? Well, they had a very interesting graph that shows how much of their revenues come from different segments of their user base, based on when they acquired those users.
What this chart is saying is that 45% of their revenues came from users acquired from 2013 and earlier!
This is insane! They have such high user retention and user LTVs, that they're still monetizing a portion of their users that they acquired from 7 years ago.
If we go up to 2017, then roughly 75% of their revenues come from users acquired 2017 and earlier!
This is important because Playtika's oldest games are all slots games. So this is telling us that users that play mobile slots games, they tend to stay with those games for extremely long periods of time, and if they do stick with them, they spend a lot of money! This is great news since the vast majority of Playstudio's revenues come from mobile slots games.
If you look at Playtika's financials, you'll notice pretty nice revenue growth. However, a lot of that is non-organic, and was accomplished through M&A. This was because in 2016, Playtika was acquired by a consortium of Chinese game companies for $4.4 billion (including Giant Network, a well known gaming company in China), and they need to make revenue numbers higher to have a better story to sell for the IPO.
And part of their strategy was to diversify into casual games, and they did so by acquiring about 15 companies since 2016, including Wooga (developer of June's Journey, a very profitable find hidden objects mobile game) and Supertreat (developer of Solitaire Grand Harvest, a profitable card game).
However, one of the caveats of casual games is that the ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) is lower, and retention is lower than casino games. I did my own calculations on Playtika's ARPPU for 2018, 2019, and 2020, and you can see the noticeable downtrend. This was obviously not disclosed in the prospectus. Only ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user) was disclosed.
My belief is that even though ARPPU and retention are lower, maybe the market is giving a higher multiple to casual games. I believe that even though online gambling is beginning to see legalization in many states, and more and more people are starting to be open to it, there is still a bit of a social stigma associated with it, and certain investors may be wary to investing in a pure "casino" play. That's why Playtika is making such a concerted effort to move away from purely casino games, and positioning itself as an mobile entertainment company. Another reason is also the immense competition and high user acquisition costs, but Playtika has shown that they are more than able to execute on a long term strategy here.
Playstudios Analysis
Before jumping into anything else, I want to go straight to Playstudio's financials.
The reason is because I think there's a lot of fluff here, and I want people to know the bullshit. But even when you see through the bullshit, the downside is still mitigated enough to warrant this play.
So first off, take any numbers you see from 2022 with a grain of salt. No one knows what's going to happen this year, let alone two years in the future, and in my eyes, those 2022 numbers look extremely unrealistic. Revenue growth will probably not be that high, unless they make some big acquisitions, and EBITDA margin expansion probably won't be that fast.
Revenue Growth
Playstudios is planning on launching a Bingo and an RPG game, and their plan is to aggressively spend on UA (User Acqusition) in 2021. Their hope is that revenues will scale up with their UA, and by 2022, they can lower their UA spend a bit, and continue to monetize the new games exceptionally well, maybe at an even better rate than 2021.
I think this is a bit farfetched, especially in such a competitive space as Bingo. I've done analysis on Bingo games before, and some of those games have also been around for 8 to 10 years, and they can't expect to just launch a game and have it ramped up to their expected revenue in a year's time. Development for those games requires game designers, people who are very good at math, product designers, and a many other people, which can make the development timeline quite long (at least a few months, for a more finished product, I think at least half a year for these guys). I think a more plausible scenario is that they acquire a smaller Bingo player, and then begin optimizing that game, and add in their own loyalty rewards, as that's the quickest way to ramp up revenues post IPO.
My guess is revenues are not going to ramp up as quickly as they expect, and they'll see limited revenue growth here, and still mainly see some growth from better monetizing their slots players. I think by 2022, somewhere between $350 million to $400 million in revenues is more reasonable, and I'd probably lean towards the lower end of that range.
Margin Expansion
In terms of margin expansion, I think the decrease in cost of sales is doable. It seems like there is some extra fat there that they can trim as they scale. The cost of sales is mainly the tax that Apple and Google charges when users make a purchase through their respective stores, and this is a flat 30%. I doubt they'll get it less than 30% any time soon, but that will probably be through getting their whales to make purchases outside of the Google Play Store or App Store, and using a much cheaper payment processor.
I think a long term goal of 20 - 25% for UA spend is reasonable. I'm OK with these numbers, though they may need to spend more initially to ramp up new games. One of the benefits of their loyalty rewards program is that they can have higher retention, and this might be a way for them to lower their UA spend, since people may be more willing to tell their friends about a free trip or prize they won through a mobile game.
Another reason I'm OK with the UA spend is because it seems like they have a pretty knowledgeable UA team. I have access to App Annie, a data analytics company that tracks mobile apps, and I checked out the download history for POP! Slots, one of Playstudio's mobile games.
You'll notice that US downloads spiked quite a bit in March. This is right when COVID-19 was beginning to spike in the US, and people began working from home. In the mobile app world, many apps had spikes in downloads in March and April 2020 because there was a much larger pool of users looking to download apps. CPAs came down, and companies that had strong UA teams were able to capture a lot of these new users. Thus, this tells me that Playstudios UA team was at least aware of ongoing trends in the mobile app space, and they were able to capitalize by gaining more users during that period of time.
The biggest issue I have is with the "All Other Expenses." I don't know why it's this high (R&D and G&A shouldn't be that high), and Playstudios definitely needs to do some expense cutting here. While this has the most room to cut, it may be the hardest since I'm guessing a lot of that cost is from legacy employees. But if they can get this to around 30% by 2022, I'll be happy.
Playstudios Has No Daily Active Users (DAU) Growth
This is a common issue I see raised on Reddit and I want to address it here. Below is another chart from App Annie, which has DAU estimates.
As you can see, DAU has remained pretty flat for the past 2 years, roughly between 150K and 200K users.
But have you considered that revenues were actually increasing during this time? This means that Playstudios is becoming more efficient at monetizing their current users (getting more money out of older players), or their user acquisition team is targeting more profitable users.
And this is just how the game is played in the mobile apps world.
Users will eventually get sick of a game and stop playing. Not many games can count on users organically finding their game, and continuing to play indefinitely. To maintain a certain DAU, companies generally have to spend money on UA to maintain that user base. It becomes a business where you are calculating how much you are spending on UA, and whether the LTV and retention are good enough that you can make money in the long run from those users. You can think of it as an ROI on your marketing spend.
And this is especially true for mobile game apps. If it were a social app, then yes, something like the network effect can come into play, and UA spend would be much lower. But for Playstudios, maintaining a steady DAU is actually a sign that their UA team knows what they're doing, and they're able to maintain a profitable and highly efficient business. It's actually a positive that they can maintain their DAU, and even INCREASE their revenues during that period.
End Game?
I don't actually know how this will end up. I don't give price targets cause I have no idea how the markets will value this company. But I can provide a few data points so that you can make your own decisions.
From a multiples standpoint, Playstudios is cheap on a revenue multiple basis compared to Playtika, and is about the same from an EBITDA multiple basis.
I personally don't think that Playstudios is a play that's going to 5X. Hell, even 3X I think will be a stretch. But, they do have a loyalty program that will help lower their UA costs, and extend the lifespan of their users. And they are moving into more types of games to diversify their revenue source.
The reason I like this play is because I think the downside is heavily limited. The lifespan of casino slots players are so long, and the revenues are pretty stable (even growing), that there isn't an immediate risk that revenues will all of a sudden drop 30%, as is the case with lots of other mobile game companies. Add on top of this the potential for new revenue growth drivers from Bingo and RPG games, and the potential for margin expansion, that this is an easy 30-50% upside from current prices with almost minimal downside.
One last minor bit, is that I'm sure lots of people missed out on the hype surrounding Draftkings and Skillz, and I'm sure there are some retail investors that will look for any type of casino / mobile gaming / gambling deals, and may jump on this as well. My feeling is that there is also a potential upside from the hype or FOMO factor.
Anyway, this is my analysis on Playstudios / ACAC, hope you guys enjoy.
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. These are my personal views and analysis on Playstudios. Please do your own due diligence.
Disclosure: I own 400 shares of ACAC.

"Probe and vaporize?" "No, abduct and bring back to the mothership." "My way's more fun." "'Abduct'. Not 'Vaporize.'" "Okay, but humanity ain't gonna annihilate itself. All I'm sayin'."
A species that lacked genitalia and so reproduced purely through cloning, the Furon DNA was becoming corrupted after millennia of using and remixing the same samples. Fortunately, through some of their ancestors being frisky with the inhabitants of Earth, hidden within their brain stems was pure, undamaged Furon DNA. Crypto-136 was sent to the planet to collect some and send it back to his home planet. He was promptly shot down, captured, tortured, had information extracted from him, killed, and dissected. So Crypto-137 (and his supervisor, Pox) was sent to finish the job, being far more successful and managing to take over the United States of America by posing as its president. Over the next two decades, Crypto would continue to send a healthy amount of DNA to his homeworld, protecting his business from enemy alien species, genocidal French environmentalists, and a Colonel Sanders knockoff, every so often setting out once again to Destroy All Humans!

Legend

It should be noted that Crypto-137 is the playable character in Destroy All Humans, while Crypto-138 is played in the sequel and Big Willy Unleashed and Crypto-139 is the protagonist of Path of the Furon, both after their predecessor died between games. That being said, as they are exact clones of each other (the sole exception being 138 has genitalia), their feats are applicable for all versions.
Unmarked - Destroy All Humans! (2020 Remake) 2 - Destroy All Humans! 2 BWU - Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed PotF - Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon

Physicals

• Punched in the face by an army commander, knocking him back
• Stabbed with a fish^PotF
• Hit by the Temporal Fist technique by an older, more experienced furon (attacking him a large amount of times in frozen time) before getting sent into a pillar with a final punch^PotF
• Crashes in his saucer after its power is knocked out by a Tesla coil, being knocked out but surviving otherwise unharmed
• In gameplay can catch a rocket before it hits him
• Runs away after a nearby tank fired before the ground by him explodes^PotF

Shield

Crypto is almost always protected by an energy shield which depletes when damage is dealt, and automatically regenerates after a period of being unharmed. With an upgrade the shield is briefly invulnerable after taking damage. While the shield is down, Crypto can be killed by practically any attack.

• Can block a blow from an enormous robotic squid's tentacle^PotF
• Blocks bullets and shotgun blasts
• Blocks bullets from an anti-aircraft gun
• Protects from a stomp which tears up the ground in a large circle around a mech, also covering the ground with flames
• Blocks tank shots^PotF
• Is mostly (but not fully) depleted from an explosion during a compulsory tutorial. A building, the front of which is a similar distance to the bomb as Crypto is, is leveled by the blast²
• Takes only a slight amount of damage from his Ion Blaster
• Can take blasts from a Nexosporidium warriors^PotF
  • One such blast can seemingly vaporize a human^PotF
• Blocks a stream of flame^PotF
• Protects against germs

PK

Crypto has potent psychic abilities which manifest in a number of ways.

Telekinesis

• Bends a tv aerial
• Catches a rocket before it hits him and throws it back
• Seems to get money out of an ATM before yanking it free and carrying it^PotF
• Lifts and throws large rocks
• Lifts and throws a generator^PotF
• Lifts and throws cows a great distance
• Easily moves around cars^PotF and vans^PotF
• With slight delay on picking it up, carries and throws a 50s era fighter plane
• With slight delay on picking it up, carries and throws a tank
  • A better shot of how far it can be thrown
• Throws a man into stone statues, obliterating them^PotF
• With an upgrade, can throw a small object with the same strength as if he was throwing something massive
• Can magnetize people and objects towards what he's holding^PotF
• Seems to restrain a person being lifted^PotF

Machine Influencing

• Activates a keypad
• Makes a crane drop its load
• Causes an EMP mine to explode
• Turns off a generator
• Influences a control panel to turn off the energy cage he's in
• Sabotages a saucer, causing it to break shortly after taking to the air

Mind Reading / Suggestion

• With a cortex scan, can read the mind of a person without them noticing
  • Also works on animals
• Makes a person dance to cause a distraction
• Compels people to dance with Free Love, making them forget any alien occurrences they just witnessed²
  • Using this on one person causes everyone in the surrounding area to also dance²
  • Has a Disco Fever variant in the seventies^PotF
• Can implant suggestions in people, such as making them follow him or whoever he's disguised as
  • These followers will protect Crypto in a fight if they're armed
  • After implanting a suggestion in a person to follow him to his saucer, it ends abruptly and they become aware of their situation as soon as they're standing under it
• Has a soldier open a gate for him
• Makes a man drive a truck carrying an atomic bomb to an air force base
• Causes people to forget what they just saw
  • Through making them forget, can stop a person from following him

Holobob

• Copies the appearance of a person, making them frozen and invisible while the disguise is up. It gradually loses power over time, needing Crypto to cortex scan people to replenish it
  • The fading of the disguise is a representation to the player of it losing power, while surrounding humans don't notice anything wrong
  • The disguise breaks when Crypto commits an offensive psychic action, causing people to see him as an alien threat. If Crypto hides for a short while, he can continue using the same Holobob without issue
• Can convincingly portray people, as shown with him acting as a town's mayor at a speech with none of them noticing an issue
  • Portrays the President of the United States in a televised address without anyone seeing an issue

Body Snatch

• Allows Crypto to jump into the body of a person, controlling them. He can come out of the body without issue when he wishes to leave it²
• While possessing a body, it slowly loses energy with the body dying once this bar depletes. Energy can be replenished by cortex scanning people^PotF
  • Energy is also lost through the body taking damage²
  • When the body dies, Crypto is ejected without injury²
• Body snatches animals such as a cow^BWU and a chicken^BWU
• Body snatches another furon^PotF
• Crypto can perform other PK abilities while bodysnatching someone²
• Can body snatch while both him and his target is wearing a helmet on the moon²
• Body snatches from a distance without the person noticing, though it could be down purely to how people in Big Willy Unleashed are notably unresponsive to anything happening around them^BWU
• Body snatching a drunk person makes Crypto drunk while possessing them^PotF
• His voice does not change while body snatching someone. This does not make anyone he talks to think anything's weird, as he can talk to a KGB agent while possessing another KGB agent without issue being raised²
  • Portrays a mob godfather without anyone thinking anything's wrong^PotF

Transmog

• Transmutes an item into ammunition for his weapons by breaking objects down to their most basic components and reforming them
• Works on both small objects, like a kid's cart, and large objects, like a car
• Transmogs a large armoured vehicle²
• Can be used as a means of destroying vehicles²

Brain Extract

• Blows up a person's head, easily allowing Crypto to collect a person's brain stem
• Also works on corpses
• Can be transmitted to multiple targets when a person's head explodes
• Humans in the final stages of this attack their allies

Mind Flash

• Completely stuns every human in the world² for a short time, as shown here, though some humans are more resistant than others. This ability is replenished through collecting brain stems²

Time Stop

• Can stop time for a period with Crypto (or whoever he's body snatching) being able to freely move about in the meantime^PotF
• With the Temporal Fist technique can use his telekinesis in stopped time, with thrown objects flying in the fired direction when time resumes^PotF
  • Throws a projectile spat at him at high speeds back at his attacker like this^PotF
  • As objects put in the air remain there, Crypto can place and jump on platforms to reach high areas^PotF
• Fires his Ion Detonator, with the blasts exploding when time resumes^PotF

Other

• Seems to knock a man out by hitting him with psychic energy
• Makes an explosive barrel explode
• Makes a large radioactive hay bale explode
• Appears to teleport in from somewhere, though exactly how or from where is unknown^PotF

Weapons

Zap-O-Matic

• Shoots streams of electricity to shock and kill enemies
• Can chain between enemies
  • While the damage usually decreases with each enemy it links to, an upgrade has the power increase instead
• Destroys slot machines^PotF
• Obliterates a poker table with a short blast^PotF
• Blows up a 70s car with a sustained blast^PotF
• Destroys the bars of a cage he's trapped in^BWU
• Knocks a man out with a brief shock^PotF
• Is collapsible²
• By shocking them, activates and powers petrol-fueled generators^PotF

Anal Probe

• Shoots a beam which goes up the target's ass, damaging both their behind and their head until their head explodes, allowing Crypto to extract their brain stem
  • Can fire multiple of these probes
• Are heat seeking and burst fire in Path of the Furon,^PotF capable of firing multiple rounds at a single person or shooting at multiple people at once^PotF
• Disinfects humans of a spore which mutates them into a creature without killing them²

Disintegrator Ray

• Destroys slot machines^PotF
• Disintegrates people^BWU
• Disintegrates cows in two shots
• Sets targets ablaze with repeat shots
• Blows up large metal boxes
• Can be upgraded to be rapid fire and to shoot up to three blasts at the same time
• Shoots balls of fire
  • In Path of the Furon, they instead shoot ultra-hot antimatter slugs^PotF

Ion Detonator

• Shoots balls which explode in a large field of energy after a certain amount of time has elapsed, or on command
• The blast disintegrates people
• Can pull objects and enemies towards the projectile before it explodes
• An upgrade gives it a high chance of transmogging objects and vehicles it destroys
• With an upgrade, time slows for a short while after a blast explodes, with this ending early if Crypto attacks again. It's unknown if this is genuinely time slowing or if it's just Crypto's perception of time, though the description implies the former

Dislocator

• Doesn't deal damage, but sends whatever it hits moving about at notable speed, including heavily armoured vehicles²
• Easily moves a double decker bus²

Meteor Strike

• Locks onto a spot and calls down a meteor to strike it²
• Can destroy buildings²
• With an upgrade, calls down three meteors plus a small planetoid²

Gastro Gun

• A janitor and cook from Crypto's mothership, like Pox he downloaded his consciousness into a floating hologram unit outfitted with weapons. It shoots powerful energy blasts before self-destructing on running out of energy²

Burrow Beast

• Fires a ball of bait which can me moved about through telekinesis, luring out a large worm-like creature to burrow along the ground, erupting out to eat people²

Ball Lightning

• Shoots a floating ball of electricity which zaps all nearby enemies^BWU
• Can charge the Big Willy mech^BWU

Zombie Gun

• Turns enemies into zombies^BWU

Shrink Ray

• Fires blasts which shrink what they hit, be them enemies or objects^BWU

Superballer

• Shoots a ball which streams a rainbow behind it, homing in on enemies as it bounces around^PotF
• Carries enemies with it^PotF

Venus Human Trap

• Spawns a large, man-eating plant where it shoots^PotF
• Its vines can lift a police car^PotF
• Only one can be active at a time, lest they attack each other^PotF

Black Hole Gun

• Creates a miniature black hole where it shoots, sucking in nearby objects and obliterating them before disappearing shortly after. It is used to destroy to large, thick metal doors^PotF
• Destroys a generator^PotF

Other Gear

Jetpack

• Expands from his back, letting him fly up a distance before stopping to prevent the jetpack from disastrously overheating. While not propelling him up, allows him to glide and slow his descent
  • Can be improved to give him much greater flight time before needing to cool down and glide^PotF
• Lets Crypto dash forwards a short distance
  • Can deflect projectiles and send massive enemies flying
• Through the Supra Kinetic Antigrav Thrust Enhancer (S.K.A.T.E.), Crypto combines thrust from the jetpack with psychic energy around his feet to float around at high speed along solid and semi-solid surfaces

Holopox

• A floating holographic communicator Pox uses to communicate with Crypto, either remotely or due to him having downloaded his consciousness into it from Destroy All Humans 2 onwards
• Has a weapon that seemingly obliterates a furon^PotF
• Creates a hologram of a film projector, which then somehow projects a film onto a screen

Saucer

In Path of the Furon, after getting drunk and crashing his original flying saucer in his casino, Crypto was gifted a new one by Pox after getting back in action. Its capabilities are mostly the same, but unless that saucer or a composite saucer is specified while using Crypto feats marked PotF should be excluded.

Shield

Like Crypto, the saucer has a shield which protects it from damage and will be destroyed if hit when depleted. It also can be upgraded to be briefly invincible after taking a hit. Unlike Crypto's, the ship's shield doesn't automatically regenerate, instead needing to drain energy from vehicles to do so, whether they just be nearby or being held in its abduct-o-beam²

• In a cutscene, has an atomic bomb explode nearby it
  • Said bomb was labelled as being 10,000 MT
• Shot by tanks
• Can take direct hits from missiles and anti-aircraft guns

Repulse-O-Tron

• Emits an energy pulse from the saucer, destroying nearby missiles
• With an upgrade, can repel projectiles back to whoever fired them

Abduct-O-Beam

• Raises people into the air, being able to suck them into the saucer²
  • The new saucer can do this en-masse^PotF
• Carries and throws around cars and trucks
• Lifts and throws a tank
• Can transmog abducted vehicles, turning them into ammunition²
• Can be used while cloaked^BWU

Cloak

• Turns the Saucer invisible²
• Can instead disguise it as a blimp^BWU

Weapons

Object Destruction
These can be done by any attack in their respective games, either with an extended Death Ray (as shown in most of these) or some other accumulation of damage.

• Instantly destroys blimps²
• Destroys cars and anti-aircraft guns
• Destroys army trucks and tanks
  • Can make them flip high into the air on being destroyed
  • The upgraded Death Ray and other more powerful attacks can instantly destroy tanks^PotF
• Blows up a two storey building
• Levels a large building²
• Blows up a large diner
• Levels a warehouse^BWU
• Blows up a skyscraper with extended damage^PotF
• With a heavy amount of damage, causes the collapse of the Space Dust casino^PotF

Death Ray

• In a cutscene, obliterates a lighthouse with a brief blast
• With a large amount of damage destroys a giant building^PotF
• Can shoot directly down

Sonic Boom

• Shoots powerful blasts of sonic energy
• Sends a tank flying²
• Destroying a vehicle has that vehicle create a large shockwave, which in turn causes vehicles they destroy to make large shockwaves
• Blasts can be surrounded by a vortex which sucks in missiles and other projectiles, adding their damage to the boom's blast

Quantum Deconstructer

• Shoots a green blast of energy which expands on contact, dealing incredible damage and being able to instantly blow up buildings
• Objects and buildings destroyed by it have a chance of being transmogrified into ammo

Anti-Grav Field

• Creates a spot which has everything in the immediate area float and gravitate towards it²

Electro-Cone

• Creates a field of electricity around the saucer, striking targets below with bolts of electricity^BWU
• Quickly fries and destroys trucks^BWU

Seeker Drones

• Projectiles which lock onto potentially multiple targets, homing in on them when fired^PotF

Plasma Cannons

• Shoots rapid fire energy blasts^PotF

Tornadotron

• Creates a tornado that Crypto can control around, also being the only weapon he can use while cloaked^PotF

Other

• Gets zapped by a large Tesla coil, deactivating it and causing it to crash, but it still functions when Crypto re-obtains it
• Quickly flies from the upper atmosphere down to Earth
• Can slowly lower and raise Crypto to and from the ground
• Seems to restrain a person underneath it with energy around the limbs, also being able to flip them in the process
• Can blend the genes of abducted humans to improve the effects of the saucer and Crypto in various ways, such as letting him body snatch certain types of people faster²
• Has an experiment table inside of it^PotF
• Contains a Jump Probe, which greatly hurts anyone inside of it while seemingly rapidly aging them, used as a torture device to extract info
• Its fuel cells, if breached with explosives a few blocks away from the White House, could level the entire city
  • In Path of the Furon, the saucer runs on furon super go-go sludge or, in lieu of that, radioactive waste^PotF
• In Destroy All Humans! 2 and Path of the Furon, the saucer can only land at sites designated by statues to the old furon god after fulfilling their task^PotF

Big Willy

Big Willy is the fast food chain Pox set up to dispose of the corpses Crypto left behind while turning a profit on the side. Each of their 500 locations (or at least the three locations seen) have a giant statue of its mascot outside of it, which is actually a mech suit Crypto can pilot.

Physicals

• Jumps in to where Crypto is^BWU
• Makes a vehicle-moving shockwave on jumping^BWU
• Uproots and throws a tree^BWU
• Lifts and throws cars^BWU
• Picks up and throws a large stone pillar with it shattering on impact^BWU
• Picks up and throws tanks^BWU
  • A better view of the possible distance^BWU
• Has a thrown rock shatter on it^BWU
• Can be shot by a tank which immediately before leveled a warehouse in a single shot, with the tank's driver asking what the mech's made out of^BWU

Abilities

Regurg-A-Tron

• Sprays green liquid from the mouth, damaging anything in front of it^BWU

Heat Beams

• Shoots lasers from his eyes, which with extended blasts can level buildings^BWU

Wind Breaker

• Releases a burst of gas all around Big Willy, causing heavy damage^BWU

Other

• When Big Willy gets hit, it loses energy. It can also be deactivated for a time through an EMP blast^BWU
• Can be recharged through Crypto's electric weapons hitting a device which comes out of its back^BWU
  • Also recharges through consuming brains^BWU

Weaknesses

• Is notably weak to water, with it rapidly draining his shield and potentially killing him
  • Water acts as acid to furons
  • In Big Willy Unleashed, it instantly kills him on contact^BWU
  • He no longer takes any form of damage with water in Path of the Furon^PotF
• Electromagnetic pulse emitters can stop his equipment weapons and jetpack from working^BWU
• EMP mines deal damage and temporarily deactivate his weapons
• When some humans had their latent furon DNA activated, they could hurt Crypto with the equivalent of mental screaming

Other

• Has a vision augmentation that connects his weapons to his cerebral cortex, allowing him to lock onto enemies
  • Can easily switch his lock on between enemies
• Attaches a helmet to his suit to survive on the moon²
• In Big Willy Unleashed, whenever Crypto dies it's said his genetic material is quickly replicated and cloned, being able to continue the mission immediately. However, a new clone isn't canonically made until between Big Willy Unleashed, and this doesn't appear representative of the process in the rest of the games^BWU

"You two-bit tin horn petty tyrant! I fart bigger than you! You think just because you can keep a few depressed peasants in line you can go toe to toe with me? I'm the king of the world! The master of disaster! The baddest dude in the whole damn town! King Kong ain't got nothing on me!"

I was playing yesterday & tuesday and lemme tell you... what a fun time. I normally do 20 cent bets on slots & I won 160 on wild west gold, hit the 1000x coin on razor shark on tuesday, won 360 on jammin jars yesterday. Then during the night I got my weekly rake back which was like 4 dollar lol but played some crash and house games, got it up a bit, hit some dog house bonuses and got that 4 dollars up to like 3 balances of 80 with 2 cash outs. I have never seen these slots so hot before. but don’t worry, i’m being responsible and not just throwing it all back in the casino! just wanted to share!! good luck all

Crazy Time is set in a large, colourful and entertaining studio that includes a main money wheel, a Top Slot above the money wheel, and four exciting bonus games – Cash Hunt, Pachinko, Coin Flip and Crazy Time.
The crazy, all-action gameplay revolves around the main game and the four bonus games. It’s easy to play, as players just place their bets on numbers (1, 2, 5 or 10) and/or the bonus games. In two of the bonus games, players get to make a decision that is extra exciting – the players will no longer always win the same prize!
MAIN GAME ROUND
In the main game the Top Slot will spin together with the main money wheel at the start of every game round. The Top Slot generates one random multiplier for one random bet spot – either a number or a bonus game. It the multiplier and bet spot align horizontally in the Top Slot, it’s a match and a multiplier will be added to this bet spot. This multiplier will either multiply a bet on a number or multiply the multipliers in a bonus game – it all depends on if the main wheel also stops at this bet spot!
All players can observe the bonus games but only players who have placed a bet on the corresponding bet spot can participate and win.
Cash Hunt Bonus Game
Cash Hunt is a shooting gallery featuring a large screen with 108 random multipliers. The multipliers are covered by random symbols and are shuffled before the player can position their aim when the countdown timer starts. The player selects the target where they believe the largest multiplier is hiding. The cannon will shoot at the target and reveal the won multiplier when the time is up.
Each player selects their own target in this interactive bonus round which means that players will win different multipliers!
COIN FLIP BONUS GAME*
The flip of a coin will determine which multiplier will be won! A coin with a blue and a red side is flipped, and the side that’s facing up when the coin lands wins. Before the coin is automatically flipped, two multipliers will be generated, one that applies if the red side wins, and one for the blue side!
PACHINKO BONUS GAME
The Pachinko bonus game features a large Pachinko wall with a multitude of physical pegs. The game presenter will drop a puck and the players will win the multiplier where the puck lands. If the puck lands on a ‘DOUBLE’ value, all the multipliers at the bottom of the wall will be doubled and the puck will be dropped again – until a multiplier is won! The puck can be dropped again until the multipliers have reached the maximum 10,000x multiplier.
CRAZY TIME BONUS GAME
Open the red door and enter a crazy and fun virtual world with a gigantic virtual money wheel! Each player selects their flapper before the game starts: blue, green or yellow. The game presenter starts the wheel by pushing a big red button. When the wheel comes to a stop, the player wins the multiplier where the flapper points. If a flapper points to a ‘DOUBLE’ or TRIPLE’ value on the wheel, all the multipliers are doubled or tripled, and the wheel will spin again. Only players that chose this flapper can take part in this round. The wheel can be re-spun until the multipliers have reached the maximum 20,000x multiplier.
Where To Play Crazy Time
Crazy Time is available on a few casinos at the moment but I play on the 888 Casino. Once your signed-in/registered, navigate to the Live Dealer section of the casino and select the Game Shows category. This category houses Crazy Time as well as other similar gams.
Unfortunately this game is not available to Americans. Although that may change in the future.

Hi Everyone,
I would just like to introduce myself. Tell my story and explain why I'm here.
I got into bitcoin back in the day. I loved how easy it was to send and withdrawl from casino sites. They also had provably fair playing. The transaction fees were low. And wow, what a crazy ride. Bitcoin was around $200 then. I was losing and winning so much. One time I won 200btc in a slot machine and blackjack and video pokered it up to 500btc. It was over 100k USD. Part of it was on bitzino which is now shut down. Then I lost it all at bitzino in 25btc/hand blackjack. It all was so fast. Working nightshift made me crazy. I just loved clicking those buttons. Eventually I had to take an 8k loan from my 401k to cover the losses. I shut my coinbase account down.
Honestly that's why I do robinhood. I can't send the crypto to these awesome sites. I don't want to take that ride again. I still play on these sites with free money but the ride up and down in robinhood is fun enough and great and crypto goes up. But hearing how Robinhood had to get $1billion in funding makes me concerned.
I'll just be honest that i'm taking all my Doge profits and sticking it in GME as soon as I can. I'm really thankful for everytime elon tweeted about Doge. I'm thankful that all the interns over the summer at my company were obsessed with memes giving confidence in my DOGE investments. I think there's a great chance that elon is inspiring some meme loving great young leader to do something with it. I think Doge being and inflation coin is just ok ... it makes it more likely people will use it.
I also think ethereum is great with it's defi and exchanges which would be publicly managed compared to this fiasco with robinhood and clearinghouses and citadel. I think ethereum 2.0 is awesome. People literally just put 32 ethereum on a computer and make more ethereum while the price fluctuates. 2.0 just seems like a great ride you can take for a long time.
I think the bch community is great. The grasberg vs asertii drama was great. I'm pissed as fuck robinhood didn't give me any abc coin or even sell it for me.
Fuck bitcoin and there high fees and low blocksize.
I hope you guys post due diligence before pumping coins no one has heard of. I love due diligence and then memes. I hope you guys make so much money and buy boats and houses and cars and pay off student loans.
Regards,
Jimmerish

Hello! As you know Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is coming out pretty soon. So to commemorate the game's upcoming release, I'm deciding to do a review on the Wii U version of the game. Also, expect some CATastrophic cat puns.
Firstly, the story in this game is alright for what it's worth. Basically, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad find a pipe that looks broken. So Mario and Luigi fix the pipe and a green Sprixie comes out. She basically explains that Bowser kidnaps these fairies called Sprixies in jars. He captures them so he can rule the Sprixie Kingdom. Eventually, Bowser comes through the pipe, captures that Sprixie, and goes back into the pipe. It's the gang's job to save all 7. Once all 7 are rescued, Bowser retreats into his amusement park fortress. Once you fight him in the final boss, he turns into a cat using the Super Bell Powerup. Once he's defeated, the Sprixies are all saved and Mario, Peach, Toad, and Luigi all go back through a pipe to the Mushroom Kingdom. 8.5/10, better than having to save Peach again that's for sure
Secondly, the level design in 3D World is by far the best a traditional Mario game has gotten as of now. All the levels look to have some sort of gimmick involved with them and never fail to have the levels be very enjoyable. Some levels involve a specific item (6-3: Hands-on Hall focuses on the Goomba mask and Propellor Box) or have a certain challenge (like the ones that need to be completed in a shortened amount of time). For example, Super Bell Hill. As the game's introductory level, it shines in giving the player a rundown of the basics of the game. The main selling point of the game, the Super Bell, is showcased beautifully on this level. From the use of the climbing mechanic to get coins and powerups in trees, to how the level just screams "CATS", it makes it the ideal level to start our radi-clawl 3D World adventure. I love how each of the characters has their own trait to themselves. Mario is average in everything, Luigi is slower but has a higher jump, Peach is slower but has a floaty jump, and Toad is very fast.
Another level that I would like to talk about is in Bowser-5, called Deepwater Dungeon. This level is a prime example of how an Underwater themed level should be done in a video game. It starts with you falling into a dungeon and landing in a rectangular block of water. Anytime you get out of it, you land on solid ground. So you have to traverse through a dungeon filled with rectangular blocks of water all the way to the exit. Once you reach the dungeon exit, you meet up with Plessie, basically a dinosaur you ride on the water. You go through a Plessie section, then you get to a part where you have to avoid getting hit by spikes while staying in this rectangular block of water. Then the level ends. It's just the perfect underwater level and ended up feline pretty good about it.
There are also different types of levels such as Plessie levels, where you ride this creature named Plessie across water-like surfaces and get to the end of the level without dying. And there are Captain Toad levels where you play as Captain Toad (not blue Toad) and try and solve one screen puzzles usually involving the Wii U gamepad's microphone and touch screen capabilities to solve. The main objective is to collect all 5 green stars at each level. However, you can't jump as Captain Toad, so all the platforms you have to go all involve the gamepad in some way. The last type of level was Mystery Houses. Mystery Houses were a collection of short-timed challenges you had to do, and if you beat them before the time limit ran out, you'd get a Green Star. If you failed to beat the level before time ran out, you would move on without getting the star. Besides that, there were mini Casinos that let you get Coins via Slot Machines and Toad Houses that gave you powerups. But those aren't really "levels" but there's nowhere else I can really put these so here they are.
Now onto collectibles, Green Stars are the Star Coins of Super Mario 3D World. Collecting them can help you unlock areas and different pathways to unlock more stuff. The other collectible in this game is called Stamps. Stamps were used to make posts on the now-discontinued service called Miiverse. For this game, Miiverse also lets you do time trials with ghosts of other players online (similar to Mario Kart 8). 9.5/10, the best-looking traditional Mario game I've ever played. But since Super Mario Odyssey exists, I can't give it a 10.
Thirdly, the Art/Music design is pawsitively great! Entering a level makes you feel like you're living inside it as you play. Everything around you including the trees, grass, walls, water, etc just looks gorgeous. The music as well sounds great and fits each level's aesthetic perfectly. It may be metal whenever you fight a Boss or be jolly and happy whilst playing Super Bell Hill. The show both of these great qualities of this game, look at World 3-5; Pipeline Lagoon. It starts with this nice beachy tune with goombas chillin' in floaties in the water. Palm trees are scattered about a beach landscape and look like the perfect spot to just calm down and relax. As the level progresses, you go underwater and the music distorts to reflect you being underwater. The kelp and Cheep Cheeps fit perfectly within the level. Especially once you get to the end and see a sunken ship underwater as you travel through a pipe. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieempdIVK0c). 9/10, Beautiful Soundtrack and Art Style
Screenshot from Wii U Longplay of Super Mario 3D World
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Screenshot from Wii U Longplay of Super Mario 3D World
Lastly, Postgame/Extra content. Once you beat the game you go back to world one where the Sprixies will build a rocket. Once you go into that rocket, you unlock the Star World, Flower World (after beating Star World), and Crown World (after beating Flower World). These are extra worlds with more challenging levels that progressively get harder as you go through them. Once you beat Star World's second level, you unlock Rosalina, who has a spin jump as her unique trait. The Finale of the game, Champion's Road, is a true test of skill. It requires everything you've learned throughout the game and is difficult to the max. From perfectly timing your jumps to dashing across boost pads avoiding shock waves, you can't mess up one bit. Especially since they're no checkpoints and it has to be beaten in one go. Once you beat that level, you've beaten the game. However, if you're a completionist, you have to beat every single level with all 5 characters, get all green stars, and collect all the stamps. But it's quite a blast going back and replaying all the levels, so I had fun doing so. Also, since this game came out in the Year of Luigi, you got to play an alternate version of the original Mario Bros. Instead of playing as Mario, you'd play as Luigi as you walk around getting rid of Koopas, crabs, and hitting that Pow Block to disrupt the enemies.
Overall, this game on the Wii U was a blast to play and gave me lots of good, catastrophic memories with my friends and family. It was probably my favorite multiplayer game on the Wii U and had so much stuff jampacked into it. I'm really looking forward to Super Mario 3D World+ Bowser's Fury on the Nintendo Switch this Friday and I can't wait to see what's in store for it!
Final Grade: 9.25/10, Great Mario game overall and would recommend it to everyone who owns a Switch and Wii U

…The raging river, pulled them down.
Now they’ll always, be together,
In that Happy Hunting Ground…
- Running Bear by Sonny James
“Snakeyes! New roller, please, next up.” The game runner raked in the dice and chips and ignored the despair in the countenance of the most recent “high roller”. Ted shook his head and other people crowded him away from the dice pit. He was almost out of funds and it was still early. He’d budgeted his, “loss level” carefully to maximize his time at the reservation casino. It was an older one, filled with stereotypical paintings and statues intended to honor the local First Nations Tribes while fulfilling the expectations of rude tourists. He looked around forlornly for a new game to play. He didn’t care for the slots or the drawn-out and ever-shifting card games… ah, Blackjack! There was an opening at the table.
He rushed over before anyone else could snag it and bustled onto the chair. “Okay to deal me in on the next hand?” He interrupted the dealer, who ignored him until he was done dealing out the rest of the players and raking in the chips. He still did not speak but once Ted placed the minimum bet, he flipped a card down in front of him and the game began. Ted immediately started winning the straightforward game. He picked up most of his losses from his unfortunate run at craps and was finally enjoying himself. The couple at the far end of the table had apparently had enough and didn’t care for the new player. Ted liked to talk to new people and thought he was good at it. Before long, the other players had left and it was down to him, the dealer, and an older man, who wore a black cowboy style hat and chain-smoked thin cigarillos.
Ted, grinning heartily at his latest win, glanced over at the man, who had just fired up his next cancer-stick, “You know casinos, and a few bars are the last public places where anyone smokes. I remember when there were smoking sections at most places and my parents told me that there used to be no restrictions. I’ll bet you get plenty of pressure to stop from your family and friends. It’s a pretty bad habit for your long-term health…” Ted usually rambled on past any non-verbal cues that people might give him to stop talking, yet his diatribe came to a screeching halt at the look with which the stern-faced elder favored him.
The older man drew in a long pull on the firestick and then exhaled the stinking cloud into Ted’s face. He coughed a little and gagged at the odor of the raw blend of tobacco and chemicals. The old one removed the cigarillo from his mouth and tapped ashes onto the edge of the table and down onto the floor at his toes, “Sonny, nobody cares. Nobody wants your opinion, and you are not special, no matter what your mommy told you. I’ll do as I please and if you don’t like it, go bother people at another table.”
Ted gaped in shock. In his mind, the man’s words verged on an “assault”. He looked helplessly at the dealer, who just ducked his head and tried not to laugh. Indignant, he rose, took his pile of chips and fled into the depths of the gaming house in search of a friendlier table. He didn’t find one that he liked, so he finally gave up and sat at the bar. The bartender seemed to ignore him in favor of tidying up her workspace. He cleared his throat and received only a glance. He mumbled as much to himself as to her, “I just want a drink while I wait for a table to open.” He wondered at her stony silence, maybe she resents me for being…
His vocal ruminations were interrupted by a feminine voice, “What do you want?”
Ted looked up to see the bartender, mocking smile in place below shining, mesmerizing eyes. Ted simply gaped and eventually worked his jaw uselessly. The bartender shrugged and walked back to the other end of the bar. She spoke with a large man who was clearly part of the security team. He glared at Ted while she spoke. Ted wanted to avoid a confrontation. He’d been conditioned that he should seek authorities if such a situation loomed. Yet casino security was the only available authority here locally. There were Tribal Police on the Reservation, but he wasn’t sure they would want to listen to him. He finally shrugged and decided to go back over to the hotel for the rest of the night. This trip had been very unsatisfying… like all those he’d taken since he moved away from his parents’ home a few years previously.
There was an indoor walkway to the hotel, but Ted decided to go by the outdoor route to get some fresh air and enjoy the natural beauty that the builders had incorporated into the facility. As he walked dejectedly down the sidewalk, local flora pressing in from each side, he heard, from the nearby forest, a screeching wail. It startled him and he had to stop a moment to catch his breath and wait for his heart rate to slow to something more manageable. He realized that it must have been an owl or some other night bird. His father had told him that there were always weird noises “out in the sticks”.
As he plunged his hands into his pockets and determined to go to his room for rest, he caught the faint smell of burning tobacco on the breeze. It wafted over his shoulder from behind and caused him to emit a feeble cough. He looked back in annoyance. In the shadows behind him, he saw a figure. It was dark and stood still in a way that made him uncomfortable. An orange glowing circle of embers hovered around the face and rendered just enough light to illuminate the blue-grey curls of smoke as they exited the tiny conflagration and rose above the brim of a black hat. The ember flared for a moment and then flashed to the ground and was snuffed by a shadowed… foot? It wasn’t exactly clear to Ted; the figure’s lower extremities were... blurred. An even brighter flare, from a lighter or match stabbed into Ted’s eyes as the Smoker lit his next cigarillo.
Ted glared irritation but felt uncomfortable at the unnatural stillness to which the figure returned once the new fire was lit. He coughed once more, this time deliberately in a passive-aggressive attempt to communicate his displeasure and resumed his walk. He strained to listen behind him to determine whether the figure followed. He truly wished to get away from the stink and the threat of cancer or other respiratory illnesses. He slowed to listen, then gave up and looked over his shoulder again. There was no figure in the dark back near the exit to the casino. He turned to resume his walk, but a smoky black form now loomed before him! Its eyes glowed and smoked like large twin cigars as it gaped a maw that emitted pure black smoke and glowed with blue flames within the deep tunnel of the throat. Ted’s consciousness fled his body and found itself in a burning nightmare landscape that extended for as far as he could perceive in all directions.
**** * ****
Darnell, known to his public as “Murder Bush” a deliberate mistranslation of “merde bouche” a.k.a. “Deadly Rapper” for having been a suspect in a shooting back in his youth, stepped up to the dice pit as the geeky dude left. He had plenty of chips and cash to back them. His entourage was there to support him and kiss his backside as often as he wished. He rolled through six passes before he crapped out. He hadn’t over-bet, so he’d won a small amount. He picked up his latest winning chips and handed them to the hostess who had kept him well plied with drinks and snacks. He was sure that for the right price, she would take care of his other needs. He played a few card tables and finished with Roulette.
Each time he won a few chips, he passed them on to the young woman or to one of his flunkies. In the end, they had all received at least some reward for the praises they’d heaped upon him; not for any real accomplishments, but rather to curry favor with the man whom they considered to be wealthy and important: a celebrity. The girl stayed at his side and except for when he asked her questions, she said nothing. He liked that: bitch know her place, he reveled in internal satisfaction. He liked her looks too. She was medium height and a little, “thick”. She was clearly interested but hadn’t gotten in his way when he flirted with other women. He truly liked this one. The more he considered her, the more he wanted to get down to business.
Eventually, he posed the question to her, “How much for the next few hours?” His brazen suggestion that she would take money for sexual favors was the final test. If she grew angry, then she didn’t appreciate his genius…
“Whatever you think is fair. How about we see if I can satisfy you? If I can, then you may want to be generous… as you have been so far.” She hefted the chips so that the pieces clinked in her palm. “If not, I don’t deserve a reward.”
She had passed with flying colors. Might even take this one back to civilization with me, he purred in his mind. He’d always thought of himself as a Big Cat… maybe a leopard or jaguar, definitely something dangerous and sleek. His need grew more intense by the moment. He desperately wanted this woman. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” He husked in a voice grown thick with desire.
They reached his suite, his groupies having been dismissed to their own nefarious pursuits, even his bodyguard. The big man had shrugged, “Your call boss-man.” and then stumped across the hallway to his own room. Now he was finally alone with… her. He stripped off his shirt and flipped his shoes into a corner. She stood by the window and watched. The drinks he’d consumed finally caught up with him before he’d shucked his pants and drawers, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He was excited, which made urinating a challenge, but it had to be done, so that he could maximize his pleasure. When he stepped from the restroom, au natural, he saw that his latest conquest had done the same and now stood, bare to the world and staring out the window, all the curtains on it pushed to one side, so that the night loomed and the light of a single small desk lamp lit the room. He stalked over to her, ready to take her right there at the window in full view of anyone who looked up from the outside. He secretly hoped for an audience. He enjoyed having others watch him take what he wanted.
She turned to face him, her head lowered… no, it had sunken into her body, only her hair remained above her shoulders! A… mouth, gaping and slavering opened on her stomach, a mouth too large for her body and rimmed with rows of teeth like sharpened spikes. She stepped forward to embrace him and the screaming began… sounds that he was accustomed to eliciting from others rather than emitting from his own person.
**** * ****
“Rhino” was unhappy. He didn’t like to leave Darnell unattended. Perhaps now that his boss was in the room, he could go stand guard outside the door. He took care of some personal ablutions as he wolfed down a couple of energy bars and then walked out into the hallway. He started to settle in front of Darnell’s door, when he heard a muffled scream and faint… slobbering-gobbling noises come from the other side. He quickly tried the door, initially too panicked to think of the extra key card with which Darnell had entrusted him. He fumbled for it and soon had the door open. The interior was completely dark. The light from the hallway spilled inward but didn’t seem to reach as far into the room as it should.
He drew his pistol from the holster on his waistband and began to stalk forward, “Boss, you okay? You hurt?” The room was as silent as a tomb, he shivered a little as that thought crossed his mind. Over by the closed drapes, he smelled something awful: fresh blood and spilled entrails… recent death. His feet squelched on wet carpet. He turned around quickly. There had been no noise, but he’d felt a… presence. There she stood, arms spread wide, mouth on her gut spread wider. Rhino wasn’t one to scream or yell, even in extremis, so no others would come to this room to investigate.
**** * ****
Shelly was glad when the rowdy group left the roulette wheel that sat behind her favorite row of slots. The former “one-armed bandits”, that were now, “multiple button digital bandits” lined every available wall space, and in some spaces stood in rows that drew regulars like a dung-heap draws flies. She’d grabbed her favorite machine early in the evening and sat sliding in dollar bills and working up her points. It was called “Buffalo Dance” and featured images of American Bison and feather-bedecked hunters. The theme on the screen matched and she hoped to one day see the “White Buffalo” image adorn the entire set of images… the grand prize view. Despite the fun graphics, it was her favorite because it was near a restroom and a free soda and snack bar. She found herself ahead and on a roll. She absently lipped her dangling cigarette back into her mouth for a long draw. The smoke obscured the screen for a moment, and then she noted a shadow that lengthened across the reflective surface. Someone stood close behind her. Someone who exuded a chilly air. She paused and looked around, “Can I help you?”
There was no answer, though the shadow shifted slightly as if its caster had heard her.
Now she grew annoyed, this is just the sort of thing to break my winning streak! she raged internally. She braced her hands against the machine and worked her buttocks to make the stool on which she perched spin, so she could confront her harasser. She gaped, and nearly lost her cigarette, there was no one standing near enough to cast the shadow. No one even faced her. She chalked it up to excitement, maybe someone stepped too close when passing to go to the restroom, she thought, still a little annoyed and... chilled.
She turned back to her game and continued working the buttons, pumping in bills, and winning, a little at a time, the points now built well above her investment. This weekend is gonna pay for the last two months of losing and breaking even, she thought triumphantly. The shadow loomed across the screen once more, this time even larger, as though the figure that cast it stood closer. The shape was amorphous but hinted at anthropomorphic. She shivered as an icy breeze flowed around her, as though the air conditioning had sent out a short, cold burst, a minor malfunction…
She turned around with more alacrity and determination than the last time, mouth agape, cigarette once more dangling… precipitously and endangering the cleavage she displayed, already baked and wrinkled from years of sunbathing. The frigid air passed, and no one stood anywhere near her, though a customer approached, headed for either snacks or relief. “Excuse me sir, did you just see someone, maybe a large man, standing behind me?”
The man paused and looked at her in confusion. He had clearly been absorbed in his own thoughts, “Er, what? Uh, No. I wasn’t really paying attention, but… no.” He bustled on toward the free fountain drinks machine.
Shelly shrugged, can’t give up now, the pot is even bigger. She checked her points; she was nearing her all-time high. The winnings would pay her space rental fee at the RV park for the entire month. She pressed and played the buttons more fervently than ever, determined to break the bank on straight points or to reach that magical spin that would offer an instant reward of $10,000.00. She set her new points record and reveled for a moment. She reached for the now small stack of dollar bills the rest having been devoured by the machine. She fed in the entire remaining amount, then once more gazed at the screen. It was entirely blackened by a looming shadow.
The temperature of the air around her plummeted and she shuddered with the sudden biting cold. The cigarette was long extinguished, and she’d let the cold fag fall into the ash tray built onto the side of the machine opposite the drink holder. She was so cold, and she wanted to cry out for help, but the darkness closed in around her as the shadow enveloped her and cut off her breathing. Her fingers, paused above the “spin” button, struck and as her consciousness faded, she saw the flashing blue light and heard the blare of the winner’s siren. White Buffalo images filled all nine spaces. I won! The grand prize!
**** * ****
Terry filled his large cup and stood sipping and daydreaming. He’d lost everything he’d budgeted to lose. Yet he knew that one more try would put him back in black for this trip. He mused about what he would do with the prize money. He’d set his limit at $300.00 and had quickly lost it all on slots. Maybe he could risk just a few more dollars… skip a lunch or two until his next paycheck if it didn’t work. He was startled by the jackpot winner’s flashing light and siren that went off just behind him. That bitch! He yelled internally. Figures some old used up skank would win the big prize. He looked over at the nearby machine with anger and envy vying for control of his senses. She was gone!
He stepped over to the machine and looked around in confusion. Maybe she’d gone to the restroom? No, she’d have passed right by me. He shook his head and stepped up to look at the screen. He could still feel the recent presence of a player, the trace of warmth from a human body that might linger in a space for just a moment after the human had vacated the space. He looked around the casino floor, she was nowhere in sight. She’d been wearing a low-cut silver-spangled top that was cut way too low for her sagging, sun-ravaged bosom. She should be easy to spy, she looked like a deflated disco ball that had fallen from the ceiling to play slots. The only thing that came his way was a train of employees, led by a waitress in a skimpy outfit with purple sparkles and carrying a tray with a glass and a dark bottle. She was followed by other employees, who’d formed a sort of conga line: they sang a congratulatory chorus as they approached.
Terry gaped for a moment when he realized that they thought he was the big winner. He’d have to deny it of course. Surely the woman would be back at any moment to claim her prize. The floor cameras would have recorded who had sat at the machine, but it was too late. The group of enthused employees encircled him, and the attractive young waitress poured him a glass of champagne and snuggled up to him. The manager approached and seized his hand for a vigorous shake, “Well done sir! I see that not only have you hit the jackpot, but you’ve raised an additional $3,000.00 in points. A fabulous prize and well played I’m sure.”
Terry was flabbergasted. He’d never won anything like this… I still haven’t, not really, he reminded himself. He rarely broke even on his gambling forays, whether to the casino, or the corner store for lottery tickets and video slots. He allowed himself to be swept into the reverie and led from the machine to the bar. The employees peeled away as they approached, and he soon found himself with only the bottle and a receipt that he could cash out before he left the premises. A sullen-looking woman stood behind the bar, wiping glasses and a large, mean-looking security staffer menaced the far end. He already had his bottle, so he wasn’t sure why the staff members had deposited him with these two killjoys. He shrugged, picked up the champagne and started to walk away from the bar.
“You can’t take that with you. Either drink it here or give it to me and I’ll put it in the trash.” The bartender stated in monotone.
The security officer stood up straight from where he’d been leaning against the far wall, apparently propping up the building. He folded his massive arms in a threatening manner. Silly, thought Terry, folded arms should be a hindrance, but I get the feeling he’s dangerous regardless. He figured that he’d had enough anyway and set the nearly empty bottle on the bar, “You can keep it ma’am. I can afford another at the hotel.” Terry started to walk away from the bar, but a huge ham-like hand seized his shoulder.
Sausage-sized fingers applied painful pressure, “You apologize to the lady.” The wet heat from a mouth placed uncomfortably close to his ear and beath smelling of river bottom, sent a shiver of disgust through his body. The voice was low and deep as the river that ran past the back side of the property.
Terry decided on the better part of valor and head facing forward to avoid the obscene orifice, “Sorry ma’am, I meant no offense.”
The fingers let go and a harsh laugh sounded from behind the bar. “He don’t even know why he’s apologizing, fool. He ain’t worth the trouble, let him go.”
Terry felt a slight shove and he was sent on his way to the cash-out window. There he met with the lead cashier, an older woman in drab clothing, “I’m sorry sir, we give out only these pre-paid cards, we cannot provide cash over $1,000.00. However, you can treat them like a debit or credit card.” the cashier informed him. It seemed he had no choice, so he accepted. Thirteen grand is thirteen grand, he assured himself. He was elated, though he continued to glance around nervously, waiting for the woman in the sparkly fish-scale top to accost him and name him thief. Yet she was nowhere to be seen. The floor was full of players, some laughing, some intense, some dejected or mesmerized by the games of chance in which they’d lost themselves.
He thought about what to do with the rest of his evening. He didn’t have a hotel room; he’d planned to sleep in his station wagon as he always did before the long haul home. Perhaps he should get a room? Maybe they would take him without a reservation… he giggled a little at the unintended pun: a reservation at the Reservation… he shook his head to clear his overreaction to the silly internal joke. He decided that maybe someone on staff could help him. He approached the major domo at the front entrance that led to the interior walkway and the hotel beyond, “Excuse me sir, do you know whether the hotel will accept a resident without a prior reservation?”
The man, single dark braid wrapped in a leather holder and draped over one shoulder, looked at him gravely, “Yes, I know.” He said nothing more and did not smile as though he’d intended to be humorous.
Terry tried again, “Will you tell me please?”
The man flicked his chin in the direction of the hotel, “See the clerk at the desk.”
“Jerk, you’d think I hadn’t pissed away enough cash in this place over the past few years,” Terry muttered as he stumped toward the hotel, ensuring that he was well beyond earshot before he spoke. His head had begun to buzz a little from the champagne. Took a while for it to affect me, he mused. The hallway appeared to narrow, and his peripheral vision grew grey. He felt dizzy and as he entered the main lobby, the large room began to spin. His last view was of the sky-blue ceiling decorated with a few puffy clouds as it faded into darkness like the sun had set.
He awakened to the sounds of voices chattering happily. He looked around, his vision blurred slightly and his head feeling heavy and sore. He soon found that he could not move his arms or legs… they were bound… he was strapped to a table. He saw numerous bodies moving about in the mostly dark space in which he found himself. “Please.” He croaked, throat dry and feeling scraped. “Please, help me, let me loose. Loose me…” his perceptions cleared slowly, and he saw that the bodies that moved around him, now chanting rhythmically rather than babble-chattering, were emaciated. The owners showed as much bone through their skin as would a dead thing, long decayed. He noted spikes above a few heads… no, antlers… The rest wore… masks? Of various beasts… no, the skulls of those creatures, still filled with glistening fangs. Their dance grew ever more frantic, more energetic than they should be capable of performing. Then one of them reached out with a stick, on the end of which was a small claw, taken and preserved from some dead animal. It used the claw to gouge out a scoop of flesh from Terry’s side. He screamed in torment and horror. His screams soon matched the rhythm of the chanting and they went on for a long time before they at last faded when he’d lost too much blood to remain conscious.
**** * **** END PAGE 1 of 2

Word count is 4,700
Would like to be credited as “mrmills45” if featured
This is a direct sequel to the story I wrote titled “There’s A Reason We Fear The Dark, Listen To Your Instincts...” I hope you guys all enjoy!
“Our ancestors were right to be scared of the dark. Lock your doors, turn on your lights. Because i-.” That was it. Those were my cousin Carl’s last words. As much as everything in my mind and body told me not to. I uploaded the document. He wanted his story to get out there and I wanted to respect his final wishes. That was the least I could do. Most people may call me a moron but I believed his story. Every single word, Carl had always been a mentally stable person throughout his life, he drank here and there but only in moderation. There was no reason to doubt he was telling the truth. Even though it made my stomach churn.
When I had gotten to Carl’s house, his chair still had a dent in it from sitting down for an extended period of time. His laptop was open but went into sleep mode. I tried to go through his tv’s history and records to find the video he was talking about. But the thing had been completely fried. Not even sure how. He never mentioned that happening in the document. My mind was racing while trying to think of solutions, I wanted to find Carl. I held out false hope he might still be alive. But what could I possibly do? I wasn’t equipped to deal with this supernatural stuff, for god’s sake I’m a grocery store stocker. The most insane thing I ever see is people not being able to do simple math to calculate their change. But all that meant I needed to find someone who knows what they’re doing. Someone with the skills, tools and knowledge to help find where my cousin is. If he’s still alive anyway. One Friday after I had finished work, I came home and immediately ransacked every little crevice and corner of the internet to find a paranormal investigator. It should’ve seemed easy I know, but half the time it was just frauds or scammers looking to make a quick buck. My entire first night consisted of downing energy drinks and caffeine to keep myself awake while I surfed the web. That is until I came across Ethan Veldor. I read through as much I could about the guy, his arsenal, particular areas of expertise and past experience. From what I gathered, he seemed to be very well educated and proficient with handling demonic and otherworldly forces. Things such as evil spirits, demons and vengeful ghosts who had decided to overstay their welcome on earth. I wanted to be as thorough as possible to make sure I was getting my money’s worth. But I put my money where my mouth was and decided to give the guy a call. “Hello? Is this Mr. Veldor?” I asked. “Hey.” He replied, his voice raspy as if he had just woken up. “I’m guessing you’re calling for business purposes?” “Yeah. I need help with a problem. One that I know you can handle.” “Alright.” He paused for a moment. “What little issue have you got on your hands?” The emotion in his voice was non existent. “It’s a little hard to explain, is there a way I could send you something? It’s a document. It should give you the info that you need.” “Okie dokie, but before we get started, I need half of the payment now. And the other half after the problem is taken care of. That’s just my policy.” I became slightly frustrated with his dull responses. To me it felt like he really didn’t care too much about the actual problem at all. I couldn’t blame him though, his job had to have been undeniably exhausting and mentally damaging. “Yeah I guess I can do that, do you have an email or something I can send this document to?” I continued.
The rest of the call went as expected, he read off his email address and I proceeded to send over Carl’s document. He told me he would get back to me in two days or less and to sit tight until then. Like that was gonna be easy. Going to work the following day was aggravating to say the least. Not only was I dealing with my uptight supervisor and arrogant customers per usual. But I was on edge about Ethan getting back to me which only amplified the irritation I usually experienced. I tried to keep my head up to the best of my ability. “Hey Ryan, do you mind going into the back? We just got a shipment from the warehouse and the candy aisle needs to be restocked.” My supervisor asked. Staring down at his clipboard which was clearly only meant for show. “Uhh yeah sure, just one second.” I replied as I finished stocking the current shelf I was working on. “Also.” He turned and stopped just before walking away. “I need you to stay late tonight. It’s getting close to halloween and we’ve been really busy the past week.” If there were a way to describe how much I was internally sighing and complaining, I would’ve gone on and on. But I just kept my mouth shut for obvious reasons and made my way to the back of the store. My supervisor wasn’t lying, I could see tons of people doing last minute shopping for halloween candy. Some of them being small children who didn’t wanna wait to trick or treat. I opened the doors to the back and was immediately hit with a blast of cold air, it was always kept at a lower temperature to preserve the quality of things like ice cream and milk. A moderate amount of flickering accompanied me as I looked around. We had needed to get some of the ceiling lights in the back replaced for some time now, they were constantly flickering on and off for the past few weeks at this point. I slowly walked towards the south end of the back between the tall shelves. I could see an alarming amount of rust beginning to form on the metal supports. On my way to the end I saw a sight that froze me right in my place. I tensed up, having absolutely no idea what to do at the unsettling image in front of me. Less than ten feet in front of me stood a man, that’s what it looked like anyway. He was a disturbing pitch black and shadowy in his appearance, I couldn’t make out any facial features save for a pair of glowing crimson dots where his eyes should have been. But his shape and general build was similar to someone I had seen before. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. The figure stood in the dark corners of the back where the ceiling lights flickered the most. Blending into the poorly lit area. “You dare hunt us?” It spoke with such force I thought the room might’ve shook. The thing even sounded far more demonic than it looked, his voice reverberated and echoed as if he had a microphone resting in his esophagus. Adrenaline flowed through my veins but yet I stayed still, I was too stiff to move a muscle or make a sound. My mind was completely blank. “Your efforts are in vain.” The shadowy figure began to cackle in an unsettling taunt towards me. Despite there being no movement of its mouth. Or any of its body for that matter. “W- what are you? What do you want?” I managed to get out. Failing miserably to mask the tension in my voice. The lights began to flicker even more intensely, the room was slowly fading into darkness as I stood there in unexplainable panic. I tried to pull my phone out to record the insane events, as soon as the screen lit up. The numbers on the digital clock of my phone were constantly scrambling and changing. It looked like the slot machine of a casino. I wasn’t even able to put in my passcode. “You can run and hide. We will always find you. Always.” The figure continued on. “This is not your hour Ryan.” I turned to run out of the back, I shoved my phone back in my pocket and practically launched myself through the doors to return to the main space of the store. Desperate to get away from that thing. I looked back through the circular window of the doors once I was on the other side. The red eyed shadow man had disappeared and the lights were no longer flickering. They were working just fine. “Figures.” I huffed. “Are you okay?” Came a female voice to my left I turned to see my co-worker Sherry looking at me with great concern. I was in a hunched over position with my eyes as wide as possible. Her reaction to my seemingly odd behavior was justified. There was multiple seconds of awkward silence between the two of us as I decided how to respond. “Yeah just almost tripped over.” I lied. Not wanting to drag Sherry down into my web of confusing nonsense. “Uhh okay. Right.” She responded with a dry expression. “Well I was coming back here to grab some more stuff to restock the home care aisle. Didn’t mean to spook you or anything.” “You didn’t, it’s okay.” I replied. Straightening my posture. I won’t lie to you all, I had always found Sherry rather attractive, she dyed her hair a beautiful light red. Her skin was as flawless as polished marble, her eyes sparkled like emeralds and she always had been fun to work with. By far my favorite co-worker out of anyone. Sherry had always been much more down to earth than her appearance would lead you to believe. I had been putting off pursuing any sort of romantic relationship with her. I wasn’t usually a fan of getting together with people I worked with. But lately she has begun to change my mind. Fear of rejection had gotten in my way of ever officially doing anything other than casual flirtation. “Well i’m glad.” Sherry chuckled. “We’ve got our lunch soon, so if you wanna come meet me in the break room that would be great.” She punctuated her sentence by flashing me a friendly smile. Before I could respond to her proposal, I felt my phone begin to vibrate aggressively in my front pocket. I took it out with a huff of hesitation. It seemed to be strangely working once again. Full display on the screen was the phone number of Ethan Veldor. The paranormal investigator. “Yeah definitely, I gotta take this real quick, I'm sorry.” I said as I held up a finger and slowly turned the corner. Taking multiple glances around to make sure I was alone with no one around. “Hello?” I picked up. “Greetings Ryan.” Ethan responded, his usual monotony being present again. “Greetings? Who says greetings over the phone? You know what nevermind. Did you find anything?” “I need you to meet with me tomorrow.” He responded without answering the question. “I’ll send you the address.” “Woah woah hold on, did you find anything?” I persisted. Ethan hung up. Refusing to answer my question. I hit my fist against the wall in anger before realizing he probably had info if he wanted to meet up in the first place. A customer had walked by at that moment and shot me a look of disappointment. As if they were my boss. The rest of work that day went by as slow as possible after that call. But the highlight was having lunch with Sherry in the breakroom. It helped to lighten my spirits. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t get the incident of what happened in the back room off my mind. “You been okay?” She asked before taking a bite of her vegan burger. “First you were scared like crazy, now you’re all spaced out.” “It’s just been a really stressful week. Carl is still missing.” I moaned, slouching back in my chair. “I saw that in the news.” Sherry glanced at me sympathetically. “I’m really sorry. If you need a friend to talk to I’m here.” There was a pause before I spoke. I fixed my posture and sat up straight in my chair. Making sure to look Sherry directly in the eyes. “I appreciate it. Listen there’s something I’ve been meaning to te-.” I was quickly cut off by our supervisor storming in. A neglectful expression on his face. He was in his usual authoritarian delusion. Always walking around like a tough guy despite being the shortest person in the entire staff. “Sorry to interrupt but break’s over guys. Time to get back to work.” Yeah “Sorry” I thought. Cause everyone believes that when you use it as an excuse for the millionth time.
When work had finally finished up and I went home. I stayed up all night mindlessly scrolling through Netflix as I desperately tried to get some sleep. I felt the fatigue behind my eyeballs yet they refused to close and let me drift off into unconsciousness. I did end up falling asleep that night but for less than two hours, it was a struggle just to climb out of the bed that morning and get ready to go meet up with Ethan. But the morning light shining through my windows helped give me the last bit of motivation I needed. One thing that always puzzled me about Carl was why he enjoyed the night so much. His late night walks were a far cry from what I would’ve done. He always seemed so excited to do it. I never understood why. The location Ethan had given me to meet him at was surprisingly a library of all places. Call me naive but it seemed a little too normal for someone like him and his so far cryptic tendencies. Speaking of which, it was a pain to find him in there. I scanned up and down the interior several times with no luck. In my mind he should’ve stood out. Guess not. “Where the hell are you?” I whispered out loud to myself. Darting my head all around like a crazed pigeon. I was caught off guard when my phone began vibrating from me receiving two text messages. I retrieved it out of my pocket and took a glance to find both of them were from Ethan. “Behind you.” The first one read. “You need glasses or something?” I did a one eighty. There Ethan sat between two of the non fiction bookshelves with his face buried in a novel about the history of supernatural sightings and folklore. I casually went up to him, putting up a front of false courtesy. “You’re Ethan Veldor?” I asked. “It’s good to finally see you up close.” “Sure.” Came his dry response. “Sit down, got something to tell you.” I hesitantly sat in the bean bag directly parallel, a look of eager anticipation all over me. “What is it? I’ve been waiting all night for this.” I interrogated. “These Nocturnals, they’re nothing like I've ever encountered. It’s been a pain in my behind to learn anything about them. I’ve only been able to gather less than half a page’s worth of info.” The rasp of his voice boomed across the library for a man speaking so quietly. “Aren’t they just like ghosts?” Ethan snickered, the closest sound to a full on laugh I ever heard him produce. “No, not even close. I even tried getting ectoplasm from them. Nothing. The typical baits, traps and everything are useless. They don’t bite.” “In Carl’s document he said something about them needing to be in some sort of darkness.” “Well that’s true, but one of the few things I did find out is that when they have their sights set on someone. The darkness becomes less and less of a prerequisite for them. And right now, they’ve got their eye on you.” I gripped the arms of my chair as he said it. I couldn’t help but feel as if all the fluids in my body seized flowing. “One of them… I saw one of them at work yesterday.” “I could tell by how shook up on the phone you sounded.” “How do we kill them?” “Kill them?” Ethan scoffed. “You don’t. You can’t, we just need to find a way to- wait a minute.” He paused, standing up from his chair and beginning to scan the area of the room behind me with a moderately paranoid expression. “What? What are you looking for?” “The light in the back left, it’s flickering.” He huffed while reaching into his jacket for something. It wasn’t until now I noticed a sizable imprint in his jacket. I stood up and placed myself in front of him. Attempting to defuse his angst and not draw attention in our direction. “Would you chill out?” I whispered. “People are gonna think you’re nuts.” “No they aren’t, have a look for yourself.” I hesitantly turned my head. The library was just the same as it had been minutes prior. But every single person was frozen with the exception of Ethan and I. It was like they all had been stopped in time, none of them even blinked. They were complete statues. “Don’t. Move.” Ethan demanded, reaching into his jacket and pulling out an almost alien looking weapon. I had rationalized it as being just a heavily modified shotgun with red rings around the barrel and some sort of cylinder containing a strange purple liquid hanging from the bottom. The light in the back Ethan had talked about flickering was beginning to spread to the rest of them. They all hummed and buzzed violently as they flashed in and out simultaneously. Now the whole interior was starting to become an epileptic person’s worst nightmare. The flickering of the lights made me come to a horrifying realization. I could feel my stomach churning. “Are they here?” I asked as I darted my eyes frantically around the room. Holding out hope the now frozen people would start moving once again. “What do you think?” Ethan replied rhetorically without even looking back. “Just try not to crap yourself. Last thing you wanna do is let them know you’re scared.” “Yeah because I’m sure they don’t know that already.” I clapped back. “Aren’t you supposed to be the professional here?” The lights now all flickered at the same time, the book shelves began to shake as the floor now rattled. Books fell off the shelves and the chairs were tipped over, I could feel the air become icy cold as the eerie hum of the ceiling lights only became louder. “You need to get out of here.” Ethan demanded, putting a hand on my shoulder and trying to force me out of my spot. “How! We’re trapped! My best chance is here with you!” “I said go!” Ethan snarled. The lights flickering came to a climax when it became too intense and they exploded. Shards of glass and plastic fell to the carpeted floor while the darkness flooded the room as a result. The light coming from the windows was covered with a sheet of powerful darkness. The opposite half of the room was completely drenched in a pitch black abyss, even Ethan seemed to not know what was going on. I was terrified, I could feel my hands shaking intensely. In the dark half of the room, eight different pairs of red glowing dots stared fixed on us. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. Not even for a second. They didn’t move, make a sound or speak. They simply continued to glare hungrily at us. I looked down at the floor and nearly screamed as I saw the darkness itself moving. It freaking moved. Slithering across the floor as if it were given a body. I attempted to speak and scream but no noise came out, my throat was closed up from the undeniable panic I was feeling. I thought I was gonna die there and then. “Stay back!” Ethan commanded as the darkness continued moving its way toward him while he tried to fire his weapon. Only for nothing to happen. He tried a couple more times to be faced with the same result. I had felt stupid for relying on him in the first place up to this point. “Wh- what the hell?” He cursed. Haunting laughter came from the darkness. It was a combination of multiple bone chilling cackles. They were sinisterly taunting, Some laughs being children, some being men and some were women. The red dots slowly hovered forward through the dark, getting increasingly closer to Ethan and I as the pitch black, almost liquid like darkness swallowed up the rest of the room. It was closing in on the both of us. All we could do was watch and listen. Ethan attempted to fire the weapon one last time and just like the previous efforts nothing ended up happening. The only difference was that I was seeing a look of panic beginning to spread across his face. It only made my blood freeze even colder. Everything I knew about him so far told me that he wouldn’t be afraid of anything. “I thought you could handle this!” I shoved him. Anger now coinciding with my terror. The void of darkness was now beginning to touch my feet, the volume of the horrific laughter increased as the glowing red eyes were now less than ten feet away. It felt like this would be the end, I wanted to simply drop to my knees and give up as a horrible death slowly advanced towards us. I felt helpless in a way I couldn’t put into words. Ethan was the first to go, the darkness pooled around his feet, he looked at me with nothing but despair and desperation in his eyes as he was suddenly snatched right in front of me. He didn’t have time to scream. Not at first at least. Once he had been consumed and pulled out of sight by the darkness, his screams were ear shattering, I couldn’t hear any sounds of him being maimed or harmed. But it was hard to distinguish the shrieks as being a result of paralyzing terror or pure agony. I chose the former. Two pairs of the red eyes now stepped in place of where he once stood. His blood curdling screams were suddenly and violently cut off after continuing for over twenty seconds. All I could think about was the potential horrific things they had done to him. Along with the fact that I would very soon be next. The darkness had now reached me, it began to surround me, consume me and I was left with nowhere to go. I was sure that this would be my daunting demise. Getting taken by these red eyed shadow beings. The same as my cousin once had. I was fully surrounded by the darkness and I felt something grab me. It was hard to describe, but whatever snatched me up felt like it was all around me. Everywhere at once. The grip of it was cold. Similar to that of stepping outside nude during a blizzard. I began to scream as I could feel the chilling sensation run its way through the inside of my body. Nothing but skin numbing cold was all I could sense. I continued my shrieks as it kept spreading, the process was slow, agonizing in a manner no torture could ever compare to. I was miraculously lucky I was even able to open my eyes for a split second. All around me I saw the Nocturnals, their figures were still pitch black and details completely obscured. But their eyes were now white instead of red, and it hurt me to look at them. I covered my eyes as I continued bellowing my lungs out of my chest. “Assimilation.” The voices of The Nocturnals chanted as they all surrounded me. Over and over again as the feeling of that same overwhelming chill spreading through my veins finally came to a merciful end. It was only seconds after when I had passed out.
When I awoke, I took a deep breath. I was in my room, the lights were off and everything was eerily silent. Morning light was leaking through my curtains but they were shut. The main thing racing through my mind was how I even woke up in the first place and how long I was out. Why was I even still alive? I should’ve been freaking out much more than I was. That’s what I thought anyway. I exited my bedroom and marched down to my bathroom, the light was already on which irritated the morning grog in my eyes. I quickly switched the light off, only letting a small amount of it seep in through the window. I looked in the mirror to see that I was completely unscathed, save for my crimson bloodshot eyes and a few bruises on my forearms. I had wondered if the same had happened to Ethan. I pulled out my phone and attempted to call him. Only for it to go to voicemail several times. That was when I was gonna try to call the police and file a missing person’s report. Right before noticing the time and immediately spiraling into a shallow pool of stress. It was only miniscule compared to what I felt when this situation usually occurred. “Crap.” I said. “Gotta go to work.” When I spoke, my voice was… enhanced. Amplified, whatever you would call it. I said a couple more words and phrases just to make sure what I was hearing was real. Every little noise or verbal outburst I created had echoed throughout the walls of my house. I did everything in my power to chalk it up to my mind and senses being distorted from what had taken place. It was still fresh in my mind. Yet even though I couldn’t stop replaying it in my head, I didn’t feel as strongly as I should have. As mentioned before. I grabbed my shoes and got in my car before hesitantly driving to work, stepping outside was harsh. It didn’t burn exactly. But it caused me moderate internal irritation. I felt out of place from the moment I woke up. Seeing Sherry at work that day didn’t change a thing, I didn’t care much for her presence. Every word that came out her mouth went over my head. I paid her next to no attention. That is, until she uttered the words. “Ryan, why are your eyes so red?” In my mind I thought her question was trivial and maddening. I turned and simply looked at her without saying a single word. I just stared into her eyes as I reached over one of the shelves. “Hello?” She persisted. “Ryan are you okay?” Once again I ignored her. I went about the rest of my shift, half assing nearly everything I did. I couldn’t wait to get home, turn off the lights and relax. The store wasn’t even busy by an average day’s standards. Nonetheless I was beyond exhausted. Arriving home that evening, strange feelings and emotions rose inside me as night time approached. The light was seriously starting to hurt my eyes. I really needed to dim it.
I’m going to finish writing this now, the light from the screen of my laptop is slowly becoming a burning sensation and I can’t take it anymore. I don’t want to look at this screen for a second longer. But tonight I'm gonna go pay Sherry a visit. These voices… They’ve been encouraging me to do so. One of them even sounded like Carl. Just like him. But distorted like me. I kinda like it that way now. It’s soothing. The dark isn’t so bad you know. Maybe everyone should take the time to shut their lamps off and find the peace that doesn’t exist with the light. The light is overrated.

 The End 

Rust Imperial: SoftCore (Full Vanilla) & Rust Imperial X2 [No Limit] [Modded] Servers.

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client.connect 64.40.9.69:28015
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Rust Imperial X2 [ NO LIMIT ] [ Hard Modded PVP SERVER With a lot of CUSTOM PLUGINS. ]
client.connect 64.40.9.69:28019
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UPCOMING WIPE TODAY!!! at 19:00 U.K. time
Our WEBSITE: https://imperials.games/
Our Discord Group: https://discord.gg/q85DhD2
Modded Server Spec:
Plugins: BlackJack Casino, Economics, Imperial Diamonds, Season Battle Pass in Cyberpunk Style, PVP SKILLS , Kits, Backpack, TP, ChickenFarm , Custom Fishing, Imperial Treasure Hunting , Rad House , Personal Oil Tycoon Pumps and Quarry pump, DLC items from the coin shop, and many more custom plugins.
Rates X2 , increased at night time to X2.4 , Loot X2/ X3, cooking speed X3.
Let's build community together ! We welcome everyone!
We are happy to see you feel at home, have fun and fair game while playing on our server and we do treat each player with respect.
The possibility to earn a VIP status without any donation is open to each and every player and entirely up to them to achieve it with ease. by just playing on the Server and using server modes we offer.
Active admin always here not to play but to help each player; for any suggestions or questions - feel free to contact us via forum or our Discord Group. At any time you can chat with the server support in Discord.
Each report is going to the Admin board (including any suspicious activity on the server - stash , esp , wall climb e.t.c.)
At the moment we offer 200 slots- Number of slots & Server CPU,RAM e.t.c. could be increased at any time should we feel necessity for the sake of comfort of our players.
Rates: x2 (night 2.4); Stacks size 15k

…The raging river, pulled them down.
Now they’ll always, be together,
In that Happy Hunting Ground…
- Running Bear by Sonny James
“Snakeyes! New roller, please, next up.” The game runner raked in the dice and chips and ignored the despair in the countenance of the most recent “high roller”. Ted shook his head and other people crowded him away from the dice pit. He was almost out of funds and it was still early. He’d budgeted his, “loss level” carefully to maximize his time at the reservation casino. It was an older one, filled with stereotypical paintings and statues intended to honor the local First Nations Tribes while fulfilling the expectations of rude tourists. He looked around forlornly for a new game to play. He didn’t care for the slots or the drawn-out and ever-shifting card games… ah, Blackjack! There was an opening at the table.
He rushed over before anyone else could snag it and bustled onto the chair. “Okay to deal me in on the next hand?” He interrupted the dealer, who ignored him until he was done dealing out the rest of the players and raking in the chips. He still did not speak but once Ted placed the minimum bet, he flipped a card down in front of him and the game began. Ted immediately started winning the straightforward game. He picked up most of his losses from his unfortunate run at craps and was finally enjoying himself. The couple at the far end of the table had apparently had enough and didn’t care for the new player. Ted liked to talk to new people and thought he was good at it. Before long, the other players had left and it was down to him, the dealer, and an older man, who wore a black cowboy style hat and chain-smoked thin cigarillos.
Ted, grinning heartily at his latest win, glanced over at the man, who had just fired up his next cancer-stick, “You know casinos, and a few bars are the last public places where anyone smokes. I remember when there were smoking sections at most places and my parents told me that there used to be no restrictions. I’ll bet you get plenty of pressure to stop from your family and friends. It’s a pretty bad habit for your long-term health…” Ted usually rambled on past any non-verbal cues that people might give him to stop talking, yet his diatribe came to a screeching halt at the look with which the stern-faced elder favored him.
The older man drew in a long pull on the firestick and then exhaled the stinking cloud into Ted’s face. He coughed a little and gagged at the odor of the raw blend of tobacco and chemicals. The old one removed the cigarillo from his mouth and tapped ashes onto the edge of the table and down onto the floor at his toes, “Sonny, nobody cares. Nobody wants your opinion, and you are not special, no matter what your mommy told you. I’ll do as I please and if you don’t like it, go bother people at another table.”
Ted gaped in shock. In his mind, the man’s words verged on an “assault”. He looked helplessly at the dealer, who just ducked his head and tried not to laugh. Indignant, he rose, took his pile of chips and fled into the depths of the gaming house in search of a friendlier table. He didn’t find one that he liked, so he finally gave up and sat at the bar. The bartender seemed to ignore him in favor of tidying up her workspace. He cleared his throat and received only a glance. He mumbled as much to himself as to her, “I just want a drink while I wait for a table to open.” He wondered at her stony silence, maybe she resents me for being…
His vocal ruminations were interrupted by a feminine voice, “What do you want?”
Ted looked up to see the bartender, mocking smile in place below shining, mesmerizing eyes. Ted simply gaped and eventually worked his jaw uselessly. The bartender shrugged and walked back to the other end of the bar. She spoke with a large man who was clearly part of the security team. He glared at Ted while she spoke. Ted wanted to avoid a confrontation. He’d been conditioned that he should seek authorities if such a situation loomed. Yet casino security was the only available authority here locally. There were Tribal Police on the Reservation, but he wasn’t sure they would want to listen to him. He finally shrugged and decided to go back over to the hotel for the rest of the night. This trip had been very unsatisfying… like all those he’d taken since he moved away from his parents’ home a few years previously.
There was an indoor walkway to the hotel, but Ted decided to go by the outdoor route to get some fresh air and enjoy the natural beauty that the builders had incorporated into the facility. As he walked dejectedly down the sidewalk, local flora pressing in from each side, he heard, from the nearby forest, a screeching wail. It startled him and he had to stop a moment to catch his breath and wait for his heart rate to slow to something more manageable. He realized that it must have been an owl or some other night bird. His father had told him that there were always weird noises “out in the sticks”.
As he plunged his hands into his pockets and determined to go to his room for rest, he caught the faint smell of burning tobacco on the breeze. It wafted over his shoulder from behind and caused him to emit a feeble cough. He looked back in annoyance. In the shadows behind him, he saw a figure. It was dark and stood still in a way that made him uncomfortable. An orange glowing circle of embers hovered around the face and rendered just enough light to illuminate the blue-grey curls of smoke as they exited the tiny conflagration and rose above the brim of a black hat. The ember flared for a moment and then flashed to the ground and was snuffed by a shadowed… foot? It wasn’t exactly clear to Ted; the figure’s lower extremities were... blurred. An even brighter flare, from a lighter or match stabbed into Ted’s eyes as the Smoker lit his next cigarillo.
Ted glared irritation but felt uncomfortable at the unnatural stillness to which the figure returned once the new fire was lit. He coughed once more, this time deliberately in a passive-aggressive attempt to communicate his displeasure and resumed his walk. He strained to listen behind him to determine whether the figure followed. He truly wished to get away from the stink and the threat of cancer or other respiratory illnesses. He slowed to listen, then gave up and looked over his shoulder again. There was no figure in the dark back near the exit to the casino. He turned to resume his walk, but a smoky black form now loomed before him! Its eyes glowed and smoked like large twin cigars as it gaped a maw that emitted pure black smoke and glowed with blue flames within the deep tunnel of the throat. Ted’s consciousness fled his body and found itself in a burning nightmare landscape that extended for as far as he could perceive in all directions.
**** * ****
Darnell, known to his public as “Murder Bush” a deliberate mistranslation of “merde bouche” a.k.a. “Deadly Rapper” for having been a suspect in a shooting back in his youth, stepped up to the dice pit as the geeky dude left. He had plenty of chips and cash to back them. His entourage was there to support him and kiss his backside as often as he wished. He rolled through six passes before he crapped out. He hadn’t over-bet, so he’d won a small amount. He picked up his latest winning chips and handed them to the hostess who had kept him well plied with drinks and snacks. He was sure that for the right price, she would take care of his other needs. He played a few card tables and finished with Roulette.
Each time he won a few chips, he passed them on to the young woman or to one of his flunkies. In the end, they had all received at least some reward for the praises they’d heaped upon him; not for any real accomplishments, but rather to curry favor with the man whom they considered to be wealthy and important: a celebrity. The girl stayed at his side and except for when he asked her questions, she said nothing. He liked that: bitch know her place, he reveled in internal satisfaction. He liked her looks too. She was medium height and a little, “thick”. She was clearly interested but hadn’t gotten in his way when he flirted with other women. He truly liked this one. The more he considered her, the more he wanted to get down to business.
Eventually, he posed the question to her, “How much for the next few hours?” His brazen suggestion that she would take money for sexual favors was the final test. If she grew angry, then she didn’t appreciate his genius…
“Whatever you think is fair. How about we see if I can satisfy you? If I can, then you may want to be generous… as you have been so far.” She hefted the chips so that the pieces clinked in her palm. “If not, I don’t deserve a reward.”
She had passed with flying colors. Might even take this one back to civilization with me, he purred in his mind. He’d always thought of himself as a Big Cat… maybe a leopard or jaguar, definitely something dangerous and sleek. His need grew more intense by the moment. He desperately wanted this woman. “Come on, let’s go to my room.” He husked in a voice grown thick with desire.
They reached his suite, his groupies having been dismissed to their own nefarious pursuits, even his bodyguard. The big man had shrugged, “Your call boss-man.” and then stumped across the hallway to his own room. Now he was finally alone with… her. He stripped off his shirt and flipped his shoes into a corner. She stood by the window and watched. The drinks he’d consumed finally caught up with him before he’d shucked his pants and drawers, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” He was excited, which made urinating a challenge, but it had to be done, so that he could maximize his pleasure. When he stepped from the restroom, au natural, he saw that his latest conquest had done the same and now stood, bare to the world and staring out the window, all the curtains on it pushed to one side, so that the night loomed and the light of a single small desk lamp lit the room. He stalked over to her, ready to take her right there at the window in full view of anyone who looked up from the outside. He secretly hoped for an audience. He enjoyed having others watch him take what he wanted.
She turned to face him, her head lowered… no, it had sunken into her body, only her hair remained above her shoulders! A… mouth, gaping and slavering opened on her stomach, a mouth too large for her body and rimmed with rows of teeth like sharpened spikes. She stepped forward to embrace him and the screaming began… sounds that he was accustomed to eliciting from others rather than emitting from his own person.
**** * ****
“Rhino” was unhappy. He didn’t like to leave Darnell unattended. Perhaps now that his boss was in the room, he could go stand guard outside the door. He took care of some personal ablutions as he wolfed down a couple of energy bars and then walked out into the hallway. He started to settle in front of Darnell’s door, when he heard a muffled scream and faint… slobbering-gobbling noises come from the other side. He quickly tried the door, initially too panicked to think of the extra key card with which Darnell had entrusted him. He fumbled for it and soon had the door open. The interior was completely dark. The light from the hallway spilled inward but didn’t seem to reach as far into the room as it should.
He drew his pistol from the holster on his waistband and began to stalk forward, “Boss, you okay? You hurt?” The room was as silent as a tomb, he shivered a little as that thought crossed his mind. Over by the closed drapes, he smelled something awful: fresh blood and spilled entrails… recent death. His feet squelched on wet carpet. He turned around quickly. There had been no noise, but he’d felt a… presence. There she stood, arms spread wide, mouth on her gut spread wider. Rhino wasn’t one to scream or yell, even in extremis, so no others would come to this room to investigate.
**** * ****
Shelly was glad when the rowdy group left the roulette wheel that sat behind her favorite row of slots. The former “one-armed bandits”, that were now, “multiple button digital bandits” lined every available wall space, and in some spaces stood in rows that drew regulars like a dung-heap draws flies. She’d grabbed her favorite machine early in the evening and sat sliding in dollar bills and working up her points. It was called “Buffalo Dance” and featured images of American Bison and feather-bedecked hunters. The theme on the screen matched and she hoped to one day see the “White Buffalo” image adorn the entire set of images… the grand prize view. Despite the fun graphics, it was her favorite because it was near a restroom and a free soda and snack bar. She found herself ahead and on a roll. She absently lipped her dangling cigarette back into her mouth for a long draw. The smoke obscured the screen for a moment, and then she noted a shadow that lengthened across the reflective surface. Someone stood close behind her. Someone who exuded a chilly air. She paused and looked around, “Can I help you?”
There was no answer, though the shadow shifted slightly as if its caster had heard her.
Now she grew annoyed, this is just the sort of thing to break my winning streak! she raged internally. She braced her hands against the machine and worked her buttocks to make the stool on which she perched spin, so she could confront her harasser. She gaped, and nearly lost her cigarette, there was no one standing near enough to cast the shadow. No one even faced her. She chalked it up to excitement, maybe someone stepped too close when passing to go to the restroom, she thought, still a little annoyed and... chilled.
She turned back to her game and continued working the buttons, pumping in bills, and winning, a little at a time, the points now built well above her investment. This weekend is gonna pay for the last two months of losing and breaking even, she thought triumphantly. The shadow loomed across the screen once more, this time even larger, as though the figure that cast it stood closer. The shape was amorphous but hinted at anthropomorphic. She shivered as an icy breeze flowed around her, as though the air conditioning had sent out a short, cold burst, a minor malfunction…
She turned around with more alacrity and determination than the last time, mouth agape, cigarette once more dangling… precipitously and endangering the cleavage she displayed, already baked and wrinkled from years of sunbathing. The frigid air passed, and no one stood anywhere near her, though a customer approached, headed for either snacks or relief. “Excuse me sir, did you just see someone, maybe a large man, standing behind me?”
The man paused and looked at her in confusion. He had clearly been absorbed in his own thoughts, “Er, what? Uh, No. I wasn’t really paying attention, but… no.” He bustled on toward the free fountain drinks machine.
Shelly shrugged, can’t give up now, the pot is even bigger. She checked her points; she was nearing her all-time high. The winnings would pay her space rental fee at the RV park for the entire month. She pressed and played the buttons more fervently than ever, determined to break the bank on straight points or to reach that magical spin that would offer an instant reward of $10,000.00. She set her new points record and reveled for a moment. She reached for the now small stack of dollar bills the rest having been devoured by the machine. She fed in the entire remaining amount, then once more gazed at the screen. It was entirely blackened by a looming shadow.
The temperature of the air around her plummeted and she shuddered with the sudden biting cold. The cigarette was long extinguished, and she’d let the cold fag fall into the ash tray built onto the side of the machine opposite the drink holder. She was so cold, and she wanted to cry out for help, but the darkness closed in around her as the shadow enveloped her and cut off her breathing. Her fingers, paused above the “spin” button, struck and as her consciousness faded, she saw the flashing blue light and heard the blare of the winner’s siren. White Buffalo images filled all nine spaces. I won! The grand prize!
**** * ****
Terry filled his large cup and stood sipping and daydreaming. He’d lost everything he’d budgeted to lose. Yet he knew that one more try would put him back in black for this trip. He mused about what he would do with the prize money. He’d set his limit at $300.00 and had quickly lost it all on slots. Maybe he could risk just a few more dollars… skip a lunch or two until his next paycheck if it didn’t work. He was startled by the jackpot winner’s flashing light and siren that went off just behind him. That bitch! He yelled internally. Figures some old used up skank would win the big prize. He looked over at the nearby machine with anger and envy vying for control of his senses. She was gone!
He stepped over to the machine and looked around in confusion. Maybe she’d gone to the restroom? No, she’d have passed right by me. He shook his head and stepped up to look at the screen. He could still feel the recent presence of a player, the trace of warmth from a human body that might linger in a space for just a moment after the human had vacated the space. He looked around the casino floor, she was nowhere in sight. She’d been wearing a low-cut silver-spangled top that was cut way too low for her sagging, sun-ravaged bosom. She should be easy to spy, she looked like a deflated disco ball that had fallen from the ceiling to play slots. The only thing that came his way was a train of employees, led by a waitress in a skimpy outfit with purple sparkles and carrying a tray with a glass and a dark bottle. She was followed by other employees, who’d formed a sort of conga line: they sang a congratulatory chorus as they approached.
Terry gaped for a moment when he realized that they thought he was the big winner. He’d have to deny it of course. Surely the woman would be back at any moment to claim her prize. The floor cameras would have recorded who had sat at the machine, but it was too late. The group of enthused employees encircled him, and the attractive young waitress poured him a glass of champagne and snuggled up to him. The manager approached and seized his hand for a vigorous shake, “Well done sir! I see that not only have you hit the jackpot, but you’ve raised an additional $3,000.00 in points. A fabulous prize and well played I’m sure.”
Terry was flabbergasted. He’d never won anything like this… I still haven’t, not really, he reminded himself. He rarely broke even on his gambling forays, whether to the casino, or the corner store for lottery tickets and video slots. He allowed himself to be swept into the reverie and led from the machine to the bar. The employees peeled away as they approached, and he soon found himself with only the bottle and a receipt that he could cash out before he left the premises. A sullen-looking woman stood behind the bar, wiping glasses and a large, mean-looking security staffer menaced the far end. He already had his bottle, so he wasn’t sure why the staff members had deposited him with these two killjoys. He shrugged, picked up the champagne and started to walk away from the bar.
“You can’t take that with you. Either drink it here or give it to me and I’ll put it in the trash.” The bartender stated in monotone.
The security officer stood up straight from where he’d been leaning against the far wall, apparently propping up the building. He folded his massive arms in a threatening manner. Silly, thought Terry, folded arms should be a hindrance, but I get the feeling he’s dangerous regardless. He figured that he’d had enough anyway and set the nearly empty bottle on the bar, “You can keep it ma’am. I can afford another at the hotel.” Terry started to walk away from the bar, but a huge ham-like hand seized his shoulder.
Sausage-sized fingers applied painful pressure, “You apologize to the lady.” The wet heat from a mouth placed uncomfortably close to his ear and beath smelling of river bottom, sent a shiver of disgust through his body. The voice was low and deep as the river that ran past the back side of the property.
Terry decided on the better part of valor and head facing forward to avoid the obscene orifice, “Sorry ma’am, I meant no offense.”
The fingers let go and a harsh laugh sounded from behind the bar. “He don’t even know why he’s apologizing, fool. He ain’t worth the trouble, let him go.”
Terry felt a slight shove and he was sent on his way to the cash-out window. There he met with the lead cashier, an older woman in drab clothing, “I’m sorry sir, we give out only these pre-paid cards, we cannot provide cash over $1,000.00. However, you can treat them like a debit or credit card.” the cashier informed him. It seemed he had no choice, so he accepted. Thirteen grand is thirteen grand, he assured himself. He was elated, though he continued to glance around nervously, waiting for the woman in the sparkly fish-scale top to accost him and name him thief. Yet she was nowhere to be seen. The floor was full of players, some laughing, some intense, some dejected or mesmerized by the games of chance in which they’d lost themselves.
He thought about what to do with the rest of his evening. He didn’t have a hotel room; he’d planned to sleep in his station wagon as he always did before the long haul home. Perhaps he should get a room? Maybe they would take him without a reservation… he giggled a little at the unintended pun: a reservation at the Reservation… he shook his head to clear his overreaction to the silly internal joke. He decided that maybe someone on staff could help him. He approached the major domo at the front entrance that led to the interior walkway and the hotel beyond, “Excuse me sir, do you know whether the hotel will accept a resident without a prior reservation?”
The man, single dark braid wrapped in a leather holder and draped over one shoulder, looked at him gravely, “Yes, I know.” He said nothing more and did not smile as though he’d intended to be humorous.
Terry tried again, “Will you tell me please?”
The man flicked his chin in the direction of the hotel, “See the clerk at the desk.”
“Jerk, you’d think I hadn’t pissed away enough cash in this place over the past few years,” Terry muttered as he stumped toward the hotel, ensuring that he was well beyond earshot before he spoke. His head had begun to buzz a little from the champagne. Took a while for it to affect me, he mused. The hallway appeared to narrow, and his peripheral vision grew grey. He felt dizzy and as he entered the main lobby, the large room began to spin. His last view was of the sky-blue ceiling decorated with a few puffy clouds as it faded into darkness like the sun had set.
He awakened to the sounds of voices chattering happily. He looked around, his vision blurred slightly and his head feeling heavy and sore. He soon found that he could not move his arms or legs… they were bound… he was strapped to a table. He saw numerous bodies moving about in the mostly dark space in which he found himself. “Please.” He croaked, throat dry and feeling scraped. “Please, help me, let me loose. Loose me…” his perceptions cleared slowly, and he saw that the bodies that moved around him, now chanting rhythmically rather than babble-chattering, were emaciated. The owners showed as much bone through their skin as would a dead thing, long decayed. He noted spikes above a few heads… no, antlers… The rest wore… masks? Of various beasts… no, the skulls of those creatures, still filled with glistening fangs. Their dance grew ever more frantic, more energetic than they should be capable of performing. Then one of them reached out with a stick, on the end of which was a small claw, taken and preserved from some dead animal. It used the claw to gouge out a scoop of flesh from Terry’s side. He screamed in torment and horror. His screams soon matched the rhythm of the chanting and they went on for a long time before they at last faded when he’d lost too much blood to remain conscious.
**** * ****