With 42 crisp hundreds lining my pocket and child-like wonder pulsating, Vegas was summoning me from the bowels of hell. But first, I had to take a little detour by Morongo Casino for no particular reason other than recently reading up about Jackson's Seminole Wars and Cherokee policy; felt like the right thing to do.
I smoke a few bowls from my apple piece and do some Tai Chi in the parking structure to immerse into the zone. Within the zone, I am as objective as a poker player as I can comprehend; once the zone crumbles to ego, I am a PLO donk from the pit of eternal suffering and going all in on long shot stock options. It's a perplexing duality to rationalize and live with, though I wouldn't have it any other way. I lost a wee bit under 10k two weeks before with said degeneracy; regardless, there I was harnessing my Chi in the parking structure to redeem myself - maybe I should have been volunteering at a soup kitchen or raising malnourished kittens instead of this self centered quest, but the journey had already commenced..
The only game with an open seat is a 5/10 and I sit down with $666 for my own amusement. The villain of this hand had accidentally revealed his cards to my peaking eyes a few hands before where he floated 2x and bombed a paired board with nothing against a nit. Having known this, I flatted his 3b to 105 with my QQ's because his range is too wide to rip it and checked to him when the board came T95 rainbow, surprisingly he checks back. Turn is a 4 (bringing in clubs) and I lead for 60 to hopefully induce - he flats. River is an offsuit Ace and I check it, he insta rips all in for 550 effective. I ruminate on quantum theory and my mother's abuse, then make the crying call only due to the fact that I saw his donkalicous play before. Sure enough, he flops over 57h and the trip is off to a BANG. After playing tight for another hour and as the table slowly began to break, I walk out with nearly a grand more to my name.
I sat in my Volvo wagon with an American spirit fading to my finger tips and Bach's E Major Partita emitting from mere mm's of my phone's speakers, I realized I had completed the most objective objective of this trip.. The only reason I set off was because my cello "broke" the day before and the degen tingles were too convincing without a bow in hand, now I had more than enough in profit to get my baby tuned up. But who the fuck has the time to act upon their conscience, I'm tryin to GAMBOL! "Vegas, here I come darlin."
I stopped in Barstow to force myself to vomit and then gently placed a tab of LSD under my tongue in ode to Dr. Gonzo. I tried deciphering some meaning in the vast array of stars as I wandered the barren Mojave and after coming up short, I was back to flooring it on the 15. My optics were melting a tad and the road did permeate with my breath, but not an ounce of fear radiated within. I sang my favorite songs from "O Brother Where Art Thou" and didn't think about my ex at all with "You Are My Sunshine," baby steps. With the dusk hue fading as rays of light mustered over the horizon, our beloved capitalist wasteland was within eye shot. Before I could render the inclination of a responsible thought, I was in the Bellagio parking lot smoking weed with some drunk broad beggin for a few bucks to throw on slots - "Ganja is the only charity I provide hon."
After a few orbits at 5/10 with a far too many regs that I recognized and getting a walk with Aces, I stand up right there n then and get the hell out of that nit fest. My soul was aching for 4 cards and there's no forsaking such a ravenous urge, Aria was my destiny.
Due to the fact that live 1/2/5 PLO is actually abbreviated for BINGO, most of my play was incredibly standard and not worth typing out. There was only one hand for which wasn't a cognitive snap decision against a 10/20 pro for whom I had top set and let 3 potential straight combos get there from foolish slow play; after a minute of deciphering the hand and his perception of my image, I called his $400 river bet and got the good news. Aside from that single hand, any domesticated chimp could have been in my seat and it wouldn't have made a difference; the hands played themselves out. After 72 hours of continuous grinding and gettin lucky at 5/5/10, I reached the sacred $4,200 in profit and doubled my trip's first stop loss amount (which I had no intention of adhering to).
With 84 mildly crumpled hundreds in my pocket and that same child-like wonder pulsating; here I am wandering the strip looking for the stories in all these confused faces. But conceptualizing the seemingly infinite dimensionality within even the simplest of folk is futile when I am just as confused; I hope the find what they are looking for or find that the looking is the fun part, who the fuck knows. I appears as though the next leg of my journey is to visit my childhood home in southern Utah and commit Felony arson in spite of my mother - or I might just keep degening away. Only time will tell.
​
Safe travels comrades.

US Department of Astral Affairs Log Book
NEVER TRUSTING, ALWAYS WATCHING
NOVEMBER 2005
​
Welcome, Recruit:
This is introductory course five of Lucid Dreaming. Practice is essential, and completion of this course is mandatory for admittance to the more advanced Dream Walking and Astral Projection wings. Training process is highly dangerous and experimental. Failure may result in permanent brain death or physical demise.
​
Foreword: On Sandmen:
Ever experience Dejavu? Dream of an event before it happens or of a person before you meet them? Dreams are not mere musing of the mind. Classified experiments have shown that dreams have the ability to influence "destiny", or future events. Human consciousness is connected, and the more people who dream of the same event, the more likely it is to occur.
Under the skin of reality, the United States fights another war for the soul of the future. Our enemies are so far shrouded in mystery. We call them the "Sandmen", and they work to influence humanity's dreams to further their interests. From them we adopt our motto: "Never Trusting, Always Watching."
Lucid Dreaming is being conscious during your dreams, taking control of it, and molding it in your image. It is the foundation of highly advanced techniques like Dream Walking and Astral Projection, which involve penetration into the Astral Plain. Recruit, you have been chosen to learn this weapon of the future.
The following transcript on the department's first contact with the "Sandmen" is from one of our finest: Staff Sergeant P. Sherman, one of our pioneering operatives in the Astral Plain, and was appointed Chief of Dream Walking in 2005, heading the fight against the Sandmen and the Collective Consciousness.
​
On Sandmen:
Staff Sergeant P. Sherman, astral excursion log dated ... dated fifth November ... in the Year of our Lord two-thousand-and-two. I - I have just woken up from my latest Lucid Dream, ten minutes ago. S - sorry, I'm still rattled. I've encountered something, and it tried ... to kill me. I’ll start from the beginning.
I followed excursion routine perfectly. Left Fort Knox at 1700 and pulled into my driveway at 1830. An hour of cardio on my wheelchair followed by six sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. Ate dinner at 2000 and relaxed with Beethoven and a book until 2300. Began meditating in pitch darkness on my bed until I fell asleep. My alarm woke me at 0300. Dead tired.
Nothing new, just standard protocol. Popped my anti-acetylcholine pills and fell back on bed. Immediately felt myself sinking into the mattress, hallucinating, seeing red and green, then blue. Kept chanting in my head “Be Lucid. Perform reality checks, Sherm.” Soon, the mattress fell away. Felt like my body was suspended in air. Couldn’t hear anything, or feel anything. Sleep paralysis check, I confirmed. I meditated to remain calm and let myself slip further. Began seeing more splashes of colour and then faces: my wife’s this time, when she was younger. Hallucination check, I thought.
A stark breeze brushed my cheek and I opened my eyes. Sure felt warmer than 20 degrees. Reality check one, failed. Pinched my nose and tried to breathe; no problem whatsoever. Second reality check failed. I then stood up; no wheelchair. Final reality check, failed. Three for three. I’m dreaming, all right, and fully lucid. I control my breathing. Don’t need air in here, but it tricks the mind to be calm. Get too riled up and I could wake up, even under the pills.
I lift my eyes to survey the dream. I’m just outside Sam’s Town, an old red casino teetering on the edge of Vegas. Not in the golden lanes where all the glitzy gaming hotels are, but nowhere in Vegas is it dark anyway.
“Sherm, what’s wrong?”
I hear. And something soft presses against my arm. Haven’t felt it in years. Caroline wore the same red spotted blouse as on our honeymoon. I’m dreaming of ’97. Been dreaming of Caroline an awful lot lately.
“You keep spacing out Sherm,” she says and … oh God help me. She looks at me with those sapphire eyes, like a captured galaxy. She puckers her lips, and I … I meet them. I know it’s just a dream, but it feels – felt so … so real.
A – anyway, I push her away after a moment – or two: mission comes first. Haven’t been so Lucid before in any dream. I turn around: tons of people going in and out of Sam’s Town. The music is blaring, and the neon too. But I don’t see a target. Makes sense, most people wouldn’t dream themselves to the entrance of Sam’s Town. It isn’t iconic enough.
Down the lane, I see the arching citadel of the Bellagio hotel. In the real world, it wouldn’t be so close to Sam’s Town, but in this dreamscape, it was just a stroll away. I feel Caroline wrap around my arm again, and we walk along.
“Let’s go back … hey,” she pines, and Caroline squeezes closer than I had thought possible. “Sherm, we already saw the Bellagio yesterday!” She tries to pull me back, but I gently usher her along. I could leave her and run ahead, but in dreams, it’s best not to act too differently than you normally do. Sends your subconscious warning signs, could wake you up.
“Well, what’s one more time? Come on, it’ll be quick,” she grumbled loud enough for me to hear. Entirely by design, Caroline. Well, in retrospect, I’m certain it was.
Together we walk towards the Bellagio’s majestic fountain, now jetting diamonds in the sky, framing the hotel behind with celestial gates. The crowd thickened as we neared, a dense mass of phones, pointing at the fading jets.
“You know what? This is nice,” she says softly.
“Yes it is,” I smile, but my eyes are scanning the scene. Bingo, my intuition was right. Everything about this place is all wrong. When me and Caroline came here years ago, the Bellagio hadn’t even opened yet. If this is my dream of ’97, the Bellagio should be a skeleton, and the fountain, a mud yard. Even if I’m dreaming of what I saw on TV, it shouldn’t be this vivid. Too vivid to be my own. And more importantly, the people. Hoodies, flipflops, tube tops, Chinese silk … People didn’t dress like that back in ’97. And the gadgets, I’ll be damned if we had I-phones back then.
I feel the ivory balustrade next to the fountain. It’s pockmarked and my fingers bump along a firm surface. It’s cold and slightly damp too, like after a brief shower. Odd: it didn’t rain a drop when we came in ’97. Which means … someone else is here – someone who visited Vegas after ’98 when the Bellagio opened – and this fountain is his or her dream.
I scan the clearing. A great way to tell a Lucid dreamer apart from dream characters is the way they move. Dream characters only move when the dreamer is aware of them. Otherwise, they remain frozen in place; and the whole left wing where Caroline and I were standing was completely stuck.
“Let's see it from over there” I point to the far end of the gallery. The fountain is moving too, so the dreamer must be watching it. As we stroll along, I see more active dream characters, and the camera snapping gets louder too. Finally, at the end, the crowd at the balustrade is abuzz. Yet, the group behind them is frozen. In the middle of the two is a lone girl in denim and black tights, just watching the Bellagio through the fountain spray, now forming starbursts in the night sky.
“What’s your name?”
She whips around, eyes forming a question, but too startled to ask. She sweeps her chestnut bangs over her right ear. “Erm … Lucy King”
“Lucy, I need you to be calm. My name is Penn Sherman.”
“And I’m Caroline, his wife” my wife interjects, shooting me a questioning glare.
“I was getting to it, honey.”
“Maybe we should get back, dear?” she tugs again, far harder this time. Harder than Caroline ever could when she was alive. It nearly trips me.
“H - hello, I guess?” Lucy says, taking a step back.
“I’ll get to the point. Do you know you are dreaming?”
“Honey … please, I’m begging you,” Caroline gives me a pained smile.
Lucy’s eyes narrow at me, and I continue: “This is the Bellagio fountain, but you can’t be here in real life right now, can you?”
Lucy looks to the sky, and all-round. Dream characters spring into action around her. The sound of snapping cameras and idle chatter picks up, as if Lucy had only just noticed it.
“I was … at home,” she whispers, then her eyes widen in shock.
I grin at her. “You see, I’m dreaming too, Lucy. This means the world of sleep is connected! I’m doing a test for the US mili...”
“ENOUGH” Caroline screams, but her voice rips at the seams, sounding … queer. “We are going back, NOW.” She readies herself for a huge pull. I blink. Are dream characters normally this pushy?
I slip out of her grasp. I blink again. Did she get bigger? My 5 foot Caroline is now 7, with spindly arms hanging down to her knees and her neck arching forward towards me at an impossible angle.
“Holy shit, this is a weird dream,” Lucy mumbles.
And Caroline’s voice breaks, morphing into something harsh, like a hundred shattering plates. “YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR.” The flesh on Caroline’s hand melts into a flat sickle. Lucy never had a chance. The creature that was Caroline swung that cruel arm, cutting Lucy’s head off, eyes still wide with shock. There was no blood. Lucy’s body just shimmered away, waking her from the dream.
“What the fuck,” I shout. The creature snaps its head towards me and smiles, like Caroline. Grains of … sand seemed to be falling out of her body everywhere, but then circulating into her stomach, then out again. The ground was littered with the stuff.
“We can’t have you interfering with the dreamscape any further,” the creature grates at me, sending shivers down my dream body.
“What the hell are you?”
In reply, the creature brandishes its sickle arm at me. Not wanting to be intimidated, I force a laugh out of myself for bravado. “You got nothing on me. This is just a dream. Like Lucy, even if you cut off my head, I’ll just wake up.”
The creature chuckled. Then its harsh, otherworldly voice came. “Correct, if it is your dream, but where are you?”
The Bellagio; Lucy’s dream! And I start running back towards Sam’s Town. The insectoid skittering of the creature’s pointed feet sounded a step behind. I run as hard as I can, and I make it back past the fountain to the street. The block of buildings where Sam’s Town begins is just four strides away.
But then I just … fall. My legs are all busted again like after my second tour in Afghanistan, and the creature is closing in. All around it, Lucy’s dream of the Bellagio is collapsing, falling away into an empty black void below. Fountain waters poured into eternity along with Lucy’s dream characters, like mannequins. Cars and streetlamps folded down with the ground. But ahead, the block of buildings with Sam’s Town’s shimmering neon remained intact, just as bright as I left it.
I start crawling towards my dream – three strides away – but a shadow casts over me. The creature with Caroline’s face was there, with a street lamp at its back, bleeding sand all over the sidewalk. The streets were empty: no cars or people. It was just me, and it. I could already hear Sam’s Town, the whistles, the Michael Jackson they always had on, everything. And the sickle-shaped arm stabbed into my chest. I howled with pain, but I kept going, kept crawling – two strides away. I jerked and cried out as it stabbed me again in the arm – one stride.
One arm left, I grip onto a streetlamp and heave my body forward, but the bladed arm pulls me back, slicing down my dangling forearm. But I manage to gain an inch. My head passes the boundary and suddenly I feel my legs again. I hear rumbling, and my dream of Sam’s Town begins to fall apart; the neon sign crashes to the ground.
I need to be quick; get back in before the dream collapses without the rest of me. I’m almost there. And the creature stabs me again, this time in the chest, but I manage to kick off the asphalt with my legs and launch myself into the sidewalk. Sam’s Town’s music blares loudly, as if welcoming me back, and the neon sings in a dazzling spectrum which quickly fizzles away. The sound system fails. Buildings are crashing down around me. And I look at the creature. The street is like a damn beach from the sand pouring out its stomach. Behind it, the dream world is darkness as the creature’s unblinking eyes fix on me. My vision fades, and I flip the bird at it as I die.
I wake up and my body’s on fire. Something warm is running down my thigh: Blood, I recognize the smell. The emergency lights are on. My left arm refuses to move; it looks like a half-eaten chicken wing, but it doesn’t hurt. Adrenaline is pumping through my veins. The heart-rate monitor I’m hooked up to is going mad, and I can feel my chest go. My cell is ringing and nearly rattling itself off the bedside drawer. Home base must have picked up my readings, which means that paramedics are on the way. I just need to wait.
So here I am, bleeding all over my corridor, back against the wall and feet bracing myself upright. Patched myself up as best I could, but I hope the doctors can save the arm.
Trust no one. I repeat. Trust – no – one. These things can be anyone, even your wife, and they are hunting Lucids. HQ, we’ve made first contact. I recommend that all future Lucid dives take place monitored on base. I see headlights through my window. The paramedics are here to pick me up. Staff Sergeant Penn Sherman, signing out … and Caroline, I’ll be back.
END OF TRANSCRIPT: ON SANDMEN
5TH NOV 2002

It’ll come as no shock to you that Las Vegas is not the most pleasant city in the world. From the insane cabs that won't hesitate to steamroll you right into the ground, to the borderline-toxic stench wafting from the sewer grates, it's easy to see why the place wouldn't top too many travel lists. But as I sit in this cheap hotel room about two hours from the Strip, typing with the one arm I have left, I know for a fact that I will never return to Las Vegas.
“Hey, hey!” Reggie said as I walked up to the gate. “There he is! what took you so long?” Mike said, giving me a high five. We had been planning this for months. My friend Danny was getting married, and we had decided to have the bachelor party in Vegas. Behind Danny’s back, we had all chipped in to book a suite at the Bellagio hotel. We were obviously pumped for a weekend of slots, booze, and girls. “Where's Danny?” I asked, dropping my carry-on. “Went to the bathroom”, Reggie said, pulling a handful of chips out of a bag under his chair , “ he’ll be back in a minute”. Mike leaned into me and Reggie, and lowered his voice. “Alright boys, final check. Reggie, you booked the room, right?” He blinked a couple of times and scratched his stubbly chin. “Uhh… yeah”. “Awesome. Mitch, you got our rental car?” I held up my receipt. “ Of course”. “Alright!” Mike said a bit too loudly. “Alright what?” A familiar voice rang out from behind us. I turned around to see Danny walking towards us, shaking water off his hands. His khaki pants and button up shirt putting to shame my sweat pants and faded hoodie. “Jesus. Nicole must really be changing you, man”, I said, laughing and pulling him into a hug. “Trust me man, if I had never met her, I’d be naked half the time.” A few minutes later, they called our flight. With a few whoops from Reggie, we boarded the plane.
Two hours later we had touched down in Sin City. Reggie went to check in for the rental car while the rest of us watched the turntables for our luggage. As I absentmindedly watched the perpetual row of bags emerging from the plastic-flap-covered opening, I suddenly felt eyes on me. I raised my eyes from the bags and saw who those eyes belonged to. On the other side of the concourse, leaning against a wall, one guy stood out from the crowd. A black guy in his early twenties, wearing what appeared to be an old timely bellhop uniform. The gold buttons on his crimson jacket gleamed under the fluorescent lights. As I stared at him, with no small amount of confusion, the man whistled at me in two short bursts, equal in pitch, as if he were calling a dog. Dan put his hand on my shoulder, making me jump slightly.
We picked up the rental car and made our way to the Strip. As we gawked at the lavish hotels with flashy signs that could’ve been seen from the stratosphere, Danny turned to me. “ Shouldn't we get to the hotel first?” I smiled at him. “Sounds good to me,” I said turning into the Bellagio’s self parking area. “Wait…” Danny’s eyes lit up “ you didn't..” “ 15th floor.” Danny looked like a kid on Christmas morning. I will never forget that face.
“You didn't tell me you got a suite!” Danny said as he looked around the gigantic room we had rented. “Anything for the man of the hour”, I said, shoving the pocket sized Fireball I had bought on the plane into the mini fridge. “What’re we sitting around here for?” Reggie yelled, emerging from the bathroom. Mike looked up from his phone “ there’s a sick nightclub at Caesars Palace. Let's check it out.”
After shot number four, I was feeling like a king.I made my way from the bar back to my table, through the crowds of people silhouetted against the multicolored lights of the club, and found Danny,Mike,Reggie, and a girl who Reggie introduced as Lolita. After shooting Reggie my
world-famous she’s-not-staying-the-night glare, I took my seat and laughed at the tail end of the joke Mike was telling.
After a few minutes, I noticed a rather out of place man a few feet from our table. He looked like a real greaseball, with a shiny balding head that housed a combover synonymous with the word creepy. Had I not been so hammered, I would have been more suspicious when he walked up to our table. “Hello Gentlemen” He said with a grin that showed off slightly crooked, yellowish teeth. “You seem like the kind of guys that belong in some place other than a cramped one room night club. Perhaps someplace more… exclusive would better suit you.” Eying Danny’s expensive blazer and tie clip, the man leaned in close, putting his hands on the table. “ I'll cut right to the chase: if you follow me, I'll take you to the most exclusive casino in Vegas.” He raised his eyebrows. I turned to see what the guys thought, only to see Danny standing up from his seat, with Reggie close behind. I turned to look at Mike. He shrugged. “What the hell! It's Vegas after all,” Mike stood up and I followed suit, jogging a few paces to catch up with the group. After passing a row of Rocky Horror Picture Show themed slot machines, the greasy man banged open a door marked “Staff Only” to reveal a dark staircase with lights strung on either side of the stairs like a movie theater. Reggie let Lolita go first with a slurred,“ladies first”, Reggie then took a step down,stumbled, and proceeded to slide down the stairs, taking out Lolita like a lone bowling pin. Danny,Mike and I had to grip the handrails as we descended, due to us laughing so hard.
A strange mix of thick perfume and cigarette smoke greeted our nostrils at the bottom of the stairs. Mike could barely hold back a gag as we walked further down the hall. As we rounded a corner, I saw a large golden sign above the main entrance to the casino. “The Thomas Bernard club of Las Vegas” It read, with the image of two dice outlined with fire underneath. “Before everyone gets started, will you follow me please!” The greasy man said, leading us past rows of blackjack tables to a blue metal door that seemed out of place with the rest of the casino. “Here,” said the greasy man, abruptly open the door, “ is where you join the club”.
“Choose anywhere you want, sir.” The tattoo artist said, as Reggie sat down in the chair. If I had been in better shape, I would have thought that a tattoo was a pretty weird membership requirement. “ I'll give you $100 if you get it on your ass” Dan said, giggling. Reggie wasted no time dropping his jeans and pointing out the perfect place on his right cheek. Within the hour, Reggie was holding a mirror to admire the Devil’s Tongue flower that had been printed on his butt. Dan came next, who got his on his left shoulder blade. Mike got his on his bicep. He told us he could make it dance, but winced in pain as soon as he flexed. Reggie practically fell over laughing. I got mine on my left shoulder. As I stood from the chair, the greasy man entered. “All set?” He asked in a jovial tone. We nodded. “Excellent!” The man said, clapping his hands together, “Have fun!”. All four of us exited the room, and Reggie immediately jumped on one of the slot machines, dragging Lolita behind him. Strange, I had forgotten Lolita was even with our group. Did she even get a tattoo? Dan grabbed my shoulder. “ we're headed to the craps table. Come on!”.
An hour later, I was running the craps table like a champion. Cheers went up every time I rolled the dice, and a particularly good looking girl in a short club dress had been making eyes with me across the table the whole time. I jumped out between games and asked if she wanted to grab a drink. After we ordered,the girl grabbed my arm. “Have you heard the rumors about this place?” she whispered to me, with eyes that sparkled with curiosity. “Like what?” I replied, taking a sip of my beer. “Like about the people who run this place? I heard one of them went insane.” She spoke with the voice of an idle teenager, and I found myself slightly on edge as I responded. “Really? Interesting.”my hand curled tighter around the bottle I was holding. The bartender startled me when he walked over to us. “Miss, that's only a rumor. Trust me, I've worked here for almost 30 years. Mr. Bernard and his brother were killed when the boiler underneath their personal ski lodge exploded one winter. Bodies were never recovered. Horrible ordeal.” The bartender said, looking past us into thin air for a second, before turning to help a big buff dude who had just approached the bar. Something had seemed… weird about that bartender. He had rattled that story off almost as if he had memorized it beforehand. Like he’d had to say it more than once .I glanced in the direction the bartender had looked, where two casino security guards were staring directly back at me. “Hey are you ok?” The girl’s words snapped me back to reality, and I was vaguely aware that my hands were shaking. “Yeah” I said, clearing my throat. “Will you excuse me for a second?” She barely got a chance to respond before I was sprinting away from the bar. Something definitely wasn’t right. I needed to find the guys.
Dan wasn’t at the craps table. As I ran down the rows of bright, flashing slot machines, air reeking of cigarette smoke filling my lungs, I began to well and truly panic. I felt like I was drowning on dry land. I needed to find the guys. I must not have been running as straight as I thought; I ran into a group of people, and almost knocked a few down. Turning a corner, I saw Reggie and Lolita, facing a slot machine at the end of the aisle, seated with their backs to me. Relieved, I sprinted over to them. As I got closer, my relief slowly melted into horror.
The first thing I noticed was that Lolita was crying, tears streaming down her face, smearing her cheap makeup and turning her tears black with mascara. Then I noticed that she was whispering something I couldn’t hear into Reggie’s right ear. The third thing I noticed was that Reggie was dead. Not just dead. He looked like a burn victim. Though somehow his shoulder length hair and thick glasses remained in tact, his skin was a sickening, ashy black. His eyes were gone, and his mouth was open in a silent scream of agony. The final thing I noticed, and something that has rattled around in my brain for years, was that Reggie’s right hand was clutching his right buttock. Right where he had gotten his tattoo. His other hand was melted to his phone, where what was left of the screen displayed the frozen image of a phone call marked “Mom”.
I don’t know what I intended to say when I opened my mouth, but before I got the chance, I wretched, and vomited my dinner all over the tacky casino carpet. The room began spinning again, my skull throbbed like my brain had been replaced with a hornets nest. What the hell just happened? Why was no one else helping, or even noticing? That’s when I felt a hand on my shoulder. “ You don’t look well, friend.” The voice was the exact opposite of comforting. I looked up and found myself face to face with the greasy guy that brought us here. He was so close I could smell his rancid breath under a thick shroud of cologne. “Here, come with me.” I wanted to protest, to get this disgusting man away from me, but I was so in shock that I could only stand there as he put a hand on my back and guided me away from Reggie’s corpse. It took me a while to realize that he hadn’t noticed him. Or if he did, he sure as hell didn’t say anything.
The next thing I remember is sitting in a large, comfortable chair. I looked around and found I was in a lavish office, similar in design to the suite we had bought for the bachelor party. One thing that caught my eye, however, was the Devil’s Tongue flower in a vase on the bar. That was when all of the memories of what had happened flooded back into my head. I went to stand up from the chair, but found I was unable to pull myself from it. Why was I so weak? “Don’t bother” a voice came from behind the chair. I heard the sound of wheels on the carpet, and I started panicking all over again. My mind was awash with fear as saw through the large mirror on the wall,what, or rather, who was being brought in.
The greasy man from earlier was wheeling in a wheelchair with an IV bag attached to it, as well as a respirator. But I quickly realized it wasn’t for me. In the chair was what appeared to be the charred corpse of a man, barely more than a blackened skeleton in a pinstriped suit. His eyes were covered by the gauze wrapped around the top half of his head. Even so, the two black stains on the gauze right where his eyes should be made me feel like he could see more of me than I would ever like. Before I had a chance to say anything, ask why I was being shown this horrible sight,the greasy man shot me a wink and left. The door slammed, And as I sat helplessly, the corpse spoke. “Allow me to introduce myself” despite how emaciated he appeared, the “man” spoke with perfect clarity. “ I am Mr. Thomas Bernard. I suppose you’ve already heard about me, though.” Mr. Bernard sharply inhaled through the nasal respirator. “What the hell?” I was able to sputter our in my dazed state. “Yes I know. You’re thinking I should be deep in the Colorado mountains,frozen under layers of ice in the ruins of a long forgotten ski lodge. And above all, I should be dead, right?” My mind warped like heated metal. My mouth could only take in shallow, staccato breathes. What had they done to me? “If you haven’t already guessed, that story is about as true as the cheater at a poker table.” Said what was left of Mr. Bernard, with a chuckle that sounded fit for a crow with a broken neck, “Now I guess, considering you don’t have that much time left, I can tell you about how I came to own this...place”Mr Bernard said, seeming to choose the last word carefully.
“In my prime, I was the greatest businessman on the face of the earth, if I do say so myself. With monopolies in real estate, car manufacturing, and specifically… casinos. I owned some of the most popular casinos in the United States, and ended up bringing more tourists to Nevada then anytime in recorded history. I was a king.”
“ I believe it was a Wednesday. I remember going to sleep in my house, and waking up in a room that I could only describe as...as beautiful beyond the concept of beauty. It was as large as a stadium, surrounded by pillars connected by large, medieval arches. The floor was an intricate, polygonal mural that seemed to shift wherever I stepped. The pillars were covered with carvings. Looking closer, I found that these carvings were all different languages, From English, to French to Korean. Towards the bottom of the pillars, languages that were so old I hardly recognized them. Looking up, I noticed that the arches sat in the middle of the pillars rather than the top, and the pillars rose high above them into murky darkness.” Under the desk, I gained movement in my left big toe.
“A voice emanated from the infinite darkness surrounding me.” Mr. Bernard’s emaciated hands gripped the arms of the wheelchair. “I felt both fear and comfort in that moment. It was a voice unlike any other; Speaking English, yet somehow devoid of any accent or defining speech pattern.”
“ I was dead. I had died in my sleep, and was now in what it referred to as Fegefeuer. And whatever dwelled in this place…” Bernard leaned forward, and I swear I could hear his bones creaking and popping beneath his suit. By now I had completely regained feeling below my left ankle, and was swiftly feeling more and more of my entire leg. “ ...offered me a choice. To my right, a simple, red door appeared. ‘Through that door,’ the voice whispered, ‘is your afterlife. And this…’ from behind me came the bright, twinkling glow. Turning, I saw the geometric tapestry of the floor morph into a city street, and the pillars into Vegas strip signs. ‘is the powerful, regal life you ran prior to this very moment.’ Everything below my waist tingled as though it had fallen asleep, and was regaining feeling.
“I suppose you’ve been wondering why I look the way I do, Mr. Ross.” Bernard said, leaning back in his chair. “ I am a man of chance. My gambling has lead me to the most extravagant experiences and luxuries on this earth. I have also lost fortunes the working man could only dream of. With the future of my existence hinging on one choice… I played it safe.” Even with barely any flesh still attached to his blackened skull, and his eyes covered by bandages, I could clearly see anger spreading across his face, making small pieces of flesh fall like bits of paper into the ashtray on his desk. “It didn’t like that. One. Bit.”
And that’s when Mr Bernard stood up. I don’t know why, of all things, that haunts me the most. The fact that such a spindly, crude mockery of the human form had the ability ( or at least the compulsion) to stand as a man would. “Come one more!” Bernard suddenly roared, pulling me up by the front of my shirt so that we would be eye to eye if his head were not wrapped in gauze, “Maybe now I can sleep!”. I realized very quickly his ramblings were not directed at me, as the vacant stains on the gauze were aimed off in the distance. Beyond the walls of the office.
As quickly as he had lifted me, Bernard dropped me. “Not Enough?” He said, his voice suddenly strained, hands clutching his head. I realized in that moment that all of my feeling had returned. I knocked the chair over sprinting out of the office. Strange enough, it was not locked. As I sprinted down the hallway back to the casino, I began hearing something loud. As I rounded the corner back into the casino, it dawned on me exactly what that sound was. Dozens of voices, all screaming. All around me, people were screaming for help, or groaning in pain. It was then that I started…smelling it. Burning flesh tearing through the tomblike shroud of the casino’s stench. I saw people who seemed healthy an hour earlier crumpling to the floor, clutching at various body parts. I thought nothing. I ran, ignoring the dampness at the crotch of my pants. Ignoring the sweat running into my eyes, causing me to slightly stumble. Ignoring the group of three people I pushed through. That is, until I heard Danny’s terrified voice. “Mitch! HELP ME!” his voice cracked in desperation, trying to free himself from the grip of the two security guards holding each of his arms. I turned back, dazed and petrified, as I watched my friend get dragged further into the crowds of writhing bodies.
If she had not been there in that moment, I would have never made it to the door ten feet from where I stood. I would have crumpled onto that singed casino carpet and shut down like a robot in a cartoon. But the girl from the bar was there, and I didn’t realize it until she grabbed a hold of my suit jacket. She screamed one word into my face: “Run!”. I lunged to the door, and it came off its hinges as soon as I pulled on the handle. As I fell out into the dark corridor, I turned and watched as the entire casino seemed to...disassemble. Slot machines became bare wires and sparking lights. Roulette wheels telescoped upwards in layers. The ceiling seemed to melt into concrete and steel beams. My eyes were fixed, however, on the girl in the black dress, crawling on her elbows towards the doorway. I hadn’t noticed how radiant her light green eyes were, until the moment before her head was crushed by a large antique fire extinguisher. Her defined cheekbones and long brunette hair were suddenly lost in a mess of blood and jagged teeth. My eyes rose to the person responsible, and I initially could not understand what I was seeing. I knew it was the man who had lead us to the club, but his face was nothing more than a pile of flesh that wouldn’t look out of place on the Elephant Man. Bulbous skull, eyes swollen shut, and a wide mouth with no teeth. A mouth that was laughing.
I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see the man in the bellhop uniform, the one who I had seen in the airport. He walked forward until he stood parallel with me, and turned. He gave me an acknowledging nod, then walked into the casino. As he did, the doorway gave off a blinding white light. There was a sound like lightning hitting a gas truck. Then, nothing. I stood up, and stared at the solid concrete wall where the hellish casino had stood. I knew then that I had witnessed something no one else would believe.
People gave me strange looks as I walked down the strip, but I hardly noticed. I made it to the rental car, and the next thing I remember is standing at the front desk of a motel.
I sat on the bed,not knowing what to think or feel. My questions outnumbered my answers one thousand to one, and even attempting to comprehend the tiniest things: The guards, her eyes, the roulette wheel breaking,that bellhop… and Danny’s voice, saturated with terror, fading into the dynn of screams. My phone buzzed on the bedside table, and I didn’t have to look to see it was Nicole calling me again. I stood and looked out the window, at the sun rising over the barren desert. Staring into that crimson ball of gas, all of my anger and confusion funneled into one solid pit in my stomach. I felt so… small. It took me a second to notice the burning pain shooting down my arm. I heard myself yelling, and felt the pain pulsing in my left shoulder. I frantically removed my shirt to see that the veins around the Devil’s Tongue tattoo had turned black. One more answer I didn’t need.
I spent hours cutting off my arm in the bathtub with the swiss army knife I kept in my back pocket. I used my belt as an improvised tourniquet, and bit down on one of the bath towels. I was scared when the first blood started to drip. After a while, it became nothing more than a morbid chore, intercut by crying and grunting from the pain. When I had finished,I covered my stump with the towel. The ambulance should be on its way right about now. We’ll see if it runs into any stubborn taxi drivers along the way.

NEW THREAD: https://www.reddit.com/PoGoVegas/comments/4uenxg/pokemon_nests_in_vegas/ Please report to this new thread. This has been converted into a Gdoc format that is being moderated by a few users who expressed interest early on. This is to prevent le trolls. Thanks everyone in /PoGoVegas community for your input, we've really made huge strides!
ORIGINAL POST: The goal of this post is to catalog in an easy to follow reference of what general locations in Vegas have spawns of specific pokes. This is a community project, so please submit in the comments where you've had luck finding specific pokes and I'll try to get in a couple of edits a day. Note that evolves and rares probably won't have a location, but if you've noticed a trend we can still add it. I'm removing evolves to shorten the list. I live on the west side so I mainly have knowledge about my nearby parks. Please let the community know of anything you've got to add! Open to all suggestions. If you can confirm any information I'll try to add confirms to the list as well. Thanks everyone! Please be aware that some listed areas may not be public access (i.e. golf courses, washes, businesses, etc.). Please follow the law, be aware of your surroundings, and help our community's image.
Bulbasaur - Silverado Park 9855 Gilespie St., 89183 (3 Confirm) -- Fox Ridge Park - 420 Valle Verde Dr., 89014 (2 Confirm)
Charmander - Equestrian (Dog) Park - 1200 Equestrian Dr., 89015 (2 Confirm) -- Charlie Frias Park? - 4801 S Decatur Blvd, 89103 -- Sunset Park? 2601 E Sunset Rd, 89120
Squirtle - Mission Hills Park - 551 Mission Dr, 89002 (3 Confirm)
Caterpie
Weedle
Pidgey - Everywhere
Rattata - Everywhere
Spearow - The Strip/Everywhere (Less Common)
Ekans - Everywhere
Pikachu - Exploration Peak Park - 9700 S Buffalo Dr, 89178 (1 Confirm) -- PRIVATE PROPERTY - Lowe's? - 1401 S Boulder Hwy., 89015 -- Fort Apache between Blue Diamond and Sunset? -- PRIVATE PROPERTY Steiner's? - 1750 N Buffalo Dr #115, 89128 -- Near Rumor Hotel?
Sandshrew - Everywhere
Nidoran♀ - Desert Bloom Park? (1 Negative) - 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123
Nidoran♂ - Desert Bloom Park? (1 Negative)- 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123
Clefairy - Floyd Lamb Park (Early Closure?, 8 PM?) - 9200 Tule Springs Rd., 89131 -- Goett Family Park - 10950 Southern Highlands Parkway, 89141
Vulpix - Lured stops at Desert Breeze seem to yield more than others
Jigglypuff - PRIVATE PARK: The Willows Park? - 2775 Desert Marigold Ln, 89135 -- UNLV Maryland Campus ( 1 Confirm) -- Sunset Park? - 2601 E Sunset Rd, 89120
Zubat - Everywhere
Oddish - West Flamingo Park - 6255 W Flamingo Rd, 89103 (3 confirm) (Be mindful of safety)
Paras - Everywhere
Venonat - Everywhere
Diglett - Everywhere? (Less Common)
Meowth - Everywhere? (Less Common) -- More common at Desert Breeze around lures -- On strip Near Cosmo
Psyduck - Wetlands Park - 7050 Wetlands Park Ln., 89122 (1 Confirm) -- Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed) -- Mirage Volcano/Venetian? (1 Tentative Confirmation) -- Goett Family Park (Long Trail)? - 10950 Southern Highlands Pkwy., 89141
Mankey - Everywhere
Growlithe - Everywhere
Poliwag - Mirage Volcano/Venetian? -- PRIVATE PROPERTY - Rhodes Range Golf/Pond Areas - 20 E Rhodes Ranch Pkwy, 89148
Abra - Everywhere. Relatively increased spawns in Desert Breeze Park (Confirmed) -- Desert Bloom Park? - 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123 (Kadabra reported)
Machop - Desert Breeze Park - 8275 Spring Mountain Rd., 89147 (3 Confirm) -- PRIVATE PROPERTY LV Athletic Club? - 9065 S Eastern Ave, 89123 (Machoke as well?)
Bellsprout - O'Callaghan Park - 601 Skyline Rd, Henderson, NV 89002 (1 Confirm) -- Mission Hills Park? - 551 Mission Dr, 89002
Tentacool
Geodude - Everywhere, Relatively increased spawns in Desert Breeze Park (Confirmed), Silverado Park, Craig Ranch Park, Charlie Frias Park -- PRIVATE PROPERTY LV Athletic Club? - 9065 S Eastern Ave, 89123 -- Desert Bloom Park? - 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123
Ponyta - Everywhere, Relatively increased spawns in Desert Breeze and Sunset Park -- Mountains Edge Regional Park? - 8101 W Mountains Edge Pkwy, Las Vegas, NV 89178 (Rapidash reported multiple nights)
Slowpoke - Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed)
Magnemite - Charlie Frias Park? - 4801 S Decatur Blvd, 89103 -- Sighting at UNLV Rec Center? (Maryland Campus)
Farfetch'd - Asia Only
Doduo - Everywhere
Seel - Paradise Park - 4775 McLeod Dr, 89121 (2 Confirm)
Grimer
Shellder - Tropicana Casino? -- Lorenzi Park - 3343 W Washington Ave, 89107 (1 Confirm) -- Shadow Rock Park? - 2650 Los Feliz St, 89156 (Be Mindful of Security)
Gastly - Davis Park - 6601-6699 Eldora Ave, 89146 (5 Confirm)
Onix - Shadow Lane UNLV Campus? -- Downtown - 6th & Ogden?
Drowzee - Duck Creek Park - 8650 Pollock Dr., 89123
Krabby - Bellagio Fountains -- Mirage Volcano/Venetian?
Voltorb - Bill Briare Park? (Lure Spawns?) - 650 N Tenaya Way, 89128
Exeggcute - Springs Preserve - 333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107 (Proposed extremely common) -- Sunset Park? 2601 E Sunset Rd, 89120
Cubone - Everywhere (Slightly Less Common)
Hitmonlee - South Tower Park? - 1022 Park Vista Dr, 89138 -- Bruce Trent Park (2 Confirmed) - 8851 Vegas Dr., 89128
Hitmonchan - Downtown - 6th & Ogden? -- PRIVATE PROPERTY Around Grouchy John's Coffee near Desert Bloom? - 8520 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123 -- Summerlin Community Park? - Approximately 2007 Spring Gate Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89134 -- Near Encore Hotel?
Lickitung - Bill Briare Park - 650 N Tenaya Way, 89128 (1 Confirm) -- Woofter Family Park - 1600 Rock Springs Dr, 89128 -- Summerlin Community Park? - Approximately 2007 Spring Gate Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89134
Koffing
Rhyhorn - Everywhere? (Less Common) - PRIVATE PROPERTY LV Athletic Club? - 9065 S Eastern Ave, 89123
Chansey - Downtown - 6th & Ogden?
Tangela - PRIVATE PROPERTY - Angel Park Golf Course? - 100 S Rampart Blvd., 89145
Kangaskhan - Australia Only
Horsea - The Strip (Near Cosmo?) -- Nevada Trails Park? - 7075 W Mardon Ave., 89113
Goldeen - Bellagio Fountains -- Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed) -- Mirage Volcano/Venetian?
Staryu - Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed) -- Treasure Island? -- Mirage Volcano/Venetian? -- Bellagio Fountains? -- Hard Rock Hotel -- Goett Family Park (Long Trail)? - 10950 Southern Highlands Pkwy., 89141 -- Charlie Frias Park? (sighting) - 4801 S Decatur Blvd, 89103
Mr. Mime - Reserved
Scyther - UNLV Maryland Campus - Harmon & Swenson (Near Intramural Fields)
Jynx - Springs Preserve - 333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107 (Proposed very common)
Electabuzz - MGM Grand
Magmar - Charlie Frias Park? - 4801 S Decatur Blvd, 89103 (Second Sighting, unconfirmed as nest) -- The Platinum Hotel? -- PRIVATE PROPERTY: PT's?? - 61 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy, 89012 (1 Negative) -- McCullough Vista Park?? - 990 Greenway Rd, 89002 (1 Negative)
Pinsir - Pecos Legacy Park? - 150 N Pecos Rd., 89014
Tauros - Bruce Trent Park? - 8851 Vegas Dr., 89128 -- Acacia Park - 50 Casa Del Fuego St, 89012 -- Desert Bloom Park - 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123 -- Acacia Park? - 50 Casa Del Fuego St, 89012
Magikarp - Gary Reese Freedom Park - 850 N Mojave Rd., 89101 (1 Confirm) (Be Mindful of Security) -- Wetlands Park - 7050 Wetlands Park Ln., 89122 -- The Mirage? -- Mirage Volcano/Venetian? -- Hard Rock Hotel -- Sunset Park - 2601 E Sunset Rd., 89120 (1 Confirm, not super common) -- Goett Family Park (Long Trail)? - 10950 Southern Highlands Pkwy., 89141
Lapras
Ditto
Eevee - Everywhere - Increased in Desert Breeze Park (Flareon reported Desert Bloom Park? - 8405 S Maryland Pkwy, 89123) -- Increased Rate Near Hard Rock Hotel
Porygon
Omanyte - Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed) -- Goett Family Park (Long Trail)? - 10950 Southern Highlands Pkwy., 89141
Kabuto - Mariner Dr. & Regatta Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89128 (Near a lake in Desert Shores)? -- Flamingo Wash? (Address Needed) -- The Mirage? -- Goett Family Park (Long Trail) (1 Confirm) - 10950 Southern Highlands Pkwy., 89141
Aerodactyl
Snorlax
Articuno - Reserved
Zapdos - Reserved
Moltres - Reserved
Dratini - Charlie Frias Park? (Second sighting, unconfirmed as nest)/PRIVATE: The Home Depot/New Orleans Casino across the street - 4801 S Decatur Blvd, 89103/4750 S Decatur Blvd, 89103 -- Teton Trails Park - 7850 N Bradley Rd, 89131 (2 Confirm)
Mewtwo - Reserved
Mew - Reserved
EDIT: Updates.

**NOTE: I'm not saying everything I remember is correct. Panic and confusion can make you think you heard or saw things that didn't actually happen. Please don't downvote me lol - I tried to write down exactly what I can recall/what I gathered from the texts I sent that night.
I also changed the names of everyone in my story for privacy reasons**
On October 1st, 2017, I had gotten just a few hours of sleep. I had slept at 6 AM the night before, but I knew I had to wake up early because my grandpa and my uncle were leaving that day I wanted to say goodbye. I had been sleep deprived for a few days, given we were in Vegas, and the night before I had also barely slept. This is an important detail, not to the shooting, but to my story, personally.
I spent a few hours hanging out with my grandpa and my uncle until they left for the airport. I was so happy to have seen my grandpa that weekend because it had been so long. He’s 90, so I’m never really sure when the last time I’ll see him will be. After my grandpa and my uncle left, my brother and our three friends wandered the Strip to go shopping and get food. After a few hours, my brother and I headed back to the MGM, where we were staying, to hang out with my dad since I was flying from Vegas back to school the next day. After the three of us talked, I was so tired that when two of my friends, Kristen and Courtney, asked if I wanted to go ziplining, I told them to book it for later, because I was going to take a nap. By the time I woke up, it was a little past 8 PM, and my dad asked me what I wanted to eat.
At around 9 PM, we finally decided on eating downstairs at Mori Moto in the MGM. Kevin, my dad’s friend, had been wandering the Strip earlier and eaten dinner by himself, but we asked him to come hang out for our last night in Vegas. I should note that both my dad and Kevin have had strokes, so they are both physically impaired but able to walk, just not well. Jordan and Stacey, my parents' friends, had driven halfway to the Grand Canyon before turning back around, and had also already eaten, but decided to join us just to hang out, as well. The kids (my brother, our friends, and I) made plans to go to New York New York for dessert after dinner.
We were all eating dinner when we looked outside and saw everyone - and I mean everyone - walking away from the casino, towards the food court. We were all confused, wondering what was happening, and my first thought (I don’t know why) was that there was a fight and everyone was going to watch. My second thought was maybe there was a show or concert that everyone was late for. We ignored it, but something in the pit of my stomach felt like something might be wrong. I don’t remember hearing anything, but everyone else at the table remembers hearing gun shots. I was so panicked I don’t know what I remember, but all of a sudden, everyone outside was running and we were being told to “hurry! To the kitchen, now!”
We walked to the kitchen, where they opened the back door leading to a hallway. According to my texts to my friend, this was around 10:22 PM. There were some people there, too, but we were told to stay in the kitchen. We heard from security (I think) that there was a shooter, and I began to panic. I always knew I wouldn’t be good in a situation like this, and I was right. I began to shake uncontrollably and the tears started rolling down my cheeks before I could stop them. My first thought was that there was a shooter in the casino, like a school shooting, but then I thought that maybe it was a guy who had gotten into a fight with someone else and had whipped out his gun. When I accepted that there wasn’t much I could do about the situation, I slowly began to calm down, until we finally got the okay to sit back down. According to my texts to my cousin, this was around 10:33 PM. In my texts to her, I said that there was a shooting outside MGM. We had thought it was inside, but it was outside, and we were all okay.
We proceeded to order dessert, and because we ordered the restaurant’s special, a dessert that lit on fire, we took videos of it. I didn’t save mine, but my brother and Kristen did. The videos were taken between 10:50 PM and 10:59 PM. I googled to see any news of what was happening, and I can’t remember if anything popped up, but I switched over to Twitter. There were reports of a shooter at the Route91 concert. I texted my cousin that I was reading twitter and that “I think the shooter is at mandalay bay.” I told her that they had a machine gun and that I thought the shooter was still active (it was 10:56 PM at this time). "I'm so sad," I texted my cousin. "We're eating dessert and people are literally dying outside."
Everything outside seemed to be okay. I was still shaking a bit but I had calmed down a significant amount. I assumed that the hotel was locked down, so were safe. People were walking back and forth from the casino again. We saw a woman across the restaurant laying on the floor crying. She was on the phone. We thought that maybe she had heard her friend had gotten shot. I had just barely calmed down when again when everyone else but me heard gun shots. There was no walking this time. Everyone outside began running away from the casino. My dad fell off his chair, and before I could panic, I told myself to calm down because I had to help him up.
I helped my dad up and with his arm around my shoulders, we walked to the kitchen. This time, we didn’t stop there. The door to the hallway was open, and we walked down, my dad’s arm still around my shoulder. My mom was on his other side and my aunt was behind him to make sure he didn’t fall and so no one would bump into him. Justin, my brother’s friend, was with Kevin, my dad’s friend, to make sure he was walking okay. I was focused on my dad, but every so often, I would remember someone else in our group and called for them to make sure they were still with us. There were tons of other people (it was pretty full, but not too full to where people were getting trampled or anything) until we hit the door to outside. I had no idea that was where the hallway led to, and if I was panicked the first time we evacuated, I felt like I was going to pass out from the fear this time. I had been crying the whole time we walked down the hallway, but now the tears were coming out faster and I was shaking uncontrollably. Being outside made me feel so exposed, like there was no way to hide if the shooter came. All of this was around 11 PM, according to my texts to my cousin (I sent her a text at 11:09 PM telling her we evacuated again).
My dad told me to calm down, but I just couldn’t. I saw my mom look at me as though she was going to cry, but the second she saw how scared I was, she held back her tears and gave me a hug and told me to calm down. Courtney and Kristen were both on the phone, with their sisters I think, probably telling them what was going on. I’m not sure, but Courtney was crying. Kristen seemed okay - she used to work as in emergency, so she was used to panic. I was texting my cousin the whole time, but my phone was going to die. I don’t know how long we were outside for, but it felt like an hour. It was probably 20 minutes. Courtney and I hugged each other and cried as we tried to calm down.
It’s so strange - I wasn’t crying because I was scared of dying. I can’t really piece together why I was so scared. My first thought was, “what if the shooter comes in here, to this hallway full of people? And I have to watch people die, watch him point the gun in their face and see the terror in their eyes? What will I do if he comes?” The thought of it terrified me. My second thought was about my dad. He can’t run, and that in itself made me panic.
They closed the automatic doors so that you could only open them from the inside. Most people stayed inside, but my group and some others were outside. We were all unsure of what to do. Jordan and my brother kept wandering around to see what the situation was, whether it was safe, what escape routes there were, and so on.
Everything that happened was a blur, so I can’t remember if this is chronologically correct, but I saw a little girl and her mom walk down the hallway, out to where we were standing. There were three women from the concert huddled across from us, standing in a doorway, and they asked the mom if they wanted to hide her daughter there, saying they didn’t have any children. It was at that moment when my heart sank. I had been so scared this whole time, and I was just now realizing that there were children out there. The fact that someone was shooting at pedestrians (which is what we believed was happening) was disgusting enough… the fact that there were children in the mix was absolutely heart breaking. Luckily, the little girl didn’t seem scared, though I’m sure she thought the situation was unusual. The ladies asked her about her favourite shows and kept her preoccupied.
I saw a man who had been shot in the arm. Someone had bandaged him up. At this point, I had already calmed down, and surprisingly, the sight didn’t make me scared again, probably because I couldn’t see the wound. There was blood all over the left side of his body. He seemed dazed, and he said that he was told to take a cab to the hospital. Kevin used his good arm to grab the man a chair. My dad said the man said he’d been shot at the MGM. I wasn’t sure if my dad heard wrong, but my brother said he heard the same. I don’t know what I heard.
I don’t know why, but it was one of my first thoughts to email all my professors and tell them I wouldn’t be coming to class for the next few days. I told them I would be going home with my parents instead, and then flying back for school. I asked for extensions on my assignments. My fingers trembled as I typed out the emails.
After I was done wiping my tears, I saw a woman crying in front of me, with two other ladies. They were wearing plaid and cowboy boots - I know they had to have been at the concert. I went up to the woman and hugged her, asking if she was okay. She told me her friend had been shot and she didn’t know where she was. “She was shot in the face, these men took her and told us to run,” she said. I hugged her again, unsure of what to say. “She’s going to be okay,” I told her, hugging her again, and at that time, I held on to the hope that she really would be okay.
Jordan returned after wandering around to tell us that security said it was okay for us to go back up to our room. I thought we were going to go back into the hallway, but we were to continue outside to the lobby. I didn’t know how close we were to the entrance, and it’s a good thing I didn’t, because I probably never would have been able to calm myself down. I asked the women where they were staying, and they said the Excalibur. It wasn’t safe to walk the Strip yet, so I asked my dad if they could come with us, and my dad said yes. We walked to the entrance, my dad’s arm around my shoulders again, and I tried not to panic. I took deep breaths for the few minutes it took for us to get to the lobby. Everyone seemed to be sitting around. I guess they didn’t have rooms or something. I have no idea, but no one seemed too scared. We walked to the elevators, and I was still scared, knowing I wouldn’t feel okay until we got to our room.
When we got to our room, we closed all the blinds, shut off most of the lights, and all sat away from the Strip. Emily, Barbara, and Lucy, the three women who came with us, were making calls to the hospitals, trying to find their friend. They called her family to let them know what was happening. Barbara broke down in tears every few minutes. Lucy seemed in a state of shock, not crying, but continually repeating that they needed to leave and find their friend. Emily remained calm, telling Barbara (her mom) that it was going to be okay but she needed to calm down. She told Lucy they couldn’t leave because it wasn’t safe. Barbara told us what happened while they were at the concert.
“We thought it was firecrackers,” she said. She said she thought it was strange that someone managed to get fireworks into the concert, but they ignored it. She said she didn’t realize what was happening until they were all told to get down, and even then she didn’t understand. It wasn’t until she watched a bullet pass her face and hit the ground beside her when she understood what was happening. Her friend had been shot in the head, and two guys had picked her up and told the rest of them to run. Barbara began crying again. I hugged her, said Serena (her friend) would be okay, but I didn’t really believe that. I thought if she’d been shot in the head, there was no way she had made it. I didn’t want to watch them get bad news - I didn’t think Barbara could take it. My heart sank again.
I was feeling 90% okay in our room. I figured that the shooters (at the time, we believed there were multiple) was aiming at pedestrians, and we were so high up that it was okay. I doubted that they would aim into hotel rooms, but we lay low just in case. My cousin gave me updates from the police scanner - reports of shooters at Aria, Bellagio, NYNY. My stomach dropped, thinking about how we wanted to go to NYNY for dessert. “Do you think there’s a shooter at every hotel?” I asked my cousin. She said probably. I was a little scared, but I knew panic wouldn’t solve anything. I kept telling myself we would be okay.
Every time someone opened the bathroom door, we all jumped. Someone knocked on our door, and all our eyes widened. It was just hotel staff, asking if we needed anything. We turned on the news to see what was happening. The sound of the gunshots in the videos made my heart race, so I covered my ears every time. I was shivering, even though it wasn’t cold. I knew no amount of blankets would keep me warm, because it felt like the cold was coming from inside my body, but Courtney and I shared a blanket anyway. We read tweets, we watched the news, we listened to the police scanner. Emily continued calling hospitals. I had been okay in the hotel room, periodically crying, but mostly okay, until I saw Emily cry. She had been so strong the whole time, and the moment she broke down was so heart breaking.
I kept thinking about all the kids out there. I assumed that they would be first priority, that people were hiding them to make sure they were okay, but I was still scared for them. More accurately, I felt guilty. Here I was, safe in my hotel room, when children were out there, not even sure what was going on. Every so often, I would say “this is so fucked.” That’s the only way I could describe it. It was so, so fucked. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that someone could shoot out into a crowd, killing innocent people, but it completely blew my mind that someone could potentially be shooting a child and not even care.
I thought about the people who had been shot. I thought of the people who had been at the concert, scared for their lives. I thought about Barbara and Emily and Lucy’s friend. I thought about how all three of them must be feeling, since they were actually at the concert. If I was this scared, how were they feeling? I thought about the friends and families of people who’d died, or were missing. People died tonight, not even a 15 minute walk from where I was standing. I felt physically sick. I started crying again.
We turned off the news. I was glad because I didn’t want to keep hearing the gunshots. I was relieved to be in our room, but I felt guilty because of all the people who were still out there, scared and defenceless. Finally, the police scanner reported the shooter down. We turned on the news again - 20 dead, 100 wounded. I cried again.
I thought of all the people I had met while I was in Vegas, even the people I had just passed by. I texted the guy I had met at the club the other day. I wondered if the couple we’d seen come from the concert yesterday were okay. I thought of the people we had stood in line with at the food court. I wanted them to all be okay. I thought about how lucky it was that we decided to spend the last night all together. I would have been freaking out if Kevin was off on his own, especially with his inability to run. I would have been worried sick if we couldn’t get a hold of Jordan and Stacey. What if the kids had gone to NYNY for dessert? I would have felt so bad for making my parents worry like that. I would have been so scared not knowing if I was going to see my parents again. Thank God my grandpa had already left. Thank God my cousin wasn’t there.
My head raced with all the what-ifs. What if we’d been wandering the Strip? If we had eaten dinner any earlier, we definitely would have been. It was our last night in Vegas. What if we’d been at NYNY? I love country music. I wanted to go to that concert. I probably would have asked everyone to stand outside and listen.
It was around 3 AM when we all went to bed. My parents' friends went back to their rooms. Courtney asked if I wanted to sleep in her bed, since all our friends had left and I would be sleeping alone, but my aunt stayed with me. I fell asleep around 5:30 AM.
I woke up at around 8:30 AM. The three women had already left, but had left us a note saying they had left at 6:30, saying thank you and to keep in touch. I turned on the news. 50 dead, 400 injured. I cried. An hour later, the death toll rose to 59, with 500+ injured. I cried again. I usually cry when I hear of mass shootings or bombings around the world, but this time, I couldn’t stop. This time around, it felt too real. It very well could have been me. Why wasn’t it me? Why did those people have to die? The chances of us being on the Strip during the shooting were astronomical. It was all because of my nap that we hadn’t eaten any earlier. I started to cry again.
We went downstairs for breakfast. The tone was so strange… everything felt very somber. I can only recall one rowdy table in a sea of quiet. I don’t know how to explain it, but the air felt very respectful, like we all had an understanding of what had just happened and we should all be respectful of the situation. Some people were gambling, but it was a lot quieter than usual. I remember hearing someone spin the wheel at one of the gambling tables, and it sounded like automatic gunshots. My body tensed.
All my professors were incredibly understanding and I was so grateful. For some reason, I thought they wouldn’t be so understanding, but they all emailed back saying they were glad I was safe and we could talk about due dates when I got back. I teared up reading the emails. (You can see that I was an emotional mess).
I texted Emily, who had left her number. Her friend was in the ICU. She’d been shot in the cheek, and the bullet exited her other cheek. She’d broken her jaw and it would have to be wired for 6 weeks straight, but she was going to be okay. I can’t even explain the relief I felt. I thought for sure she wasn’t going to make it. The guy from the club texted me back. He and all his friends were okay.
I received texts from both the night before, while it was happening, and the morning after, from my good friends to people I hadn’t seen since high school. I felt so grateful to have so many people care about me enough to ask.
I went home with my parents that day, and my aunt and I slept in the same bed again. I was still in shock over what happened. I cried reading about the people who died. I thought about their family, their friends… the children who would grow up without mothers or fathers. The husband who died protecting his wife. The guy who was a year older than me, who lived where I used to go to school. I had two mutual friends with him. That could have been me. A 20 year old girl had died. That’s my cousin's age. A mom left behind three children. I can’t even find the words to explain what I was feeling. I became obsessed with reading about Stephen Paddock. What was his issue? What could possibly possess someone to do something like this? I read news articles, googled him every half hour, read every recount of the event from various people, looked up stories on Reddit… I quite literally became obsessive. I didn’t know what to believe. What we had experienced, what people were saying… it didn’t exactly align with what story was being put out there. It didn’t sit right with me. But I also understood that panic and confusion could mix up memories… although the timeline of my story (which I got from text messages I had sent out) didn’t fit with the police timeline, either. I was so confused. I needed answers.
I flew back to school two days later. I held back my tears as my mom dropped me off at the airport, but as soon as she left, I started crying. I felt so alone.
I got back to my apartment and immediately locked the door. I had a habit of leaving it unlocked, but I didn’t feel safe doing that anymore. I got into bed and cried. I had been crying on and off for the last few days, but now I felt so alone. I didn’t tell anyone I was back in town because I didn’t feel like seeing anyone. I read up on Stephen Paddock that night, until I came across a supposed photo of his face after he had shot himself. I only saw it for a second, but it’s an image I still can’t get out of my head. I began sobbing. I couldn’t sleep now. I texted all my friends to see who was awake, but it was 2 AM - everyone was asleep. My lovely friend texted his old roommate to ask if I could sleep over, and his amazing roommate said yes. I walked over to his place and he let me in. He was so incredibly nice to me that, again… surprise, surprise, I wanted to cry. I’m really not ever this emotional. It’s been a taxing time for me.
I’ve had a tough time falling asleep. I have awful dreams. I used to get sleep paralysis, right after my dad had his stroke, and I was getting it again. I have dreams about shootings. I used to sleep in pitch black, and now I’m afraid of the dark, so I keep a light on and turn on Friends and I fall asleep around 4 AM, when I’m too tired to keep my eyes open any longer. Loud noises make me jump. My heart races when I hear police sirens. The thought of crowded places, like clubs or concerts, gives me anxiety. I suddenly have this constant pit of anxiety in my stomach, everywhere I go. For the first 2 weeks, I constantly felt like I was going to cry, and a lot of the time, when I was alone, I did cry.
I wasn’t exactly crying because I was scared, but because I was so angry that I felt this way. It wasn’t fair that I used to love living alone, and now I couldn’t even sleep in my own bed. It wasn’t fair that I went from being happy-go-lucky to constantly afraid of what was around the corner. I didn’t want to feel anxious walking down the street. I didn’t want to start tearing up every time someone asked me if I was okay. I hated sitting in class and randomly start thinking about the shooting and wanting to cry all over again. I felt like I had no one to talk to. I talked to my cousin, but I didn’t want to talk to anyone else because it felt like they didn’t understand and I didn’t want to annoy them. The day after the shooting, social media was flooded with Pray for Vegas posts. But everything went back to normal after that. People posted selfies, travel photos, food snaps… it was as if it never even happened. But for me, it did. For everyone there, it did. I couldn’t just forget, but I completely understood. Whenever there was a tragedy elsewhere in the world, I would feel heavy hearted that day, but the next, it was as if nothing would happened. The difference this time was that I had lived it.
I deleted my instagram for a few days because I couldn’t handle that everyone had gone on with their lives, as though nothing had happened. No one else I followed felt the same anxiety I did. I couldn’t, for the life of me, stop reading up on Stephen Paddock. I thought maybe if I knew why he did this, I would feel some sort of peace. But the stories kept mixing up and nothing felt right, and I felt more and more distraught. I knew I had to stop, because it was hindering my sleep and study schedules, but I couldn’t. Plus, reading other people’s stories made me feel less crazy. I read about one guy who wondered why he hadn’t died, when people around him did. Another woman talked about how she typed her whole account of the story with butterflies and a racing heart - exactly how I typed this up. She said she couldn’t be in large crowds anymore. She’s okay during the day, but scared when nightfall hits. I understood all of this.
I was sitting in one of my classes when I suddenly felt a wave of anxiety, and I sat in the bathroom for 20 minutes and cried. Every night, when I couldn’t sleep because I was too scared, I would cry because I felt so mad that I was too scared to sleep. Then I felt guilty for being so shaken up, when I wasn’t even at the concert. I didn’t see any bullets. I didn’t see anyone die. The worst I saw was someone who’d been shot. How could I be this scared when others saw people die right in front of them? What right did I have to be this traumatized, when I had been in the same hotel room as people who had watched their friend get shot?
I looked back on texts from the night of the shooting and took screenshots - why did everyone else hear gun shots? Why did we evacuate at around 10:15 PM, and then again at around 11? Why did we really believe there were multiple shooters? Why were there other reports of multiple shooters? I know confusion and panic and hysteria can make you believe you heard or saw things you didn’t, but the timelines still aren’t adding up. I still don’t understand. I’m not saying there was a conspiracy. I just want to know the truth. I thought maybe writing out my story would help me get some of my thoughts off my chest, so here I am.

At long last, it is time for Round 2 of this second Tournament of ours to commence! We’ll be going at it full speed from the get-go this time, so stay on your guard! You never know what could be in store when that fated match arrives…
Like a one day delay. That could always happen...
Well, anyways! As always, the rules are right here, the lore thread is over here and you can always PM one of the judges for an invite to our community Discord!
Speaking of which...
 
New Voting System! The details are here! Study carefully, and I'll keep posting this on each Match from this point forward!
Now then, on to the show!
 
Turk: Everyone is here, yes?
Lite: Howdy!
Line: Fuck you.
Blin: Hellos from Norway!
Lone: Fuck you Line, you stole my line.
Turk: All of you are morons.
Turk: So it seems that the ones attempting to find Once have not all killed each other yet.
Lone: Hey, dawg, don’t look at me! I tried, daddy-o.
Lite: Oh, do stop Lone.
Turk: And to top it all off, The Overlord is insecure.
Lone: That’s fun.
Lone: Well, if you want them to die, I’ll get a part-ay started!
Lone: See you losers!
Lone has Disconnected
Lite: I do declare, good riddance!
Turk: I honestly do not care if he succeeds with whatever.
Line: I hope he dies.
Blin: Oh so he is plotting? All of you are so uncaring! I shall leave and aid him in his laudable goal! Goodbye friends!
Blin has Disconnected
Turk: We’re done here.
Turk has Disconnected.
Line: I’m keeping an eye on you Lite.
Line has Disconnected.
Lite has Disconnected.
 
The sound of ballroom music resounded throughout the air, and many well-dressed patrons danced happily along. For a high-class, high-profile event, everything was going as planned, except for the fact that a menacing feeling clung to the air. As the night progressed, the tension in the room was increasing for reasons unknown, and was nearing a boiling point.
It all began with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. The elderly couple danced inside a circle towards the center of the ballroom, but Mr. Johnson had had a few too many drinks, and was becoming sloppier as the night progressed. Then, Mr. Johnson swung Mrs. Johnson around too abruptly, causing her to fall and step on another woman’s, Mrs. Garyburg’s, big toe. Mrs. Garyburg’s painful wail rung throughout the air, and Mr. Garyburg, her husband, became all “puffed up” and defensive. Mr. Garyburg and Mr. Johnson traded a few insults, but when Mr. Garyburg called Mrs. Johnson a “breaching land-whale”, Mr. Johnson lost it and punched him squarely in the face. Mr. Garyburg flew back and bumped into yet another couple, the Oldriches, who instantly became enraged as well. Like dominoes, erupting outward from the fighting couples at the center, the entire ballroom erupted in a colossal brawl.
Dr. Nick Mason watched idly from the bar as the events unfolded.
“What the hell is going on here…? These people are losing their goddamn minds. This… is this a Stand Attack?”
In another corner of the ballroom, on a balcony overlooking the multitude of people stood an observant cheetah, who seemed pretty out of place. He was interested in the intensity of the emotions in the room.
“These people… they’re going nuts! Why are they getting so angry at each other all of a sudden…?”
DJ’s eyes slowly locked onto the sole man in the crowd not going ballistic, a man with… eerily similar clothing to him, except in the style made for humans.
Dr. Mason’s eyes locked with the cheetah’s as well, going wide upon processing the sight.
“Is… is that a lab coat? With sequins all over it? How… garish. That must be who’s causing this, nobody else would dress in that style.”
As DJ hopped down from the balcony, the scientist readied for the battle ahead, drawing his [Dark Side of the Moon] out into the open.
Both were there to claim an important piece of information, vital to figuring out the mystery of [Once in a Lifetime]!
With these Bizarre circumstances, the second leg of the journey begins!
OPEN THE GAME!
 
Location:
The Grand Ballroom, Bellagio Casino Resort, Las Vegas. 45,000 sqaure feet, and filled with guests. Those guests are currently… very agitated, a massive brawl just beginning to break out! Our combatants are stationed on the other sides of the hall, DJ in the north and Nick Mason in the South respectively. Our “parcel” is currently somewhere in this crowd, but it’s been passed around a lot, and not even WE’RE sure where exactly it ended up. Just search everyone until you find it I guess… but make sure you’re the one to leave with the parcel, and not the other guy!
There's a wild Stand User on the loose here, and they're making everyone angry somehow! This includes our participants, so they won't exactly be the calmest at the moment.
 
Inverted Rasputin
Rasputin stores its own damage and effects in outside objects now, and the ranges on his Beams 1 and 2 are switched. In essence, beams are now stored inside of objects.
 

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Purple	DJ	”Shut up! You’re pissing me off!”: Stop the riot, by any means possible! The more effective method between the two of you wins!
Loca’s Motions	Nick Mason	Same as DJ!

 

Match Number	Match Format	Match Flavor	Match Location	Combatant A	Combatant B	Date
1	1v1	Objective	A fancy ball where the guests are getting a little rowdy…	DJ	Nick Mason	May 13
2	1v1	Deathmatch	Inside a dark cave, the only source of light being an oil-powered lantern that’s rapidly running out!	Presto	Gami	May 17
4	1v1	Deathmatch	Mumbai, India. A certain thing seems to be happening…	Sigmund Tremaine	Kewlin Ciudad	May 25
5	1v1	Deathmatch	A lagoon, somewhere deep in the tropics.	Nicola Henderson	Null	May 29
7	1v1v1	Objective	A hidden valley in between two mountains…	James Burton	Felix Down	June 6
8	1v1	Objective	Live on the Jerry Springer show! Prime opportunity to discredit your opponent!	Niban Shosha	Huey Lewis	June 10
10	1v1	Deathmatch	Northern Territory, Australia. A tense duel on the edge of a national monument!	“Waveshaper”	Rick Max	June 18
11	1v1	Deathmatch	A frozen lake, a straight shot at your opponent!	Felix Arrowsmith	Cole Pineburg	June 22
13	1v1	Objective	A museum break-in. Shouldn’t be too hard, right?	Christina “Chris” Carlisle	James Chance	June 30
14	1v1v1	Deathmatch	A warehouse… inside of another warehouse?!	David L. Palmer	Famoso Pietraduro	July 4
16	1v1	Deathmatch	An airliner, crashed in the middle of the red sea!	Junky Luck	Dr. Alice Slash	July 12
17	1v1	Objective	Caught in the middle of a large-scale, armed bank robbery!	Albrecht Durer	Steve Genoard	July 16
19	1v1	Objective	Suddenly trapped inside of a dark cave! Find a way out before it’s too late!	Vivi Bianchi	Stefan C. Megiddo	July 24
20	1v1	Deathmatch	Louisiana. Swamp country. Although the decoration is quite odd around here…	Steppenwolf	Leonard Davis	July 28

 

Match Number	Match Format	Match Flavor	Match Location	Team A (1)	Team A (2)	Team B (1)	Team B (2)	Date
3	2v2	Objective	A bowling alley where the balls are a little too big…	Adriano Donati	Jitterbug	Moseph Sabat	Farewell Angelina	May 21
6	2v2	Deathmatch	Open plains in the middle of Saskatchewan, hell raining down from all sides!	Bill Dolby	Rooftop Singer	Jack Mercury	Savage Garden	June 2
9	2v2	Objective	A massive, sprawling labyrinth, in the dead of night!	Spandau Ballet	Marco Forneira	Donatello Blackwell	Don Under	June 14
12	2v2	Deathmatch	An egyptian dig site, the palms of massive statues the only thing sticking out.	Pascal Chaleur	Elio Valez	Floyd Feelgood	Nicholas Al-Bach	June 26
15	2v2	Objective	A large ship, filled to the brim with guards!	Natsuru Springfield	Harvey Harold Hillhouse	Gray Jay	Michael Sembello	July 8
18	2v2	Deathmatch	Granbury, Texas. The annual Field of Flags event.	Cassandra Corazon	Kate Smith	Elliot J.	Diamond Boy	July 20

Redemption Match	Match Format	Match Flavor	Match Location	Combatant A	Combatant B	Date
21	1v1v1	Deathmatch	The side of a remote river in Alabama. Paddle faster. You can hear the Banjos playing.	Duvelleroy	Airis Ani	August 1

 

Reddit Name	User Name	Stand Name	Team	Status
u/Zanegaru	Junky Luck	Robot Parade	Sunset Company	Active
u/pm_ur_veggie_garden	Diamond Boy	Dirty Dancer	Sunset Company	Active
u/Mightymindsoup	Elliot J	Love Bites	Sunset Company	Active
u/johntindlemen	Adriano Donati	Clearest Blue	Sunset Company	Active
u/boredCommentator	Duvelleroy	Great King Rat	Sunset Company	Active…?
u/jem_rye	Albrecht Durer	Just Push Play	Sunset Company	Active
u/Shark_Steel	Duke Rhayader	What is Love	Sunset Company	RETIRED
u/Strange_Bean	Dana Davis	Stay	Sunset Company	RETIRED
u/Gallerian	Jitterbug	Amun-Ra	Sunset Company	Active
u/phinsa123	Jack Mercury	Mötley Crüe	Temperance Machine	Active
u/Unknowni123	Stefania Sandu	Rich Girl	Temperance Machine	RETIRED
u/YoloSwagginsV12	Nicola Henderson	Exmilitary	Temperance Machine	Active
u/Otha_Joestar	Savage Garden	Jungle Love!	Temperance Machine	Active
u/Bentonic64	James Creech	Northern Hues	Temperance Machine	RETIRED
u/Nivrap	Dionne	Stained Glass Heart	Temperance Machine	RETIRED
u/Quickdrawnmoron	Dr. Alice Slash	Mississippi Queen	Temperance Machine	Active (1 KO)
u/bauccgia0	Rip Van Winkle	Self Called Nowhere	Temperance Machine	RETIRED
u/KiwiArms	David "2D" Delasoul	Feel Good Ink	Right Now, Forever	RETIRED
u/SweaterSnake	Spandau Ballet	Paint Box	Right Now, Forever	Active
u/Toedpens	Seth Turmur	Heart of the Sunrise	Right Now, Forever	RETIRED
u/Dead_Star_World	Cassandra Johnson	Getaway	Right Now, Forever	RETIRED
u/farispie	Nermin Reeds	Spooky Skeleton	Right Now, Forever	RETIRED
u/PerPapple	Christina “Chris” Carlisle	Shadow on the Wall	Right Now, Forever	Active
u/Skelly-Tan	Marco Forneira	Man Eater	Right Now, Forever	Active
u/WoobidyWoo	Stefan C. Megiddo	Switch - 625	Right Now, Forever	Active
u/Leafsw0rd	Rooftop Singer	Wintergatan	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active
u/TheMysteriousDoc	Sigmund “Ziggy” Tremaine	Demon Days	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active (2 KOs)
u/HeavenAscensionTaric	Erick "Rick Max" Maximilian	Withered Delilah	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active
u/NowWithPulp	James Chance	Electric Avenue	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active (2 KOs)
u/Slaycube	James Burton	Of Wolf and Man	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active (2 KOs)
u/Addem_Up	Huey Lewis	Change of Heart	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active (2 KOs)
u/Sh0tgunLlama	Felix “Fat Rat” Arrowsmith	Set in Stone	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active
u/ChocolateDiscloud	Bill Dolby	It’s Raining Men	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active
u/CPU_Dragon	DJ	Rasputin	(Cannot Decide on a Name)	Active
u/rederister	Michael Sembello	Automatic Man	Diamond Dogs	Active
u/Repider	Jason “Gray Jay” Jukes	Hush	Diamond Dogs	Active
u/Calumba	Dr. Francesca Marvel	Ting Tings	Diamond Dogs	RETIRED
u/anxientdesu	Airis Ani	Musical Star	Diamond Dogs	Active…?
u/JinxTheFrosslass	Farewell Angelina	Chains of Love	Diamond Dogs	Active
u/yelualstar	Kenneth “Ken” Masters	Leather Rebel	Diamond Dogs	RETIRED
u/Ongsay	Moseph Sabat	Digital Lover	Diamond Dogs	Active
u/SilverJakler	Leonard Davis	Ace of Spades	Diamond Dogs	Active
u/KantuK	Kewlin Cuidad	Smooth Criminal	Loca's Motions	Active
u/VforVanarchy	Presto	Fly By Night	Loca's Motions	Active (2 KOs)
u/spyguy318	Dr. Nick Mason	Dark Side of the Moon	Loca's Motions	Active
u/Ronandstone	Cole Pineburg	Slim Shady	Loca's Motions	Active (2 KOs)
u/Drebin996	Kate Smith	Cibo Matto	Loca's Motions	Active
u/Tesla__Coil	Cassandra Corazon	Through the Fire and Flames	Loca's Motions	Active (2 KOs)
u/ArtisanBubblegum	Steve Genoard	Dance Comander	Loca's Motions	Active (2 KOs)
u/SP-Q-R	Viviana “Vivi” Bianchi	Noisy Pink Bubbles	Loca's Motions	Active
Serefin99 u/yelualstar	Steppen	Born to be Wild	Loca’s Motions	Active
u/Ismat_Urbur	Pascal “Paz” Chaleur	Canned Heat	White Stripes	Active
u/SmashPachi	Evan Lain	Count on Me	White Stripes	RETIRED
u/StonedVolus	David L. Palmer	Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger	White Stripes	Active
u/Screedledude	Harvey Harold Hillhouse	Flatlands	White Stripes	Active
u/kljg	Kenny Nixon	Grease Lightning	White Stripes	RETIRED
u/JMBChaos	Niban Shosha	Ocean Man	White Stripes	Active
u/tryburningundam	Elio Valez	Danger! High Voltage	White Stripes	Active
u/NatsuruSpringfield	Natsuru Springfield	Evil Woman	White Stripes	Active
u/CptDouglasJFalcon	”Waveshaper”	Wisdom of Rage	White Stripes	Active
u/webdiings	Null(Neal)	Fly Me To the Moon	The F.L.E.A.s	Active
u/vyhox	Gami	Haru Haru	The F.L.E.A.s	Active
u/Spade4103	Don Under	Hot Space	The F.L.E.A.s	Active
u/WayofAlexGaming	Nicholas Al-Bach	Camera Shy	The F.L.E.A.s	Active
u/Sullivanity333	Dr. Floyd Feelgood	Moving Pictures	The F.L.E.A.s	Active (2 KOs)
u/Mosses76	Felix Down	Learn to Fly	The F.L.E.A.s	Active (2 KOs)
u/FastLikeLightning	Famoso Pietraduro	Wayward Son	The F.L.E.A.s	Active (2 KOs)
u/TornkeS	Donatello Blackwell	I Am	The F.L.E.A.s	Active (2 KOs)

The Hunters split up into two teams. They coordinate their movements and enter the hotel at the same time. The roof team by helicopter and the ground team by running through the entrance doors. During the helicopter ride, Commander Ford takes out his H-Pod and sings the lyrics to this song.
The Roof Hunters land on the hotel’s roof with Ford taking the lead and busting down the rooftop door. Down the stairwell the hunters go. The first door, the number 15th painted on it, is torn off its hinges. Ford charges in, ready to face the unknown. The Roof Hunters follow Ford into the luxury suite. They see puddles of blood and signs of struggles, broken furniture, but no bodies. The Hunters move onward. With Commander Ford in the lead, they rush down the stairwell to the next floor.
The Ground Hunters dart through the casino, silently sprinting up the still escalators. The SWAT soldiers are two steps behind the Ground Team and as the hunters finish scanning the 2st floor, the SWAT soldiers are halfway through the 1st.
Inside the Grand Hong View Hotel, it’s pitch dark with a small amount of moon light shining through the windows. Even though the electricity is dead, the lights flicker on, and then off, every so often, just enough to stop your pupils from settling. As the hunters scan their surroundings, every wall is covered in a layer of nen, as if the walls were made of half drywall and half nen. The hotel is dead silent except for the sound of your beating hearts and the SWAT’s heavy-booted footsteps.
The Ground Team sees the casino a chaotic mess. Almost every store in the shopping mall looks like it experienced a Category 3 Black Friday Sale stampede. Those guests sure were scared of those gunshots, yet couldn’t pass up a five finger discount. As the SWAT swept through the shopping mall floors, they find the bodies of the police force scattered all about. It looks like the cops were running away from something and blunt trauma ended their struggle. The heavy aura wrapping around the hotel’s walls stops Rayen’s En from expanding past any walls or doors. As the SWAT opens up each new door, Rayen’s En expands into the new area, like water bursting from a dam.
Both Hunter teams could smell a heavy putrid stench of blood and guts and puke. This smell simultaneously came from everywhere and nowhere. As the hunters took in more of their surroundings and as they scanned for enemies, traps, civilians, and invisible clues; the hunters began to notice, with each blink of their eyes and with each new darting glance, that their surroundings were ever so slightly changing. After each new flicker from the ceiling lights, they could see new textures on the walls and furniture.
These minuscule changes in the hotel’s appearance were fully noticed by the Roof Team right as they entered the 13th floor and met face to face with their enemy. The Ground Team fully noticed what kind of world they had stepped into when they finished scanning the 4th floor and heard gunshots coming from the 2nd floor.

Roof Hunters Encounter #1

The hunters enter the 13th floor and they hear groans off in the distance. They can’t see far in this darkness. Ford doesn’t care, he’s fearless and charges forward into the 13th floor penthouse suite.
• Ford is in the middle of the living room. Van Halen is two steps behind Ford. Shinji is right inside the room’s entrance. Ranjeat is still in the stairwell.
• Two bloodied-up maids are in the bedroom.
• A Body Builder breaks the bathroom wall down.
• A dog jumps out from behind a couch.
• A man crawling underneath the table
• Two teenagers are hanging from the ceiling.
• These monsters rush at Ford and Van Halen.

Ground Hunters Encounter #2

The hunters look down to the shopping mall’s lower levels and sees the SWAT soldiers yelling, screaming, and shooting at what? Furniture and the dead cops. The furniture is moving and tackling the SWAT soldiers. The dead cops are up and charging too. Combine this gif with this video and that’s what the hunters are up against. 20 dead cops and 40 furniture pieces are fighting the SWAT. When a SWAT soldier dies, he rises up as a corpse and attacks the still living. The SWAT are scattered across the whole 2nd floor.
EDIT: The 3 Hunters + 5 golems are on the 4th floor and can see below the whole unfolding battlefield. SWAT soldiers are split up in 6-man squads, each in a different section of the mall's 2nd floor. How will the hunters defeat this encounter? Do they split up with each hunter helping a separate squad? Or do they stick together and move from shop to shop helping each SWAT squad one by one. The soldiers are outnumbered, but are holding their own through teamwork. Each squad has three soldiers carrying a tower shield and metal baton. Behind the shield wall are two soldiers wielding assault rifles and one wielding a shotgun.

Name	Owner	Description	Sub-Team
Akinobu Chiho	hunterxassassin	Archer	Ground
Rayen Goodday	Kairos__	Unique En user	Ground
Virgil Clemens	Ventus_X_Ventus	Golem manipulator	Ground
Shinji Grimshaw	Pecsus	Grim Reaper	Roof
Ranjeat Marshvel	CrushedByUvogin	Security specialist with lights, camera, and Memory Blasts!	Roof
Van Halen	Othasuke_Higashikata	Boomerang Enhancer	Roof
Ford	aamarketer	Armored Boxer	Roof

The State of Carolina will officially redesign the Presidential Palace, and give it a new land plot. Due to the very old Presidential House, the State of Carolina will be re-doing the whole building, and call it the Presidential Palace.
Presidential Palace
Information

• 35 bedrooms (Governor's Bedroom)
  
• 30 bathrooms (Governor's Bathroom. There will be a TV in the arch above the fireplace)
  
• 10 dining rooms (Formal Dining Hall)
  
• 15 Offices (Governor's Office)
  
• 8 Living Rooms (Governor's Office)
  

Land Plot

• Large Fountain
  
• Long Stream of Fountains (There will be 5 fountains, each rising by 5 ft until the middle is reached)
  
• Grey=Concrete
  
• 5 Steps=Rising 5 Steps
  
• Any green that it not "Thick Tree/Bush Area" is regular, flat grass.
  
• White=Where Building is
  

The project will take 3years to complete and cost $350million to complete.