Grace accepted her fate, but couldn't let Lawrence die. She did something she was not sure she could do, but she tried nonetheless. She wrapped Lawrence in a bubble of dirt and sand. The creature's large bulk was about to smother them. She focused her will, and Lawrence disappeared and reappeared far away. She hoped the little boy materialized at the front steps of the casino, but the creature’s considerable body blocked her from seeing Lawrence. Her magic was dwindling and she floated down to the ground.

Grace accepted this. She didn't expect herself to even get this far in life. She had grown up in Las Vegas. Her mom was a gambling and drug addict who sometimes did sex acts for money. Grace was shipped to her aunt's house half a mile over from her mom's dilapidated apartment when she was thrown in jail for stealing.

Grace was going down the same life as her mom. She started stealing and taking drugs. Her aunt Betty told her if she didn't clean herself up she was going to be in jail like her mom. Somehow, Grace changed, graduated high school and got a certificate in hospitality from the community college of Southern Las Vegas.

The darkness encroached into Grace's thoughts. She thought she was about to feel the beast's teeth tear into her, but something else happened. A bright flash of fire exploded before her. The creature roared and dove back into the ground while sand sprayed all over like water. She stood with her arms upraised in a defensive gesture.

A voice in her mind said, "Hurry, fly upwards. We are here to help you."

She soared up into the wind and the night. Searching around her for the voice she saw a jeep coming straight at them from the road honking its horn. A man stood on top of the roof holding a large ball of fire in his hands. He was looking around for the Giant Worm.

Grace sensed the Leader was here. He drove the car and they didn't understand the predicament they were all in. The Giant Worm suddenly appeared before the road, overshadowing the car's headlights. The man standing on top of the car was howling like a mad man. He was actually yelling at the creature.

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The Giant Worm came directly at the car and dove at it and as it did so a large fireball erupted and hit the creature’s face. Grace felt the shockwaves coming from the encounter. The beast plunged into the sand hill toward the right of the street, missing the car by several feet. Plumes of sand and dust flew in the air.

Grace was frozen for a second until she heard Lawrence's voice. He was yelling from the entrance of Buffalo Bill's glass doors. He was jumping up and down, trying to get her attention. Grace couldn't leave the Leader and his comrade to fight the Giant Worm by themselves. She nodded to him and flew closer to the jeep. The car entered the parking lot and the driver stopped honking and parked close to Lawrence.

Grace waited for the Giant Worm to attack but it didn't appear. She sensed it was wounded but not killed. She floated to the front entrance of Buffalo Bill’s casino, noticing that next to this casino was another hotel, The Primm Valley Resort.

***

Grace hugged Lawrence and led them inside through the double doors. She saw that the lights of the interior were on and groups of people were watching her, moving closer as they entered. Nobody spoke for several seconds. She felt she had entered a fairy tale, walking into an enchanted forest.

The Leader came up to them. He was normal height with salt and pepper hair. He was unremarkable, so normal she would have never had given him a second look in a crowd, but his eyes gave him away. They were fiery with intelligence and something she would understand later, compassion. A huge dog came next to him.

He said, "My name is Lazarus Venti and this is Sammy."

He shook her hand and Lawrence's hand. Grace saw a bracelet on his wrist and recognized the stone that sparkled and glowed. She absently combed her hair with her fingers, knowing she must look a mess. Lawrence held out his hand and stroked Sammy's back.

"My name is Grace, and this Lawrence."

The other big man moved closer to them. "I am Matthew."

They all shook hands with him. Grace felt the power between them. It was like electricity being discharged, yet she felt somebody was missing. The silence between them was not awkward but comfortable. They needed to be together for some purpose that she hoped Lazarus would explain to her.

A man dressed in a suit and tie came forward. "Hi, I am the manager at the casino. My name is Bob. We have been trapped since this whole nightmare started."