Flint enters the fifth floor after descending the lengthy stairwell. The floor greets him with a small reception area. There is a security desk on the right and two large doors in front of him. He approaches the doors and pushes them, but they do not budge.
He kneels to find a lock anywhere on the doors but cannot find one. He looks to the security desk, suspecting he will find something to unlock these doors.
After looking around the desk, he finds a red button locked behind a plastic cover, only being held up by a worn lock under the desk. He doesn’t waste time by taking out his lock-picking kit and instead tugs forcibly on the lock. The lock breaks under the force and the case falls to the floor.
Flint grunts as he presses down on the stiff button. After using enough force, the button is pressed. The door’s lock opening echoes throughout the room. Flint leaves the desk and opens the door.
Instead of the rubble-filled laboratory hallways, Flint is greeted with a large casino. There are countless aisles of a mix of vintage and modern slot machines, with some turned on and a vast majority of them off. In the distance, he finds card tables at the end of the room.
Flint walks down one of the aisles of slot machines. He notices some of the machines being more damaged than others. The machines that are damaged have many large dents and holes and their screens are covered in black residue or have major cracks. Some of the machine’s mechanisms and levers are either ripped off or damaged to the point of being scrap.
Just from these sights and what he has seen before, he deduces one clear thing. Whatever is down here, it isn’t human. He keeps on passing by the machines, which become noticeably more damaged as he reaches the end of the aisle. The radio on his back crackles louder by the time he is at the end of the aisle.
He arrives at another large, where there are many gambling tables spaced out. They all surround an elevated stage platform.
There is, what Flint comprehends to be, a male tall figure standing on the platform, towering over Flint with his distorted head and open mouth, showing off all kinds of sharp teeth. He peers out into the distance lifelessly with his two die eyes. His long limbs are made of a thick black sludge, which slowly drips off of him as he stands there. Many playing cards are either embedded or stabbed into his limbs. A cigar is stuck in the man’s right hand due to the black sludge. But Flint can’t ignore the man’s most bizarre feature embedded into his chest, a grand slot machine with three symbols on it: a dice, an ace of spades, and a horse. The black sludge deeply stains all of these things.
The scent that bombards Flint’s nose is choking, yet numbing. He doesn’t falter and continues staring at the man with curiosity.
The radio crackles at its loudest when Flint is near the man. He tries listening closely, but all he can hear is the intense static. Flint looks around the room, trying to find something.
He notices that there are a pair of two large doors on both the left and right sides of the room. He approaches the door on the left side of the room, passing by the numerous aisles of slot machines at the casino.
He enters a plain, and surprisingly clean, hallway, akin to the ones on the previous floors. He finds a closed door near his location and an open door at the end of the hallway.
He approaches the door closest to him and opens the room. His nostrils are bombarded with the horrid stench coming from the black sludge covering the furniture, walls, and floor of the room.
Flint immediately shuts the door, breathing in the fresher air outside and walking away from the door. As he walks deeper into the hallway, the radio crackles loudly. However, Flint can faintly hear a voice being muffled by the static.
Flint enters the room and finds himself to be in a surveillance room. There are about a dozen monitors aligned on the wall and on the table. Each monitor is connected to a camera feed focusing on a certain area all over the floor. The monitor in the middle, in particular, focuses on the tall figure in the large casino room. He examines the paperwork on the table by the monitors but finds useless ramblings or illegible text on the notes. He throws up all the paperwork, finding them useless.
However, he finds one that catches his attention buried underneath them, a blank documentation form. He examines the form further.
He notices a picture of a man’s face in the top left corner of the document. He has a blank expression, with a scruffy beard and hair and an unkempt visage. Underneath the photo is centered text labeled: SUBJECT AMG. The rest of the paper is left blank for notes to be taken.
“Who is that?” Flint asks himself.
He hurriedly stuffs the paper into his pocket. He hears the radio crackle loudly, but this time, he can faintly hear a voice. He takes the radio off his back and on the desk. He rotates the knobs seeing it he can hear the voice clearer while looking at the monitors.
“1…2…3…” the coarse masculine voice murmurs through the radio.
“What?” Flint asks himself.
He looks through the monitors again. His attention is focused on the monitor focused on the figure. He twitches slightly.
“Just one more roll…” The coarse masculine voice again murmurs.
The figure begins moving and twitching his limbs slowly in place. The figure looks at the camera facing him, with his mouth opened widely.
“Just one more pull…” The coarse masculine voice again murmurs.
The camera feed fizzles out once the figure moves away from its spot. When the feed returns to normal, the figure is no longer there. Flint can hear his footsteps wandering the floor.
He looks through the monitors. He sees the figure walking up and down the aisles of the slot machines. It stops at one of them and violently slams down on it. The slot machine spins the fruit symbols on its slots. The results of the machine do not satisfy the figure. He slams down on the machine, further damaging the machine, which Flint hears all the way from the room he is in.
Flint backs away from the monitors and exits into the hallway, carrying the radio. He can still hear the loud banging coming from the casino. However, it stops. Everything becomes quiet. Too quiet. Flint hears the rushing of steps coming from one of the doors. He hears the doors from the side he entered swing open.
He hears loud sounds of painful screeching coming from that area. He quietly backs away from that area as the screeching soon turns into harsh banging.
“Just one more pull! Just one more damn roll! Just let me win!” the coarse masculine voice shouts from the radio.
Flint fumbles around trying to turn the radio off. The banging stops and the sounds of steps approaches him. He sees the figure at the end of the hall, standing there. He stand there quiet and completely still. The figure looks around, with the machinery and other items within the slot machine clanking. The smoke from the cigar forms a thick smog of smoke within the surrounding area. Flint’s sense of smell is bombarded by the strong pungent smoke of the cigar.
The figure slowly steps around trying to look for the source of the noise. Flint covers his mouth, trying to stay still despite the smoke from the figure’s cigar. The figure does not sense anything else. He slowly walks away from the area. Taking this chance, Flint too slowly steps away from the area.
“F…E…I…M” a young voice crackles from the radio.
The figure violently turns around. He charges toward Flint. Flint turns around and bolts away. The figure chases Flint through the halls, where it groans and roars.
“You are the rigger! You made it impossible to win! There are no odds in my favor! YOU RIGGED EVERYTHING!” the coarse masculine voice shouted from the radio.
“I’m not who you think I am!” Flint shouts back, running away.
“Lies! All Lies! You change your damn voice every time! I know it is you! I know it!”
Flint doesn’t attempt to further convince the figure chasing him down the halls while passing by a major branch leading to another hall on his left and many doors. Running with all his might, Flint out paces the figure, though the figure is still chasing after him. He runs toward the door that is on the other side of the casino. After bursting through the doors, he runs down one of the aisles of slot machines. He sits down, with his back being pressed against one of the powered-on machines.
He hears the doors barge right open, with the figure standing in front of them. He groans as it shambles around looking for Flint. Flint, trying to calm himself as much as he can, rotates a dial which lowers the radio’s volume so only he can hear it. Flint does his best to remain composed and still. He hears the steps of the figure shambling around trying to look for him.
Flint slowly stands up, using the machine as a support. Though, he realizes too late that he uses the handle of the slot machine to support himself. The handle is pushed down and the machine flashes brightly and produces energetic sounds.
He rushes out of the aisle as he hears the steps of the figure rushing towards him. He hides behind one of the machines at the end of the aisle. The figure runs down the aisle toward the source of the noise from the other end. Flint stands there silent as he hears the steps getting closer and closer to him. But then, they stop. Flint tilts his head over to the aisle.
He notices the figure standing in front of the machine, watching the slots rotating up and down. Taking this golden opportunity, Flint quietly sneaks out of the room. He goes over to the door on the other side which he has used to run away from the figure. He quietly opens the door and finds himself in the hallway on the other side.
He ignores the doors along the hallway as he makes his way towards an area of the hallway he has passed by during the chase.
It is a long corridor leading down to another part of the floor. There are many doors aligned in the hallway. Flint takes a deep breath and descends deeper into the hall.
None of the doors intrigue him as he passes along. As he nears the end of the corridor, he sees from the corner of his eyes a door with the sign: “File Room” on it.
He goes over to the door and opens it. It is a small room with shelves containing many manila folders and documentation on it to his left. There is a small table on his right where there are many documents scattered about, reminding him of his desk at his office. Due to the familiarity of the sight, he approaches the desk and scrounges through the documents, putting the radio down on it as well.
The documents he skims through contain more information about the figure. One document in particular catches his attention:
Subject Name: Casino Man (AMG)
Notes: I…I finally did it. It’s…it’s so beautiful. After years…many damn painful years…I…I just can’t believe it. Finally, a successful experiment. I…I only need to repeat this more times. I need to make sure that it consistently works…I need to make it better than it is now. Just…just you wait, my dear. I’ll…I’ll see you again soon…I promise.
Flint continues looking through the documentation. Most of them have data tables and charts from the experiments about the Casino Man’s reactions toward the aisles of slot machines. Flint finds a key detail that the machines themselves are rigged to be impossible to win besides the slot machine on the Casino Man. While looking through the documents, he finds another document.
The first document was a man’s personal information on a missing poster:
Name: Argus Madison
Age: 35
Status: Missing
Last Seen: ???
The photo of the man and physical description are mostly blacked out, with some scruffy features visible through some of the uncovered spots. Flint takes out the crumpled notepaper with the picture of a man with similar features. Flint knows he must be the man.
He also has some suspicions about who wrote the report but for now, he keeps it in the back of his mind.
Before he scrounges further through the documents he takes out his camera stashed away in his coat. He places the documents on the table and takes a picture of them.
As the camera’s light flashes onto the documents, his camera screen starts flickering as a new photo is being formed on the screen. It has Argus chained down to a gambling table as translucent purple chains tug on him. Argus has a pained expression as he rolls a pair of die on the table.
“Free him…” a young voice whispers from the radio.
Flint looks around the room, putting away the camera. He sees the same figure of the young boy he had seen earlier waiting by the door. Flint rotates the dial, increasing the volume of the radio.
“Free him…” the young voice repeats.
“Free who?” Flint asks.
“Free him…” the young voice repeats.
Flint turns back to the papers and picks up the photo of Argus Madison. He looks at the photo and back at the figure of the young boy.
“Free him…” Flint mutters. “How…how am I going to do that?”
“I know you can free him, mister…” the voice tells him. “I saw you do it before…I know you can do it again…”
Before Flint can ask him a question, the voice from the radio slowly fades away and is replaced by the crackling again. He turns around and notices the figure of the kid has disappeared.
“What did he mean?” Flint asks himself. “I did this before?”
Flint ponders in the room, leaning against the shelves. His mind cannot help but wander back to his very oath.
“I vow to pursue and reveal the truth to all. I mustn’t waver, no matter how bitter the consequences may be. No one should live in the darkness of falsehoods nor should those who harm others hide have their sins be hidden away.”
“You can’t just seem to let it go, huh Flint?” he mutters to himself. “You hold this oath as a facade Flint. You’re a coward. A big, filthy coward. Just run away Flint. Escape. Because you know that you’ll never hold this oath.”
Flint hears footsteps coming down the hallways. The radio crackles loudly again.
“I know you are still here rigger…I know you are here…” the coarse masculine voice from the radio mutters.
Flint lowers the volume of the radio and puts it on his back. He takes out his revolver. He exits the room and enters the hallway, carrying the revolver and radio on him. He sees the Casino Man at the end of the hall shambling towards him. Flint aims the revolver at his head. Flint holds it still as the figure shambles closer to him.
*BANG*
The bullet flies toward the Casino Man’s head and is surrounded by a bright green flame. The impact from the bullet cracks the Casino Man’s head back. However, despite the powerful shot, the Casino Man brings his head back up. There was no bullet hole on the figure’s head at all.
“You vile rigger! You not only wish to see me suffer with my great losses, but you also want to take away the very chance of me playing at all! You are a vile man, you rigger!” the coarse masculine voice mutters simultaneously as the figure crackles and roars.
The Casino Man rushes towards Flint while letting the smoke from his cigar engulf the room. Flint runs away from the figure as it chases him. He manages to out pace the figure like last time. During his run, Flint notices the cigar’s smoke slowly engulf the halls. He runs past several doors and takes a right turn. He notices two large doors, similar to the ones on the side of the casino. He rushes through the doors and into the room.
The room is an exact mirror of the casino he first entered. He runs through the aisles and over to the other end of the casino. As he arrives there, he finds a set of doors that are locked shut with a complex lock. He hears a loud crashing noise coming from the other end of the room.
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“You vile rigger this ends here right now!” the coarse masculine voice mutters through the radio.
He hears the Casino Man’s loud steps stomp around the room as he looks for Flint.
Taking this perfect opportunity, he kneels on the floor and pulls out his locking picking set. He takes out his locks and begins picking through the lock quickly. Flint knows nothing else, but fear for his life. He will rather escape than solve this case, just like the coward he claims to be. Flint picks the lock at a faster pace, knowing the lock is almost picked.
“Do not succumb, detective.” An odd distorted voice whispers to him. “Do not succumb to your fears. Let your oath show you the way.”
Flint stops picking the lock.
“Who…what said that?” Flint mutters.
He lets go of his picks on the lock and looks back at the Casino Man. The Casino Man rages and destroys many of the machines around the casino in utter rage. Yet under all that rage, Flint can see…no, feel his suffering. Flint feels the poor soul’s damnation being forever bound to that abomination of a vessel. No matter how many times he calls himself a coward, his oath is always there reminding him of his goal.
“Don’t waver…Flint…” he mutters to himself.
Flint puts away his lock-picking set and stands up, holding his revolver.
“I don’t know how. But I will free you. No matter what.” Flint says to himself with uneasy determination.
He goes down one of the aisles, looking for the Casino Man. He sees that the cigar’s smoke slowly engulfs the side the Casino Man lingers on. He peers into the smog trying to find the figure. He finds a bright orange light hidden amongst the smog. He points his revolver at it.
*BANG*
The cigar creates a small explosion. The figure groans in agony.
“You vile rigger!” the coarse male voice mutters from the radio. “How dare you further shame me! How dare you destroy such a marvel!”
The Casino Man charges to where he has heard the shot. Flint barely dodges out of the way as the figure bashes into the slot machines. Flint backs away, still pointing his revolver at him.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Each of the three bullets barely leaves any dents on the Casino Man’s body. The revolver is empty after shooting those three rounds. He runs away as the figure gets off of the slot machines. The Casino Man shouts, starting a violent rampage, slamming and destroying the slot machines while going after Flint. Flint finds a spot to hide several aisles away. He sits down and reloads his revolver.
“These bullets aren’t doing anything!” Flint mutters to himself. “How the hell am I going to free him?”
“You vile rigger! Don’t hide from me any longer!” the coarse masculine voice exclaimed. “You always let me suffer! You feed off of it, you rigger. Let the odds be in my favor! Let me win!”
Flint’s head perks up in realization
“I need him to win,” Flint mutters.
He stands up from his position and approaches the site of the rampage. He sees the figure crashing and destroying many slot machines as it nears the end of the aisle.
“Hey!” Flint shouts over to the figure.
The figure turns around and faces Flint.
“You vile rigger…you finally show yourself to me…” the coarse male voice mutters from the radio.
“I am not who you think I am. I am not the rigger who has damned you.” Flint tells him.
“Lies! All lies!” the coarse masculine voice shouts from the radio while the Casino Man groans and cackles. “This shall finally end. I shall finally win!”
The Casino Man rushes over to Flint, crashing through all the rigged machines. Flint aims his revolver toward the handle of the slot machine on the figure.
*BANG*
The handle pushes back and then violently slams down. The slot machine activates and plays a soothing tune from a music box. The images on the wheels whir loudly, causing the figure to shake and preventing it from moving forward.
*DINK* *DINK* *DINK*
The results: two die and one horse. No match. The figure roars as he continues to approach Flint. It still crashes through the machines. Flint keeps his aim steady.
*BANG*
The handle pushes back and then violently slams down again. The slot machine activates again and plays a soothing tune from a music box. The images on the wheels whir loudly, causing the figure to shake and preventing it from moving forward.
*DINK* *DINK* *DINK*
The results: one dice, one horse, and an ace of spades. The figure roars again, this time very close to Flint.
“You vile rigger. You dare taunt me by playing these damned slots on me? I shall finally win, you shall perish!” the coarse masculine voice rages from the radio.
The figure charges towards Flint, destroying the rigged machines in the aisles along the way. Flint keeps his composure and the revolver still being aimed at the Casino Man’s slot machine handle.
“I will free you.” Flint tells the Casino Man.
*BANG*
The handle pushes back and then violently slams down again. . The slot machine activates again and plays a soothing tune from a music box. The images on the wheels whir loudly, causing the figure to shake and preventing it from moving forward.
*DINK* *DINK* *DINK*
The results: three aces of spades. The Casino Man stops. The slot machine plays a celebratory tune on the music box, spewing cigars and poker chips out of the machine and onto its tray. However, the item that catches The Casino Man’s attention is a photo flying out of the machine.
The Casino Man catches the photo in the air. He finds a photo of his beautiful wife wearing a simple dress and his son wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
Flint aims at the figure’s head.
*BANG*
“Did…did I just win..?” the coarse masculine voice mutters on the radio.
The bullet pierces straight through the Casino Man’s head. A great burst of light erupts from the bullet hole. The Casino Man’s body slowly cracks open. More light erupts from the cracks.
“Against all the rigged odds…I finally won…” the coarse male voice mutters.
The room is enveloped with the same bright light as the Casino Man’s body fades away. Flint covers his eyes from the blinding light as his surroundings slowly change.
Flint’s eyes slowly open after noticing the light dissipating. Instead of finding the forgotten ravaged casino, he is surrounded by the hustle and bustle of a lively lavish casino. His ears are bombarded by the sounds of the loud slot machines and flashy sights. Many people in fine suits and dresses are playing at the slots, all hoping to land those impossible same three images.
Flint walks around, not knowing where to go. As he walks by the aisle of slot machines, he notices a familiar figure sitting down at one of the slot machines. It is a man wearing worn clothes and bearing a scruffy visage.
He recognizes him as Argus Madison, the poor victim who has become the Casino Man. Argus has a small pile of coins and chips lying by the base of the machine. He approaches the man from behind.
Argus sits there with his dirty and ripped clothing, excitedly pulling down the handle with his dirty hands.
“C’mon…c’mon…” Argus mutters.
*DING* *DING* *DING*
The result: no matches.
“Damn it!” Argus curses.
He pulls again, hoping to land a winning match. Even though Flint is right behind him, no one in the casino, especially Argus, pays no mind to him. In fact, he is treated like he isn’t there at all.
The result: Two matches. Two coins drop onto the tray.
“Alright…it’s at least something,” Argus mutters. “C’mon. I gotta win something big now!”
He inserts the last of his cash into the machine. He pulls down the handle.
*DING* *DING* *DING*
The result: no matches.
“What the hell?” he outbursts. “How could I lose this time? HOW?”
His outburst causes many of the other patrons to look at him. It doesn’t matter to him. He steps away from the machine and walks past the other slot machines in the aisle. Flint follows him.
Flint notices Argus at a roulette table already with four men dressed in fancy suits sitting there. The four men puff their cigars, filling the area with a thick smog. The thick smog invades Argus’s lungs, making him cough violently. Yet, the same suffocating smog soothes his body. The men do not care about Argus’s discomfort as they continue to puff and flaunt their cigars at this hobo. Despite the suffocation, Argus’s eyes focus on the cigar, hoping one day he will finally be able to smoke a pair.
Argus places his bets on arbitrary spots. After everyone has made their bets, the dealer puts the ball on the roulette wheel and spins it. After several seconds of the ball bouncing and rolling about, the ball lands on a number. It is a black nineteen. One of the men collected the pile of chips on the table.
Argus keeps his composure and bets the last of his money. His bets are on arbitrary numbers, betting on a red four and black nine. The other men placed their bets more strategically. The smoke around the table continues to grow, making Argus hack even more. The dealer again spins the wheel. It lands on a number that isn’t his.
Argus steps away from the table, and shambles to the exit of the casino. Flint follows closely behind.
Flint is now outside the building after following Argus. Argus leans against one of the pillars outside of the glamorous casino. He pulls out a cigarette and smokes it. The scent of the smoke appalls him. It is nothing like the cigars in the casino. Argus doesn’t attempt to finish it. He throws it on the ground and stamps it out.
Argus walks away. As Flint follows him, he notices the surrounding area change.
The area around him becomes the exterior of a low-end apartment complex. He finds himself by a door, where Argus stands in front of. Argus is outside rubbing his face and stretching in front of the door. He puts his hand on the door and opens it. Flint follows him inside. As Flint enters, the door is shut behind him by Argus.
Argus’s apartment is an utter mess cramped into a small area. Heaps of newspapers and dirty clothing were scattered about the apartment. His son is asleep on a pile of newspapers fashioned into a bed, while his wife, Melia, stops cooking in the kitchen and runs up to him as she hears him enter.
“Argus, where the hell were you?” Melia asks him.
Flint gulps. He knows where this is going.
“What do you mean where I was at? I was at work.” Argus lies.
“Don’t you lie to me, Argus! You were at that damn casino again weren’t you?”
Argus wipes off the sweat forming on his head and looks over to his son still asleep.
“What are you talking about? I was at work dear, they just called me in for a late shift-”
Argus stops talking when he sees Melia clearly frustrated and on the verge of tears.
“Argus, stop lying to me. I just checked our bank account, and a large sum of our money was withdrawn just this evening. Do you really think you can keep lying to me?” She asks him, trying to hold back her tears.
Argus sighs, and his fists tighten.
“So what?” Argus asks her. “Do we just continue living like this?”
She looks up at Argus, tears streaming down her eyes with a shocked look.
“Honey, you’re wasting all of our money just for the slim chance you’ll win big!” She shouts at him. “I can’t let you keep wasting our money!”
“Then how do you expect us to get out of this dump we’re living in?” He shouts back. “Our jobs ain’t even giving us enough to keep in this dump. Hell, they ain’t even letting us live!”
“But do you think wasting more money is going to help us at all? You see one person win big and think that will happen? That’s how they get you!”
“At least there’s a damn chance that something good for us can happen! I’m tired of us living in this shit! We barely have anything nice for us no matter how many jobs we work! Our son barely has a damn childhood!”
Flint stands there, shivering himself. He tries to maintain his composure, but he just can’t.
“Ronlo…Ronlo I…” Flint mutters to himself.
He sees the messy argument intensify, seeing Argus and Melia’s relationship crumble before his very eyes. He walks past them over to their son. Flint sees that he is awake this whole time. Flint sees the poor kid crying in his bed, feigning to them that he’s asleep.
Flint hears Argus storming out of the apartment.
“Fine then! Get the hell out of here you selfish bastard! Gamble everything away!” Melia shouts at him.
Melia locks the door behind him. She breaks down and cries.
“Why do you gamble? Why can’t you just listen to me? I’m trying to help you…We can both be in a better place if you just listened to me.” Argus’s wife says to herself while bawling. “I still love you damn it…”
He sees her approach her son. Her son still feigns being asleep. She knows this all too well, but she convinces herself that he is truly asleep. She hugs him tightly.
Flint takes heavy breaths.
“Oh, Ronlo dear….” Flint mutters.
Flint walks outside of the apartment and looks around for Argus. He notices him standing on the sidewalk by the road to him and approaches him. Argus stands by a light pole, clenching his fist.
“I…I just want to be in a better place Melia and my dear son.” He mutters. “One of these days we’ll make it big. We can finally live in a nicer place. We can finally afford to eat good every day. We can finally live our lives.”
Flint stands there shivering. He knows that underneath all their arguments is a fragile love they wish to repair, something he knows all too well.
Argus and Flint hear the footsteps of a person approaching them. They both turn their heads over to the source of the noise.
Beside them is a man with medium red hair and a young and jovial visage. He wears a simple red polo and khakis as he stands next to Argus, giving a genuine smile.
“Good evening sir.” The man greets him.
“Um…evenin’” Argus replies.
“You know, I saw you with those men at the casino. They’re quite affluent.” The man tells him. “Why, they really know how to gamble.”
“You don’t have to remind me,” Argus mutters.
“Ah yes of course. I wouldn’t want you to remember your losses.” The Man tells him. “In fact, you lose a lot.”
“Sir, if you would please stop talking…”
“Ah, but I’m here to propose an offer to you.” The man interrupts him.
“An offer?”
“Yes, quite a great offer.” The man tells him.
He pulls out a Corona Cigar from the pockets of his khakis.
“Is that a cigar?” Argus asks.
“Yes, and it’s just for you.” The man tells him. “My, after a day of losses, it’ll be something to help ease you a bit.”
Argus takes the cigar off of the man. At least for even a small moment, he will feel like one of the richest men in the world. He lights the cigar and takes a long puff of smoke. He exhales a thick smog of smoke from his mouth, which leaves a satisfactory feeling. However, after his first smoke, he feels woozy. He feels his legs shivering and lacking the strength to hold him up. He drops to the floor, passed out.
Flint looks up at the man. The man’s jovial visage turns into a grim one.
“Let’s get this over with.” The man mutters, feeling regret for what he is about to do.
He lifts Argus’s body and carries him away. As Flint is about to follow him, his surroundings around him slowly change.
“Argus honey, where are you? Where are you?” Melia asks outside.
Flint sees Melia walking out. She sees the man carrying Argus’s unconscious body into a van.
“Wait stop! STOP!” she exclaims.
Melia runs after the van.
Flint’s surroundings form into a room, where the darkness engulfs him. A large bright light suddenly illuminates a part of the room. Argus is strapped down on a chair by a gambling table still unconscious. There is a single dice on the table. Hidden among the darkness are the plain white walls of a testing room.
Argus slowly wakes up and finds himself tied down.
“Where the hell am I?” Argus asks himself.
Both Flint and Argus hears the crackling from a loudspeaker.
“Argus Madison.” A male voice announces.
“Wait, you’re that guy who gave me that cigar!” Argus exclaims in realization. “How the hell do you know my name?”
“How I know is of no concern.” the man tells him. “But, I am here to give you the opportunity of a lifetime.”
A light shines on the dice.
“I will give you $100,000 and let you free if you roll a one. However, for any time you have not rolled a one, the value will drop by $10,000. If you let it run out, well…”
After he says this, Argus feels a sharp pain in his back. He shouts in agony. He looks around for the source of the pain. Argus finds these translucent purple chains coming out of his arms, back, and legs.
“What did you do to me?” Argus asks him, still in agony.
“It is only a part of the deal.” the man tells him. “Experiment #102, The Gamble.”
Flint shivers in place. The photo he has seen in that room shows him what would happen. And worst of all, he cannot stop it. All he can do is watch this horrific sight unfold.
Argus takes the dice and rolls it. He lands a five. He felt the chains tugging on something. He grunts in pain. When he checks his body, he doesn’t notice any bulges or deformities due to the chains.
He rolls it again. He lands a two. He feels the chains tugging on him harder. This time, he can’t hide his pain. He screams in agony.
He reaches for the dice again and rolls it. He lands a six. The chains tug on him even harder. The pain is getting worse. He continues to scream, this time louder.
Flint can’t bear watching, but he forces himself to. He needs to see the truth of how the man-made this poor soul turn into that horrific figure.
He reaches for the dice again and rolls it. He lands a three. The chains tug on him even more. The pain is getting worse. His scream is louder than last time. He looked at his body to see what the chains were tugging at, but couldn’t find it. However, as he looks around, he notices a horrifying sight. He notices his arms convulsing as the blood in his veins is replaced with a black sludge. He sees his veins pop and bleed out the black sludge.
Flint shivers at the horrific sight but still tries to maintain his composure.
It is at this point Argus realizes that he is gambling with his life. In a panic, he takes the dice and rolls it again. He lands a five again. He screams in more agony. He notices the black sludge spreading to the rest of his body while the chains continue tugging on him. He screams louder in agony, feeling his entire body being mauled into deformity.
He rolls it again and lands a three. The shadowy black sludge continues to spread, this time to his body and legs. But this time it starts to corrode his skin away and the chains tug on him harder. He screams in agony.
He rolls it again and lands a four. The shadowy sludge corrodes the flesh on his body and legs away. He feels his legs and body being stretched as they are pulled on by the chains while the black sludge corrodes the rest of the structure and foundation of his body and legs away.
He rolls it again and lands a two. The shadowy sludge begins corroding his head and neck. All he can do is scream in utter agony while the chains stretch his body. Parts of his face fall off and the overall structure of his head is stretched due to the black sludge weighing it down and corroding it away.
He rolls it again and lands a four. His entire body is corroded. Flint can’t even tell it is him. Argus is now this lanky rotting figure, trying to still stay alive.
Flint feels sick at this point. He has seen some horrific things, but this has trumped any of the previous things he’d seen.
He rolls it again, hoping this will free him of this agony. He lands a two. The chains pull out Argus’s soul. The chains rip apart Argus’s soul. The figure screams in agony as his soul is being ripped apart. Then the figure stops screaming and falls on the table in deathly silence.
Argus’s mauled soul is forcefully stuffed into the figure. He stays there, still limp.
“It seems this is another failed experiment.” the man comments over the loudspeaker.
Flint sees the man rubbing his head in the observation room.
“How much blood will be on my hands until I get to bring her back?” the man mutters. “Is this even worth it?”
As the lights are about to dim, the figure’s limbs twitch. He groans with inhuman voices in utter agony. He rises from the table and stands up.
“Experiment #102, The Gamble: Success.” the man mutters.
The entire room becomes surrounded by darkness, which engulfs Flint. In the darkness, he sees a white transparent distorted cloud. He sees the cloud slowly refigure itself into a humanoid shape. Flint’s eyes widen when he sees a cloud form into Argus Madison’s figure. Flint sees black spots around the areas where the chains have tugged him on Argus’s Body.
“You freed me,” Argus tells Flint. “You let me win.”
Flint looks up at Argus in shock, seeing that he is speaking to him.
“All I ever wanted, was to win it big. It was never about the money. I never cared for it one bit. I just wanted to see my dear Melia and my beloved son have a life they can live. A life where I can see my young boy have a place to be a kid and enjoy his childhood. A life where me and my wife don’t have to break it out working several jobs just to barely make ends meet living in a dump. I saved up what little I had from work and took it to the casino. I know my wife is right. You won’t win jack shit at a casino. But you know what? I didn’t care. Even if it was the slimmest chance of us winning, I’d take that over me and my family suffer any longer. Day and night, my losses accumulated and every night was just another argument with my dearest Melia. It all led up to that fateful day when I lost everything. The money, my wife and son, and my life. This stupid fool gave up everything just for the slim chance to win it big for a better life. Don’t be like me, whoever you are. Don’t gamble away your most valuable possessions for anything. You’ll never know when you’ll lose it all one day. Melia…my son…please forgive this old fool. I never wanted your lives to crumble after I disappeared. I want nothing more than just to be with you and spend the rest of our days together. Please…forgive me.”
Flint looks down, processing everything Argus has said. Throwing it all away? Flint scoffs at the idea. He knows that his family and friends deserve someone better than him.
Flint sees Argus Madison slowly walk away. A humanoid figure places its shadowy hand on Argus’s shoulder. Flint’s eyes widen when he recognizes the figure from the mural on the stairwell beside Argus Madison.
“You have gambled away your life, but I shall be here to aid in recollecting your most precious valuables. But, I cannot guide you to your family just yet, Argus.” The figure whispers into his ear. “Trust in this detective. He will free you from this hell.”
Argus Madison looks back to Flint.
“Please, detective. I know I have harmed you in my rage, but please forgive my past actions. Please, let me see them again!” Argus pleads.
Flint looks at him, his body still shivering. He looks down as his fists tighten.
“I…I…”
Flint takes a deep breath and looks up at him.
“I swear on it…” Flint says, with uneasy determination.
The humanoid figure guides Argus away into the darkness.
“Do not falter, detective.” The figure whispers into Flint’s ear. “Many souls must be saved.”
Flint stumbles around, feeling his body and eyelids become heavier. He falls to the ground, passing out.