Slotpocalypse

Lucky wasn't one for gambling, but he liked the drinks at Ilani Casino. Maybe it was the bright lights or the bartender pouring his gin and tonics like she was mad at the world. Either way, Ilani was the perfect spot to drown out the constant gray of the Pacific Northwest.

It had been raining since October and would probably keep raining until May. The clouds hung low, the air smelled like wet moss, and everyone walked around like their souls were damp. But in Ilani, you could pretend the world wasn't soaked through—at least until you walked outside, and the rain smacked you in the face, as if disappointed in your life choices.

The first scream sliced through the air like a blade. Lucky snapped his head around just in time to see it—a slot machine's digital character stepping out from the screen. This wasn't some glitch in The Matrix. No, this thing was real—and pissed.

The Mega Meltdown machine burst to life, and the volcano erupted with a bloodcurdling shriek. The jackpot figure, glowing red-hot, crawled out, dragging a tourist by the throat. The molten jackpot laughed maniacally as the man's skin bubbled and melted off his bones, sizzling like meat on a grill. His eyeballs popped with a hiss, trailing down his cheeks as molten lava seared its way through his flesh. The volcano howled in ecstasy, shaking the walls as lava poured out like a grotesque waterfall of blood and ash.

Lucky jumped to his feet. Chaos exploded around him as slot machines came to life with wild abandon. Double Wolf howled with eerie synchrony as two wolves sprang from the screen, their fangs dripping with saliva. They pounced on a group of bachelorettes, ripping through them like paper dolls. One wolf clamped onto a woman's arm, jerking it off with a sickening crack, blood gushing like a fountain as the arm hit the floor. The wolves howled louder, biting through flesh and bone as though they were tender meat, spraying arterial blood across the room like a sadistic confetti party.