Free Web NovelChapter 123: Chapter 123 - Luck at the Casino
She fixed the stray hair on her cheeks, trying to curl it.
She smiled satisfied as it bounces against her cheek.
Her dress was dark navy, long, with a slit that showed more leg than she was used to. The stilettos felt unfamiliar, forcing her posture straighter than normal. The white fur jacket, something she would never have picked for herself, looked good against the satin anyway. The jewelry at her neck and ears caught the light when she moved.
She met Malcolm’s eyes through the mirror.
He looked good in the shirt, sleeves down now, cufflinks almost in place. The tuxedo jacket waited on the chair behind him.
"I’ll check on Marybeth," she said.
He nodded.
Iyisha stepped into the hallway. Her eyes darted to the room 2 doors away. Lauren and Waldo have stayed inside their room as if scared of the Route. She sighed and pivoted to Marybeth’s and knocked. The door opened quickly.
Marybeth smiled, then stopped.
The pause was short but obvious. They both felt it. Whatever the drugs had done the night before, whatever sounds had carried through the walls, neither of them needed to say it.
"Come in," Marybeth said, laughing a little, awkward.
"Oh, no," Iyisha replied. "I’m just checking if you’re ready."
Marybeth stepped back and straightened, giving her a better look. The dress was plunging, fitted, her hair carefully curled. She looked nothing like the woman Iyisha had met trapped in a cage, wild eyed and desperate. This Marybeth looked composed.
"We’re ready," she said. "If you both are."
Iyisha nodded and left before the moment could stretch.
Back in the room, Malcolm was still struggling with his tie.
She stopped in front of him. "Bend."
He did without comment.
She fixed it quickly, fingers steady. "My grandpa used to like it when I tied his ties," she said before thinking. "Every morning. Even when he wasn’t going anywhere. Grandma said he pretended so I could do it."
"Hm," Malcolm said.
She froze for half a second, realizing she’d shared more than she meant to. She stepped back and smoothed his tie.
"They’re ready," she said. "Let’s go."
Malcolm picked up the jacket and nodded.
And just like that, they were ready too.
They met Marybeth and Brix outside their rooms.
Brix whistled low when he saw them. "Damn," he said, grinning. "This place really went all out."
Marybeth laughed and shook her head. "Don’t get used to it."
The golf cart was already waiting. A worker opened the door without a word and motioned them in. Malcolm took the seat closest to the edge. Iyisha sat beside him, careful with the dress, still not fully used to how it moved when she did.
The cart rolled forward smoothly.
The Route looked different at night. More lights. More people moving between buildings. Music drifted from places she couldn’t see yet. It felt busy without feeling chaotic, controlled in a way that made it unsettling once she noticed it.
No one spoke for a while.
Then the casino came into view.
The building was larger than the others, brighter, glass and metal catching the light. People were already coming and going, dressed like this was any normal night, like the world outside hadn’t collapsed.
"What the hell," Iyisha muttered.
Brix leaned forward. "I take back every bad thing I said about this place."
Inside, the noise hit her first. Music, voices, the sound of metal clicking against tables. Lights everywhere. Too clean. Too alive.
Everyone was dressed well. Suits. Dresses. Jewelry. Smiles that came easy.
There were a lot of people. More than she expected. Tables stretched across the floor, dealers moving with practiced ease, workers circulating with drinks and trays.
She leaned slightly toward Malcolm. "How many people are even here."
"A lot," Brix answered before Malcolm could. "Too many."
Marybeth stayed close, eyes wide, taking it all in.
Iyisha felt it then. Not excitement exactly, but something close to it. The feeling of being somewhere that didn’t smell like decay or fear. Somewhere people laughed without checking the doors every few seconds.
She didn’t like how easy it was.
Cyborg was waiting for them outside.
He smiled when he saw them and stepped forward. "Beautiful girls," he said easily, offering a hand as Iyisha stepped down from the cart. He did the same for Marybeth, steady and practiced.
Iyisha straightened and looked past him.
The entrance stood open, light spilling out onto the pavement. People moved in and out dressed in formal wear, suits and long dresses, laughter carrying with them. Jazz music drifted through the doors, smooth and confident.
It felt wrong.
The sound. The lights. The way everything was so open.
Her shoulders tightened. For a second, her body reacted before her mind did, like noise alone could draw danger. Zombies. Raiders. Anyone watching from the dark.
Her hand curled into Malcolm’s without thinking.
Cyborg noticed and grinned. "Come on," he said. "Welcome."
They stepped inside.
The casino opened up immediately, wide and bright. The ceiling was high, lights set low but warm, reflections bouncing off polished floors and glass surfaces. Tables filled the room, dealers standing behind them in clean uniforms, hands moving fast and confident. Chips clicked. Cards slid. People leaned close to one another, voices overlapping in laughter and conversation.
Music threaded through everything, jazz steady and calm, like it belonged here.
Workers moved constantly, carrying drinks, trays of food, checking on tables without interrupting the flow. Security stood at intervals, dressed like guests at a glance, but watching everything.
Iyisha took it all in and felt out of place.
Not because of the dress.
Because nothing here looked like survival.
People smiled without checking exits. They laughed too loud. They touched freely. It felt like a memory from another life, one that shouldn’t exist anymore.
She stayed close to Malcolm, aware of his presence beside her, steady and unmoved by the noise.
Cyborg walked ahead, at ease, greeting people as they passed, nods returned without question.
"This is the heart of it," he said over his shoulder. "Everything runs through here."
Iyisha looked around again, the lights, the music, the people, and couldn’t shake the feeling that the casino wasn’t hiding from the end of the world.
It was pretending it never happened.
Cyborg led them to a table set a little apart from the others.
There were no cards. No wheels. Just a smooth surface marked with numbers and a narrow display above it that pulsed slowly. People stood around it instead of sitting, leaning in, watching the numbers change.
A server approached and placed small stacks of metal coins in front of them.
Iyisha blinked. "What’s this."
"On the house," Cyborg said with a grin.
She didn’t touch the coins. She looked around instead. Other tables had the same setup. Same coins. Same focus. People staring at numbers like they mattered more than anything else.
"What do people give in exchange for this," she asked.
Cyborg’s grin widened. "If you win," he said lightly, "maybe I’ll tell you."
Her face darkened.
For a second, her mind went somewhere else entirely. People being traded. Owed. Passed around like credit.
"Whoa," Cyborg said, catching it immediately. "Not as evil as you’re thinking."
She didn’t relax.
"They come in," he continued, "exchange their resources at the gate for credit. Weapons. Supplies. Fuel. Skills. Simple. Enough credit can buy you a month here."
"A month," she repeated.
She looked around again. People laughing. Losing track of time. Forgetting where they were. Forgetting what waited outside.
"And how do we pay for this," she asked.
Cyborg glanced at her and smiled. "You don’t."
She turned back to him sharply.
"Consider it payment for last night," he said.
Iyisha looked at the coins again, then at the people around them, and felt the wrongness settle deeper. Nothing here was free. Not really.
Cyborg grinned. "Come on. Enjoy it. I wouldn’t do anything to Malcolm’s girl."
The words landed, and for a second she almost corrected him.
Almost.
She didn’t.
Not because it was true, and not because it wasn’t, but because she was tired of pushing against it. Tired of explaining something she hadn’t defined herself.
She let it pass.
Her eyes shifted instead, finding Malcolm where he stood near the bar, untouched drink in front of him, attention fixed on her. Watching, not interfering.
She exhaled.
"We’ll play," she said to Cyborg. "But if we win, we take our winnings."
Cyborg grinned, walking back to Malcolm. "Be careful. The house doesn’t take kindly to beginners."
Iyisha looked down at the coins in front of her.
She didn’t want to stretch this out. She didn’t want to get pulled in. Losing fast felt like the easiest way through it.
She pushed half the stack forward and dropped it on a number without hesitation.
The dealer noticed.
He glanced at the amount, then at her, curiosity flashing briefly across his face before it smoothed out. "That’s a jump," he said casually.
"I don’t like waiting," she replied.
The numbers shifted.
A light blinked.
Coins slid back toward her.
More than before.
Marybeth stared. "Wait—did you just win?"
Brix let out a short laugh. "No way."
Iyisha frowned. "What?"
Iyisha looked down at the stack in front of her. It was bigger now. Noticeably bigger.
She didn’t smile.
Iyisha stared at the coins for a second longer than she meant to.
She pushed another stack forward and dropped it on a number.
Someone behind her muttered, "What is she doing?"
The numbers rolled.
The light blinked.
Coins slid back.
Again.
A sharper reaction this time.
"What the fuck," someone said out loud.
Marybeth laughed, half shocked. "Okay, You’re on a fucking roll."
She looked at the pile in front of her. It was getting big enough now that it felt wrong, like it belonged to someone else.
People edged closer.
Not crowding yet, but watching. Waiting.
She felt it then. The pull. Not excitement exactly, but curiosity. The need to see if it would happen again.
She pushed more coins forward.
Higher this time.
A couple of people actually leaned in.
"Don’t tell me she’s doing it again," someone said.
The dealer’s movements slowed just a fraction, professional but alert. "Place your bet."
She did.
The numbers shifted.
Silence fell around the table, quick and unnatural, like everyone had stopped breathing at the same time.
The light flashed.
Coins slid back.
Louder reactions now.
"No fucking way."
"That’s insane."
Marybeth grabbed her arm. "Iyisha."
Brix laughed, sharp and disbelieving. "You’re cursed or blessed. I don’t know which."
Iyisha stared at the coins, her pulse ticking faster than she liked. "This is stupid."
But her hand was already moving.
More coins.
The crowd closed in now, tight around the table, people craning their necks, whispering, waiting like this was something they couldn’t afford to miss.
"Again," someone urged.
The dealer glanced up longer, then back down. "Last call."
She blinked but still placed the bet.
The numbers rolled.
The room went quiet.
The light flashed.
Coins slid back.
For a second, no one spoke.
Then the noise hit all at once.
"What the hell is that luck."
"That’s not real."
Iyisha barely registered the last win before people started closing in.
Someone behind her let out a short laugh. "Shit. That’s more than a year here."
Her stomach tightened.
She looked down at the pile in front of her. It was too much. Enough to stop being a game. Enough to mean something. The weight of it pressed into her chest.
Marybeth stepped closer and pushed a drink into her hand. "Hey," she whispered. "You can stop. You don’t have to keep going."
Iyisha nodded slightly and drank it straight. Her eyes stayed on the coins.
The crowd leaned in. Voices dropped. People were watching her now, not the numbers.
If I win one more time.
The thought scared her, but it didn’t stop her.
She pushed everything forward.
Every coin.
A hush fell over the table.
Her heart pounded as she picked a different number, pulled her hand back, and waited.
The numbers rolled.
Silence.
The light flashed.
Coins spilled back toward her.
For a second, no one moved.
Then the room reacted all at once.
Gasps. Swearing. Someone laughed like they didn’t believe it.
Iyisha stood there, staring at the pile, hands shaking.
