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me wished her a jackpot win on my nickel. I already had everything I wanted.
    Still, when I sat down alone at the bar I felt bad for abandoning my friend. Was it really that big of a deal? An hour of discomfort to make Andi happy.
    The bartender came over and I ordered my favorite drink, a screwdriver. Orange juice and vodka.
    That’s when he came up to the bar.
    He was like a living statue, a chunk of marble that got up and walked around on its own. Everything about him was bleached white, his skin his long hair pulled into a severe ponytail, even his fingernails. Like there wasn’t a spot of color to him, except his eyes. His eyes weren’t really brown, they were a dark red, like the color of dried blood that’s still a little wet.
    Even his clothes were white, a freaking white suit, the white broken only by black shoelaces and an honest-to-God string tie. He sat down next to me and looked over and I guarded my drink, tucking it up under my chin. I thought about moving away, hopping one bar seat down, but I didn’t want to be rude.
    Sitting to my left, he took my hand.
    I tried to pull away, but it was like yanking on my hand, stuck in a stone crevice. I could feel the power of his grip in my joints as he examined the ring on my finger. Finally he let go.
    “Get lost,” I said, in my toughest voice.
    He leaned on his hand and smiled at me with pale bloodless lips, like two pink worms.
    “This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to run, and I’m going to chase you.”

Chapter Four

    I just stared at him.
    “W-what?”
    He sat back and adjusted his coat, running his fingers over the lapels. I saw all his fingernails were shaved to sharp points.
    “It’s now eight forty-three. If you can make it out of the city by midnight, you will be free. I’ll give you a ten minute head start.”
    I continued to stare at him.
    He sighed. “This is my favorite part, watching your perception of the world crumble. No, I am not insane. No, this is not a joke. No, no one can help you. Your time begins now. I’d run if I were you.”
    With a little flicker of a smile he stepped down from the bar stool and walked out into the crowd behind me. I turned around and around, but as soon as he left my peripheral vision he was just gone, even though he should have stood out like a sore thumb. The bartender came over to me and looked at my drink.
    “Ma’am? Another?”
    “No, thanks,” I absently slid a twenty across the bar. He could keep the change. “Did you see that guy?”
    “What guy?”
    “The one sitting here just now.”
    “I didn’t see anybody.”
    A lump formed in my throat.
    “Is there security here or something?”
    “Yeah, over there.” He nodded towards the elevators.
    I dropped off the stool and walked across the casino floor. In the back of my head I was ticking the seconds off that ten minute head start. I had to get Andi and get the hell out of here. If that guy was stalking us he might do something to her.
    Security would help. It was their job. They would secure me, right? I spotted a bored looking guard in a faux-cop uniform. The rent-a-cops here were serious business. They carried guns. I went right up to him.
    “Hey. Some guy just threatened me at the bar.”
    The guard stirred on his feet and looked down at me. He was a big guy, built like a linebacker, and had his thumbs perched on his duty belt. His hands weren’t helping it stay up any more than the big paunch rolling it forward. He pulled the belt up and adjusted himself.
    “He here now?”
    “No. I lost track of him. Look, I want to get my friend and get out of here before he comes back. Can you help me?”
    He shrugged. “Sure, hon. Where’d you see your friend last?”
    “At that… revue thing,” I said, choking down the embarrassment. “She was heading into the theater.”
    “That show ended fifteen minutes ago. Were you supposed to meet up with her?”
    Fifteen minutes ago? That made no sense, I was only there for a few