La Casino de Angeles

Ali and I had taken the same path Zeke, Becky, and Suzy stormed off a while ago. The crowds were as busy as honeybees which made it more difficult for us to find the trio.

She had tried to call Zeke but apparently there was no response even as the ringtone rang and rang.

"Argh… if only I had the others' cellular numbers…" Ali grumbled as she scrolled through her contacts, hoping she had saved any of their information that could be useful.

The skies had now dimmed slowly. The bright sunny blue transitioned to a soft yellow-orange of pastels mixed with the blue-grays of dusk.

The moon sluggishly peeked at the distance, still a tad shy as the sunset hasn't finished its exodus unto the west.

"Don't you have your sister's number, Lizzie? Becky is more reasonable compared to Zeke as far as I knew him when I subbed at their band practices." She asked.

We were now at what looked like a crossroads full of bright neon lights. People from all directions come and cross by in a hurry. Vehicles irritably waited their turn as the traffic light signaled for them a flashing red stop sign.

"Now that I think of it, I might have stashed my phone in my bags back at the truck." I winced as I answered her query. I realized that I haven't really found the time to familiarize myself with the mobile device yet.

There were just some things that my brain couldn't process still.

It was a work in progress.

"Who, in their right minds, would be so dumb as to leave their phone behind in this millennia?" Ali's exasperation was painted all over her face and she poked a skinny finger at me jokingly. "Oh right, you."

Alice Wardwell, accused of witch craft at the age of ten, died on the stake with me and the other girls deemed as witches on the spring of 1692.

She was an orphan who knew nothing of the outside world. As she was tucked under the protective wings of the orphanage ran by Puritan women and men, she was a very fragile child.

A curious little thing Alice was. She had trouble speaking and her mental capacity was that of a toddler.

I didn't know much about her back then as we didn't have much interaction as much as the other girls in the prison cells.

I wish I had known.

How come the prosecutors concluded such a little child could be a witch?

A car horn blasted at a pedestrian that sped past without looking and I jerked back into reality.

The search was a bit futile now as we had no means of communication with Becky and company, thus Ali decided to call the search off. She ringed and informed Levi about it and I could hear his annoyed groans through the phone's static.

"Come on now, Lizzie. Levi said that Nico's men had taken a look at the car. Would you even imagine that? It's only been thirty minutes." She said as she waved for me to follow as I was distracted with the awakening nightlife of Los Angeles.

"Hopefully there wasn't any real damage to Bash's truck and we could get going soon. Lots of people come early to the Coachella Valley to set up camp and we don't want to waste the chance to get a good spot." Ali added as we made our way into the busy crowds of LA.

As we were about to cross, I noticed my shoelaces were untied and crouched down to tie them before I could get myself into an accident. It would be just so embarrassing to trip on your own shoelaces.

"Ali, wait for a minute-" I said as I tried to catch up with her. But when I stood up again, Ali was nowhere in sight and all I could see was the waves of people rushing from all directions.

I suddenly felt like a fish out of water.

My skin turned cold and the hair stood on its ends as I realized I was now alone in an unfamiliar place. The crowds that surrounded me felt like a prison of human walls and it threatened to suffocate me.

I frantically tried to escape the crowds.

All of a sudden, I hear something whispered in my ear. It sounded like a tiny buzz that called for attention. It slowly augmented in volume to a crescendo and quite suddenly stopped.

As sounds of metal clinks invaded my ears, it was then I realized I had already entered a nearby establishment.

As I crossed the entrance, I was immediately taken aback as the elaborate and grand designs of its lobby greeted me. There were no windows and clocks, and the lighting emitted a cozy and warm feeling.

A guy in crisp uniform handed me some tall glass of drink and I was too dazed to realize I had already accepted his offer.

"On the house, madam. Feel free to roam around and see whatever is to your liking." He beamed a set of pristine white teeth and proceeded to greet others with the same offer and enthusiasm. "Welcome to La Casino de Angeles!"

My throat suddenly felt parched and without thinking I took a sip of the drink I held in my hands.

The drink was a blast of warm, sweet, and bitter strong taste that traveled playfully in my tongue and down to my stomach.

It was intoxicating.

Lights flashed in the corner of my peripheral vision and I saw lines of big sparkling machines, each had levers that cried out to be pulled.

I don't know why but I feel like there was something that I was missing here.

My present memories went full throttle and I could remember what the colorful machines were.

Slot machines.

People came and go, some elegantly dressed while others a perfect bum. The staff didn't mind as long as they spend. They immediately attend to guests and guide them towards whatever they fancied to play with.

"Maybe you'd like a game of pachinko, madam?" Someone tapped at my shoulder.

"W-who is it?!" I squealed and I turned to see an old man who was dressed in a formal tux. He waved his hand towards some other array of machines that emitted quirky music and flashy colorful lights.

Weird.

I stared at the brightly colored machines and thought to myself, 'What am I supposed to do with this?'

"You gamble." Someone answered the question in my head. I swerved to my left and saw that a small kid, about the age of seven perhaps, played beside the pachinko machine beside me. "You place the balls and launch them to gamble. The lucky ones win."

Why is a kid inside a casino?