Chapter 4

After aimlessly wandering the premises for over an hour, Jacqueline goes into one of the buildings. She would assume that letting a 14 year old into a casino would be bad business, however, nature calls and she just headed straight through double doors. A large brooding human was standing by the door and Jacqueline just briskly walked passed; not making eye contact.

She didn't know if they were looking at her or even noticed someone had entered the building. They had sunglasses on, which seemed awfully useless at almost 3 am. Nonetheless, she did not want to fuel anymore of her anxiety with the ghost of a stranger's stare. A quick scan from the entryway reflected a scene which mirrored the outside. Covered in gold and bright colours, it was gaudily extravagant. It was enough to make one openly cringe at the lights which challenged the sun.

Slot machines and game tables were occupied by people from every social rung on the hierarchy. Some humans were wearing flashy outfits like the ones presumably walking home on the main street. Others wore cheap fabric or smelled funny or even missing shoes for whatever reason. However, Jacqueline was the only one wearing pure white.

They mingled together with the shared dream of instant material wealth. Their faces and words merged into haze and noise; cheering and shouting were directed at machines and people. Within the lively atmosphere, one person was frantically looking for the restroom.

15 minutes have passed as she wandered through the maze of gamblers. She imagined her kidneys were a time bomb; counting down, ready to explode and kill her again. A shudder went through her body when flashes of orange and white dragged her back to shrapnel and the smell of smoke.

Her eyes spotted the restroom sign up ahead and she made a beeline for it. However, as she passed by another poker table, a skinny arm wrapped around her shoulders. Jacqueline's head snapped upwards and immediately shoved the other away.

"Hey, hey. That's not very nice."

A young voice registered. It was another teenager, who looked about the same age as her older siblings, so around 17 or 18 in age. A boy in a black hoodie with worn jeans and sneakers was smoking a cigarette. The scent of cheap nicotine mixed in with multiple perfumes and colognes and sweat.

Disgust warped Jacqueline's face.

"Don't touch me"

If it were possible, her eyes would have stabbed his face several times with a blunt spoon. Overly friendly people were already unbearable to begin with; a shady, touchy stranger was beyond red flags.

"Woah, relax. I just wanted to invite the newcomer to play a bit of poker with us. Right guys?"

Around the poker table were four other people, all of different age groups. A dark-skinned lady was in an employee's uniform dishing out blue playing cards to souls with multi-coloured chips. The rest were players who were also dressed in casual clothing.

One was a frail old man with white hair and a large bald spot, another was a chubby woman wearing a bucket hat and the last was another smoker who had greasy skin and cheap jewelry.

"Just shut up and place your bets already! I smell money on the table."

The bucket hat woman shouted, hunched over her cards like a gremlin hiding their treasures. The other two were laughing. The shady teenager gave her a crooked smile.

"Don't you want some flesh blood to join us?"

He turned back to try and hook another new soul into the world of gambling. Curious, naïve teenagers were easy pickings. However, the girl in white clothes had disappeared. The teenager stood looking around like a lost kid looking for their mother. His friends laughed even louder as he slid back into his stool.

Jacqueline had already reached her goal of the public restroom. The stalls didn't have electric doors or a proper hand drying station, however, there was at least toilet paper and hand soap. It was about the same level of nasty. Unknown stains, water damage on the ceiling, bad graffiti on stall doors and an overflowing trash can full of garbage.

After checking the stalls for cameras and doing her business, she counted the cash in her pocket. $200 dollars were split into $20 bills. The money must have been a starter gift, the same way the clothes were a starter outfit. Just as how characters begin their journey in video games with a bit of coin and weak equipment. Otherwise, how could a random stranger know she had just arrived from looking at her when she spawned in the middle of an intersection.

She had to sneak past the table and ditch the white clothes, in case others started to target her again. Whether it would be for money or something else, Jacqueline didn't want to think about it. Plus, gambling isn't something she would dare to try as someone who's bad luck bordered on the lines of absurdity.

Brown eyes peaked through the crack of the door, mapping out an escape route. She could sneak by to the left, go down a few rows of slot machines and slide through the front doors. When her eyes landed on the exit, there was a drunk person arguing with the person presumed to be security. Then they pulled out something from their belt.

Bang!

They shot him. No one was screaming or running away. Few gamblers glanced over with mixed drinks or cigarette smoke, but quickly went back to their games. It was difficult to see the wound from several feet away, however black liquid slowly stained the front part of his grey t-shirt.

He grabbed the drunkard's neck and snapped it. After briefly leaving the door and tossing the unmoving body, presumably on the side of the street. Jacqueline slowly closed the door with cold hands. Did blood from human souls turn black in the underworld, if not, what was the security guard? Were all the people in the casino really human beings?

Eventually, Jacqueline had managed to leave the casino and stumble her way to the cheapest inn that wasn't insufferable to stay the night in. Her nerves were like frayed wires while her face was stoned into false neutrality; ignoring all the creatures who passed by.

Facing cheap sheets, she laid in her misery. Today had been the most awful day of her life, and tomorrow held no promise of being any better. After spending $80 for the inn fee, Jacqueline came to a stark realization that she needed some way to get more money else she had no place to stay or food to eat.

A middle-class teenager would be ecstatic about having free money in their pocket to spend, but that was because it wasn't used on shelter, groceries, expenses or other life necessities. Jacqueline had seen her richer classmates throw away money on branded items or tech for thousands of dollars.

She missed lying in her own bed in a clean familiar bedroom and web surfing herself to sleep on her smartphone. This was her life now; no modern tech or comforts. She will be living on her own with only enough money for another night in the inn and the clothes on her back.

She didn't see any of her family members drop from the ceiling in Phase 1. There were no hyperactive younger siblings, no obtuse older brother, no obsessive older sister, no prideful mother and no fanatical father.

Would she ever see any of them again? Was the bombed parking lot at Sunday church the last place she'll remember from her old life? If she somehow met her family again, would she even recognize them anymore? From the lines of age and inevitable changes in character. The charged circuits in her mind powered dangerous thoughts until she lost consciousness.

*

Jacqueline woke up the next morning. Morning meant waking up at noon, eating crappy food and taking a shower while she still could afford it. After mulling over all the possibilities, the only thing she could do now was to live in any way she could. The first issue to deal with was money.

There were three main ways to get money. One could win money from the casinos with some luck; or go broke trying. Another was to just steal it from other souls, however, everyone had either a gun or a knife; exposed or not. It was more likely for one to get mauled, instead of getting someone's wallet. The last option was to work.

Therefore, Jacqueline went to the job board and took anything she could find. People weren't picky on who they hired. They didn't need a resume or cover letter or information on your education. Since there was no way to prove this information with documentation, nor would they know if your school actually exists. They didn't have an age requirement either, because the shape of the soul doesn't reflect the age of the soul. However, she would normally quit or get fired within the same day.

Everyday was applying for a job, leaving said job, going back to her inn room and applying for a new job the next morning. Working as a waitress or cashier or delivery person had all failed. The problem wasn't usually the job. However, the delivery job was the exception. It was impossible to do it properly without transportation she didn't have. She didn't go into this one expecting to stay long.

Her main obstacle was the people. Humans were insufferable as they normally were to Jacqueline. However, immortal souls with no concern for death, injury or manners had fanned her temper. At least, it was customary in the Underworld to be paid by the hour, even if she left after only a day. It seemed as though she wasn't the only one to have this experience, as other souls in white clothes would be hovering over the job board on the daily as well.

It was the fifth day and a new post had been put up. It was a job for a library assistant paying $25 per hour. Unlike the other posts, they ask for experience and detailed responsibilities. Jacqueline had worked as the library assistant in middle school instead of joining a club, however, that was the extent of her knowledge.

It didn't matter if she didn't have the experience they wanted; there weren't any better options. Therefore, Jacqueline had gone in search of the public library on streets that were slightly more familiar.