Aaron Collins' EndG8 Part 3: Prague of Hard Knocks

by Psychoflop

The EndG8 continues and turns in a human/inhuman direction

EndG8

Part 3: Prague of Hard Knocks

Chapter 1: Humans in Class (Days Spent on Aaronworld: -2492)

Song to put on: Buckethead – This room sleeps one and a half

Even by the standards of double occupancy university dorm rooms, Adam felt cramped from time to time (as did his sleeping roommate, Amy). There was no front hall when you entered their room (or even a closet to hold coats or shoes for themselves, much less any potential guests), you literally walked straight into their shared bedroom. Adam slept on the futon bed on the right half of the room (which was decorated in multiple Toronto Giants posters, his home baseball team). Whereas Amy slept on the futon on the left half of the room (which was decorated mostly in posters of various Doctor Who Doctors, the current doctor being David Tennant) but there was also a small painting she made a year or two prior of two adult males shaking hands (one wearing a Red and Blue military uniform, the other a Blue and Yellow one), symbolizing the 1814 Norwegian-Swedish Compromise. Norway stayed under Swedish Occupation provided that they were allowed to self-govern on most affairs.

On Adam's side of the dorm was a bare-bones bathroom (toilet, sink/mirror combo and a small shower), on Amy's side was a kitchenette (a small fridge, a stove, a microwave and a few cupboards). All of the floors were nondescript white tiles (likely left over from when the Czech Republic around them was still under communist rule), and the walls/appliances were either all-white, stainless steel or both. There technically was storage available in the basement for all of the students, but it was discouraged (as Charles University was very prone to robberies). It took the better part of 5 minutes for Adam's eyes to adjust to the amount of sunlight that flashed through his and Amy's windows.

"7:28 am, 2 minutes before my alarm goes off. I better shut it off, Amy has first period off on Mondays and I don't want to wake her." he mumbled.

He looked at his alarm clock (a simple black one with a neon green digital readout) and pushed a small dial on the left side of it twice, deactivating the alarm with 10 or 11 seconds to go before it was scheduled to go off). One of the cupboards in the kitchenette was not only open, but its' contents were in full view to Adam as he walked over to the kitchenette.

"Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a clean bowl. Probably the best shot that I have of making breakfast without waking Amy up. I swear that girl likes sleeping too much on every single Aaronworld. I hope we get to see the other Aaronworlds someday, it would be nice to meet another me. Although I suppose that isn't much of an option on the world where I commit suicide in Paris."

He tried not to think of that alternate version of himself (as it depressed him every single time that he did) as he began stretching in an effort to wake himself up even more (wearing only a pair of black silk boxer shorts). He took a simple blue porcelain bowl out of the cupboard, as well as the cereal. He successfully poured the bowl without waking his roommate, and walked back over to his futon to eat it. Both of the futons in the room had black cushions, but Adam had red and white Canadian flag decorated blankets and pillows whereas Amy had blankets and pillows from the BBC hit series, Sherlock (She mostly slept on the Benedict Cumberbatch pillow, but sometimes the Martin Freeman one got some love).

Adam had to eat quickly, as he wanted a shower before his 1st class (Archery, mandatory for at least 1 semester per student per year, Amy had her semester of it starting in a few weeks). Eating quickly while not waking up a roommate was no easy task (as the chewing of a dry cereal with the word "Crunch" in its' name was usually quite loud). He took out a simple black leather student organizer with "Charles University of Prague." written on the front cover in simple silver letters and opened it in order to review his schedule:

"Thank god I don't have to check for bite marks. If she was being 'changed' last night she'd be in the hospital by now. OK, Archery 1st, Quantum Sciences 2nd, University Level Czech Language 3rd, Lunch 4th, Paranormal History 5th, Paranormal Science 6th. Then I should have about 45 minutes to get home before sunset. Which should be plenty of time as it's only about a half a kilometre from the Non-Czech residential campus to the Non-Czech residential dorm. Most of the changed are trustworthy, but one can never be too careful when they're in Prague. It's Europe's capital of quirkiness, a living gallery of the Gothic and the Baroque. Where the ghosts and the changed of the Dvorak and Kafka haunt grand cafes, bohemian bars and smoky jazz joints."

Adam stopped talking upon seeing Amy toss and turn (not quite waking up). Relieved to not see anything of hers bitten, he jumped in the shower.

Song to put on: Bullet for my Valentine with Apocalyptica – Intro

30 minutes had passed, and Adam had left for his classes (there were still traces of steam coming out of their shared half-bathroom). Amy got up somewhat more slowly than Adam, relieved that she was not hungover from pub crawling the previous evening.

"I hope that Aaron is right. I hope most of the mes of the Aaronverse enjoy sleeping as much as I do. I'm sad that I didn't get enough sleep last night but happy that I'm not rushed to go to class like Adam sometimes is."

She walked over to the kitchenette that Adam had recently walked to in order to get his cereal. Neither one of them seemed to care that the cupboards were made of simple particle board, painted white. She grabbed the cinnamon toast crunch and another blue porcelain bowl out and poured the cereal to make breakfast. That's where the similarities of her morning routine in comparison to Adam ended, as she began looking around for something that Adam had rarely used. Her frustration mounted with each passing moment, as she failed to find it.

"Damn! It's Monday morning and I can't find any damn coffee."

Amy adjusted the left shoulder strap of her white tank top (as it kept falling off). She took the bowl of cereal and walked back over to her futon, sitting down facing her window, enjoying a few robins chirping from the same nest. Halfway through eating, she remembered to take out her Iphone, forming a backup plan in her mind.

"Siri, access my balance on my Starbucks e-card, please."

"Your total balance on your Starbucks e-card is 600 Czech Koruna, Amy." came the reply from her phone.

Amy's eyes (and ears) lit up "Oh, well that's awesome. I thought I had a lot less than that. I can get something there before class."

"Indeed you can, do you remember where one is located close to you?" asked Siri, who was trying to replicate curiosity despite being an automated operating system.

Amy thought to herself for a moment, this was her first semester here and only knew of the most basic of her surroundings in Prague.

"No, do you remember which Starbucks that I went to last time?" she asked her phone.

"Yes I do. You simply exit from the north end of the dorms, walk east for 10 minutes along Zelezna until you see the astronomical clock. The Starbucks is directly across from it."

Amy suspected that her Iphone had mispronounced the street name (and it wouldn't be the first time that this has happened). She looked under her futon, finding a dark stained wooden box that measured 45 cubic centimetres. She lifted the lid, finding a fold-out map of Prague on top. She unfolded it, looking for the section in the central part of town known to locals as the stare mesto district. What she found, was a post-it note written in plain English:

"Dear Amy, just head downstairs, walk out the main entrance, take a left and keep walking until you see all of those metal parts making a clock outside. Be sure not to change streets at any point on your walk.

-Past Amy"

"Damn I'm good." replied Amy to the past version of herself as she folded and returned the map to the box (then put the box back under her futon where it belonged). She looked at Adam's clock, it read 8:17 am. "No time for a shower before Starbucks, but I will need warmer clothes." she thought to herself. That was quite true actually, as winters in the Czech Republic (while milder than her hometown of Oslo, Sweden) tended to vary between 7 degrees Celsius and -24 degrees Celsius (a digital thermometer by her window read -3). She went back under her bed, grabbing a large, green Rubbermaid tub which contained over a dozen of changes of clothes. She didn't need long to pick out the clothes that she needed.

"Black jeans and my blue tardis sweater."

She looked momentarily at the white blinds on both hers and Adam's windows, but elected not to close them (as she was putting clothes on as opposed to taking them off). She saw a small girl (presumably a child approximately 10 years of age) wearing all black and carrying a large black bag as she walked down the street in a way that suggested that she was late and didn't want to draw a lot of attention to herself. Amy thought she could hear this little girl say "Gotta get home to Marksmen's Island, hope mommy didn't worry too much about me before she left for work this morning. It was worth it though, took down 3 changed and 4 humans tonight."

Amy was perturbed by what she had just heard, but found a logical way to think about it quite quickly: "If that's who I think it is, I'm glad that she has her mom here. That world where I met her in Japan, she seemed so lost without her family. That world's version of me may have become her best friend."

She looked back down at her Rubbermaid tub, finding a pair of black socks and small black velvet boots with almost no heel. She had just finished putting them on when a song began playing in her head.

Song to put on: Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn and Katie Lopez – Do you want to build a snowman?

It was a song from a movie, Amy knew that much at least. But it was from a movie that had never existed here. She also heard 2 voices of girls (as well as her own) that she knew that some version of her cared about deeply, but she didn't know who they were here (or if they even existed on this world).

"I better get going to Starbucks"

Song to put on: Alice In Chains – No Excuses (Live Unplugged)

It was a clear Monday morning at the local Starbucks, cold, but clear. Jen and Chiara had just sat down on 2 identical black leather executive chairs facing each other 2 metres apart with a simple, small white rectangular wooden table between them which held their Venti Chamomile Teas as well as their homework from the previous weekend. The Barristas behind the counter only knew of them as " pilný Zrzky (The Studious Redheads)" as they both had red hair (Jen's being shorter than shoulder length and dyed, Chiara's being down to her butt and natural). They took their first sips of the morning and began reviewing their work, with Jen asking the first question (on account of her being a slightly slower reader).

"So, Schwarzschild wormholes are connections between areas of space that can be modelled as vacuum solutions to the Einstein field equations, whereas traversable wormholes would allow travel in both directions along the multidimensional space-time continuum?" asked Jen.

"Textbook" replied Chiara with a smile. "The professor says that we're a decade or two away from being able to travel across the Aaronverse ourselves."

Jen and Chiara shared a smile over that notion, that they might be able to physically visit the very worlds that they had only read about in their lifetimes. Jen was born and grew up in Mississauga, Manitoba but had left as soon as she could due to feeling like a second-class citizen in her own country (as opposed to "the changed" which were...preferred by the Canadian government). Chiara was a few years older than her, and grew up in the small Italian town of Montegranaro. While Italy tended to have a sort of uneasy truce between humans and "the changed", post-secondary education was lacking due to a faltering economy in the country. Both of them (as well as most of their classmates) passed the required basic Czech examinations (where simple words, phrases and verbs would need to be spoken correctly to the one administering the exams) and aptitude tests in Mathematics and Verbal skills (similar to what Americans call the S.A.T.'s except that they're much more in-depth with some students needing 10 full hours in order to complete the exam). Only the top 6% of the students get accepted to Charles University each year, and Chiara actually needed 3 tries before she was diagnosed as dyslexic (to which she was then given extra time for each of the exams which got her from just missing acceptance each year to being given a scholarship). Jen got in immediately (also with a full scholarship).

"I'm OK with the rest of the homework, how are you?" asked Chiara.

"I'm good. I'm just glad that we got a seat inside Starbucks for once as opposed to the patio." replied Jen, taking another sip of her tea.

"I bet that's what happens when it gets colder here, fewer people want to sit down." offered Chiara.

"In fairness, if this place doesn't close at sunset like most businesses do in all of Europe...imagine how many of the changed would come in here?" replied Jen.

"Have you seen one of them since school began?" asked Chiara. Jen merely shook her head in response, Chiara continued: "I've seen a couple of them. I have fewer issues with them then most other people. I've even been a donor for them a few more times a year than is legally mandatory of us."

Jen nodded thoughtfully, trying to articulate her feelings on the changed when she distinctly heard a familiar voice at the counter behind her:

"Chai Tea Latte a Lemon mák muffin tady, prosím? (Chai Tea Latte and a Lemon Poppyseed muffin for here please?)"

Jen smiled, "Perfect Czech from a Scandinavian who sounds British..."

Chiara leaned over to her left and shouted "Amy, come sit with us."

Amy smiled, nodded and held up 2 fingers as if to say "2 minutes, please?"

"To bude 180 Koruna. Budete platit s euro, koruna, americký dolar, debetní, kreditní nebo Starbucks pohlednici? (That'll be 180 Koruna. Will you be paying with Koruna, Euro, U.S. Dollar, Debit, Credit or Starbucks e-card?)"

"E-card"

Amy pushed the Starbucks app on her Iphone, aimed her phone at an infrared sensor and pushed the "Send" button. In less than 10 seconds, the cash register showed the word "Schválené (Approved)"

"Děkuji (Thank You)" came the response from the Barrista behind the counter.

Amy didn't have to wait very long for her Chai Tea Latte (it was a standard order for her in both her native Sweden AND in the Czech Republic), and she immediately grabbed a simple blue plastic folding chair from an empty table with one hand (while holding her order in the other). She chose to sit between the other 2 girls (Jen's right/Chiara's left), as they put away their homework (partly because they were done, partly to make room for Amy's latte and muffin). Chiara started staring outside after she finished packing up, admiring the Astronomical Clock. It was fixated onto the north wall of the Old Town Hall (built in 1338), and was 1 of the most talked about attractions in all of Europe.

"Are you ever going to tell us why you stare at that thing every time we come here?" asked Amy.

"OK. Striking every hour despite that it's 606 years old is amazing in and of itself (in fact it's the oldest astronomical clock that is still in working order) but technically, I'm not actually staring at clock but the 4 figures beside it." replied Chiara after an extensive clearing of her throat.

"Elaborate." offered Jen.

"Well, they represent the 4 civic anxieties of of Prague life in the 15th century: The one with the mirror represents Vanity, The one with the money bag represents Greed..."

"Why do parts of him look slightly less old?" asked Amy.

Chiara winced, expecting that question to one day be asked of her "The original version looked...shall we say, stereotypically Jewish. So after 1945..."

"Say no more, what about the last 2?" asked Jen.

"Well, the skeleton represents Death obviously." Chiara continued. Amy momentarily shuddered, recalling the figure in black from her window earlier that morning. Was that really her? Was there a Skull Girl in this world? Here in Prague?

"The last one offends me greatly. It's a Turkish officer, and it's supposed to represent a Pagan Invasion. As a Pagan myself, I find it to be incredibly offensive. Especially since they changed 1 for racial reasons but not another for religious reasons. Moving on, every hour Death rings a bell and inverts his hourglass."

"Do the 12 who come out every hour represent the Apostles?" asked Amy.

Chiara actually nodded in shock while answering "I'm impressed Amy. Yes, they come out and nod to the crowd. On the left are Paul (who carries both a sword and a book), Thomas (who carries a lance), Jude (who carries a book but not a sword), Simon (who carries a saw), Bartholomew (who also carries a book) and Barnabas (who carries a parchment)."

"Interesting, now what about the 6 on the right?" asked Jen.

"Peter carries a Key, Matthew carries an Axe, John carries a Snake, Andrew carries a Cross, Phillip also carries a Cross and James carries a Mallet. After about 45 seconds, a Cock crows, signalling that the hour is rung."

Both Jen and Amy applauded, it was Amy who asked "I can see why you like the clock so much. That's actually pretty badass for a clock that's 6 centuries old."

"Yes, I've always been drawn to clocks with unique...Mechanisms." she replied. Her and Jen giggled, Amy just shrugged, not getting the joke (or the story that she had just referenced). Suddenly, all of their pants vibrated simultaneously. They reached for their cell phones, with Jen reading the joint text message out loud first:

"One of the changed stalked a human on campus 5 minutes ago. Classes aren't cancelled but all students are on yellow alert for the rest of the day."

-Adam

"Well that was kind of him to warn us. What with us sharing 4 of 5 classes with him and all." offered Jen.

"Yellow Alert?" asked Chiara.

"We travel in groups for the rest of the day, have the university issued daggers on hand at all times." replied Amy. "We should head back to campus now." she added.

They met up inside the main campus for Non-Czech Students. The walls were entirely made of brown cobblestone, the floor was linoleum in the shade of green that suggested faded limes (as was the ceiling in an odd design that was probably done to save money). Adam found Jen, Amy and Chiara easily, as they were to the right of the front door of their 1st (or in Adam's case, 2nd) period class. Chiara took the lead in the interrogation of Adam:

"OK, so what the hell happened?" asked Chiara.

"Well, a changed was on campus during the day..." Adam started.

"That's not in and of itself unusual. They tend to only be here for night classes but they can walk the campuses freely in the day provided that they take precaution against the elements that they need to protect themselves from and abide by the Legislations of the Changed act established...almost 3 centuries ago. Wow, we're coming up on the expiration date soon, aren't we?" rambled Jen.

Adam shook his head, then continued "No, but this one was, suffice it to say, in breach of their scheduled feeding and...he tried to rape the poor girl as he assessed what he could...consume of her."

"That's horrible. I mean, breaking feeding schedule is bad enough but trying to rape the food source...and what if he had 'changed' her?" asked Amy, completely terrified.

"She's OK, she's being checked out at the Canadian hospital as she had her Canadian citizenship in her wallet. Both her first and last name started with a G but I didn't catch the full name."

"Smart girl nonetheless, what species of changed was it?" asked Chiara.

"Zombie." answered a young woman behind them. They knew her somewhat well: Mid-30's, Black hair with the beginnings of silver in it despite her young age, dressed in a well-tailored Hugo Boss for women suit (all grey), and sounding very, very Scottish.

"How do you know, Professor Stitt?...sorry, Heather. I keep forgetting that you like to be addressed by your first name outside of class." asked Amy.

"It's quite alright, Amy. Vampires only want blood, not the whole corpse and are most averse to daylight despite their enhanced sexual urges. Werewolves are only dangerous on the night of the full moon and not the morning leading up to it, and Witches are much too isolationist in nature to even be seen publicly. Also, I asked a cop a few minutes ago." Heather replied with a smirk.

"Did they at least catch him?" asked Jen.

Heather nodded "Caught and decapitated on site. Zero tolerance with a legislation break that severe."

The bell rang. Adam, Amy, Chiara and Jen walked inside immediately. Heather stayed outside, silently waving in her students, checking to see if they were carrying their daggers (they all were), and silently wishing that her daughter was involved.

"Skull Girl would've dealt you a more cruel blow, you undead fuck." she whispered before heading inside.

Song to put on: Orgy – Blue Monday

All of the classes on campus were identical in design: Each segment was 7 desk/chair hybrids (black plastic chairs attached by steel bar on the right hand side to a brown cedar desk, both with steel legs to keep steady), each row was 3 segments across, and there were 15 rows from floor to top. Adam, Amy, Chiara and Jen tended to sit in the 8th row for all of their classes (far enough to not be victimized by the shouting of the professors, close enough to still hear them). Between the segments were grey concrete stairs and blue metal doors leading into the campus. Professor Heather Stitt walked down the stairs, somewhat understanding that some of the seats were filled by tape recorders (as some students tended to take the day off when one of the changed broke the law). Once she reached the ground, she examined her chalk options to begin today's lesson. Settling with classic white, she began writing (in both English and Czech) " (Sustaining an Einstein-Rosen bridge)".

"...Now as we know, what we now call wormholes were originally called Einstein-Rosen bridges. In 1935, Nathan Rosen became Professor Albert Einstein's assistant at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey..."

Amy raised her hand, Heather silently nodded in order to acknowledge her.

"Jak dlouho pracují společně? (How long did they work together?)"

Heather resumed writing on the chalkboard while answering "...About a decade. While working with Einstein, Rosen pointed out the peculiarities of Einstein's studies involving entangled wave functions, and, in co-ordination with Boris Podolsky, a paper was drafted. The paper, entitled 'Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?' labelled these effects the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen, or, the EPR paradox. Einstein encouraged Rosen to continue his career when he moved back to his native Israel. Later, Einstein and Rosen discovered the mathematical solution for a type of wormhole connecting distant areas in space. But as theoretical physicists John A. Wheeler and Robert W. Fuller showed in their 1962 paper, these types of wormholes are unstable. How do we prove them wrong?"

The students attending class were all dumbfounded, with 3 exceptions:

Chiara raised her hand, Heather pointed at her to answer "Stabilize the tunnelling effect of the wormhole with supplemental nuclear energy in addition to the initial energy required to exploit a hole in wheeler foam large enough to establish the initial wormhole?"

Heather raised an eyebrow "...The pagan recommending nuclear energy? How interesting. Technically Miss Malvestiti, you're right but the one time that anyone tried to do that was...Chernobyl in 1986."

The students all cringed at the mentioning of that event, especially the students who were old enough to remember what it was. Soviet applied physicists attempted to stabilize a wormhole using the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. No one had told them that a few of their 'changed' (about a dozen Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves and Witches working together) sabotaged the light water reactor the previous evening. While they were able to start the wormhole with a modified electromagnetic pulse, when they turned on the reactor, the resulting meltdown wiped the Ukraine completely off of the map as well as parts of Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldov. Even the Czech Republic was affected (water and food had to be more strictly inspected in order to prevent radiation poisoning, for starters).

"Proč nelze použít intenzivnější impuls, aby se zachovala červí díru? (Why can't you use a more intense pulse in order to maintain the wormhole?)" asked Adam.

"Jak je stanoveno podle Niagarských vodopádů katastrofu z roku 2003, které skutečně násobí nestabilit červí díry exponenciálně (As established by the Niagara falls disaster of 2003, that actually multiplies the instabilities of wormhole exponentially)" replied Professor Stitt.

The students cringed again, especially Jen and Adam (the only Canadians in the class that bothered to attend). An overachieving 20 year old from nearby Toronto broke into the Hydroelectric dam with a computer. He fired the pulse just like the Chernobyl incident, but when he fired the second pulse, the wormhole was so unstable that it closed in on itself and resulting hydroelectric power caused a power blackout that stretched across half of the North American continent. Officially, Manitoban provincial police gunned the man down trying to cross into Buffalo, but Adam, Amy, Chiara, Heather, Jen and several others in Prague knew that the death was actually a cover-up for their friend being put on the payroll of both of the Canadian and U.S. governments.

"Teoreticky, kvantový počítač, který vidí všechny 32 stran elektron mohl udržet červí díru na neurčito (Theoretically, a quantum computer that sees all 32 sides of an electron could maintain the wormhole indefinitely)." stated Jen, knowing that the friend who caused the Niagara falls disaster eventually learned what his mistake was: his computer wasn't powerful enough. Professor Stitt knew that that's where she got her question from, but knew that she had to keep it a secret.

"Technicky, že je řešení. Ale budete potřebovat počítač o velikosti několika skladů s cílem zvládnout všechny procesory, které by byly zapotřebí (Technically, that is the solution. But you would need a computer the size of several warehouses in order to handle all of the processors that would be needed)."

The class continued talking about that for the rest of the period, with them handing in their homework at the end (a European custom).

Song to put on: Danzig – Mother

In between classes, there were 10 minute intervals in which students can travel from 1 class to another. Adam, Amy, Jen and Chiara however, rushed and only needed 3. They entered the class immediately after the last of the previous class's students had left. They found a woman, recently turned 60, half her hair black, the other half silver, considerably shorter than Heather and wearing thick glasses.

"You 4 again? How many times do I have to tell you: Punctuality, while noble, will not guarantee you a higher grade in my class."

"And how often do we have to tell you: we only come in early because we're curious to know as to where the fuck your son is." replied Amy.

Lindsay Collins lowered her guard, even giggling slightly (if there was still a guard to speak of, which probably didn't exist once she found out that 4 of Aaron's friends would be taught by her this semester). "OK guys, OK. He got on a plane for Philadelphia last night, he should be there by now. Most of why he's there is classified but I do know that it's to oversee the development of something. He should be there for a few months"

They took their seats, satisfied. It was the first piece of news about Aaron that Professor Collins had given them in over a week.

A few minutes later, the other 196 students had entered the classroom (As a note of comparison, that was double the number of students in Professor Stitt's class). Professor Collins looked at her lesson plan (literally just a piece of white lined paper with some writing on it on a brown clipboard) for the day (discussion over the 2016 world junior hockey championships, which were being held in Helsinki, Sweden) and threw it into the trash. Professor Collins liked using current events as topics for people to practice and learn their Czech, and something more local took precedence.

"Takže, další jeden z změněný zablokován náš den. Jak se vy cítíte o tom? (So, another one of the changed obstructed our day. How do you guys feel about it?)"

"Cítím porušil, protože oběť útoku byla žena (I feel violated, as the victim of the attack was female)" shouted Amy, without raising her hand.

"Za normálních okolností bych křičet na vás za to, že zvýšení ruku. Ale jak jste mluvil v češtině bezchybně a já identifikovat s vaším názorem, nechám tě tentokrát. Někdo jiný? (Normally I'd yell at you for not raising your hand. But as you spoke in Czech flawlessly and I identify with your opinion, I'll let you off this time. Anyone else?)"

Chiara raised her hand, Professor Collins pointed at her. "Já za sebe sympatizovat s změnil. Byli to lidé kdysi taky, a legislativa je tak daleko, že je zastaralý barbarské, jak oni jsou léčeni. (I for one sympathize with the changed. They were human once too, and the legislation is so far outdated that it's barbaric as to how they're treated.)"

The entire class (minus Adam, Amy and Jen) booed and hissed at her. There was a general anti-changed stance amongst those who were still fully human in the world, and Chiara bore the brunt of it with a beautiful smile. Jen raised her hand, Professor Collins nodded:

"Zatímco Chiara je skvělý kamarád, musím zdvořile nesouhlasit s ní. Nedávná vlna změnila porušení zákona znamená, že bychom měli zavolat na přísnější právní předpisy v nadcházejícím výročím. Ačkoli zabíjení změnil na místě je obdivuhodná, lepší obranné schopnosti by měly být učeny, aby lidi, takže můžeme zastavit tyto incidenty, než začnou. (While Chiara is a great friend of mine, I must respectfully disagree with her. The recent wave of the changed breaking the law means that we should call on a more strict legislation in the upcoming anniversary. Although killing the changed on site is admirable, better defence skills should be taught to the humans so that we can stop these incidents before they start.)"

The entire class cheered at that sentiment (including those who normally felt somewhere between Chiara and Jen). Chiara respected the difference of opinion, as she knew that if Aaron's writings really were real worlds, that they could be just as much at odds as they could be in complete agreement with each other (as the events of Turkish Conference showed).

"Debaty určitě vést na v posledních dnech před budou zavedeny všechny nové právní předpisy, pokud vůbec. Adam, vaše myšlenky? (The debates will definitely wage on in the final days before any new legislation will be introduced, if any at all. Adam, your thoughts?)"

She deliberately picked on Adam as he had some trouble with his Czech (specifically, verb conjugations).

"I když souhlasím, že diskuse budou intenzivní, jeden musí vzít v úvahu, že ostatní města, k nimž příliš dlouho k návrhu nové legislativy měly katastrofální následky: Upír masakr San Francisca, The Werewolf povstání v Šanghaji, The Zombie šarvátce of Nairobi, ALL pocházel z člověka a změnil vůdce být příliš daleko od sebe v jednání, a tudíž, trvá příliš dlouho ke kompromisu. (While I do agree that the debates will be intense, one must consider that other cities that have taken too long to draft new legislation have had disastrous consequences: The Vampire massacre of San Francisco, The Werewolf uprising of Shanghai, The Zombie skirmish of Nairobi, ALL stemmed from the human and changed leaders being too far apart in negotiations and thus, taking too long to compromise)."

Professor Collins was impressed (even humbled), The class continued talking about that for the rest of the period.

Song to put on: C-Minus – Interlude #1

As with a lot of European countries, lunch is the primary meal of the Czech Republic. Work and Schools were shut down for at least 90 minutes (some places as long as 3 hours) in midday for staff and students to either go home or enjoy a long meal (maybe even a couple of half-litres of local beer or whatever alcohol tickled their fancy) at one of the few restaurants that didn't shut down.

Despite the attack on campus, Adam, Amy, Chiara and Jen did not wish to disrupt their afternoon routine in the least: Long lunch and drinks at the Mistral Cafe. It was worth the walk to what many students (and professors) considered the coolest bistro in Prague's Old Town. It had a clean, crisp, modern look about it (owing in no small part to the pale stone, bleached birchwood and potted shrubs as the main decor). The prices were very competitive (always something considered by all walks of life amongst the students), and while our core 4 all ate the same meal, their individual choices of beer...varied. They were seated at a small booth, Jen and Amy on the side with their backs towards the front door while Adam and Chiara were across from them. All of them had grabbed beer mats (mats that served as a tool for servers to know if their customers wanted more beer) beforehand, all simple black ones. They place the mats in front of them, signalling for service.

"Co to bude? (What'll it be?)" asked the waitress. She had no name tag (and didn't introduce herself by name), but was definitely eastern European (Romanian was the guess silently shared amongst the core 4), olive skin and black hair with red streaks. She placed pieces of paper in front of each of them in order to keep track of the beers. Adam, Amy, Chiara and Jen knew not to touch the paper in any way, as they would risk a fine.

"4 ryby a čipy, ne šetřit na citron a černý pepř majonézou, prosím? (4 fish and chips, don't skimp on the lemon and black pepper mayo, please?) asked Amy.

"A k pití? (And to drink?)"

"Half-litru Heineken pro mě, prosím. (Half-litre of Heineken for me, please.)" asked Adam.

"Half-litru Stella Artois, prosím. (Half-litre of Stella Artois, please.)" asked Chiara.

"Half-litru Sapporo, prosím. (Half-litre of Sapporo, please.)" asked Jen.

"A já budu mít půl litru Ringnes, prosím. (And I'll have a half-litre of Ringnes, please.)"

"Vrátím se se svými nápoji hned. (I'll be back with your drinks right away.)"

They nodded at her as she left. It was noisy throughout the entire bistro, as it usually was during the lunch time shutdown. Based on the crowd, there might in fact be groupings of complete strangers at the same table (something Jen remembered as commonplace in a Thai restaurant that she liked back in her native Canada). The waitress returned with their beers, saying nothing.

"Remember guys: If we get a second glass, we do not pour the last of the first glass into the second one." stated Adam in a tone that suggested he made that mistake more than once.

"Why is that considered bad etiquette?" asked Amy.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to know." added Jen.

Chiara was quick to provide an answer "Just because this is the epicentre of Bohemia, doesn't mean we drink like neanderthals."

"Fair enough, I'm even used to the slightly warmer than North America beer now (Beer in Prague tended to be served at 6-10 degrees Celsius) replied Jen.

"Me too. So it's a cleanliness thing, got it. Maybe one day we should try the local stuff, if they have the creamy heads that the imported beers tend to have here." suggested Adam.

"Which version?" asked Jen.

"Svetle-type (light-coloured) beers fascinate me: The pale amber appearance and hoppy smell intrigues me." answered Amy with a grin.

"I think I would prefer the Tmavy (dark-coloured) stuff. I've been told by Professor Dotson and Professor Luke that they're sweeter, full-bodied and can vary between rich, malty or fruity in regards to flavour." replied Chiara.

"I got a malty one." stated Professor of Paranormal History Dan Dotson.

"I got a fruity one." replied Professor of Paranormal Science John Luke as they both stared at their respective half-full glasses (wearing matching black Charles University golf shirts, black shoes and black pants). Their waitress sidestepped around the professors and addressed the students.

"Tvé obědy jsou jen pár minut od hotelu. Jsme přeplněný, nebude vám vadit, když tyto 2 se k vám připojit? (Your lunches are a few minutes away. We're crowded, do you mind if these 2 join you?)"

" Vůbec ne (Not at all)." answered Amy with a smile. The waitress nodded and pointed at their booth as 2 younger boys put chairs on the west end of the booth. The professors sat down immediately.

"Are you 4 OK after this morning?" asked John, genuinely concerned.

"Adam was the only one on campus when it happened. Us girls were over at Starbucks." answered Jen.

"OK. We've been asking everyone since it happened." stated Dan.

"Your concern is appreciated." shouted Chiara as the noise had steadily increased around themselves.

"Did you guys get some lunch, or just beers?" asked Amy.

"Just beers." answered Dan and John simultaneously.

Their matching fish and chips arrived (complete with the lemon and black pepper mayo) and they began eating it with some speed (as they had been starving for hours). Dan and John had finished their beers at about the half-way point of the student's meals, and they placed the mats on top of their glasses, signalling that they were finished. The waitress came back, only focusing on the professors (as to not disturb the students).

"Za-platim (I'll pay)" informed Dan to the waitress.

"240 Koruna." she replied. John took out a 200, a 50 and a 10 Koruna bills out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her, shaking his head to signal "no change" non-verbally (10 Koruna extra was standard for tipping unless the bill is over 200 Koruna or includes food). She nodded and left as John and Dan stood up to leave.

"See you guys in class." said Dan with a smile as both professors left. The students merely waved goodbye as they were still eating.

About 20 minutes later, they placed their mats on top of their glasses. While the waitress was walking over towards them, they got their wallets out of their pants pockets.

"1200 Koruna." she stated. The students each left a 200, 100 and a 50 Koruna on the table and exited immediately. The crowd noise was actually getting worse inside the pub as the time left for lunch wound down.

Song to put on: Machine Head – Imaginal Cells

Even with going out for lunch, they entered Professor Luke's class before anyone else. Based on how many attended the class under normal circumstances minus how many that they expected to ditch in protest of all classes not being cancelled, Adam/Amy/Chiara/Jen expected about another 130 students to attend...

...they didn't. Adam, Amy, Chiara and Jen were the only 4 students to attend Professor John Luke's Paranormal Sciences class that day. He entered the class wearing exactly what he wore at the mistral cafe, only to shake his head at the sight of only 4 students in his class (out of the 200 that were supposed to be there). After waiting for a few minutes in order to see if any stragglers came in (only to see that none were going to do so), Professor Luke merely threw his hands up in the air and exclaimed: "Screw it, no point in teaching today's lesson if 98% of my class doesn't even have the decency to bring in tape recorders like they've been doing in other classes today. I'll just quiz you with easy stuff (in English, not Czech) and send you on your way early. OK, who can tell me the basic changes that cause vampirism?"

Adam raised his hand, Professor Luke pointed at him.

"Clinical Vampirism is a combination of Renfield's syndrome (a psychiatric condition wherein one is obsessed with drinking blood), defective chromosomes in the genome of the 'changed' that lead to elongated/sharpened teeth, pale skin, mild-moderate intolerance of sunlight and finally the complete removal of the aging process when someone with these 2 in combination dies for a period of anywhere between 7 and 10 minutes depending on the individual. Then again, death must occur for each subspecies of the changed."

Professor Luke nodded, "Textbook, Mr. Debideen. Now can someone who is not Adam tell me the basic changes that cause lycanthropy?"

Jen raised her hand, Professor Luke pointed at her.

"Patient zero was believed to have been a combination of delusional schizophrenic and an earlier stage of human evolution than what we are now (a proto-homo sapien with wolf DNA inside of him if you will) who was a carrier of a retrovirus that altered the DNA of all who were bitten. It was an epidemic for centuries until a near-perfect suppressant was developed leaving this version of the 'changed' only a potential problem 1 night a month due to the amount of light present during a full moon. Of the 4 types of changed, this one can have the most normal life in comparison to non-changed humans."

Professor Luke nodded, "Excellent, Miss Lemons. OK, Amy and Chiara, which of you can tell me the basic changes that cause Zombiism?"

Amy raised her hand, John nodded.

"While there are no psychological issues with the changed who become zombies, the cause is simply someone with an already compromised immune system who is exposed to a particularly nasty version of rabies."

Chiara then raised her hand, expecting to be called next and knowing the fourth question already. Professor Luke obliged.

"A witch is someone who is already changed being changed again by one of the other sub-species. For example, a zompire."

John nodded, very impressed with all 4 of them. "And finally, what are the only 2 ways to kill any of the changed regardless of variation?"

All 4 of them answered "Silver or decapitation."

"Class dismissed." he stated as he nodded, wishing he had just cancelled the class so that he had time for another beer or 2, or a trip to a nearby tanning salon.

Song to put on: Black Sabbath – Children of the Grave

There was nothing of note to do on campus for the 45 free minutes that the core 4 had (as all of the other classes that were on campus were still running and those with the period off were keeping to themselves in their dorms in light of the attack), so they were just even earlier to their last class of the day than they normally would be. Professor Dotson had a smile on his face, happy to see that not everyone in this class had ditched (Paranormal History was one of the least favourite classes on the curriculum). There were a few more in this class than in Professor Luke's class, but not many (25 altogether based on a quick head count made by Professor Dotson).

"Dobré odpoledne, třída. Pojďme, pojďme, pojďme! S 1 týden před uplynutím právních předpisů týkajících se změněných / člověka, co si myslíte, že by se už do legislativy před 3 staletími? (Good afternoon, class. Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go! With 1 week before the expiration of the Changed/Humans legislation, what do you think should've been put into the legislation 3 centuries ago?)"

Jen raised her hand, "Ano, slečno Citrony? (Yes, Miss Lemons?)" asked Professor Dotson.

Jen elected to answer in English (as Professor Dotson was more lenient regarding language used in class than most of the other professors) "The number of humans that are changed per individual who is already changed should've been more strictly capped 3 centuries ago. Just because a human is about to die from some other means doesn't mean they automatically want to live a few extra decades or centuries as something that isn't human. This should apply more to vampires than the others as the others aren't so obsessed with consuming."

Chiara was used to other humans being less sympathetic to the changed as she was, so she had a different take. Most of the rest of the class was actually sleeping (and oddly enough, Professor Dotson didn't care). She raised her hand, and the Professor nodded.

"I think that while this legislation was drafted in 1716, there needed to have been better policing of the changed in regards to them not changing each other into cross-bred abominations. What exactly was Charles VI of the Bohemian crown so busy with that he couldn't tell the representatives of the changed 'Oh, by the way, once someone becomes a variant of the changed, no one of any of the other 2 species can touch him or her.'"

Professor Dotson nodded thoughtfully, only adding "Ve skutečnosti, že je jedním z mála věcí učenci v této oblasti od roky uplynuly se všeobecně shodli na. Někdo jiný? (Indeed, that is one of the only things scholars in this area from years passed have universally agreed on. Anyone else?)"

Amy raised her hand immediately, Dan pointed at her.

"Mělo by už další omezení, pokud jde, kdo je zvolen, aby darovali, když tam není dost dobrovolníků. Seniory, zdravotně postižené a váleční veteráni by měly mít imunitu před darovat, pokud je to jejich volba. (There should've been more restrictions as to who is selected to donate when there are not enough volunteers. The elderly, disabled and war veterans should have immunity from donating if that's their choice)."

Adam gave Amy an odd stare.

"Něco, co chcete přidat, pane Debideen? (Something you wish to add, Mr. Debideen?)" asked Professor Dotson.

Adam nodded slightly. Professor Dotson extended his hand, making a sort of invitation gesture.

"Studies have shown that the changed actually dislike them as sources of food as the elderly don't satisfy the cravings well at all, while the disabled and veterans are thought of by most the changed as groups of people worthy of a mix of respect and pity."

Professor Dotson was impressed, The class continued talking about that for the rest of the period (well, the ones who were awake anyway).

Song to put on: Alice Cooper – School's out

Class was dismissed for the day (48 minutes before sunset), with our core 4 walking down the main hallway on the North end of the campus.

"At least there was no homework, today!" exclaimed Adam in an effort to break the awkward silence amongst them.

"I'd rather have the homework than have a human being attacked by one of the changed who tried to feed outside of protocol." replied Amy tersely.

"Guys, they're human too. Just...altered at the cellular level. I can't condone the actions of the one who attacked that girl today but we really shouldn't persecute the ones who follow the legislation for being different. It would be like discriminating against Adam because of the colour of his skin." stated Chiara tactfully.

"Huh...I never noticed Adam's skin colour was different. If Aaron ever writes this, I hope that he continues his policy of not describing skin colour in detail to any of his characters..." added Jen.

"...I will always continue that policy..." whispered a voice inside all of their heads simultaneously. Jen was the first to shake it off and continue. "Chiara, I think I now finally understand your empathy with the changed."

"As do I." added Amy and Adam simultaneously.

"(Attention students, there has been a second attack on one of our students. We have now been upgraded to red alert status by Prague police. All classes are cancelled tomorrow)."

The core 4 hung their heads, as they each valued their education and didn't want it to be interrupted.

"So what are we doing with our day off?" asked Jen.

"Working out and laundry for me." replied Adam, who knew that those 2 activities would cover half of his day at most.

"Maybe a doctor who marathon for me now that I know that Adam won't be in our dorm for a few hours." added Amy.

"Call my fiance back home, I have some unused long distance phone credits that I can use." whispered Chiara.

They walked by a room labelled "Fakulta Lounge (Faculty Lounge)" and distinctly heard their professors arguing:

"So the city wants to lower the age for screening donors from 60 to 50." whispered Professor Luke.

"Oh great, so now I'm pretty much the only professor who will be expected to donate with minimal hassle or paperwork." whispered Professor Stitt, understandably angered.

"Guys, we have eavesdroppers." commented Professor Collins.

"Come on in guys, it's just us 4 in here." invited Professor Dotson.

The students nodded and walked in. The faculty lounge was approximately twice the size of a dorm. Painted entirely in green, with several round wooden tables (stained in different shades of brown) and dozens of blue plastic chairs with aluminium legs.

"Got anything planned for your Tuesday off?" asked Professor Collins.

"Not much in the way of concrete plans due to the lack of homework that you guys gave us today." replied Chiara.

"Lindsay, I know what you're thinking and...no..." stated Professor Dotson.

"Why not? It's her apartment and they all know her son, Mr. Pirate. Plus we'll have a second table." appealed Professor Stitt.

"Plus we know they'll be safe." added Professor Luke.

"Second table for what?" asked Amy.

"The professors poker game. What game will be spread?" asked Jen.

Professor Dan (knowing that he was defeated due to the logic of Professor Stitt and Professor Luke), said "Limit Badeucy."

"2 pm tomorrow. Bring drinks and snacks, no alcohol. I'm straightedge like my son." requested Professor Collins.

"We'll be there." said Adam with a smile after looking at Amy, Chiara and Jen and seeing their grins of enthusiasm that they were going to be playing something against the professors.

"Thank you very much." added Chiara.

"Now you've only got about 40 minutes before sunset so head back to your dorms quickly." requested Professor Luke.

The students all nodded, appreciating that the teachers cared (unlike some other schools that they had attended in the past).

"See you tomorrow, guys." said Professor Stitt as the students exited the faculty lounge, continuing back to their dorms as the skies outside began to darken.

"I guess we now do have homework." stated Chiara.

"Yes, but it should be fun reading. Book or Internet." replied Jen.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Adam.

Amy was quick to answer "Do any of us know how to play Limit Badeucy?"

Chapter 2: Changed in darkness

Song to put on: Cranberries – Zombie

Allan woke up in a group shelter specifically designed for different subspecies of the changed who couldn't have homes. He worked as a janitor for a small fragrance company called Chut, but applying for a lease for an apartment was difficult (if not impossible) for non-humans...

...especially a Zombie like Allan Mcninch. He always looked at the bright side, at least his monthly expenses almost didn't exist (save for a cell phone bill) and he supplemented his income on his nights off by taking travelling humans around the west end of Prague (which was where all of the changed live). He did have at least 1 problem with playing a tour guide, the stereotypes. He sat up, lamenting them in a whisper:

"The humans see one zombie movie like Dawn of the Dead or some such and they automatically think that's who we are in real life. Just a bunch of slowly wandering neanderthals in search of brains or some other human organ. They still get legitimately shocked when they find out that I can talk and that there's no risk of me eating them as I regularly get feedings at the Nemocrice nemrtvych."

The Nemocrice nemrtvych was Czech for "Hospital of the undead". It was located in the Mala Strana district (also on the west side, a short bus ride from where Allan was now). His cell phone vibrated, and he didn't bother to take it out of his jeans pocket. He already knew that it was an automated message from the hospital, informing him that he was due to be there in 2 hours for his feeding (Zombies are typically fed every other night unless there are special circumstances IE. larger physical build). He sat up in his cot (having slept in black jeans and a blood-stained grey t-shirt), making sure that he didn't tear any more flesh off of his left rib cage (as he couldn't afford a human doctor willing to give him a skin graft). He found a security guard who was staring at him keenly near the exit door.

"Je čas jít na můj krmení, Vrátím se dobře před východem slunce (Time to go for my feeding, I'll be back well before sunrise)"

The security guard merely nodded and stepped aside in order for Allan to exit for the hospital. The bus stop was literally at the corner of Karmelitska and Vsehrdova (the intersection of the shelter). It would take about 20-30 minutes to get to the corner of Letenska and Klarov (where the hospital was). Unfortunately, the buses ended in an hour or 2. Meaning that unless he was attended to very quickly, he would either walk home or take a taxi (hoping that the cab driver was OK with having a zombie as a fare). As he waited at the corner outside, he distinctly heard the light stamping of what he thought was the feet of a small child running around the roofs of the buildings in the area. Allan knew who that was, and decided to tease her (unfortunately common for the changed to do to her).

"Who've you had to discipline more tonight? The humans or the changed?" he shouted loud enough for her to hear (and only in plain English). She stopped running long enough to acquire Allan's location, and was not amused by the question in the slightest. She merely pointed with 2 fingers at her own eyes (if there were even eyes there, an urban legend subject to much debate throughout Prague), then pointed at Allan as she resumed running along the rooftops. Allan merely chuckled as the number 12 bus arrived, knowing that he had to break legislation in order for him to be her target, and he never once did that.

"75 Koruna" mumbled the bus driver. Allan took out a 50, 20 and a 5 Koruna coin from his jeans pocket and fed them into a black rectangular coin machine between him and the driver. Allan noticed that this driver (an older gentleman, grey haired and human based on how intact his body was) seemed indifferent to who was on his bus this late at night. The passengers on the bus on the other hand, were a different story. Of the 7 passengers that Allan had counted, there were 4 changed (2 other zombies, a werewolf and a vampire) and 3 humans (all sitting at the front). Allan headed for the back of the bus, knowing that with 1 exception, the ride would have nothing of note to look at. Halfway on his ride was that exception, it was a grey cobblestone wall with dozens of languages of writings and graffiti known as the John Lennon wall.

Song to put on: John Lennon – Imagine

"John Lennon, first British musician to give both humans and the changed jobs regarding his music. Eaten by the zombie known as Mark David Chapman, the changing process was what killed him. It was so sad on both sides. The humans felt vindicated that the humans and the changed could not work together (especially in New York City) while the changed became more aggressive towards the humans across both America and the United Kingdom."

Allan decided to only pay just enough attention to his surroundings for his stop, nothing else. He exited out of the middle bus doors, heading east towards the hospital. As a matter of routine, he entered the hospital via the back door as it was a matter of etiquette. Humans in the front, Changed in the back (although the only humans in the hospital of the undead were either dead, employees or there due to a lack of options. Namely overcrowding of the human hospital or the undead hospital was the closest one for you). He was greeted by a young gentleman in a white lab coat, blue dress shirt and black pants. The only other thing Allan noticed about him was a simple sticker reading "Dobrý den, jmenuji se Baraš (Hello, my name is Barash)"

"Můžeme postupovat v angličtině? (Can we proceed in English?)" asked Allan. Barash nodded.

"Great, my name is Allan Mcninch and I'm here for my semi-nightly feeding."

Barash picked up a brown clipboard with several pages on it, thumbing through a few dozen names that were organized alphabetically by last name.

"Ah yes, Mr. Mcninch. You're in luck, we've had a few cancellations today with Zombies getting killed for breaking the law and the like. I can get you 2 corpses instead of 1 tonight. It may not be enough for you to get a feeding exemption slip but you'll definitely be full when you're finished."

Allan's eyes widened, exposing a slowly healing burst capillary in Allan's right eye. "Oh that sounds great, thank you doctor."

Barash handed him some paperwork to fill out (routine legal stuff like name, address, preferred type of corpses to eat etc.) Allan having been changed for more than half of his life, knew the routine quite well as he took a seat in the waiting area (where he was disgusted by the shade of green his leather chair was):

"Let's see. Allan Mcninch, Prague Shelter for the changed #3, no preference of corpse type..."

It only took him about 10 minutes to fill out everything (as his paperwork was in English and not in the local Czech) before handing everything back over to Barash. Barash skimmed through the paperwork and upon his satisfaction, silently motioned for Allan to follow down to the basement. The basement served as both a morgue and a holding facility for captive werewolves. Allan noticed that the werewolf cells were all empty, which worried Allan a little.

"It's a full moon tonight, where are they?" he asked.

"The sun hasn't completely set yet. If my 1 client doesn't show in the next hour, I'm calling the police. Now, here are your 2 corpses to feed on."

Barash pulled open 2 corpse lockers, revealing Allan's meals for the evening. Allan jumped in complete shock, scared at the appearance at 1 of the corpses. 1 was well-preserved given the circumstances, the other was very, very mangled.

"WHOA! What the hell happened?" he asked.

"She was late 30's, car accident, we couldn't even salvage organs for other humans to transplant due to rapid alcoholism, rampant cocaine addiction, rampant heroin addiction and a scorching case of herpes. This one died of glioblastoma, early 50's." replied Barash as he pointed at each corpse in turn. Allan nodded, mildly sympathetic.

"Pity, if he were 20 or 30 years older he could have been changed. But this poor woman...yeah, I agree, completely unsalvageable. A shame you couldn't at least use the heart or something to save someone. I'm actually quite fond of humans." observed Allan.

Someone else entered the basement. "If you'll excuse me, my werewolf has arrived. Please, feel free to begin eating in my absence."

Allan nodded and waved Barash away, as he could feel his urges to feed growing inside of him after he said a quick prayer. There was no order to what Allan preferred eating, only that he disliked the bones (a trait shared by most of his fellow Zombies). It took him less than an hour for Allan to finish eating both of the corpses given to him, a feat that impressed the seemingly human looking werewolf who was filling out his paperwork in front of Barash.

"Whoa, you must have been close to your inner Zombie starting to eat itself in order to survive." observed the other patient. His voice was very familiar to Allan, and not just because they were both immigrants of Canada (albeit at opposite sides of each other). Allan grabbed a nearby paper towel to wipe his mouth clean, then focused on the other patient.

"Film-tier, right?" asked Allan.

"Oh my god, yes. How are you?" exclaimed the werewolf in excitement.

"I'm better now. You're Mr. Welsh, right?"

Allan had no idea that Justin Welsh lived here, as the last time that they met they were in Toronto, Manitoba being interviewed by a mutual friend for a story he was writing. Allan walked over to him and they exchanged handshakes as Barash read over Justin's paperwork.

"I didn't know you lived here now." exclaimed Allan.

"Yeah, Matrix Logistics transferred me here when I was 'changed' a couple of years ago." replied Justin.

"Well, I hope your night goes smoothly. I better head home."

"OK, I better get locked in. It was good seeing you again, Allan."

"Likewise Justin. Barash, if you would like to scan me now."

Barash nodded and took a scanning tool out of his coat pocket, it scanned how well fed the 'changed' were. Supplies were strictly rationed and if one of the changed could "skip a meal", it actually helped the rest of the changed as a whole.

"OK. You can skip Wednesday's feeding. You're due back here Friday night." announced Barash. He took a stack of feeding exemption slips from his other coat pocket and filled one out for Allan.

"OK, all done. See you Friday night, Mr. Mcninch. I'll send the bill to your address."

"Thank you." Allan replied as he and Justin exchanged nods.

Song to put on: Metallica – Of Wolf and Man (S&M version)

There were 3 large cages in the south end of the hospital basement, and Justin got inside the one cage in the middle. While he was by no means claustrophobic, Justin felt a need to keep the situation light before things got...hairy.

"Am I the only one again, doc?" he asked. Barash nodded as he shut the cage behind Justin. It was 8 cubic feet with 1-inch thick titanium alloy used as both the vertical and horizontal bars. That was nowhere near enough to restrain an average werewolf, and both of them knew that. Barash walked over to a large switch near the entrance, pushing upward with some strength.

"Every wall of your cage except for the floor is now electrified. If you touch the walls at any point this evening, half of Prague will go dark killing you. Do you understand?" asked the doctor.

Justin nodded as his fingernails began growing at a rate that was visible to the naked eye. Knowing that he only had about 2 minutes before his guest was going to change, Barash sped up his monthly speech.

"You will be fed in a few minutes via a trap door located at the rear wall." he continued as he pointed. Justin saw it and nodded as his hair began growing. "Raw fish will be your meals for the evening, once every 3 hours until 1 hour after sunrise. Questions?"

To ask Justin if he had any questions was in fact futile as the change was more than half complete by now (so he couldn't really understand any human language anymore). He tried to lunge his body into the cage but stopped just short of the electrified door (as even in werewolf mode, he could feel the electric field that was surrounding him). A minute later the trap door opened (which was 8 square inches, impossible for Justin to get out) dispensing a bucket with 3 pounds of raw fish. Justin actually crushed the bucket slightly (also made of Titanium) as he grabbed it, lifted it up and lowered the chunks of raw fish into his mouth. Barash then raised his wrist up to his face, staring at a black digital watch.

"7...6...5...4...3...2...1..."

Justin fell over, knocked out on his back.

"Out like clockwork, and his company is picking up the tab, that's rare. Who knew that animal tranquilizer would knock out werewolves?" Barash asked himself as he walked over to a nearby control panel, observing the electrical field operation.

"OK, the cage is stable. It'll notify my phone if that changes. I guess that I better check on the blood bank now."

Song to put on: Godsmack – Vampires

From the stairs to return to the ground floor, Barash needed to check on the security view of the blood bank from the monitor at the admissions desk (where he first saw Allan). It was empty, but for Barash that was only slightly out of the ordinary.

"The nurses on duty are probably at the cafeteria upstairs or outside smoking. I guess if any Vampires come in tonight, I'll be making the transfusions myself."

The automatic door opened and in came a female, early 30's, red hair, thin, attractive, and at a speed almost too fast for the naked eyes of a human to detect. She was also extremely pale, and blood was coming down the sides of her near-inorganic lips.

"Started early?" asked Barash, who was reaching for a silver axe under the desk in case of the wrong answer.

"Red meat from a butcher, uncooked, extra bloody." she replied while staring blankly at him.

"And I'm supposed to accept that as the truth?" Barash asked, unable to hide his fear.

"If it were a live animal, human or otherwise, I wouldn't be here. I'd either be home or running from the police...or the skull girl herself. Scan for yourself."

She wiped the blood off of her mouth and stuck out her open hand. Barash emerged from behind the desk with the silver axe. The woman merely laughed "I doubt you could catch me, you barely saw me come in."

Barash ignored her point (as right as it was) and took out his scanner from his coat pocket with his free hand. After a quick scan, the display read "Blood, Animal, Bovine." from top to bottom.

"OK, you check out. Your name please?" he asked, his anxiety subsiding slowly.

She needed a moment to remember (at least that's how it looked to Barash). "Amanda Williams."

He went back to the desk, returning the silver axe to its resting place. He also put back his scanner into his coat pocket before grabbing the clipboard. As her last name started with a W, Barash knew that she would be among the last couple of pages. Upon finding her, Barash discovered that her name was highlighted with the words "Ultra-high metabolism, quadruple rations authorized." written beside it.

"Is something the matter?" she asked with almost no emotion in her voice at all.

"I just saw your...specifications. Will you wait here while I check the blood bank? To see if we have enough for you?" asked Barash as he handed her some forms to fill out.

"Of course, but hurry: Animal blood is a band-aid solution for my kind."

Barash nodded and ran into the west wing of the floor where the blood bank was located. Amanda sighed, filled out the paperwork while looking up at the ceiling...

...then at you, constant reader old chum.

"Isaac's not the only one who can see you guys, I guess. Actually I don't know if he even exists on this Aaronworld. I don't even think I've ever met him on any world, even though Aaron and...what's that girls name again? MELINDA, right! Anyways, I'm glad that we have a few moments alone together, because I have a big secret to tell you...

...I'm TECHNICALLY...not Amanda Williams...it's a long story but as I know that time is not a fixed construct in any of Aaron's stories, Aaron, assuming you're writing this, can you back up about 6 weeks or so?"

We cut back to 43 nights ago. We see Amanda Williams tied to a chair by her wrists and ankles and her mouth heavily gagged. There is a taller gentleman in her apartment with her, and she stops struggling to stare at him. They are in her living room and there are no relevant details about the room to provide.

The gentleman has White hair, and looks to be in his early 80's. Amanda however, sees his teeth, and knows that he is not human, and hasn't been human for a very long time.

"I've been searching for someone like you for a while now. No vampire folklore ever goes into detail as to how they maintain their identity over the centuries. The readers just assume that they lay low and adapt with the times. That is by no means the case. Changing a human into a vampire is routine, but transferring to a new identity...has never been written about...until now via a friend of yours on the North American continent. Now, every few decades, vampires take a human completely. Which means that we assume their identity for what would have been the rest of their lives, then take another. Now, we do compensate these lucky chosen few. I will take off the gag and tell you how if you promise not to make any noise. Do you promise?"

Amanda nodded. He removed the gag, she kept her promise.

"Now, as I understand it from our...mutual friend, you have 2 children, correct?"

Amanda nodded nervously.

"No, I'm not going to kill them. We vampires tend to kill our own if they even look at a human child the wrong way. Frankly, you humans could learn from us this in regards to your paedophiles."

"Agreed." whispered Amanda with a mixture of half-sincerity and half-fear.

"So here's the bargain: I drain you beyond the point of death. Not only will I take all of your blood, but once you die, I assume all of your memories. Your children will be re-located from here to a boarding school near your place of birth...Ottawa. They will think you're still alive because I (under the guise of you) will periodically visit them, 4 times a year. When they reach of graduation age, I will bestow a trust fund to them of 100 million Canadian dollars. I'll tell them that you earned it in the stock market, meanwhile they will have their own lives, I will become less involved as parents do over time. Then on a day somewhere between your 75th and 100th birthday, I will "die" as parents usually do before their children..."

Amanda interjected "...I can't believe that I'm considering this...but could you please make my death lung cancer? I am a smoker and all."

He was shocked to hear such acceptance "Alright, lung cancer it is. I'm pretty sure I still remember how to replicate that in order to fool doctors and their machines. Your children will be protected by all Vampires for the rest of their lives as well. This is a better life for them than you can provide, and you know that."

Amanda nodded "What happens to...me?"

"After I drain you? I take you down to the boiler room of this apartment and incinerate you. You won't feel a thing."

He then took out an Ipad, accessing a Swiss bank account. He made a few simple motions (fast enough to frighten Amanda) then showed her the screen: It was his account on the left, and 2 new accounts on the right. "Do we have a deal?"

Amanda was mulling over the proposal, but she could see that this was the best life for her offspring.

"My son is autistic, like our friend..."

"...Already taken care of." he immediately replied in an effort to re-assure her.

Amanda nodded, "You have a deal."

"Excellent." he replied with a smile, as his teeth grew and Amanda exposed her neck. He devoured her with impunity, feeling her entire lifeforce enter him. He finally stopped when she was dry.

"Farewell, Amanda Williams." he whispered as she fell out of the chair to the floor, then he shapeshifted, forming her twin.

"Hello, Amanda Williams."

We return to the present night

"So that's my story. In the following days I cremated the real Amanda, took her I.D.'s, relocated her kids, then assumed her life as the vampire that I am. She was in danger of losing her home due to this world's economy and Aaron isn't quite as well off here as he is on other worlds. Amanda was a great woman, for doing this for her kids, and I will honour her forever. OK, back to the normal plot, Barash is returning."

Amanda returned to her blank, Andy Warholesque stare as Barash returned from the blood bank.

"OK Miss Williams, I have good news and bad news: The good news is that I have 16 pints available. The bad news is that they're over several different types. Some AB negative, some O positive etc."

Amanda nodded "I understand, here are your forms. I filled them out quickly."

Barash accepted them and began looking them over as they walked to the blood bank together. Upon reaching it, it was somehow more sterile than the other rooms of the hospital, with all of the furniture being comprised of stainless steel. Amanda (as if on instinct), sat on the table in the middle of the room. She was wearing a simple, skimpy, light blue sleeveless dress so she only needed to stick out her arm for the transfusions. As there were several types, it took almost an hour to feed Amanda each pint. Upon completion:

"Bill, please?" she asked. Barash walked over to a stainless steel desk in the corner and grabbed 2 black leather bags, then walked back to Amanda, handing them to her.

"If you know where the Costa witch lives, take these to her within the hour and the blood is on the house."

Amanda gulped, but nodded in acceptance. She left as quickly as she entered.

Song to put on: Rush – Witch Hunt

The Costa Witch was in fact, Tamara Costa. Now as mentioned before, Witches were cross-breedings of 2 different species of the changed. So technically, there were actually 3 different versions of witches that were available:

1. Zompire = Zombie meets Vampire

2. Werepire = Werewolf meets Vampire

3. Zom-wolf = Zombie meets Werewolf

Tamara Costa was in fact, a Zompire. An aversion to sunlight, thirst for blood and the hunger for corpses all rolled into one package. She actually needed to book separate appointments for each of her needs, and this was a rare night off for her. In recorded history, there had never been a witch to encompass all 3 versions of the changed simultaneously, as the mutations of the DNA would be too severe for what was once a human. So, it would in fact kill them once the third mutation entered them. Most didn't even survive 2, at least not for very long.

Still, there were some nights that Tamara Costa wished that a werewolf would just try to feed on her and put her out of her misery. She lived in a small house alone in the hradcany district (even more West of the Prague downtown core than Mala Strana) and was happy to be bored for once in her life...

Knock! Knock!

Tamara rushed over to the door, only seeing the shadows of the feet of the person who knocked.

"Must be a pure-bred vamp. Interesting, only the redhead and the cowboy would ever venture this far west to my house. Huh, she dropped off 2 bags. I had no idea that Barash hired a changed to be his courier. The vampire must be getting free blood or something."

Tamara stopped speaking long enough to open the door, fetching the bags and watching as a figure ran almost too fast for a human to see, but Tamara could see her in the distance just fine.

"Thanks redhead, whoever you were." whispered Tamara as she walked with her bags to the kitchen. Electing not to turn the light on (as no matter what species of the changed you were, your eyesight was enhanced beyond the spectrum of what humans could see anyway), she placed each bag on top of an old oak table in the middle of the room. She opened bag #1, and began to pull out items slowly.

"OK, tourniquets, syringes, seeds for garlic, seeds for wolfbane, seeds for lavender and seeds for about a dozen other 'alternative medicines'."

Bored with the boilerplate stuff, she moved onto bag #2.

"Dutch cloned seed Marijuana, about 1 kilo. Bolivian Snow Cocaine, 4 kilos at 96% pure each...I better cut that with the last of my aspirin and baking soda. German Black Forest Heroin, 2 kilos at 75% pure...FINALLY I get a refill of that. Gotta love a city so paranoid over the changed that they buy illegal narcotics from the zompire with nothing to lose. Actually...hold on a second."

Tamara went over the bags of seeds, barely being able to read the Czech labels. One bag however was not seeds, but leaves.

"YES! I have Green Tea again. Now if I steep the tea and add it with equal parts Heroin and Cocaine, I can make appetite suppressant and sell it to the changed who are down on their luck."

Steeping tea in her kitchen was the easy part (as she did know how to entertain guests, even humans on the rare occasions that they came to her home) but the hard part was mixing the...other ingredients with the tea without alarming anyone (the humans would either call the police or break her door down to steal it while the changed...would do pretty much the same thing). She took a black kettle with the tea leaves inside of it, the heroin and cocaine and walked downstairs into her basement...

...where the only thing inside was a large black cauldron and a big wooden stick. As if on cue, she cackled in laughter as she began mixing the ingredients.

Song to put on: Neil Young – Vampire Blues

It wasn't routine for Ricky Smith (well, the Vampire who owned Ricky Smith's identity anyway), to be walking along Ricny (even at this peak hour for his kind). But usually he didn't have to go this close to the Vitava River (the river that divided the city of Prague into the west end of mostly the changed and the east end of the mostly human) to find antiques (some to collect, some to sell). Antique picking was actually relatively easy for vampires: You just had to read the previous days obituaries, then wait by their dumpsters assuming that they lived in apartments. People in Prague tended to throw out the possessions of the dead if they were not either bequeathed to the living or immediately sold off. He came to apartment complex number 217, his target destination.

"Good thing that I don't have to feed tonight."

He continued walking around the corner to the rear of the building. He could distinctly feel being watched (Sensory perception being enhanced amongst changed of a certain age). On instinct, he looked at the roof, seeing what "might" have been a little girl staring back at him:

"Not stolen if it's thrown out. Also, I'm still full from last night's trip to the hospital." he shouted to her.

She nodded at him (believing his honesty was as old-fashioned as he seemingly was), and continued running along the rooftops, which is what Ricky knew to be her "rounds" for the evening (if she was who he suspected she was). He continued for the dumpster, opening the black plastic lid of the blue metal dumpster that by Ricky's guess, could fit a small truck:

"OK. Trash bags, more trash bags, more trash bags...Well lookie here..."

He pulled out something that was metallic and reflective even in the moonlight. Upon closer inspection, he knew what it was almost immediately:

"We have ourselves a Kinoton film projector, from Germany. That company started back in 1948..."

Ricky immediately lifted the film projector and stared at the bottom. He saw the numbers 1948-0003-0001 etched quite clearly.

"Oh my god, this is from the first year they were in business. 1 of the first 3000 ever made, actually. I had no idea there was another one still intact in this day and age. This has probably shown a few communist propaganda films in its time, maybe even Nazi movies. A shame there's no film still in here as German expressionist films of the 1920's are very much sought after now. Still, I own 1948-0002-1963 which came off of the proverbial company line about 1 month prior to this one so, I can sell this one and keep the one that I already have."

He began looking around him in all directions, only seeing other condominiums and pubs. It took him a moment to remember this part of Prague, as he spent the last 3 identities (roughly 2 centuries) in the Dallas Metropolitan area. He remembered a media shop that was down the street, a place called Media Maddness.

Song to put on: Fall out boy – Thnks fr th mmrs

Media Maddness of course, was not in fact a misspelling on the sign. In point of fact it represented the owner quite fittingly, a young lady named Maddie Gudenkauf...

...Well, almost a lady...

"I fucking hate the hair on the back my hands. I guess things could be worse, I could be so far changed that I'd have to lock myself in a cage in the hospital tonight."

She looked around her store (from Maddie's perspective behind the counter): Older, non-digital photography equipment on the beige wall to her left, a series of large windows to view potential customers walking along Ricny, modern digital camera equipment on a beige wall to her right, cameras of all kinds behind her (to ward off potential shoplifters) and several shelves of miscellaneous apparel between her counter and the windows. She stared at the digital clock attached to a sushi bar across the street, it read 3:25am.

"5 more minutes and I close early, guess no one wants to buy a camera at night. Human or changed."

Just then, an older gentleman (or if Maddie suspected correctly, a Vampire) walked into the store wearing a white stetson hat, blue denim hat, black jeans and white sneakers. He was carrying something very heavy, and looked like he had for a few blocks. Maddie's eyes lit up upon getting a closer look.

"mluvit anglicky? (Speak English?)" he asked in an accent she knew for sure was from Texas.

"Dude, I'm from Colorado. Please don't make me speak Czech." she answered in mid-giggle. He noticed the hair on the backs of her hands and he backed away, not certain he'd win in a scuffle.

"It's OK. I'm...not completely changed." she said reassuringly, even sticking her hand out making a "Stop" gesture. Her possible customer stopped dead in his tracks, completely confused.

"I signed up for medical experiments back home a few years ago. I was part of a clinical trial for the development of vaccines so that Humans couldn't be changed. I obviously wasn't part of the placebo group. I sued, settled for 8 figures, re-located here and bought this shop just so that I had something to do with my life. My family just assumes I'm changed but look at how I can still speak and not need a cage to restrain myself on the night of the full moon. I don't blame the lab, it was an accident, and they're probably really close to working out the kinks. At least that's what Bertha from the lab told me just before I moved to Prague."

"OK, I believe you. My name is Ricky."

"Maddie." they shook hands.

"Well Maddie, do you mind if I put this on the counter?" asked Ricky. Maddie grabbed a wooden board and placed it on the counter (unstained, 3 centimetres thick, 30 centimetres wide and long).

"Put it on here, so that the glass underneath doesn't break. I only just bought the place."

"Alright." he whispered. Maddie gave him a hand lifting it onto the board, she immediately began inspecting it.

"OK, Kinoton film projector, there seems to be a few small parts here and there that have been replaced but none after 1975 or so, which is a very good sign. Let me just check the serial number..."

Maddie carefully tilted the projector so that she could stare at the bottom, she smiled.

"OK good, Someone tried to sell me one a few days ago and the serial number was filed down."

"So stolen, counterfeit or both?" offered Ricky.

"Oh I don't care, I hit the panic button and the cops took him away. Thank God I got cops that treat the changed well."

"Agreed. So, what is this camera worth?" asked Ricky.

Maddie took out her phone, a White Iphone6 and accessed the internet. After a minute, she saw an identical projector on Ebay that had sold earlier that day to a human in New York.

"It's worth about 170,000 Koruna. Now obviously, I can't buy it for that. I can go an even 100,000."

Ricky took a moment to consider the offer as Maddie showed him the eBay sale (in an effort to build trust). He knew that while she was very young, she was a very shrewd businesswoman. Still, he wanted more money than just under 60% apparent market value.

"Can you go to 120,000?" he asked.

It was now Maddie's turn to think it over as a young blonde-haired woman (Early-Mid 30's) entered the shop and began looking around.

"Yeah OK, I can go to 120,000. Wait here, my safe's in the back." she whispered as the blonde walking up and down the aisles, not wanting to interrupt the owner dealing with an earlier customer. Ricky nodded and Maddie walked (still behind the counter) through a door that Ricky presumed was her private office. She reached her safe, a grey Kitner-Boyd, and began spinning the dial, whispering: "13R, 12L, 9R, 1L, 7R, 2L, 6R, 5L, 3R, 4L, 10R, 8L, 14R, 11L." she heard a slight click, which lead to her pulling a black metal handle downwards to open the safe. She saw several bundles of 1000 and 5000 Koruna bills in front of her. Keeping things simple, grabbed a complete bundle of 1000's (there were 100 per bundle) and 4 loose 5000 Koruna bills. She walked back out to the shop, and handed Ricky the money.

"Need a receipt?" she asked.

"No, thank you. I'm fine." replied Ricky. "I'll be on my way now."

"Have a Madd evening." she said softly with a smile. He was just barely out the door when she lifted the projector off of the counter and put it on the floor beside her. Now it was time to turn her attention to hopefully a more, traditional customer.

"May I help you?"

Song to put on: Ozzy Osbourne – Zombie Stomp

Tara Hayden turned and faced Maddie, happy that exposing the right side of her face didn't scare the store owner (as roughly half of the flesh that was supposed to be there was missing, exposing some teeth and a piece of her right cheek).

"Yes, where do you keep the SD cards?"

"Over there." Maddie replied with a smile at a nearby wall. Tara walked over and grabbed a 16 gigabyte black card from Kingston (as it was the only one on the wall with an English label).

"That will be 397 Koruna." stated Maddie. Tara nodded, pulling out four 100 Koruna notes and placing them on the table. Maddie nodded and handed Tara three 1 Koruna coins in change.

"Thank you so much, have a great night." whispered Tara.

"You too, have a Madd evening." replied Maddie as Tara was already departing. She was wearing a silver strapless dress from Gucci and a large Black leather purse that she put the SD card inside (and taking out a pack of cigarettes at the same time). She put one in her mouth and lit it as she began walking along Ricny. The changed weren't as easily addicted as humans were to substances, but Tara took some amusement in grossing people out with the exhaled smoke coming out of the right side of her face as well as the front of her mouth every time that she exhaled.

It wasn't long before she arrived at her second destination for the evening, the Prague city vet's office. There was a growing movement amongst the changed to consume non-human blood and body parts, and Tara was at the forefront of that movement (after all, if the werewolves can do it, why can't the zombies and the vampires follow suit?). It didn't take her long to reach the back door of this surprisingly modern brick building. She tossed away her cigarette and went back into her purse, fetching a 1000 Koruna note. There was a man waiting outside: Mid-40's, grey hair in a ponytail. This (while not technically illegal), was a highly unusual practice and as such, no names were ever used.

"Dávám přednost opice nebo prase, pokud je máte, prosím (I prefer monkey or pig if you have them please)" Tara whispered as she approached him, handing him the bill discretely. He nodded and went back inside, returning with a clear plastic bag containing at least a dozen chopped monkey parts.

"On umřel na stáří (He died of old age)" he whispered, walking back inside as Tara awkwardly shouted "Děkuji (Thank you)"

She began eating the bag of monkey parts right then and there, and quite quickly (less than 10 minutes altogether). Out of respect to the city vet, she actually walked over and threw the plastic bag into the recycling bin (some others threw it on the ground or in the trash, technically illegal). She couldn't even see the mob growing behind her. 8 men, varying ages and heights, all staring at her like she was property. When she saw them, she was terrified...to say that she wanted to diffuse this situation quickly, was quite the understatement.

"někdo z vás jemných pánové mluví anglicky? (Any of you fine gentlemen speak English?)"

The oldest (and presumably, leader) looked at the other 7 and asked "Nejlepší části o přijetí nehumánního: Nikdo nevěří jim, a pokud budete nosit kondom, můžete zůstat člověk a nikdy otěhotnět (Best parts about taking a non-human: No one believes them and if you wear a condom, you stay human AND they never get pregnant)"

"Ty určitě NEBUDOU se jí dotýkat (You most certainly will NOT be touching her)" came a high-pitched shout from the distance.

Normally Tara would be attempting to figure out who said that, but she was too distracted with several large arrows going through her would-be attackers heads. The leader dropped dead in front of Tara, exposing a long silver arrow from the head to the neck...

...and a skull embroidered onto the fletching.

Song to put on: Danzig – Kiss the Skull

It wasn't long before the Skull Girl was on the ground (Tara could've sworn that she saw her float downward from a several story building across the street to less than 10 metres away from where she was standing). Skull Girl waved slightly as she approached Tara, wearing a black peacoat, ripped blue jeans and an old Doctor Who hooded sweatshirt.

"So...you are in Prague." Tara managed to get out, still shocked at what just happened.

"Yes, I've been here for about 3 years now." she replied softly as she began pulling out the arrows that she fired, putting each one back in a thick, black canvas bag strapped to her back.

"I thought you..." Tara began.

"...detached my bones and let them fly around as my weapons of choice?" finished Skull Girl. Tara nodded.

"Different Aaronworlds, different Skull Girls, different tricks." was her simple, but assertive reply.

"Well, thank you so much for saving my life. Nice to know someone is defending the changed." said Tara with more than a hint of cynicism.

"I tried to work with the cops when I first arrived here, but their prejudice is almost as bad as it is back home in Scotland. I defend anyone who is the target of any crime, human and changed alike. But mostly, I deal with out of line humans, they're mostly the real monsters in this town."

Skull Girl was momentarily distracted by something, and Tara got a great look at her primary weapon: It was a Grey camo Parker Concorde Crossbow with the patented Quick Draw system and a black Outfitter 3X scope.

"An automatic cocking crossbow?" asked Tara, thinking that she would never see a weapon this cool in her lifetime.

Skull Girl was impressed that her weapon was known "Yes. It's a CO2 powered internal cocking mechanism. A 9 ounce CO2 tank gets me about 50 arrows at 300 feet per second. Pushing a red button at the rear of the butt stock automatically starts it. You push it, it auto-draws the string into its fully-cocked position in just under 2 seconds and is whisper quiet. My arrows are custom-made by ex-SAS operatives."

"That's amazing." was all that Tara could get out.

"Sunrise isn't far away, want me to walk you home?" asked the Skull Girl as she looked up at the sky.

"Oh no thank you, the buses should be starting back up soon enough." replied Tara. Skull Girl and Tara exchanged nods as she left.

"Now hopefully I can be home before the sun is fully up. Mommy was so mad at me last time. I wonder if Miss Dybing saw me."

Skull Girl reached the edge of the Vitava River soon afterwards, grabbing a small, white kayak and an Orange oar that she hid behind some hedges at the south end of Vitava Park. She carried it to the Vitava River, setting it down half on land/half in the river.

"Oh good, it's not foggy today. I have clear sailing all the way to Marksmen's Island. Good thing, all that running and floating was tiring my legs tonight."

Marksmen's Island wasn't far from the west end of the Vitava River, only about 100 metres or so. She was proud of herself for being probably being the only child that could sail a Kayak 100 metres in under 40 seconds. She lived in a small house on the edge of the island (the closest thing that Prague had to a neutral site for the humans and the changed in which to co-exist residentially), and opened the silver metal gate even while carrying the Kayak and Oar. There was a brown metal shed to the right of the gate, already opened. She put the Kayak, Oar, bag or arrows and bow inside, closing the shed behind her. She quickly floated to the roof of the shed, finding a black and grey Sabre lock and key. After locking the shed, she headed for the back door of the house and walked in, seeing her mom starting breakfast.

"Morning mommy, did they downgrade the red alert at the school?" she asked.

"No, sweetie. I still have the day off today. Now how was my Aisling's night?" countered Skull Girl's mom, Professor Heather Stitt.

"22 disabled, 8 dead. All either stealing, breaking the local feeding laws or trying to sexually assault a Zombie that fits the description that Mr. Pirate gave of a woman about your age who is on a TV show called Storage Wars: Canada on most Aaronworlds. 4 changed, 26 human. It's so nice to come home and be called by my real name, what do you have planned for your day off?"

Heather took a moment to think about it before answering, "Well, Tofu omelettes with mixed peppers and soya cheese for breakfast to start. You go to sleep after you eat because if I have the day off from school, you should have the day off from my private tutorings..."

"YAY!" exclaimed Aisling, trying to hide the sadness that she didn't go to school with the other kids, and not really succeeding.

"I'm sorry that they won't accept you into their classes, sweetheart. Fighting every day with the school board for 3 years has been such a hard road for both of us, but mommy will never stop fighting, because mommy loves you very much."

"I know mommy but..." started Aisling as she took off her coat and sweat shirt revealing not only her Monty Python reunion t-shirt underneath, but that THIS Skull Girl (unlike the one from Aaronworld-1793) still had her skin...

...well, most of it. There was evidence of major burns in her past across nearly her entire body. She elected to continue speaking "It's already an uphill battle when Czech isn't your first language here, but kids don't want to see the survivors of the Edinburgh bombings."

Heather nodded in total empathy (her feet which were not covered by her light blue nightgown showed some extensive burning as well).

"No my dear sweet Aisling, they don't want to remember that humans bombing their own city after the population of the changed passed 50%...solves nothing. If our Range Rover hadn't been outfitted with a racing engine and nitrous oxide tanks by Mr. Pirate, we both would've died."

Skull Girl walked over to the kitchen window and sighed. "I look like the changed, but I age as quickly as a human."

It was a quote and cry commonly made by Aisling, but Heather hugged her daughter each time that it happened.

"I love you unconditionally, Aisling. Now, let's eat."

Aisling walked over and sat down at the kitchen table, a simple green one with metal folding legs and chairs. There were already 2 White china plates, 2 clear glasses and cutlery on the table as Heather put 1 omelette on each of their plates. Aisling grabbed a nearby carafe of Orange juice and poured a glass for each of them as Heather sat down.

"See any of them tonight? Like that Amy girl in her campus window yesterday?" asked Heather.

"Yeah. Allan teased me a bit, Ricky was going through a dumpster for a film projector and...I saved Tara's life, assuming that WAS Tara. There really are a lot of Mr. Pirate's people here."

"Any...non-physical ones?" asked Heather reluctantly.

"Too many to count, there's a lot of Mr. Pirate's people that are not here either." said Aisling with a sense of dread in her voice. Heather noticed that, and changed subject quickly.

"Hey, after you sleep for a while and mommy gets back from playing cards at Professor Collins's house, we'll hit the university's botanical gardens. No one will be there with all of the classes cancelled."

"That's a great idea, I love you mommy." announced Aisling with her first smile in what was probably several days.

"I love you too, sweetheart. As both the Skull Girl, and as Aisling, I love you."

Chapter 3: Mixed lows behind the Iron Curtain Part 1

Contrary to what was tradition held in Eastern Europe, Lindsay had a 3 bedroom apartment in the city (the tradition was to only have 1 more bedroom than was needed, instead of 2 in regards to accommodating guests). The main entrance (with a closet on the right to take tenants and guests things) connected to the living room (which had 2 couches that pulled out into beds, a rarity in Eastern Europe). From there, one could go left to the dining room (which had a poker foldout on top of it already in order to simulate a casino poker table, complete with green felt, a painted yellow betting line, drink holders and racks for chips), or to the kitchen (which was actually a full-sized one, unlike most apartments throughout the world). If one were to go to the right, they would go down another hallway leading to any 1 of 3 different bedrooms (well, a master bedroom, a guest room and an office that Lindsay turned into gaming table #2 earlier that morning) as well as the bedroom. Navy blue wallpaper and hardwood floors dominated the entire apartment as Lindsay walked around it, looking for her case with chips and cards in it.

"Right, I left it in the hallway closet."

She walked towards it from the living room as the door knocked. Lindsay quickly answered it, only to find Amy standing there, wearing a Norwegian national hockey jersey and black jeans with practical black shoes.

"Did you have any trouble finding the place?" asked Lindsay.

"Not at all. Here's a bag of Starbucks Dark Roast Coffee, I...didn't know what to pick up as a guest of your house and I'm obviously on a budget." replied Amy as she handed a white bag over to Lindsay. Lindsay smiled as she walked with it to the kitchen.

"I love it Amy, thank you. Do you know that there are some Aaronworlds where I don't drink coffee anymore?"

"Yes, Professor Collins. Your son really needs to stop relying on giving you aneurysms as subplots in his stories."

"Agreed. Can you help me get the case of cards and poker chips out from the closet, please?" Lindsay asked as she walked back over.

"Of course. But I'm not much taller than you so we're going to need a step ladder." replied Amy as another knock came from the door.

"Maybe not." added Lindsay as she walked over to the door. Upon opening the door, there stood Dan, wearing a multi-coloured vertically striped short-sleeve shirt and khaki shorts.

"Maybe not what?" he said as he walked in, handing Lindsay a pack of lavender scented gel packs that dispensed the scent across a room via an electrical outlet.

"You're taller than Amy and I, could you please get that silver case down from the upper shelf of the hallway closet?" asked Lindsay.

"Oh, I'd be happy to." he answered in his multiversal cheerful demeanour.

He needed to be on his tiptoes in order to reach it, but it was otherwise of little trouble to Professor Dotson. He had already noticed the poker tabletop on top of the dining room table so he took the case over to it personally, placing it on top before opening it. Lindsay's door was still open as Jen entered, wearing a Philadelphia Flyers jersey and white jean shorts.

"Good day, Jen." said Dan.

"Hello Professor Dotson. Professor Collins, I got this from the bakery I work at. It's garlic bread, no cheese...but it's 2 half-loaves of french bread with extra garlic on it."

Amy had to step away from the garlic bread, on account of drooling. In fact she almost backed into Professor Luke, who was carrying a Black and Decker 6 quart crock pot in front of him that was still extremely hot. Lindsay took a moment to sniff and asked "Crock pot Spaghetti and Vegan Balls with Marinara Sauce?"

Professor Luke nodded and immediately bee-lined it for the kitchen. Time was of the essence with most Crock Pot recipes, so plugging the pot back in to continue slowly cooking what was inside was critical. Most of the cooking was done at his home so he just cranked it to low and left it alone.

"Yeah, I've wanted to try making it for a while since Professor Stitt is a vegetarian." he announced as he walked back towards them. He noticed that his blue denim shirt needed some adjustments so he silently excused himself to use Lindsay's bathroom.

Adam stumbled into the apartment, wearing a black dress shirt and white dress pants. He handed Lindsay a set of wind chimes made out of various metals.

"The general store I work at it is overstocked of merch so they let every employee take something home with them at a 75% discount."

Lindsay smiled as she walked outside. There was a black metal hook on the left wall of her balcony (that she had no idea where it came from), and she hung up the wind chimes with pride (as she always appreciated a good bargain).

"Sorry I'm late, I had to explain to the little one about my change in schedule. Thankfully it's never hard for me to put thoughts into her...skull." announced Professor Stitt, making sure to emphasize the last word of her apology while staring directly at Amy, which Amy grasped the subtext immediately. Heather walked in wearing exactly what she wore the previous day in class, carrying 2 cases of mineral water. Lindsay walked ahead of her and opened the fridge. The entire middle shelf was empty, and the ladies put 1 case of water on the left and right hand sides of the shelf as the last guest, Chiara, arrived. Chiara was wearing a simple aqua green t-shirt and a black mini-skirt, and carrying a plastic bowl.

"I had no idea what to bring so I just made a large Caesar salad. I'm pretty sure I made enough for 8 people." she announced, softly.

"It'll go great with my pasta and Jen's bread." replied John.

"Professor Collins, would you please be so kind as to go over the rules of Badeucy for our...students?" asked Professor Stitt.

Lindsay smiled, cleared her throat, and began talking: "Badeucy is a combination of Badugi poker and deuce to seven triple draw lowball poker, and uses 2-7/modified badugi hand values. The pot in each hand is split between the best Badugi hand (with aces playing high instead of low like in other Badugi variants) and the best 2-7 triple draw lowball hand."

Lindsay realized that she probably had to break things down even further as it was entirely possible that the 4 students didn't know how to play poker at all. She continued "Play begins with each player being dealt 5 cards face down. Each player may observe those 5 cards that they're dealt, but not the cards that are dealt to other players. The hand begins with a pre-draw betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind..."

"...That's the bigger of the 2 forced bets in the hand, right?" asked Amy. Lindsay nodded and continued "Play then continues clockwise. Each player must either call the amount of the big blind (or the full bet if there has been a raise already in the hand), fold, or raise. Betting in Badeucy is strict limit with the first 2 betting levels meaning that you can only call, bet or raise the value of the big blind, whereas it doubles in the last 2 betting rounds. When all of the players have wagered the same amount of money into the pot or folded, play proceeds to the drawing rounds. We actually start with higher betting levels than say, a pot-limit or no-limit game because of that."

"Is the triple draw aspect of the game the reason why there is only 6 players to a table?" asked Jen. Lindsay nodded and continued "Starting with the first player left of the dealer who is still playing the hand, players can then discard up to a maximum of three cards and draw an equal number of replacement cards. The discarded cards will no longer be used in play for the remainder of the hand. There is a betting round after each of the 3 drawing rounds, followed by a showdown if there are still 2 or more players in the hand after the 4th round of betting."

"How much is it to play? And please go easy on us students, we're all on budgets." asked Adam. Lindsay nodded, sympathetic to their budgets (as professors were once students too) and replied "100 Koruna is the stakes. And with 8 of us playing, 600 Koruna will go to the winner while 2nd place takes 200."

"And how do we determine the seating arrangements for 8 people and when the blind levels go up?" asked Chiara as everyone pulled out their wallets and took out 100 Koruna notes. Lindsay elected to answer Chiara's questions in reverse order as she opened up a deck of cards, shuffled them and began splashing them across the table face down "The blind levels go up each time someone gets eliminated. Seating is determined by each of us pulling a card from this pile with the highest card getting the button at table 1, the 2nd hardest getting the button on table 2, the 3rd highest getting the small blind at table 1 and so on. Let's pull..."

Heather pulled a Queen of Diamonds, Lindsay pulled a Queen of Spades, Amy pulling an Ace of Spades (and throwing her fist up in the air in pride as she just guaranteed herself the button at table #1), John pulling the 5 of Spades, Adam pulling the 7 of Diamonds, Jen pulling the 3 of Spades, Chiara pulling the 10 of Clubs and Dan pulling the 8 of Spades. Seating went as follows:

Table 1: Amy, Heather, Dan, John

Table 2: Lindsay, Chiara, Adam, Jen

There were 2 racks each of White, Blue, Black, Red and Green inside the case. Each player grabbed 1 rack each, leaving both racks of white into the case. Everyone took their seats and began playing, but not before Lindsay announced "One last thing. House rule: The first eliminated who is not already scheduled to donate today...has to donate voluntarily at the hospital of the undead tonight."

The students (and other Professors) gulped.

Level 1, Table 1 = 2-4 Blinds, 4-8 Limits. All stacks even.

Hand #1 began with John announcing "I'll call." from under the gun with the Queen/7/5 of Clubs, the 7 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades. Amy quietly called from the Button with the Ace/3 of Diamonds, the 7/2 of Hearts and the 7 of Spades. Heather laughing as she folded the Jack/6/5 of Diamonds, the Jack of Spades and the 9 of Clubs from the Small Blind while Dan knocked the table three times, which indicated a silent check from the Big Blind with the 8/6 of Spades, the 6/4 of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds.

"You're the first draw, Dan." whispered Heather.

"OK, I'll take 2 cards please." he replied as he pitched the 8 of Spades and the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, taking the Ace/5 of Spades in exchange.

"I will also take 2 cards, please." replied John as he pitched the Queen/7 of Clubs into the discard pile and received the Queen of Spades and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards as well, please." added Amy as she pitched the Ace of Diamonds and the 7 of Hearts into the discard pile, taking the 3's of Clubs and Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." whispered Heather. Dan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"I check." replied John. Amy went into the tank, thinking:

"Oh great. I have a fucking 3 of a kind in a mixed lowball game. On the other hand, Professors Dotson and Luke have checked to me. I'll check behind them and take the free second draw."

"I check as well." added Amy.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. Your second draw, Dan." announced Heather.

"2 more cards for me, please" announced Dan as he pitched the Ace/6 of Spades into the discard pile and receiving a Queen/9 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same for me, 2 more cards for me, please." replied John as he pitched the Queen of Spades and the 5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts and the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"And I'll take 2 more cards as well, please." added Amy as she pitched the 3's of Diamonds and Hearts into the discard pile, taking the 10 of Hearts and the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." announced Heather.

"I check." he announced.

"I check as well." replied John.

"I will check too." added Amy.

"Your last draw phase, Dan." whispered Heather.

"2 more cards, please." announced Dan as he pitched the Queen/9 of Hearts into the discard pile, taking the 10 of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat." replied John.

"So do I." added Amy.

"I check." announced Dan before Heather could prompt him that it was his betting options.

"Check." replied John. Amy nervously knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards, guys. Amy, you should present your hand Badugi first, then your 5-card low second." announced Heather. Amy nodded in silent acknowledgement.

"10 Badugi, 10 Low." announced Dan as he turned his cards face up.

"That beats my Jack Badugi and my Jack Low." replied John as he threw his hand into the muck.

"I have an 8 Badugi and a 10 Low like Professor Dotson." announced Amy awkwardly. She knew that she had just won at least the Badugi half of the pot, but had no idea regarding the 5-card low. Heather looked at both Dan's and Amy's hands briefly and announced "Amy, your second highest card is an 8 while Dan's is a 9. As the objective is to make the lowest hand possible, your first hand ever in Badeucy means that you scoop...sorry, win both halves of the pot."

Amy let out a quick yelp in excitement as she raked in her pot of 14.

"Nice hand." announced Dan with a smile, gracious in defeat.

"Not bad for a first-time." added John.

"Oh guys, it'll probably be the only one I scoop all day." whispered Amy modestly.

"Don't sell yourself short, Miss Dybing." responded Heather.

Hand #2 began with Amy quietly folding the Queen of Spades, the 10/6 of Spades and the 7/5 of Hearts from under the gun, Heather announcing "I fold" from the Button with the Queen/Jack of Clubs, the 10 of Hearts, the 8 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades, Dan quietly folding the Ace/7/3/2 of Spades and the King of Hearts from the Small Blind while John shrugged as he took back his Big Blind (as well as Dan's small blind, a pot of 6 total). Then he looked at his cards anyway, seeing the Ace/King/10 of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs.

"I didn't have a hand worth defending my blind, guys." whispered John, a half-lie as he thought his was playable under some circumstances.

"My hand wasn't worth a bluff." replied Dan.

"Not worth a bluff for me, either." added Heather.

"And I don't know how to bluff at this game yet, Professor Luke." whispered Amy.

Hand #3 began with Heather quietly folding the Ace/10/4 of Hearts, the King of Clubs and the 9 of Spades from under the gun, Dan announcing "I fold" from the Button with the Ace of Spades, the Queen/10/8 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds, John quietly folding the Jack/7 of Diamonds, the Jack of Hearts and the 4/3 of Spades from the Small Blind while Amy shrugged as she took her pot of 6. Then she looked at her cards anyway, seeing the Ace/2 of Clubs, the 7/5 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"My hand probably sucked more than John's did last hand." whispered Amy, not knowing that she was terribly off.

"It, again, wasn't worth a bluff." replied Dan.

"Not worth a bluff for me, either." added John.

"Enjoy the run of luck while it lasts." warned Heather.

Hand #4 began with Dan announcing "I'll raise." from under the gun with the Jack/8 of Diamonds, the 9 of Hearts, 4 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades. John quietly called from the Button with the 8/7 of Clubs, the 8/2 of Spades and the 5 of Diamonds. Amy announcing "I'm out" as she folded the Ace/9 of Clubs, the Jack/4 of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds from the Small Blind while Heather silently folded from the Big Blind with the Ace/Queen/10 of Diamonds and the 10/2 of Clubs.

"You're the first draw, Dan." whispered Heather.

"OK, I'll take 1 card please." he replied as he pitched the Jack of Diamonds into the discard pile, taking the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"I will take 2 cards, please." replied John as he pitched his pair of 8's into the discard pile and received the Jack of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." whispered Heather. Dan pushed 4 into the pot silently. John went into the tank, thinking:

"I need the heart in order to make the Badugi, but I'm getting good pot odds to stay in the hand."

"I call." whispered John, sliding 4 more chips into the pot.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Dan." announced Heather.

"I stand pat." announced Dan, knowing full well that he couldn't draw again after saying that and he just basically telegraphed the relative strength of his hand to John (as well as to the 2 ladies at the table who were no longer involved in the hand).

"2 more cards for me, please." replied John as he pitched the Jack of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." announced Heather.

"8." he announced.

"Call." replied John.

"Your last draw phase, John as Dan has already stood pat" whispered Heather.

"Just 1 card for me, please." replied John as he pitched the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving a King of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." whispered Amy, wanting to help in some way.

"8" he announced.

"Raise to 16." replied John. The raising continued until John was all-in (although Dan barely covered him, so he was a bit nervous).

"Time to show your cards, guys." announced Heather.

"8 Badugi, 9 Low." announced Dan as he turned his cards face up.

"That beats me both ways with my King Badugi and Ace low, I guess I'm donating to the changed tonight." replied John as he threw his hand into the muck. John went around shaking everyone's hands at the table, starting with Dan.

"Great hand, my man." said John.

"Sorry John." replied Dan, sincerely not wishing his colleague any harm. John waved it off, as if to say that there was no apology necessary.

"Try not to eat your pasta before the meal." teased Heather, John chuckled slightly as they shook hands.

"I'M NOT THE WORST, I'M NOT THE WORST, I'M NOT THE WORST!" chanted Amy before shaking John's hand.

"MAN DOWN!" shouted John, signalling to the other table that table 1 was down to 3.

Chip stacks for table 1: Dan – 196, Amy – 110, Heather – 94

Level 2, Table 2 = 3-6 Blinds, 6-12 Limits. Chip stacks for Table 2: Lindsay – 120, Chiara – 100, Adam – 94, Jen – 86

"WE'RE STILL AT 4 AND WE DON'T PLAY WITH THE 7TH PLAYER RULE, KEEP PLAYING." shouted Lindsay to inform the other table to resume until 1 more player gets eliminated. Hand #1 began with Jen quietly folding the Ace of Clubs, the King/9 of Spades and the 9/5 of Diamonds from under the gun, Lindsay announcing "I raise to 12." from the Button with the Jack of Diamonds, the 8 of Spades, the 7/4 of Clubs and the 7 of Hearts, Chiara quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King of Clubs, the Queen/2 of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts and the 3 of Spades while Adam announced "I'm out." from the Big Blind with the Ace/King/Queen of Hearts and the Jack/5 of Spades.

"You're the first draw, Chiara." whispered Jen.

"I stand pat." announced Chiara, much to the shocked gasps of the entire table.

"And I just need 1 card, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the 7 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving a 4 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I check." declared Chiara, knowing that her standing pat this early effectively killed the action for the rest of the hand.

"I check too." replied Lindsay.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. OK since Chiara can't draw anymore, Lindsay is first this time." announced Adam.

"Still just 1 card for me, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the 4 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"I check." declared Chiara before Jen or Adam could remind her that it was her betting option.

"I check, too." replied Lindsay.

"Last draw, Professor Collins." whispered Jen.

"I stand pat." replied Lindsay.

"Your betting option, Chiara" announced Jen.

"I check" she replied. Lindsay knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards, ladies." added Adam.

"King Badugi, King Low." announced Chiara as she turned her cards face up.

"Yikes, you should've kept drawing. I have a Jack Badugi, Jack Low." replied Lindsay as she turned her hand face up, smiling as she scooped both halves, totalling 30.

"Always try for a 9 Low ideally and a Jack Low at absolute worst." stated Adam.

"And an 8-10 Badugi." added Jen.

Hand #2 began with Lindsay "I raise to 12." from under the gun with the Jack/6 of Hearts, the 8 of Diamonds, the 5 of Clubs and 3 of Spades. Chiara quietly folded her Button with the Ace/King/2 of Spades and the 9/7 of Diamonds, Adam announcing "I'm out" from the Small Blind with the 10/9/7/4 of Clubs and the 10 of Spades while Jen announced "Not even worth defending." from the Big Blind with the Jack of Diamonds, the 9/8 of Hearts, the 8 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs. Lindsay turned her hand face up to illustrate her point from the previous hand as she raked in her pot of 21:

"See, here I have an 8 Badugi and a Jack Low. I'd probably pitch the Jack in a table of 4-6, but keep it in a table of 3 or heads-up. And I am most DEFINITELY keeping the 8 Badugi together no matter what."

"Point taken, Professor Collins." whispered Chiara.

"No wonder you raised pre-draw." replied Adam with his eyes widened.

"Wow, Professor Collins is now doing running commentary on her own hands." added Jen with more than a hint of snark in her voice.

Hand #3 began with Chiara quietly folding the King/7 of Spades, the Queen/9 of Diamonds and the 8 of Clubs from under the gun, Adam quietly folding the Ace/2 of Clubs, the Queen/8 of Hearts and the 8 of Spades from the Button, Jen looking at the Ace/Jack of Diamonds, the 10/5 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades from the Small Blind and announcing "Professor Collins, you get a walk" as she folded. Lindsay looked at her cards in the Big Blind, seeing the King/10/2 of Diamonds, the Queen of Spades and the 9 of Clubs.

"If any of you had raised, I would've raised." Lindsay remarked as she raked in her pot of 9.

"I'd call bullshit, but I believe you." replied Chiara.

"So do I." added Jen and Adam simultaneously.

Hand #4 began with Adam quietly folding the Ace/Queen of Spades, the King/4 of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs from under the gun, Jen announcing "I'll raise to 12" from the button with the 10/4 of Spades, the 8 of Hearts, the 7 of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs, Lindsay replying "I'll call the extra 9" from the Small Blind with the 9/2 of Clubs, the 5 of Spades and the 4/2 of Hearts while Chiara quietly folded the Ace/Queen of Spades, the King/4 of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs from the Big Blind.

"You're the first draw, Professor Collins." whispered Chiara.

"Quite right. OK, I'll take 2 cards." replied Lindsay as she pitched the 9 of Clubs and 2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Spades and the 6 of Clubs in exchange.

"I'll just take 1 card, please." replied Jen as she pitched the 10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Professor Collins." announced Chiara.

"6." replied Lindsay. Jen quietly called with a weird smirk on her face.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Professor Collins." declared Chiara.

"Just 1 card for me this time, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the 5 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat." replied Jen.

"Your turn to bet, Professor Collins." announced Adam.

"12" replied Lindsay. Jen once again quietly called.

"And I'm standing pat as I don't need the third draw." added Lindsay.

"You can still bet, if you want. AS both of you have stood pat and all" countered Chiara.

"12." announced Lindsay.

"I raise 12." replied Jen. The raising continued until Jen was all-in.

"Time to show your cards, guys." declared Adam.

"7 Badugi, 7 Low." announced Lindsay as she turned her cards face up.

"And I'm the 2nd one out with my 8 Badugi and my 9 Low." answered Jen as she tossed her cards into the muck. Lindsay raked in her scooped pot, 95 total.

"I would've stayed on that hand too." offered Chiara.

"Me too." replied Adam.

"Guys, don't worry about it. At least I wasn't the first one out. Great hand, Professor Collins. Good luck, guys. Now I...better go see if I can help John." stated Jen as she stood up to shake hands with everyone at the table. Jen walked in front as everyone left the gaming room, heading for the dining room.

"Oh, you're down to 3 now?" asked Amy. Jen nodded as she turned to the kitchen. Lindsay, Adam and Chiara were close behind, and Lindsay was observing table 1 "I can see that you guys are just finishing a hand, good. It's time to redraw seats for the final table. As this is my apartment, I will be dealing 1 card face up. Highest card gets the Seat 1 and the Button, 2nd Highest gets seat 2 and the Small Blind. Here we go..."

Lindsay grabbed the deck for the dining room, arranged all of the cards into 1 straight pile, shuffled it 5 times and began dealing: Amy received the 9 of Hearts, Heather received the 2 of Clubs, Dan received the 10 of Spades, Chiara received the 7 of Clubs, Adam received the 2 of Hearts and Lindsay dealt herself the 4 of Hearts last. The final table and chip stacks looked as follows:

Seat 1: Dan – 199

Seat 2: Amy – 113

Seat 3: Chiara – 82

Seat 4: Lindsay – 233

Seat 5: Adam – 85

Seat 6: Heather – 88

Level 3, Final Table = 4-8 Blinds, 8-16 Limits

Hand #1 began with Lindsay quietly folding the 10 of Hearts, the 8/7/4 of Clubs and the 4 of Spades from under the gun, Adam announcing "I fold" with the Ace of Diamonds, the 9 of Spades, the 3/2 of Hearts and 2 of Clubs, Heather quietly folding the Ace/Queen/5 of Clubs, King of Hearts and the 2 of Spades from the cutoff seat, Dan whispering "I'm out" from the Button with the 10/7/3 of Diamonds and the 8/6 of Hearts, Amy giggling and announcing "Chiara, you get a walk" from the Small Blind with the Queen/6 of Diamonds, the Jack/10 of Spades and the 9 of Clubs. Chiara smiled weakly as she raked in her pot of 12, then looked at her hand as a formality. She saw the Ace/6 of Spades, the 9/4 of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds.

"Decent tri and a 1 card draw to a 9 Low. I would've defended my blind if I had been raised." offered Chiara.

"As you should." replied Lindsay.

"A tri?" asked Amy, confused.

"Yeah, I have no idea what that means either." added Adam.

"It's slang for when you have 3 out of 4 suits needed in order to make a Badugi. If you don't have a Badugi when you show your cards, a Tri will be scored instead. Unless you only have 2 of the 4 suits between 5 cards, and if that's the case, you probably shouldn't have been in the hand to begin with." explained Dan.

"Thank you for beating me to the punch, Dan." answered Heather.

Hand #2 began with Adam announcing "I raise to 16." from under the gun with the Queen of Diamonds, the 8 of Spades, the 3/2 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts. Heather looking down at the Ace/5 of Clubs, the 9/4 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds and quietly calling. Dan quietly folded the King/7 of Spades, the King of Hearts and the Queen/9 of Clubs from the cutoff seat, Amy announced "I fold" with the Ace/Jack/6/3 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts from the Button, Chiara quietly folded the 10/2 of Spades, the 10 of Clubs and the 8/2 of Hearts from the Small Blind while Lindsay announced "I'm out" from the Big Blind with the Ace/8/6 of Diamonds, the King of Clubs and the 9 of Hearts.

"You draw first, Adam." whispered Amy.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Adam as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6/5 of Hearts in exchange.

"I will also take 2 cards, please." added Heather as she pitched the Ace of Clubs and the 9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Adam." whispered Chiara.

"I check." replied Adam.

"Check." added Heather.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Adam." announced Dan.

"2 more cards for me, please." replied Adam as he pitched the 6/5 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please." stated Heather as she pitched the Jack/5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 9/3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your option, Adam." whispered Lindsay.

"Check." he replied. Heather knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"I'll take 2 more cards, please." stated Adam before he had to be reminded that it was his betting option. He then pitched the Ace of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please." whispered Heather as she pitched the 9/3 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds in exchange. Adam knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check before he could be reminded that it was his betting option. Heather went into the tank, thinking:

"My read is that he's slowplaying something good. I deny him his check-raise."

"I check." mumbled Heather.

"Time to show your cards" announced Lindsay.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low." announced Adam as he turned his cards face up.

"Beats my 10 Badugi and 10 Low, take it." replied Heather as she threw her cards into the muck. Adam rubbed his hands together in celebration as he scooped his pot of 44.

"Yay, another one for the students." declared Chiara.

"Is this becoming a Students vs. Professors thing?" asked Dan.

"That was the idea that I had" replied Lindsay.

"Ouch, and I'm barely a Professor based on my age. It's as if Mr. Pirate compartmentalized us into 4 Professors and 4 students based entirely on our ages with the 4 oldest humans that he knows becoming professors and the 4 youngest humans that he knows becoming students for one of those stories that he writes" offered Heather.

"Oh goodie, Professor Stitt is leaning on the 4th wall" shouted John from the kitchen.

Hand #3 began with Heather quietly folding the Jack/3/2 of Clubs, the 9 of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds from under the gun, Dan quietly raising to 16 with the Queen of Clubs, the 8 of Spades, the 6/3 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts, Amy quietly folding the 9 of Clubs, the 7 of Hearts and the 7/5/2 of Spades from the cutoff seat, Chiara announcing "I fold" from the Button with the Ace/9 of Diamonds, the King/8 of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts, Lindsay quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Jack/2 of Hearts, the 10 of Diamonds, the 7 of Clubs and the 6 of Spades while Adam quickly folded the Ace/King of Hearts, the King of Spades and the 8/5 of Diamonds in the Big Blind.

"Oh goodie, the Professors are turning on each other. Oh, and it's your first draw Professor Collins." remarked Amy.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the Jack of Hearts and the 10 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/10 of Spades in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please." added Dan as he pitched the Queen of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Spades and the 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Professor Collins." whispered Adam.

"I check." she replied. Dan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, You have the 1st draw again, Lindsay." stated Heather.

"I stand pat." she replied, causing John to look up from stirring the crock pot pasta for a moment.

"I stand pat too." added Dan. Lindsay knocked the table twice to indicate a silent check, Dan did the same.

"You guys might as well just turn up your cards now." offered Chiara.

"Jack Badugi, Jack Low." announced Lindsay as she turned her cards face up.

"8 Badugi, Jack Low, and yes my Jack Low is lower than yours, Lindsay. So I scoop." replied Dan as he turned his cards face up. After a moment of inspecting the hand to confirm, Dan gleefully scooped up his pot of 40.

"Contradicting your own advice a little?" asked Chiara to Lindsay.

"In poker, one has to to avoid predictability." offered Heather, Lindsay nodded.

"Noted." whispered Amy and Adam simultaneously.

Hand #4 began with Dan quietly folding the Ace/10/6/4 of Hearts and the Ace of Spades from under the gun, Amy whispering "I raise to 16." with the King of Hearts, the 10/4 of Clubs, the 7 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades. Chiara announced "I fold" from the cutoff seat with the King/9 of Spades, the Jack of Diamonds and the 9/2 of Clubs, Lindsay quietly called from the Button with the Jack/2 of Spades, the 6/4 of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs, Adam quietly folded from the Small Blind with the King of Diamonds, the Queen of Clubs and the 10/4/3 of Spades while Heather merely shook her head as she folded the Ace of Diamonds and the Queen/6/5/2 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Amy." whispered Dan.

"OK. I would like 2 cards, please." replied Amy as she pitched the King of Hearts and the 10 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"I would also like 2 cards as well." added Lindsay as she pitched the Jack of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." announced Chiara.

"Check." she replied. Lindsay knocked the table 3 times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Amy." declared Adam.

"I stand pat." said Amy, trying to sound dejected.

"OK well I will draw 2 more cards, please." countered Lindsay as she pitched the Queen/5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Hearts and the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." declared Heather.

This time it was Amy who knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check while Lindsay muttered "I check."

"Amy can't draw anymore so it's your draw, Lindsay." stated Dan.

"I stand pat." mumbled Lindsay.

"Amy...?" asked Chiara.

"I check." said Amy.

Lindsay went into the tank, thinking:

"She's got it in the bag. I'll just check behind her to keep the pot small."

"I check" declared Lindsay.

"Time to show your cards, ladies." announced Adam.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low." declared Amy as she turned her cards face up.

"Beats my 9 Badugi and my 9 Low. Amy, you scoop." replied Lindsay as she threw her cards into the muck. Amy smiled as she raked in her pot of 44. Heather's pants vibrated, she took her phone out of her pocket and read the text quietly as it was from her daughter:

"Just woke up, Mommy. How are you playing?"

Heather smiled and replied:

"Not well, I'm the short stack at the table. Amy just won the last hand. Talk later, I love you."

Hand #5 began with Amy quietly folding the King of Clubs, the 9/7 of Hearts, the 9 of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds from under the gun, Chiara announcing "I fold" the Ace/8 of Diamonds, the Jack of Clubs, the 8 of Hearts and the 6 of Spades, Lindsay quietly folding the Queen/3 of Clubs, the 5/2 of Spades and the 3 of Hearts from the cutoff seat, Adam declaring "I'm out" from the Button with the Queen/10 of Hearts, the Jack/5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades, Heather quietly raised to 16 from the Small Blind with the Jack of Hearts, the 8/7 of Spades, the 7 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds while Dan went "Nope" as he folded the Ace/3 of Spades, the Queen/10 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs from the Big Blind. Heather raked in the pot of 24 with some satisfaction.

"Nice steal." announced Lindsay.

"Yeah, that was incredible considering I was the Big Blind and I'm almost defended my blind on principle." replied Dan.

"I think that we all had shit hands." offered Chiara.

"Sounds about right." guessed Adam.

Heather took her phone out again as it was vibrating since the cards were being dealt:

"I love you too, Mommy. By the way, don't raise with your rough looking tri and even rougher looking Jack Low. No one else at the table has anything of note so you're just chasing people off of the hand and will only win yourself a small pot.

All my Love,

S.G."

Heather turned as white as a ghost, and she was even used to her daughter's clairvoyance by now.

"Something wrong?" asked John who saw Heather from the Kitchen.

"I might as well show you guys, try not to judge me as she isn't here." replied Heather.

"Judge you for what?" asked Jen as she and John walked into the dining room.

Heather placed her phone on the table with the text message still on the screen, everyone took turns reading it, and were more confused than scared.

"I don't get it, why would your daughter sign her text 'S.G.' if her name starts with an A?"

Only Amy knew, thinking to herself: "So...she sees things here too." as Jen and John returned to the kitchen.

Hand #6 began with Chiara announcing "I raise to 16" from under the gun with the Jack/5/4 of Diamonds, the 4 of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts, Lindsay quietly folding the King of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts, the 8 of Clubs and the 4/3 of Spades, Adam announcing "I fold" from the cutoff seat with the Queen/8 of Diamonds, the Queen/5 of Hearts and the 10 of Clubs, Heather quietly folding on the Button (still scared by her daughter's text message) with the Jack/7 of Spades, the 9/3 of Diamonds and the 9 of Clubs, Dan muttering "I call" from the Small Blind with the 9/3 of Hearts, the 8/6 of Spades and the 5 of Clubs while Amy quietly folded the Ace/King of Spades, the King/Queen of Clubs and the King of Hearts from the Big Blind (fighting the urge to laugh at the absurdity of being dealt three Kings in a mixed lowball game).

"You're the first draw, Dan." announced Lindsay.

"Alright, I will take 2 cards, please." replied Dan as he pitched the 9 of Hearts and the 8 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please." asked Chiara as she pitched the Jack/4 of Diamonds, receiving the 6 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." whispered Adam.

"8." replied Dan as he slid some chips into the middle, Chiara silently called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Dan." declared Heather.

"2 more cards for me, please." announced Dan as he pitched the Ace of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I only need 1 card, please." replied Chiara as she pitched the 2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan." whispered Amy.

"16." he announced, Chiara raised 16, it continued until Chiara was all-in.

Lindsay announced "OK guys, you still have 1 draw phase each so please don't turn over your cards just yet. Dan, you're drawing first."

"Just 1 card for me this time, please." remarked Dan as he pitched the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here, 1 card to make or break me." replied Chiara as she pitched the 10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving a 7 of Clubs in exchange.

"Turn your cards up, please." stated Heather.

"6 Badugi, 7 Low." announced Dan as he turned his hand face up, smiling as he had the best hand of the game so far.

Chiara stared at Dan's cards for what was the better part of 15 seconds before tossing her hand into the muck, remarking "I had almost the same but your 3 is lower than my 4 in regards to the 4th card in the hand for both halves of the pot. Take it, Professor Dotson."

Dan winced slightly in sympathy, then raked in his pot of 106.

"Damnit, another student down." exclaimed Adam.

"2 down, 2 to go." replied Lindsay in an effort to taunt the students.

"Farewell Chiara." added Heather.

"You played well, Chiara." offered Dan as he and Chiara shook hands.

"Will you be helping Jen and John in the kitchen?" asked Amy.

Chiara nodded before answering "Indeed. The Italian should probably help the American and the Canadian prepare 1 of my country's dishes."

"We heard that." shouted Jen and John simultaneously.

Chip stacks for the table: Dan – 305, Lindsay – 193, Amy – 129, Adam – 101, Heather – 72

Level 4, Final Table: 5-10 Blinds, 10-20 Limits.

Hand #1 began with Adam quietly folding the 9 of Hearts, the 7/3 of Diamonds and the 5/2 of Spades from under the gun, Heather announcing "I fold" from the cutoff seat with the King/5/4 of Diamonds and the 9/6 of Clubs, Dan quietly raising from the Button with the King/7 of Clubs, the Jack/8 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts, Amy announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the 10/6 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds and the 4/3 of Clubs, and Lindsay quietly folding the Jack/6/5 of Hearts, the Jack of Clubs and the 9 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You're the first draw, Amy." whispered Lindsay.

"2 cards for me, please." she replied as she pitched the 10 of Spades and the 4 Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Aces of both Hearts and Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please." added Dan as he pitched the King of Clubs and the Jack of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8/7 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." mumbled Adam.

"I check." replied Amy. Dan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Amy." whispered Heather.

"2 more cards for me, please." she answered as she pitched the Aces of Hearts and Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 7/3 of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please." added Dan as he pitched the 8/7 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10/9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." mumbled Lindsay. Amy knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"I check." replied Dan.

"Last draw, Amy." whispered Adam.

"2 more cards for me, please." she replied as she pitched the 7/3 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Hearts and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat." stated Dan.

"Your betting option, Amy" announced Lindsay.

"I check" she replied, Dan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards, guys." announced Heather.

Amy sighed, feeling completely dejected as she turned over her cards face up, "King Badugi, Pair of 6's for Low. Seriously, if you don't beat me on both halves of this pot, I'll cry."

Dan chuckled as he turned over his hand "Happy to oblige. 9 Badugi, 10 Low."

"Oh thank god." declared Lindsay as Dan raked in his pot of 50.

"Yeah, I was worried too. Sorry, Amy." responded Adam.

"Mercy killing, much?" asked Heather.

Hand #2 began with Heather quietly folding the King/7 of Spades and the Jack/6/5 of Diamonds from under the gun, Dan announcing "I'm out" from the cutoff seat with the Ace of Hearts, the King/8 of Diamonds and the 9/3 of Clubs, Amy quietly raising to 20 with the 8 of Hearts, the 6/3 of Spades, the 6 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds from the Button, Lindsay announcing "I fold" from the Small Blind with the Ace/King of Spades and the King/Queen/6 of Hearts while Adam quietly folded the Queen of Clubs, the 9 of Spades, the 7/3 of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds from the Big Blind. Amy smiled as she took in her pot of 35.

"You had a hand worth playing." mused Heather.

"I agree, you had the Badugi in your hand already at least." added Dan.

"8 Badugi, 1 card draw to a low." whispered Amy.

"And there were a lot of cards that could've helped you." answered Lindsay.

"Over a dozen, maybe even 16 if my math serves me correctly." mumbled Heather.

Hand #3 began with Dan quietly folding the King/6/3 of Clubs and the 5/2 of Hearts from under the gun, Amy announcing "Not this time" as she folded the 9 of Diamonds, the 8/6 of Hearts and the 7/4 of Spades from the cutoff seat, Lindsay quietly folding the Ace/9/5/2 of Clubs and the 7 of Hearts from the Button, Adam shaking his head as he announced "Heather, you get a walk" as he folded the Queen/9 of Spades, the Queen/3 of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs in the Small Blind. Heather looked at her hand in the Big Blind as a formality, seeing the Ace/10 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds, the 7 of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts before raking in the pot of 15.

"I would've defended my blind even if raised with that." offered Heather as she tossed away her hand.

"I think all of us other than you had crap." replied Adam.

"Agreed" added Amy, Dan and Lindsay simultaneously.

Hand #4 began with Amy quietly raising to 20 with the Ace/6 of Hearts, the 4 of Clubs, the 4 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds from under the gun, Lindsay announcing "I fold" with the Ace of Spades, the King/4/2 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs from the cutoff seat, Adam quietly folding the 10/5 of Clubs and the 6/5/2 of Spades from the Button, Heather whispering "I'm out" from the Small Blind as she folded the 9 of Clubs, the 8/6/5 of Diamonds and the 8 of Hearts while Dan quietly folded the King/Jack/10/7 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts from the Big Blind. Amy shrugged as she raked in her pot of 35.

"If you keep that up, I'll snap you off." declared Lindsay.

"What does that even mean?" asked Amy, confused.

"It means that she will take a marginal hand against you and either dent your chip stack or eliminate you completely." explained Dan.

"That's...harsh." offered Adam.

"I agree with Adam." replied Heather.

Hand #5 began with Lindsay quietly calling with the Queen of Hearts, the 8/2 of Clubs, the 5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Spades from under the gun, Adam announcing "I'm out" with the Queen of Diamonds, the 9/7 of Spades and the 9/5 of Hearts from the cutoff seat, Heather quietly folding the Ace/7 of Hearts, the 10 of Clubs and the 8/4 of Diamonds from the Button, Dan mumbling "Not even worth it for half the price, I fold" from the Small Blind with the King/6 of Hearts, the Jack of Spades, the 9 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds while Amy knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Queen/6/5 of Clubs, the 3 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds.

"You have the first draw, Amy" whispered Dan.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Amy as she pitched the Queen/6 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please" added Lindsay as she pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Clubs and the 4 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." mumbled Adam.

"10" she announced as she slid the chips into the middle of the pot. Lindsay quietly called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Amy." announced Heather.

"Still 2 cards for me, please" stated Amy as she slid the 7 of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the Queen of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" muttered Lindsay as she pitched the 8 of Clubs and the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades and the 9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." announced Dan.

"20" whispered Amy as she slid some more chips into the middle, Lindsay quietly called again.

"Last draw, Amy." stated Adam.

"2 cards again for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Ace of Diamonds and the Queen of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades in exchange.

"Also 2 cards for me, please." added Lindsay as she pitched the Ace of Spades and the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8/3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amy." whispered Heather.

"20" she declared.

"I raise 20" replied Lindsay. The raising continued until Amy was all-in.

"Time to turn up your cards, ladies." announced Dan.

"10 Badugi, Pair of 5's for Low." declared Amy as she turned her cards face up with a dejected sigh. She was secretly hoping just to get the Badugi half of the pot in order to stay alive.

"No good. I have the 7 Badugi and the 8 Low. I told you that I would snap you off." replied Lindsay as she turned her cards face up.

"I tried, I just caught real bad on the last draw and tried to bluff my way out. Great game, Lindsay...and the rest of you of course." replied Amy as she stood up.

"Great, now I'm the only student left in the game." whined Adam.

"I'm more concerned about the garlic bread at the moment." responded Heather. Amy held her head in shame, caught before she could try to steal a piece.

"Don't worry, Heather. Amy wouldn't be able to sneak by us." stated John as smacked a rolling pin into his left hand. Amy got the message.

Chip stacks for the table: Lindsay – 322, Dan – 320, Adam – 86, Heather – 72

Level 5, Final Table = 10-20 Blinds, 20-40 Limits

Hand #1 began with Heather quietly folding the King of Hearts, the King of Clubs, the Jack/9 of Spades and the 9 of Diamonds from under the gun, Dan announcing "I fold" from the Button with the Queen/7/6 of Hearts, the Queen of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds, Lindsay shaking her head as she folded the Ace/King/Queen of Diamonds, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs from the Small Blind and Adam quietly raked in a pot of 30 that he had just won by default.

"Are you going to look at your hand?" asked Dan.

Adam shrugged and answered "Might as well" and lifted his cards, seeing the Jack/2 of Clubs, the 6/2 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades.

"A 6 High tri and a 2 card draw for the Low. I would've defended my Big Blind." he announced to the others

"Glad that I folded then." replied Lindsay and Heather simultaneously.

Hand #2 began with Dan quietly calling with the King/7 of Hearts, the Queen/4 of Clubs and 3 of Diamonds from under the gun, Lindsay announcing "I fold" from the Button with the King/5 of Clubs, the Jack/8 of Diamonds and the 9 of Hearts, Adam quietly folding the Ace/6 of Hearts, the Jack/7 of Clubs and the 9 of Spades from the Small Blind and Heather knocking the table three times, indicating a check from the Big Blind with the King/5 of Diamonds, the 10/6 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts.

"You're the first draw, Heather." whispered Lindsay.

"2 Cards for me, please." she replied as she pitched the King of Diamonds and the 10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please." stated Dan as he pitched the King of Hearts and Queen of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Heather." stated Adam.

"I check." announced Heather. Dan made the check sign in the air with his right index finger.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Heather." declared Adam.

"2 more cards for me, please." replied Heather as she pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts and 4 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here, please" whispered Dan as he pitched the 9 of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/4 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Heather." whispered Lindsay.

"I check." announced Heather. Dan knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"You have the last draw, Heather" whispered Lindsay.

"Still 2 cards for me, please" announced Heather as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 2's of Hearts and Diamonds in exchange.

"I just need 1 card this time, please" replied Dan as he pitched the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Heather." announced Adam.

"I check." responded Heather. Dan went into the tank, thinking:

"I think I'm about to scoop her so betting is pointless as it will just make her fold."

Dan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards guys." stated Lindsay.

"No Badugi, just a 6-High Tri and a pair of 2's for Low. You've basically got this hand in the bag, Mr. Dotson." announced Heather as she turned her hand face up.

"Indeed I do, as I have an 8 Badugi and a Jack Low." replied Dan as he turned his hand face up. He collected his pot of 50 immediately.

"A bit overkill, but nice hand." remarked Adam.

Hand #3 began with Lindsay quietly folding the Ace of Diamonds, the King/10 of Spades, the 7 of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs from under the gun, Adam quietly folding the Jack of Spades, the 10/5 of Diamonds, the 9 of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs from the Button, Heather looking at the Jack of Diamonds, the 9 of Clubs, the 8/3 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts in the Small Blind and announcing "Nope, you get a walk Mr. Dotson" as she folded her cards. Dan quickly looked at this hand, seeing the Ace/King/8 of Hearts, the 7 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs in his Big Blind.

"I would've defended." he said as he raked in his pot of 30.

"For once, I would like to see a Big Blind have crap and still get a walk because every other hand is even worse." offered Lindsay, slightly annoyed.

"Here here" replied Adam.

Hand #4 began with Adam announcing "I raise to 40" from under the gun with the Queen/3 of Hearts, the Queen of Clubs, the 5 of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds, Heather looking at her chip stack and declaring "I re-raise to...44, I'm all-in" from the Button with the Ace/5 of Clubs, the 7/2 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades, Dan quietly folding the Queen of Spades, the Jack/7/4 of Hearts and the 9 of Clubs from the Small Blind, Lindsay announcing "I was out with the first raise, I'm really out now" as she folded the King of Clubs, the Jack/8/3 of Diamonds and the 8 of Spades from the Big Blind. Adam shrugged and quietly called the extra 4 (as it was very rare, even in limit poker, to be getting 28.5:1 pot odds on your money which means calling with ANY 5 cards is mathematically profitable in the long term).

"No one turn your cards up yet as we still have 3 drawing phases, you have the first draw, Adam." announced Dan.

"2 cards for me, please." replied Adam as he pitched the Queens of Clubs and Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"I just need 1 card, please." added Heather as she pitched the 5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"No betting option needed as Heather is all-in. Adam, you have the second draw." declared Lindsay.

"I stand pat." whispered Adam.

"Me too." responded Heather.

"OK, we'll skip the third drawing phase entirely then. Time to show your cards, guys" announced Dan.

"7 Badugi...PERFECT 7 LOW!" shouted Adam as he turned his cards face up. Everyone who had been eliminated that was in the kitchen came out to see this perfect 7 Low, and they clapped and cheered even as Heather simply said "Beat my Ace Badugi and Ace Low nicely. Oh well, I doubt I would've caught a lower club with the other 2 draws. Anyways, I'm afraid I can't be joining you guys for the meal. I promised my daughter that I would take her to the University's botanical gardens. Enjoy my water, as I had no more room in my fridge."

The eliminated ones all shouted "BYE!" at once as they were already back in the kitchen.

"Take care, Heather." added Lindsay.

"Have a nice day, Professor Stitt." said Adam while waving.

"Enjoy the Gardens." replied Dan. Heather merely nodded at them as she left the door, having already put on her shoes.

Chip Stacks for the Table: Dan – 350, Lindsay – 290, Adam – 160

Level 6 = 20-40 Blinds, 40-80 Limits

Hand #1 began with the Dan quietly folding the Queen/3 of Hearts, the Jack of Diamonds, the 10 of Clubs and the 3 of Spades from under the gun (and the Button), Lindsay announcing "Adam, you get a walk" from the Small Blind with the King/5/4/2 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts. Adam shrugged and peeked at the King/Jack of Clubs, the King/4 of Diamonds and the 9 of Spades in the Big Blind. He turned his hand up, announcing "Finally, 1 of us gets a walk with complete crap" as he takes in a pot of 60. Dan and Lindsay laugh hard at this, regretting not attempting a blind steal with the blinds so high.

"Yeah, a Jack high tri and a pair of Kings wins the hand is complete crap." said Dan in between guffaws of laughter.

"I had a 4-flush in a game where straights and flushes are bad." replied Lindsay.

"Ouch" added Adam with dripping sarcasm.

Hand #2 began with Lindsay announcing "I raise to 80" from under the gun (and the Button) with the 6/2 of Spades, the 5/4 of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs, Adam quietly folding the Ace/Queen/2 of Diamonds and the Ace/9 of Hearts from the Small Blind and Dan whispering "Nope" as he folded the Ace/5/4 of Spades, the King of Clubs and the 7 of Diamonds from the Big Blind. Lindsay smiled slightly as she raked in a pot of 140.

"I guess blinds really matter now." laments Adam.

"Says the shortest stack at the table." replies Lindsay.

"And the 1 remaining student." added Dan.

Hand #3 began with Adam quietly folded the Ace/5 of Clubs, the Queen/9 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds from under the gun (and the Button), Dan announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the Queen/4 of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts and the 4/3 of Clubs and Lindsay knocking the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/7 of Spades, the 8/7 of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts.

"You're the first draw, Dan" whispered Adam.

"2 cards for me, please" announced Dan as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and the 10 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the Ace of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan" declared Adam.

"40" he announced as he pushed forward the chips. Lindsay silently called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Dan." announced Adam.

"Still 2 cards for me, please." replied Dan as he pitched the Ace of Hearts and the 10 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Spades and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Lindsay as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Dan" whispered Adam.

"80" replied Dan as she shoved the chips into the middle. Lindsay silently called.

"Last draw, Dan." announced Adam.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 4 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds and the 9 of Clubs in exchange.

"I stand pat." declared Lindsay.

"Your betting option, Dan." declared Adam.

"80" he announced. Lindsay silently raised, and the re-raising continued until Dan was all-in.

"Time to show, guys." whispered Adam, who was silently hoping that Lindsay would scoop both halves of the pot so that he would at least win 2nd place money.

"Jack Badugi, Jack Low." said Dan as he turned over his cards.

"Same as you but you're Jack-9 on both halves and I'm a Jack-8 on both halves so I scoop both halves of the pot and knock you out." replied Lindsay as she turned her hand face up. Dan nodded and stood up, knowing that he had been eliminated as she raked in her pot of 350.

"Well played Lindsay. I'll put the money for you and Adam on the table." mumbled Dan as they shook hands.

"That would be great, thank you." replied Lindsay.

"Good luck, kid." said Dan to Adam.

"Thank you." responded Adam.

Amy, Jen, Chiara and John came out from the kitchen as Dan grabbed the money from the top of a dark/stained tall wooden armoire and put 600 on 1 pile and 200 on the other, about 20 centimetres.

"Is the food ready?" asked Lindsay.

"Yeah, though we have to let the pasta and garlic bread cool for 10 minutes." replied John. Jen and Chiara were physically restraining Amy from "starting early"

Chip stacks for the table: Lindsay – 640, Adam – 160

Level 7 = 40-80 Blinds, 80-160 Limits

Hand #1 began with Lindsay announcing "Let's get this over with" as she raised to 160 from the Button (and the Small Blind) with the 10 of Clubs, the 8/3 of Spades, the 4 of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds. Adam nodded, and went all-in from the Big Blind with the 10/6 of Hearts, the 5 of Spades, the 5 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds.

"I guess betting options are moot for the rest of this hand. Adam, you have the first draw." whispered John.

"2 cards for me, please" replied Adam as he pitched the 6 of Hearts and the 5 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" added Lindsay as she pitched the 8 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving a 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"Second draw, Adam." announced Jen.

"And still 2 cards for me, please." replied Adam as he pitched the Ace of Spades and the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/6 of Spades in exchange.

"1 more card for me, please." added Lindsay as she pitched the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds in exchange.

"Last draw, Adam" whispered Chiara.

"And I'm down to needing just 1 card, please." responded Adam as he pitched the Queen of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"I'm still at needing 1 card, please." replied Lindsay as she pitched the Ace of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving a Queen of Hearts in exchange.

"Time to present your cards, guys" stated Amy.

"10 Badugi, 10 Low." announced Adam as he turned his cards face up.

"My 10 Badugi beats yours but you beat me in the 2-7 half of the pot as I only have Queen-Low." replied Lindsay as she turned her hand face up. Dan took a moment to examine both hands.

"She's right, each of you get a half pot of 160." stated Dan. The students were happy that Adam lived to play another hand while the Professors were upset for the exact same reason.

"Is that the first split pot of the game?" asked Jen.

"No, I had one with Professor Stitt when the blinds were 3-6 and we were still at 2 separate tables. Given what we know of Aaron only focusing on 1 table at a time in his writings, I'm sure the hand is nothing more than some pencil writings in a notebook somewhere" responded Amy.

Hand #2 began with Adam announcing "Let's get this over with...again, I raise all-in." from the Button (and the Small Blind) with the Queen/6 of Diamonds, the Queen/3 of Hearts and the 7 of Clubs. Lindsay quietly called from the Big Blind with the 7/6 of Hearts, the 4 of Spades, the 3 of Diamonds and the 3 of Clubs.

"Betting options are moot for this hand once again. Lindsay, you have the first draw." whispered Dan.

"2 cards for me, please." she replied as she pitched the 7 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades in exchange.

"Same here, 2 cards for me, please." whispered Adam as he pitched both of his Queens into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"Second draw, Professor Collins" whispered Amy.

"Just 1 card for me, please" declared Lindsay as she pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades in exchange.

"I also only need 1 card, please" replied Adam as he pitched the King of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"Last draw, Professor Collins." whispered Chiara.

"1 more card for me, please" she announced as she pitched the Ace of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat." stated Adam.

"Time to show your cards, guys." declared Jen.

"9 Badugi, Jack Low" announced Lindsay as she turned her cards face up.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low" replied Adam as he turned his cards face up. He smiled as he raked in his pot of 320.

"Don't worry Lindsay, you still have a 3:2 chip lead over him." stated John reassuringly.

Hand #3 began with Lindsay quietly calling from the Button (and the Small Blind) with the King/8/4 of Clubs, the 5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades while Adam knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the 7 of Clubs, the 6/5 of Spades, the 5 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds.

"You have the first draw, Adam." whispered John.

"Just 1 card for me, please" replied Adam as he pitched the 5 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Lindsay as she pitched the King/4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/7 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Adam." stated Jen.

"80" whispered Adam, Lindsay silently called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Adam." announced Chiara.

"Still just 1 card for me, please." responded Adam as he pitched the Jack of Spades into the discard pile, receiving a 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 1 more card for me, please." added Lindsay as she pitched the Ace of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Adam." whispered Amy.

"I'm all-in." announced Adam as he put his last 160 into the pot.

"I call" answered Lindsay.

"Don't turn up your cards yet as we still have 1 more drawing phase, guys. Adam, you start the third draw." stated Dan.

"No I don't...I stand pat." replied Adam.

"I'll take 1 more card please" stated Lindsay nervously as she pitched 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"OK guys, time to turn over your cards." declared Dan.

"6 Badugi, 7 Low." announced Adam as he turned his cards face up.

"Beats my 8 Badugi and my 8 Low. Take it, Adam." replied Lindsay as she tossed her hand into the muck. Adam grinned as he raked in his pot of 640.

"And the student has taken the chip lead." declared Amy.

"Still a lot of Poker to play." countered John.

"I sure as hell hope not, we have 5 minutes left for simmering." responded Chiara.

"Agreed." added Jen.

Hand #4 began with Adam announcing "Raise to 160" from the button (and the Small Blind) with the 6/3 of Hearts, the 5 of Spades, the 3 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs while Lindsay quietly called (putting herself all-in) from the Big Blind with the Queen of Diamonds, the 9/3 of Clubs, the 8 of Spades and the 5 of Hearts.

"OK, Betting options are moot for this hand. Lindsay, you have the first draw." announced John.

"1 card for me, please" replied Lindsay as she pitched the 9 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts in exchange.

Adam went into the tank, thinking:

"Oh god, which of my threes do I discard?"

"3 of Hearts" came a familiar voice inside his head.

"Are you sure?" Adam silently asked himself.

"Yeah, Mom needs to be brought down a peg."

"1 card for me as well, please" whispered Adam as he pitched the 3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds in exchange.

"Second draw, Professor Collins" stated Jen.

"1 more card for me, please" replied Lindsay as she pitched the 10 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here" added Adam as he pitched the Ace of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Spades in exchange.

"Last draw, Professor Collins" whispered Chiara.

"1 last card should do it for me, please" stated Lindsay as she pitched the 8 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Clubs in exchange.

"And I stand pat." announced Adam, which made everyone in the room nervous.

"Time to show your cards, guys." announced Amy.

"Queen Badugi, Queen Low. Hope that's enough to survive and win at least 1 half of the pot." stated Lindsay as she turned her cards face up.

"It's not. I have 6 Badugi and 7 Low for the second hand in a row" answered Adam as he turned his cards face up. Jen, Chiara and Amy rushed to hug him, as the students had beaten the teachers. Dan grabbed the money, handing 600 Koruna to Adam and 200 to Lindsay.

"You earned it, my man." said Dan.

"Yes, you played extremely well. Now let's eat." replied Lindsay. A declaration that no one argued with as they packed away the poker setup immediately, turning the dining room table back into a dining room table.

They each exited the house for the University's Botanical Gardens (Skull Girl first, then Heather) then were walking down the hallway...

...as Heather had to grab the wall.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" asked the Skull Girl, tempted to scream out for help to get her to the local hospital.

"Do you know how Mr, Pirate says we have different friends in different places in different stories?" she asked while crying.

Skull Girl only nodded, already knowing what her mother was going through.

"All I see are 3 images on a loop: Some of them are in one place, travelling to Greece as a circus. Others are driving around in...Bumper cars for sport? And the image of 3 planets crashing into each other. It's OK, they're gone now."

"My visions are the same, and increasing in frequency. Do you still want to go to the Botanical Gardens?" asked Skull Girl.

"Yes, I'll be fine." nodded Heather reassuringly. They each reached the gardens without any further incident.

Chapter 4: A destiny in forced donation

Song to put on: Marvin Berry & The Starlighters – Night Train

It was 2 hours after the meal and poker game at Lindsay's, and John was back at his apartment, cleaning out his crock pot in the sink. Mentally, he was going over the various routes one could take from his place to the Hospital of the Undead:

"No matter the route, I'm going into the side of town occupied by the changed. Not all of them follow the legislation either." he said out loud to no one in particular.

He let those words sink into his mind for a moment as he put the shell of the crock pot onto a couple of bath towels on the counter to the left of the sink to dry. He grabbed his cell phone, texting the following message to Adam, Amy, Chiara, Dan, Heather, Jen and Lindsay:

"Taking the Prague Green Metro from the Muzeum station over the Vitava river to Malostranska station, then the #12 bus to the hospital. Come with me and watch my back? I'll be at Muzeum in 45 minutes."

It took a couple of minutes, but Lindsay replied first: "Sure."

Then came Dan: "Oh of course, you've always come with me to the hospital when I have to donate."

Third was Chiara: "Yes of course, the changed tend to pick on the older ones more, I'll be right there."

Fourth was Amy: "Sure. I got let out of work early due to lack of business."

Fifth was Jen: "Yup, I hate when any human has to go there alone."

Sixth was Adam: "Yes, I just got finished up at the gym. I'll be right there."

Last was Heather: "I'll meet you at Malostranska. I'm closer to there anyway."

John, satisfied with his answers, put on his shoes and walked out his front door. Meanwhile, at Heather's apartment:

"Can your little boat hold 2 people?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes mommy, you know it can. But why?" replied Aisling.

"Professor Luke has to donate tonight, asked us to go with him. It's time that my human Professor friends and the students who are not named Amy...know who the Skull Girl really is."

Skull girl gulped.

John stood near the west platform at the Muzeum platform, repeatedly looking at his Rolex watch on his right wrist:

"Where the hell are they?" he asked himself, out loud.

"Behind you." came a male voice.

It was Dan, along with Lindsay, Adam, Chiara, Amy and Jen.

"Lindsay and I picked up the kids from campus in order to speed things up. I took Adam and Chiara and Lindsay took Amy and Jen."

"Where's Professor Stitt?" asked Jen.

"She's meeting us at Malostranska." replied John. Amy made an awkward snicker that no one else noticed as the train arrived.

"I love Prague Metro." shouted Chiara as the train stopped. They all entered as soon as the doors opened. The outside of the train was stainless steel, painted green (on account of the route), the interior was all off-white on the walls with red corduroy seats. Finding seats (as opposed to just standing around) was quite easy.

"Not a lot of people on board." said Adam in observation.

"No one wants to go across the river unless they have to." replied Amy.

"I can't say as I blame them, but humans aren't perfect either. And how the changed (especially the Vampires) have filled in the gaps of our history books...I suppose that was considered a fair trade for our donations 3 centuries ago." ranted Lindsay, cynically.

The subway took off, heading west. It wasn't long before they were crossing the Vitava river. There was a long awkward silence between everyone, to which John felt the need to break.

"Have any of you kids crossed the river before? For reasons other than to donate?" he asked.

"Only to get to the airport to go back to Canada for holidays and my semesters off." replied Jen.

"Same here, thank god it's cheap to fly back to Oslo directly from here." added Amy.

"A few times, to buy nutritional supplements and camera supplies from Media Maddness as there's no decent photography shops on our side of town." stated Adam.

"I cross all the time. The clubbing scene is much better on the west end." replied Chiara, much to the shock of the whole group. She continued "What? It is, the music is more eclectic, the dancing is more intense...and it's pretty much the only place the humans and the changed can co-exist with minimum risk."

Dan shook his head "Be careful, the changed don't always follow their half of the legislation."

"Like we're any better" responded Lindsay. The rest of the ride was without incident.

Heather was at the North end of the Malostranska station, impatiently waiting for the group and hoping they'd get here before the first bus after sunset.

"Where the hell are they?" she asked out loud (as there were no other humans anywhere near her).

"Behind you." came a female voice behind her.

It turned out to be Jen as they walked up to Heather.

"I have to admit, I'm terrified right now." mumbled Adam.

"Don't be, there aren't even that many of the changed walking the streets right now." assured Heather as she had been at the station the longest. Amy looked off in the distance, seeing that Heather was right about that.

"I suppose you would bring her, given what's going on with us tonight." stated Amy while changing position so that she was staring directly at Heather.

"Bring who? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Dan.

"She knows exactly who I'm referring to, don't you Professor Stitt?" asked Amy.

"See Mommy, I told you that Amy already knew the big secret."

They all turned and stared at the Skull Girl, walking towards them from a nearby newsstand, complete with her crossbow.

"Aisling Stitt...is the Skull Girl?" asked Lindsay in complete shock.

"Well, that certainly explains the 'S.G.' on the text message." offered John.

"Mommy, aren't you going to introduce me to almost all of the people that I'm going to be protecting tonight?" asked Skull Girl.

"Of course." started Heather, before continuing "This is Adam Debideen, one of my students."

Skull Girl have brief visions of a 2 building high school on the other side of the world. Using that as a cue "Is this 1 of the Aaronworlds where the South Hall Cafeteria food is horrible to a point of failing health inspections?"

Adam merely laughed, nodded, then replied "I think that's a constant on every single Aaronworld."

Heather resumed the introductions, "This is Jen, another student of mine."

There were no complete visions in Skull Girl's mind for Jen, merely a person's name, "Jose Bautista" that was lit up across her mind.

"Skydome or Rogers Centre?" asked the Skull Girl, as she knew that to be 2 possible names for Toronto's baseball stadium.

"Skydome, but as I understand it, this is one of the Aaronworlds where the San Francisco Giants moved to Toronto in 1969 instead of Toronto receiving an expansion franchise for 1977 called the Blue Jays." replied Jen matter of factly.

Heather picked another student "This is Chiara."

Skull Girl saw images of "Carmen" and "Don Giovanni" in her mind, and she recognized them immediately "The opera singer. I promise that tonight will not end in tragedy like many of the productions that you've been involved in."

Chiara smiled and even did a little curtsy as her mom started with her fellow teachers "This is Professor Dan Dotson."

His was a name that she had heard from her mother and the local media since almost the moment that she arrived here from Scotland. She had no visions of him as she walked over to Dan slowly, lowering the crossbow in an effort to extend an olive branch "It's good to meet you, sir. Mommy kept this a secret but...I've been asked to sit in on the legislation renewal in a few days. I understand that you will be involved as well."

Dan nodded, "Just as an arbitrator."

Skull Girl nodded as her mom continued "This is Professor Luke."

Another one where there were no visions, but a familiarity from her mom "Professor Luke, do you have access to a lab on campus?"

Professor Luke nodded "I have to, for cellular analysis and experiments. Why do you ask?"

Skull Girl decided that discretion was the better part of valour "Something tells me that you will be needing it more often soon."

Heather saved the last 2 for good reasons, as they were the ones that her daughter was most excited to meet this evening "This is Professor Collins."

If there were visions in Skull Girl's mind, she hid them well behind her sense of joy as she shouted "MOMMY PIRATE."

Lindsay sighed, shaking her head in total disgust "Everywhere I go, I get called by that stupid nickname. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get your mother to stop calling me that?"

Skull Girl sunk her head slightly, "Sorry, Professor Collins."

Lindsay waved it off as Heather sidestepped to her right, revealing Amy who merely waved politely while holding back tears. Skull Girl almost ran into Amy's arms, they hugged as though they were long lost friends (which at the quantum level, was technically true). They both recalled what images Tokyocon had provided, as they both had read it. Skull Girl went on her tiptoes and whispered "I'm different from that Skull Girl, but my conscience is the same."

Amy just whispered back "I know."

The number 12 bus had arrived. They boarded, paid, then sat down. For once in their lives, a bus ride was completely uneventful.

They were 1 stop away from getting off, Skull Girl made a series of gestures to Dan, silently asking to switch seats so that she was sitting next to John, Dan obliged.

"OK, Professor Luke. Something unwritten amongst the changed that most humans don't know: If you wear your donor card around your neck, that tells the changed that tonight is your night to "give" and they won't...usually stalk you."

"Usually?" John asked with a level of sarcasm that is only achieved by people living in New York.

"The changed are just as much across the spectrum of Law-abiding vs. Law-breaking as the humans." was all that she replied before the bus stopped. John was the last to get off, having added his donor card to a silver necklace that he was wearing. The bus left on its route as they looked around the corner of Letenska and Klarov (where Allan and some others had been the night before).

"Anything else we should know before we enter the Hospital?" asked Lindsay while staring at the Skull Girl.

"Yes, I'll be outside. Hospitals are forbidden to be entered by police officers, even deputized ones like me. Same with government buildings (unless invited) and drug sanctuaries" replied Skull Girl with a sigh. This shocked everyone in the group, including Heather. Skull Girl knew that it was actually the last part that shocked them the most "Minor amounts of all drugs have been decriminalized down to parking tickets in recent years. If a junkie makes it to the sanctuary, they have 1 hour to do whatever drugs they want and are to be provided with clean tools to take whatever drugs that they have on their person. Now if someone were to not leave...THEN I would go in and...Amy would you lean to your left side for a second, please?"

Amy obliged, but could still feel the wind as 2 of Skull Girl's arrows flew within centimetres of her right cheek. But there laid the corpses of 2 Vampires: Both Early 30's (in appearance), Black clothing, 1 armed with a rag of chloroform, the other with a handful of condoms.

"No means no, Human or Changed...Go on ahead, I see some nicer members of the changed coming that I may need to chat with."

They headed into the hospital (minus the Skull Girl who took time and care to pull the arrows out of the dead Vampires for re-use). There was a young woman there: Blonde haired, petite, and wearing what appeared to be a T-shirt for the band The Clash and ripped blue jeans under her lab coat which had the last name Paradis on a Red and White nametag.

"Mohu vám nějak pomoci? (Can I help you?)" she asked in an accent that Jen, Adam and Lindsay immediately identified as French Canadian.

"Hi, how are you this evening. My name is John Luke, I'm not on tonight's schedule. I'm volunteering tonight as I have...late night classes tomorrow night."

She punched up his name on her black keyboard, "OK Mr. Luke, that's fine. It's been long enough since your last donation where I won't run the risk of taking a lethal amount. Just fill out these forms, will any of you also be joining him?" she asked while looking at the other 7.

The other 7 humans took out their donor cards and placed them on the table. She entered their names, one at a time as John sat down and began filling out the paperwork. After 5 minutes of cross-checking each of their names: "OK, the rest of you can't donate until at least this coming Thursday. I'm sorry."

"We guessed as much, but handed you our cards anyway so that you knew that we weren't trying to...circumvent the city legislation, if you know what we mean." said Dan in a low voice. Dr. Paradis nodded, "Thank you all for being so honest with me. There's a bit of a shortage tonight on account of a Vampire with...special...dietary concerns who came in last night so we need all the blood we can get tonight. A pity you 7 can't donate, we're going to need a lot of blood out of Mr. Luke tonight."

A few of them looked worried as John walked back up to the counter, "Here you are. I hope that everything is in order."

Dr. Paradis punched John Luke's name back up, and after a few calculations "We're going to need 3 and a half pints of blood out of you tonight, Mr. Luke."

John's eyes widened "That much?"

Dr. Paradis nodded, "I'm afraid so. As I was telling your friends, we have a shortage of blood this Hospital. Thankfully, we have the Zombies set to eat our corpses that can't afford funerals and Werewolves can eat any meat that's raw so we only need blood from living humans."

John assessed his situation, silently concluding that they would need more from him if he just waited to donate on his regular night.

"OK, I consent." he replied, almost in a mumble.

Dr. Paradis nodded, "Very well. Your friends can wait out here while I take your blood."

They nodded as John and Dr. Paradis walked into the transfusion room where Amanda was last night.

Song to put on: Alice In Chains – Bleed The Freak

"Please get onto the table and strap yourself to it. It will immobilize you so that you can donate more...smoothly."

John nodded and followed the instructions, as he knew this to be standard procedure.

"There was this band I was in back home, in Quebec. Have you ever been to Quebec, Mr. Luke?"

"I'm afraid not. Not a lot of call for Professors of Paranormal Sciences who don't speak French in Quebec. I had to crash course my way through the Slavic language family just to learn Czech before I moved here." answered John. He was a little awkward in his answer, as most doctors did tend to make small talk when he was donating, just not this personal unless a prior professional relationship was already in place.

"No, I suppose not." she replied as she tied a rubber tourniquet around John's right arm. "Make a fist for me please, Mr. Luke."

John obliged, and after a moment or two of finding the right vein, a needle punctured his arm. Part of the needle detached and a tube came into John's field of view. The tube was connected to a large measuring jar and began collecting.

"You guys took him away from us." she whispered.

"What on earth are you talking about?" he asked, beginning to question the sanity of Dr. Paradis as the blood in the jar reached 1 pint.

"3 years ago, we forced him to choose between us and you guys. He chose you guys. Were you not aware of his...enemies?"

John scrambled his memory as the blood reached 2 pints.

"Lady, I swear to god. I have no clue as to who or what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that crap. We preyed on the easily manipulated to become fans of our music, his loyalty to all of you is what broke up our cult in Quebec."

John took 1 wild shot in the dark as the jar reached 3 pints "If you're talking about Aaron Collins, you've got the wrong world. Storage Wars doesn't even exist here as a show. I wish it did though, I think auctioneering is actually my true calling." he said in obvious panic.

Dr. Paradis took a moment to consider that statement, but shook her head "In every world, he chooses you over us."

John's sense of blunt, New York attitude kicked in "Then don't you think that you guys are the problem?"

Dr. Paradis laughed "I was only going to take 4 pints, but with that attitude, I'm taking 5. You might survive, you might not. Complain to anyone you want, doctors have diplomatic immunity...among other special privileges. Try to stop the donation early, and I complain to the city and you'll be...quietly turned into food for the Zombies."

She then placed a scalpel to John's throat so that he wouldn't try to break free.

"4...4 and a quarter...serves that son of a bitch right for making me the killer in suspects."

Dr. Paradis then put her hand over John's mouth to keep him from screaming.

"4 and a half...4 and three-quarters...OK, time to stop."

Dr. Paradis then took the tube out, placed a cotton ball on the puncture wound, taping it in place.

"I'll unrestrain you in a few minutes...let you think about Aaron's mistakes that you're now paying for."

It was common for donors to be a little light headed, but John was having an out of body experience. He saw people in a circus that he thought that he knew, but didn't. Then he saw a game of whirlyball being played with still others that he thought that he knew...then came a grey haired gentleman that Aaron described to him during the writing of the mixed poker book.

"John...you're going to be alright." said the hallucination, then he envisioned a younger man with a rough exterior who he knew was a hustler and 2 women in their 30's who liked driving yellow vans. The hallucinations repeated for a few minutes, and when he came to, he had no idea as to when he was unrestrained. He stormed out of there, heading back to the waiting room, not seeing the doctor, just his friends...

...only they seemed to be hallucinating as well. Amy saw 2 girls from her country, but the country's name was different in each one: "Hello Mary and Miriam". Chiara saw a young man known to be the love of her life "Fabio, I wish that you weren't back home". Heather saw several people that she knew, namely, an Australian, 2 Americans and a Canadian that she saw quite fondly "Julie, Holly, Jess and Laura...where are you in my world?". Adam saw a schoolmate from back home (or at least, a home on another world) and said "Hi Melinda". Dan saw a beautiful blond, that he knew was named Laura and liked to be paid. Mom and Jen shared a hallucination, an Asian gentleman with black hair..."If only you were here, Isaac. We could certainly use you."

The hallucinations stopped as John got closer to them, "We have to go...NOW!"

They agreed, not knowing that the Skull Girl kept seeing a man with a KFC bucket on his head (and a mask on his face), and a man who loved his hammer as she kept watch outside.

Chapter 5: An Ethic Feeding Frenzy

Song to put on: Carcass – Keep on Rotting in the free world

It doesn't matter which of the 7 changed one would focus on from chapters previous that are not the Skull Girl (who is technically still a human), for they were all heading for the hospital (even though most of them didn't have to feed tonight) when they began seeing people that they were supposed to know (or know of) but didn't, at least on this world.

Allan saw his long lost mother (happy that there was some version of her that wasn't changed and didn't survive) and an assertive young man in his mid-30's (Allan whispered a guess, "Thom?") while heading for the rear of the hospital of the undead, once again running into Justin.

"Evening Mr. Welsh, going to volunteer at the hospital like me?"

Justin was completely confused, but replied "Why not? I was given the night off anyway due to some kind of inspection where I work. I'm...sorry, I could've sworn that I just hallucinated who I believe to be my fiance on some worlds, and a mutual friend on others."

"You mean the hairdresser and the undertaker from Film-Tier? You saw Krystal and James?" asked Allan eagerly.

"Yeah, I know it sounds crazy but..." started Justin.

"Not at all, I just saw my mom...oh...the saloon owner from Film-Tier and that childhood friend of Aaron's who didn't show up in his stories until the mixed poker book. He's about your height, from Asia..." continued Allan.

"You mean Thom?" came a voice behind them.

There stood Ricky, who recalled them both from his copy of Suspects.

"Yes sir." answered Allan with a nod of respect. Justin added in a nod of his own.

"Well, I make 3 as I just blacked out seeing someone I think is my wife somewhere else in the verse and a fellow Vampire back home who rivalled me in the antiquing and picking circles. He liked wearing black and whistling to make his bids and...RUDY! That's his name."

Just as Ricky pumped his fist in the air in excitement upon remembering Rudy, the owner of Media Maddness approached them, slowly. They immediately stopped talking upon seeing her...

"There's...others from the Aaronverse here? I thought that I was the only one." she asked them apprehensively. Ricky, Allan and Justin nodded. Maddie burst into tears, "I know Aaron too, but not all that well. And as he tells me, I don't many of you across the whole verse. And up until now, I didn't really know anyone on this world that also knew him."

Ricky and Allan both looked at Justin, as if on instinct. Something inside them told them that Justin knows Aaron the longest between the 3 of them, and were looking to him as to how to proceed with Maddie. Justin walked towards Maddie, making sure to stop halfway between her and Allan/Ricky.

"Do you know how you know Aaron on worlds other than this one and Aaronworld-Prime?" he asked.

Maddie wiped away the tears and nodded "Yes sir. He finds me on YouTube across more than half of the worlds where I'm alive and not one of his doctors in that hospital in Colorado...which is where I'm from across most of the Aaronverse, incidentally."

When you're a changed, you can detect the necessary changes a human or another changed has inside of them when they're lying...

...Justin knew that Maddie was telling the truth.

"You have no enemies here, come on." whispered Justin as he waved her to follow him back to where Ricky and Allan were standing.

"So...You're the guy who basically spilled out the killer in suspects and found Troy Aikman cards in a locker in Storage Wars: Texas Republic?" asked Maddie as she pointed at Ricky, who nodded.

"And we're the doctor and the gambler in the vodka western, respectively. Oh, and I toured Mexico in a world where hydroelectric power powered everything." announced Justin.

"I guess this is my debut in the Aaronverse or something." remarked Maddie.

"Assuming that it is your debut and that you really are this obscure on other Aaronworlds, whoever you saw must have been total strangers to you." spoke Allan.

Maddie nodded, remembering them vividly "2 girls, both about my age. 1 is autistic like Aaron and she just messed up her shoulder at the circus. The other plays for the U.S. whirlyball team and has a penchant for dice. They just waved at me and said that their names were Olivia and Dani."

Ricky, Allan and Justin merely shrugged, not knowing who either of them were (although Allan silently thought that maybe another version of his mom and Thom knew who Dani might be on some level).

"Oh how cute, we have a new Aaronverser in our midst and it's the photo shop girl."

Allan was the first to recognize the tiny blonde walking towards them. It was Tara, who sometimes saw each of the others if their "Feeding" schedules co-ordinated at the hospital.

"Hey Tara, did you...uh...see anyone?" asked Ricky.

"Just my parents. I don't even know where they are on this world. Hey wait a minute, who's watching the store if you're here?" she asked Maddie.

"If I don't get a customer in the first 2 hours of the sunset shift, I close shop. It's not worth keeping the lights on all night if no one's coming in." Maddie replied as someone appeared instantly. Someone who startled all of them, except Ricky.

"Vampires don't change the changed, under penalty of death. Right, Amanda?"

Amanda nodded, then softly said "I just saw my long lost friend Melinda in a...night dream is what I guess you would call it. Did any of you see echoes of friends and family from other places?"

Everyone nodded as they began walking towards the rear entrance of the hospital as a group, then Allan spoke up "OK, so Justin and I were going to volunteer at the hospital tonight, what about everyone else?"

"I was hoping to go on a pub crawl but I don't mind helping out my formerly fellow humans." answered Tara.

"I was actually heading home when the hallucinations started, then I overheard Allan, Justin and Ricky." added Maddie.

"I...was going to offer bodyguard services to the humans who got stuck here. Or get laid, either way." replied Amanda.

"Same here, minus the getting laid part." added Ricky while staring at Amanda awkwardly.

"So none of us actually need to feed tonight?" asked Allan, 5 heads shook.

"I do...blood and corpses together, just how a double changed likes them." came a woman's voice from a nearby alleyway.

"Oh shit, it's the Zompire." said Tara, completely terrified.

"I have a name, you know. It's Tamara, and I saw shit too: Jess, Jason and Laura. The first 2 were fighting in bumper cars and the other took a cannonball to the belly.

"We're here, looks like the blonde doctor is on her cell phone." observed Amanda. It was rude to eavesdrop but the respective werewolves of the group (Justin and Maddie, even thought they looked human) couldn't help themselves, and they both heard the same thing:

"Yeah I tapped that teacher from New York. I took 5 pints out of that son of a bitch, that should go well with the increasing number of 'accidental' deaths in Prague for the last 4 months. Seriously, all non-doctor humans are a glorified assembly line."

Maddie was mouthing the words as she heard them, and all of the non-werewolves were reading their lips, much to their horror.

"Oh my god, this is horrible." announced Maddie. Everyone agreed.

"Humans have the right to live just as much as we do. Fuck, we used to be humans too." replied Amanda.

"We've got to warn them." said Justin assertively.

"How? The humans don't listen to us." answered Tara.

"We're just second class citizens to them." added Allan.

"At best." responded Ricky.

"I've got a way...it's a long shot but I have the best chance as Zompires have the loudest shouting range." announced Tamara.

"Go for it, everyone cover your ears." exclaimed Justin. They did as ordered as Tamara took a deep breath:

"UNDER ARTICLE 7 OF THE CITY OF PRAGUE HUMAN-CHANGED LEGISLATION ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR 1716, I FORMALLY REQUEST A TRUCE AND COUNSEL WITH THE ENTITY KNOWN AS THE SKULL GIRL AS SHE IS LIKELY THE NEAREST DEPUTIZED POLICE OFFICER IN RELATION TO MY VOICE!."

Skull Girl emerged from the roof of the hospital as Dr. Paradis ran back inside upon seeing her. She floated down to the group of the changed.

"Your request is granted, Mrs. Costa. Speak freely, but quickly."

"The doctor is taking liberties with human donors, and some of the deaths in the city over the last few months weren't accidents."

Skull girl needed a moment, then nodded "I know about the doctor. I escorted a group of humans and the doctor nearly killed 1, a Professor Luke."

"John? Shit, he's a good man. I've done business with him in the past" said Ricky in a rare moment of anger.

"Will he be OK?" asked Tara.

"Should be. His group are taking him to one of the non-changed hospitals on the other side of the Vitava river right now (ironically, for a blood transfusion). I stayed behind, to see if I could...circumvent the local law. See, I actually have to see a Doctor break the law outside of hospital property before their diplomatic immunity becomes null and void. So far, nothing. This is definitely being brought up at the legislation ceremony in a few days. I'm sorry guys, but If I break the law, then I'm the one who gets killed."

"Can you at least warn the humans? They don't deserve to be treated like this." asked Amanda.

"Of course, but I request something in return." answered the Skull Girl.

"Anything." said Allan on impulse.

Skull Girl needed a moment in order to articulate her request, and what needed to be said after that "Take me to a Badacey game tonight, something tells me that tonight is going to be a slow night for me and my city patrols. Oh and Mrs. Costa, as I know that you're scheduled to feed tonight anyway, there's 2 dead Vampires out at the front of the hospital who tried to rape a human friend of mine, could you please clean up my mess?"

Tamara licked her lips and ran to the Vampire corpses, even the other changed were grossed out by how she devoured them.

Chapter 6: Mixed Lows behind the Iron Curtain Part 2

They were walking South along Josefska, a small side street in the Mala Strana district. Amanda was in the lead of the pack, Skull Girl was bringing up the rear and the other 6 were bunched together in the middle. Various dregs of society (humans and the changed alike) were staring at them, but not approaching.

"Jesus, how scared of us are they?" asked Allan.

"They're not scared of you guys." whispered the Skull Girl.

"Where exactly are we going? Not many places spread badacey inside their walls, and that includes the local casinos." offered Ricky.

"We're going to the Blue Light club. It's literally the only place in Prague with English speaking staff that is OK with starting a game of badacey AND that accommodates the changed in a quiet setting. It's actually more of a social club as opposed to a pub or a dance club. But it's very exclusive so I'll do the talking for us." replied Amanda.

They arrived at the Blue Light (which was lit in flickering blue neon), with everyone getting behind Amanda and making an effort to remain silent. Amanda paused for a moment in order to remember a specific knock, as if it was assigned to her. Shortly after she began knocking on the door, some of the older members of the group thought that the knocking resembled a beat from swing music. A small steel trap door opened, and none of the changed could make out the physical features of the man who began speaking in a deep, baritone voice:

"5 otázek jako test odvahy, první: českém, slovenském nebo anglickém jazyce? (5 questions as a test of valour, first: Czech, Slovak or English?)"

"anglicky, prosím (English, please)" replied Amanda.

"Secondly, what is your name?"

"Amanda Williams"

"Thirdly, what is your number of guests?"

"Trick question, sir. For I hope that all 8 of us are your guests"

"Fourth, what is the full legal name on the birth certificate of the legendary Jazz musician Duke Ellington?"

"Edward Kennedy Ellington"

"Very good. Lastly, name the album released in 1961 that chronicled the only studio recording session between Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong."

"Another trick question sir, for there were actually 2: Together for the first time and The great reunion."

The door opened.

Song to put on: Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong – Do Nothin' till you hear from me

"Wow, that was almost as epic as that Heather chick's password scene in Warful of Seoul." whispered Justin, who then grew confused as to why the Skull Girl was suddenly chuckling to herself. The Blue Light was only sparsely lit inside (as the changed always preferred the darkness). Still, everyone took notice of the vintage jazz posters, records, old photographs and decades of wall graffiti.

"The young one will have to check in her bow and arrows, as well as wear a wristband so that nobody accidentally serves her alcohol."

Skull Girl nodded, detached the CO2 tank and handed everything over to a bouncer who was wearing a black Zoot Suit.

"I expect that back, I know how many arrows are in that bag and how full the tank is." stated the Skull Girl.

The doorman nodded at her as he wrapped a bright orange wristband around her wrist "Of course. We know of your...dealing with those who choose to ignore the laws of our fine town and we appreciate it. You are all welcome here, Miss Williams, please state the nature of your visit."

"Limit Badacey, standard Las Vegas rules, 1 room, 2 tables that can seat up to 6 people each and if possible, a private dealer or 2. I believe that I have a credit on my tab from a week ago in exchange for some editing of sheet music that I did for you."

The doorman looked behind him to a shorter gentleman (also in a zoot suit) that nodded and held up all 10 fingers 4 separate times.

"You do indeed, with some left over. The one who just held his fingers up will show you to a room."

They turned their attention to a narrow corridor and followed the finger man all the way to a room in the back on the left hand side. He unlocked the door via an electronic key in the shape and appearance of a white, blank credit card and motioned them to walk inside. It was decorated identically to the rest of the club (with a dozen folding metal chairs), and the finger man spoke: "Please wait here for your tables and dealers." before taking his leave, closing the door behind him. The same jazz music in the main club played in this room, but not at a volume to prevent conversation.

"This place is amazing." exclaimed Tara.

"A nice change from the raves and traditional pubs, I must say." added Tamara.

Maddie stared at these 7 who she only met 2 hours prior, and she smiled, happy to be in the Aaronverse. Then reality set in: "So I'm 1 of Aaron's more normal friends, aren't I?" she asked, with only a sea full of nods as the finger man returned with 2 different men (each of them wearing a white dress shirt, black tie and black pants), each carrying a 6-sided Oak table.

"These are Phil and Daniel, your 2 dealers. They'll take care of you for the rest of the evening."

Phil and Daniel got to work setting up the tables and chairs, saying nothing as both of them opened small drawers on some of the table's sides, which contained poker chips. After 4 seats per table were set up, they each took decks out of their shirt pockets and Phil began talking as both of them shuffled the cards repeatedly:

"Badacey is a combination of Badugi poker and ace to five triple draw, and uses hand values identical to lowball. The pot in each hand is split between the best Badugi hand and the best Ace-5 triple draw hand. Aces go low for both halves, so plan your strategy accordingly"

Daniel realized that he probably had to break things down even further as it was entirely possible that the Skull Girl (and a few of the other players for that matter) didn't know how to play poker at all. He continued where Phil left off "Play begins with each player being dealt 5 cards face down. Each player may observe those 5 cards that they're dealt, but not the cards dealt to other players. The hand begins with a pre-draw betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind..."

"...That's the bigger of the 2 forced bets in the hand, right?" asked Tara. Daniel nodded and continued "Play then continues clockwise. Each player must either call the amount of the big blind, fold, or raise. Betting in Badacey is strict limit with the first 2 betting levels meaning that you can only call, bet or raise the value of the big blind, whereas it doubles in the last 2 betting rounds. When all players have wagered the same amount of money into the pot or folded, play proceeds to the drawing rounds."

"Is the triple draw aspect of the game the reason why there is only 6 players to a table?" asked Maddie. Daniel nodded and continued "Starting with the first player left of the dealer who is still playing the hand, players can then discard up to a maximum of three cards and draw an equal number of replacement cards. The discarded cards will no longer be used in play for the remainder of the hand. There is a betting round after each of the 3 drawing rounds, followed by a showdown if there are still 2 or more players in the hand."

"How much to play? And please go easy on us as I am technically a child." asked Skull Girl. Daniel nodded, sympathetic to their budgets and replied "100 Koruna is the stakes. And with 8 of you, 600 Koruna will go to the winner while 2nd place takes 200."

"And how do we determine the seating arrangements and when the blind levels go up?" asked Tamara as everyone handed over their money (Skull Girl was the only one who didn't have a money clip, but an envelope in her jeans pocket labelled "Allowance"). Phil elected to answer Tamara's questions in reverse order as he began splashing the cards across the table face down "The blind levels go up each time someone gets eliminated. Seating is determined by each of you pulling a card from this pile with the highest card getting the button at table 1, the 2nd hardest getting the button on table 2, the 3rd highest getting the small blind at table 1 and so on. Let's pull..."

Amanda pulled a King of Spades, Tamara pulled a Queen of Spades, Skull Girl pulled a Jack of Clubs (and whispering "Uh oh" as she might have just accidentally secured the role of either the Small Blind or the Big Blind at 1 of the tables), Justin pulling the 9 of Hearts, Maddie pulling the 7 of Spades, Tara pulling the 5 of Spades, Ricky pulling the 5 of Clubs and Allan pulling the 4 of Hearts. Seating went as follows as Daniel handed all of them name tags and felt pens to write their names with:

Table 1: Amanda, Skull Girl, Maddie, Ricky

Table 2: Tamara, Justin, Tara, Allan

There was 1 rack of 100 White poker chips for each seat. Everyone took their seats, filled out their name tags and began playing, but not before Phil announced "One last thing. House rule: The first eliminated who has to starve themselves from their next nightly feedings."

Skull Girl, Justin and Maddie laughed as they all ate regular food unless there was a full moon (in Justin's and Maddie's cases). But Phil grinned and continued "Werewolves have to starve themselves on the next full moon, and you my little Skull Girl...WON'T be getting your weapon back if you're out first."

The Skull Girl and the 7 changed around her gulped.

Level 1, Table 1 = 1-2 Blinds, 2-4 Limits

Hand #1 began with Ricky quietly folding the King of Spades, the 7 of Hearts, the 7 of Clubs and the 6/2 of Diamonds from under the gun, Amanda announcing "I raise to 4" from the Button with the Ace of Hearts, the Queen/9 of Spades, the 6 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds, Skull Girl quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace/4 of Spades, the 7 of Diamonds, the 4 of Hearts and the 4 of Spades while Maddie announced "I fold" from the Big Blind with the Queen/5/3/2 of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds.

"You have the first draw, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"Just the 1 card, please" she replied as she pitched the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Amanda as she pitched the Queen/9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts and the 10 of Diamonds in exchange.

"You have the betting option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"I...pass. Is pass an acceptable word in this game?" asked Skull Girl.

"Yes, Check and Pass in poker both mean the same thing." replied Phil.

"I Check." replied Amanda.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Skull Girl."

"Hmm...I'm OK, I won't be needing any more cards. Oh right, I stand pat." announced the Skull Girl, much to the shock of everyone else at the table and the table next to them.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Amanda as she pitched the Jack of Hearts and the 10 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8/6 of Spades in exchange.

"You have the betting option, Skull Girl." announced Phil.

"I Check" replied the Skull Girl. Amanda went into the tank, thinking:

"I think the little kid is trying to set up a check-raise. Well, that little sneak is not going to induce a bet out of me"

"I check" whispered Amanda.

"With Skull Girl having stood pat, Amanda has the sole last draw." announced Phil.

"I just want 1 card, please." she replied as she pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving a 9 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"I check." she replied. Amanda knocked the table 3 times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards, ladies. Please declare your hands by your Badugi first, then your Ace-5 lowball hand second. I will settle ties and mistakes and Skull Girl goes first." announced Phil.

"I have a 7 Badugi, and a 7 Low." replied the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"Beats both my 8 Badugi and my 9 Low. You scoop both halves of the pot, Skull Girl." responded Amanda as she tossed her cards into the muck. Phil pushed the pot of 10 over to Skull Girl as she had the smallest reach out of all the players.

"Do straights and flushes count against you in this game like in the Badeucy game that the humans like to play?" asked Maddie.

Phil cleared his throat before speaking "Flushes sort of do as half of the pot is for Badugi and Badugi is based on getting all 4 suits although if you wanted to be stupid and only go for the Ace-5 half then no. Straights most assuredly do not count against you in either half so if you had the Ace-2-3-4-5 straight and the Ace-2-3-4 were all of completely different suits, you are guaranteed to scoop both halves of the pot short of someone tying you."

"Nice hand, kid." said Ricky as he tipped his hat at her. Underneath the skull mask, she blushed.

Hand #2 began with Amanda quietly folding the King/10 of Diamonds, the King of Hearts, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs from under the gun, Skull Girl announcing "I raise to 4" from the Button with the 6/2 of Clubs, the 5/2 of Hearts and the 2 of Diamonds, Maddie quietly called from the Small Blind with the Jack/7 of Diamonds, the 6 of Hearts, the 5 of Spades and the 4 of Clubs while Ricky announced "Not worth defending the Big Blind, I'm out." as he folded the Ace/7 of Clubs, the 10/7 of Hearts and the 9 of Diamonds.

"You have the first draw, Maddie." announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 2's of Hearts and Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"You have the betting option, Maddie" announced Phil.

"I check" replied Maddie.

"I Pass" added the Skull Girl.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Maddie"

Maddie looked at her 8 high straight and knew that her Badugi might be OK but her Ace-5 lowball hand was weak, so she quietly pitched the 8 of Clubs into the discard pile without saying a word, receiving an Ace of Spades in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" whispered the Skull Girl as she pitched the 5's of Hearts and Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Maddie." announced Phil.

"I check" replied Maddie.

"I check too" added the Skull Girl.

"You have the third drawing option, Maddie" announced Phil.

"I stand pat." she replied.

"I'll take 1 more card, please" declared Skull Girl as she pitched the 4 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Maddie" announced Phil.

"I check" replied Maddie. Skull Girl knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Time to show your cards, ladies" announced Phil.

"7 Badugi, 7 Low" replied Maddie as she turned her cards face up.

"I have the same" answered the Skull Girl as she turned her hand face up. Phil briefly analyzed the hands before making his ruling verbally "The third highest cards for both the Badugi half and the Ace-5 half are lower in rank in Skull Girl's hand as opposed to Maddie's and as this is a lowball game, the Skull Girl scoops both halves of the pot."

Skull Girl and Maddie both nodded as Skull Girl collected her 2nd pot of 10 in a row.

"That was close" stated Ricky.

"You think?" asked Amanda sarcastically.

Hand #3 began with the Skull Girl quietly calling from under the gun with the 10/7 of Diamonds, the 4 of Hearts, the 3 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs, Maddie announcing "I call" from the Button with the Ace/King/3 of Hearts, the 5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades, Ricky quietly putting in 1 more chip from the Small Blind with the 9 of Diamonds, the 6/2 of Hearts, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs while Amanda laughed slightly and announced "Sure, why not? I check, family hands are fun" from the Big Blind with the 10/7 of Hearts, the 6/4 of Clubs and the 5 of Spades.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"OK, I'll take 2 cards, please." he replied as he pitched the 9 of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here, 2 cards please" added Amanda as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/9 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 10 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards, please" added Maddie as she pitched the King/3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Diamonds and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he announced. Amanda, Skull Girl and Maddie each knocked the table three times in turn to indicate silent checks.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Diamonds in exchange.

"Still 2 cards for me, please" replied Amanda as she pitched the Queen/9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 10/7 of Clubs in exchange.

"I stand pat" stated the Skull Girl.

"And 2 cards for me, please." finished Maddie as she pitched the King of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/7 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he announced. Amanda, Skull Girl and Maddie each knocked the table twice in turn to indicate silent checks.

"Last draw, Ricky." announced Phil.

"Just 1 card, please." he replied as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Amanda as she pitched the 10/7 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Spades and the Queen of Hearts in exchange.

"And since Skull Girl stood pat, I'll take 2 cards, please" said Maddie as she pitched the Jack/7 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he announced.

"I check" replied Amanda.

"I check" added Skull Girl.

"I check" finished Maddie.

"Time to show your cards, everyone." announced Phil.

"6 Badugi, Pair of Aces for Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"No Badugi but a 7 Tri, Queen Low." declared Amanda, hoping for a small miracle as she turned her cards face up, hoping that her Queen Low was good enough for half.

"7 Badugi, 8 Low" announced the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"Take it, you guys beat my King Badugi and pair of 5's for low." replied Maddie as she tossed her hand into the muck. Phil analyzed the 3 hands that were still face up before announcing "Ricky wins the Badugi half of the pot, while the Skull Girl wins the Ace-5 lowball half of the pot."

Phil split the pot into 2 piles of 4, giving 1 half to Ricky and the other half to the Skull Girl.

"At least the kid didn't scoop again." lamented Maddie.

"Agreed, but she and the cowboy vampire still averaged a profit." countered Amanda.

Hand #4 began with Maddie announcing "I raise to 4" from under the gun with the Ace of Diamonds, the 10 of Hearts, the 9/3 of Spades and the 6 of Clubs, Ricky quietly calling from the Button with the Ace of Spades, the Queen/2 of Clubs, the 7 of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts, Amanda quietly folding from the Small Blind with the Ace/8 of Clubs, the Queen/9 of Hearts and the 5 of Diamonds and the Skull Girl announcing "No thanks, I'll sit this one out" as she folded the King of Spades, the 10/3 of Clubs, the 10 of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Maddie." announced Phil.

"2 cards please" she replied as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jacks of Hearts and Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please." replied Ricky as he pitched the Queen of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and the 5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Maddie." announced Phil.

"2" she announced, Ricky quietly called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Maddie." announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Maddie as she pitched both of her Jacks of Hearts and Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the King of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" added Ricky as he pitched the Ace of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Maddie" announced Phil.

"4" she announced. Ricky silently raised, and the re-raising continued until Maddie was all-in.

"Please do not turn your cards face up yet as there is still 1 more draw phase. You go first, Maddie" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Maddie as she pitched the King of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"I stand pat." announced Ricky.

"Time to show your cards" announced Phil.

"6 Badugi, King Low" announced Maddie nervously as she turned her cards face up, hoping that her Badugi at least got her half of the pot.

"5 Badugi, 7 Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up. Phil assisted Ricky in getting the pot of 99 shipped over to him as Maddie stood up to say her goodbyes.

"Well played, Ricky." she said.

"Thank you, you're not so bad yourself" he replied.

"You're leaving?" asked Amanda.

"Yeah, I think I'll get a drink at the bar and be on my way." she replied.

"No one busted out at table 2 so you're starving on the next full moon." reminded from the Skull Girl.

"And we deal with the hospitals all the time, so don't try to sneak an appointment under another name." warned Phil.

"Oh I won't, I'll just eat a lot during the day." replied Maddie.

"That won't work. Here, you'll probably need this." announced Tamara from the other table as she walked up to Maddie and handed her a business card.

"Costa's Potions, specializing in appetite suppression of the changed." read Maddie out loud, only replying "Thank you" to Tamara before taking her leave.

Chip Stacks for Table 1: Ricky – 195, Skull Girl – 112, Amanda – 93

Level 2, Table 2 = 2-4 Blinds, 4-8 Limits. Chip stacks for Table 2: Justin – 103, Allan – 100, Tara – 100, Tamara – 97

Hand #1 began with Allan announcing "I raise to 8" from under the gun with the Ace/5 of Hearts, the Queen/2 of Clubs and the 5 of Spades, Tamara quietly folding the 8/7/4 of Hearts, the 8 of Spades and the 8 of Clubs from the Button (trying not to laugh at being dealt three 8's in a lowball), Justin mumbling "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace/9 of Spades, the King/4 of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts while Tara quietly folded the Ace/5/3 of Clubs and the Jack/4 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Justin" announced Daniel.

"2 cards for me, please" replied Justin as he pitched the King of Clubs and the 9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/10 of Hearts in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please" added Allan as he pitched the Queen of Clubs and the 5 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9's of Diamonds and Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin." announced Daniel.

"I check" replied Justin. Allan knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Justin"

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Jack/10 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same here, please" announced Allan as he pitched both of his 9's of Diamonds and Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Spades and the 4 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" announced Daniel.

"Check" he replied.

"I check." added Allan.

"Last draw, Justin" announced Daniel.

"Still need 2 cards, please" he replied as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

"I just need 1 card this time, please" stated Allan as he pitched the King of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" announced Daniel.

"I check" replied Justin, Allan just made a check sign in the air with his right index finger.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen." announced Daniel.

"Jack Badugi, King Low." replied Justin as he turned his hand face up.

"5 Badugi, Jack Low" countered Allan as he turned his cards face up. Daniel nodded and shoved the pot of 20 over to Allan.

"That was a wild variance between your Badugi and your 5-card low" offered Tara.

"Agreed, they're normally that much closer together, or even identical in rank." added Tamara.

Hand #2 began with Tamara quietly folding the King of Clubs, the 8 of Diamonds and the 7/5/4 of Spades from under the gun, Justin announcing "I fold" from the Button with the King/Queen of Diamonds, the Queen/2 of Spades and the 7 of Clubs, Tara quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 10 of Hearts, the 9/4 of Diamonds, the 6 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs while Allan knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace/9/2 of Spades, the Ace of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs.

"You have the first draw, Tara" announced Daniel.

"2 cards, please" she replied as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the King of Spades and the 6 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same here, please" stated Allan as he pitched the Ace/9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack/5 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" announced Daniel.

"I check" she replied. Allan knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Tara" announced Daniel.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the King of Spades and the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9/5 of Hearts in exchange.

"2 more for me as well, please" said Allan as he pitched the Jack/5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6/4 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" announced Daniel.

"I check." she replied. Allan made a check sign with his right index finger.

"Last draw. You go first, Tara" announced Daniel

"I stand pat, actually" replied Tara.

"I still need 2 cards, please" replied Allan as he pitched the 6/4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds and the 9 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" announced Daniel.

"I check" she replied. Allan went into the tank, thinking:

"She's got me beat on both halves and is slow-playing"

"I check as well" added Allan.

"Time to show your cards" declared Daniel.

"6 Badugi, 9 Low" announced Tara as she turned her cards face up.

"Take it. I only have Jack Badugi and King Low" replied Allan as he threw his hand into the muck. Tara smiled as she raked in her pot of 8.

"Nice hand" mumbled Justin.

"I hope that Maddie girl gets home safely." added Tamara.

Hand #3 began with Justin announcing "I raise to 8" from under the gun with the King/6 of Spades, the 7 of Diamonds, the 5 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts, Tara quietly folding the King/5 of Hearts, the 5 of Spades, the 4 of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs from the Button (hating being dealt 2 pair), Allan quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace/Jack of Hearts, the 6/2 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds while Tamara declaring "Not worth defending, I'm out" as she folded the Ace/Queen of Clubs, the Ace of Spades, the Ace of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts (pissed that she was dealt a three of a kind for the second consecutive hand).

"You have the first draw, Allan" announced Daniel.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Jack of Hearts and the 6 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Hearts and the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the King of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Daniel.

"I check" he replied. Justin knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Allan" announced Daniel.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"I'll take 1 more card, please" countered Justin as he pitched the Jack of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Daniel.

"I check" replied Allan.

"I check" replied Justin.

"As Allan stood pat in the last draw phase, Justin, you have the sole drawing option this time" announced Daniel.

"OK, Just give me 1 more card and we're done" he replied as he pitched the King of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Daniel.

"I check" he replied.

"I check too" added Justin.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen" announced Daniel.

"5 Badugi, 9 Low" declared Allan as he turned his cards face up.

"Take it. You beat my 7 Badugi and my pair of 6's for low" replied Justin as he tossed his cards into the muck. Allan smiled as he raked in his pot of 20.

"Ouch. 7 Badugi's are usually good enough for half" declared Tamara.

"Not this time" countered Tara.

Hand #4 began with Tara quietly folding the Queen/7 of Diamonds and the 9/6/4 of Spades from under the gun, Allan announcing "I raise to 8" with the Jack/6 of Clubs, the 9 of Diamonds, the 7 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts from the Button, Tamara quietly calling from the Small Blind with the King/2 of Diamonds, the 6/3 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs while Justin announced "Not worth defending, I fold" as he folded the Queen/Jack of Hearts, the 10 of Clubs and the 5/2 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Tamara." announced Daniel.

"2 cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the King of Diamonds and the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please." stated Allan as he pitched the Jack of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tamara." announced Daniel.

"4" she replied, Allan silently called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Tamara." announced Daniel.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Tamara as she pitched the 5 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/8 of Hearts in exchange.

"1 more card for me, please" stated Allan as he pitched the Queen of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tamara" announced Daniel.

"8" replied Tamara.

"I raise to 16" countered Allan. The re-raising continued until Tamara was all-in.

"Do not turn your cards face up as there is still 1 more drawing phase. Tamara, you go first." announced Daniel.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Ace/8 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 8/2 of Clubs in exchange.

"I stand pat." declared Allan.

"OK, with Tamara already all-in, time to show your cards." announced Daniel.

"No Badugi but I have a 3-High Tri and a pair of 2's for Low." replied Tamara nervously as she turned her cards face up, hoping to at least get the Ace-5 Lowball half.

"My 9 Badugi and 9 Low scoop both halves of the pot." countered Allan as he turned his cards face up. Tamara nodded, got up and began saying her goodbyes.

"Great hand Allan." she whispered while shaking his hand.

"Thank you" he replied as he began raking in his pot of 105.

"Farewell Justin and Tara, see you both around." continued Tamara. They waved goodbye Tamara whispered "Now to drown my sorrows before I go home."

Phil and Daniel exchanged nods before Phil waved in Daniel to come to table 1.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final table" began Phil as Daniel began shuffling 1 of the decks of cards. "Daniel will now deal 1 card face up to each of you in order to re-assign seats. Seat 1 gets the Button, Seat 2 gets the Small Blind, Seat 3 gets the Big Blind and so on"

Daniel dealt Amanda an Ace of Clubs, Skull Girl the 2 of Diamonds, Ricky the 10 of Diamonds, Justin the Jack of Clubs, Tara the 2 of Hearts and Allan the Queen of Clubs. The final table and chip stacks looked like this:

Seat 1: Amanda – 97

Seat 2: Allan – 217

Seat 3: Justin – 83

Seat 4: Ricky – 185

Seat 5: Tara – 100

Seat 6: Skull Girl – 118

Daniel then announced "Due to these tables not being 7-sided, you guys will have to deal for yourselves until 1 of you is eliminated. May we bring something to drink or eat while we wait to have our job back?"

"Pig's blood, the warmer the better, please" asked Amanda.

"Make it 2" replied Ricky.

"Half litre of Heineken, please" asked Justin.

"Same as him" replied Allan while pointing at Justin.

"Vodka and Cranberry Juice, please" asked Tara.

"And what can we get for you, Miss Skull Girl as you're too young for alcohol?" asked Phil.

Skull Girl touched her chin with her right index finger, deep in thought "Well, it's a North American drink but can they make the Shirley Temple here?"

"I remember how to make it from my time in Wisconsin" replied Phil as he nodded. Both he and Daniel left the room, locking the room behind them.

Level 3, Final Table = 3-6 Blinds, 6-12 Limits

Hand #1 began with Ricky quietly folding the Ace/10/7/6 of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds from under the gun, Tara announcing "I raise to 12" with the Jack of Spades, the 9/7 of Hearts, the 4 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds, Skull Girl quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the 10/2 of Spades, the 7/4 of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs, Amanda announcing "I fold" from the Button with the Ace/King of Diamonds, the Ace of Spades and the Queen/10 of Hearts, Allan quietly folding the Jack of Clubs, the 10 of Diamonds, the 9/7 of Spades and the 3 of Hearts from the Small Blind while Justin mumbled "Not even worth defending, I'm out" as he folded the Jack of Diamonds, the 4 of Spades, the 4 of Hearts and the 3/2 of Clubs from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Tara." whispered Amanda.

"2 cards, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack of Spades and the 9 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 8/5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 10 of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Spades and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara." announced Allan.

"I check" she replied. Skull Girl knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Tara" announced Justin.

"I still need 2 cards, please." she replied as she pitched the 8/5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts and the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me this time, please." asked the Skull Girl as she pitched the 5 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" whispered Ricky.

"I check" she replied.

"I check too" replied the Skull Girl.

"You start the third draw, Tara" announced Amanda.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat" announced the Skull Girl.

"Your betting option, Tara" announced Allan.

Tara went into the tank, thinking:

"Damn, she's got half for sure. If I bet and she calls or raises, I'm getting scooped"

"I Check" she whispered, Skull Girl merely nodded at Amanda who was the de facto dealer for this hand.

"Time to show your cards, ladies" announced Justin.

"7 Badugi, 7 Low" announced Tara as she turned her cards face up.

"6 Badugi, 8 Low" replied Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

Ricky took a moment to analyze their hands, then declared "OK, Tara gets the Ace-5 lowball half of the pot while the Skull Girl gets the Badugi half of the pot. But because 33 doesn't divide by 2 evenly, each of you gets 16 but Tara gets the extra 1 as she is the first player in the hand to the left of the dealer."

Amanda made 2 almost even piles, giving the slightly larger one to Tara and the smaller one to the Skull Girl.

Hand #2 began with Tara quietly calling from under the gun with the Ace of Clubs, the Queen/6 of Hearts and the 10/3 of Spades, Skull Girl cheerfully announcing "Not this time, guys" as she folded the Queen/9/6 of Spades and the Jack/5 of Clubs, Amanda quietly folding the King/Jack/4 of Diamonds, the 5 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts from the cutoff seat, Allan announcing "I Call" from the Button with the Ace/10 of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts and the 7/4 of Clubs, Justin quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Ace of Hearts, the King of Spades, the 6/2 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs while Ricky knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the 8/7/5 of Diamonds, the 7 of Spades and the 6 of Clubs.

"You have the first draw, Justin" announced Amanda.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the King of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the 8/7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 9 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards, please" replied Tara as she pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades and the 9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Sure, I'll take 2 cards too, please." added Allan as he pitched the 10 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Spades and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"You have the first betting option, Justin" announced the Skull Girl.

"I check" he announced. Ricky, Tara and Allan each knocked the table twice to indicate silent checks.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Justin" announced the Skull Girl.

"I stand pat" declared Justin.

"Just one card for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the King of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"I shall also require 1 card, please" stated Tara as she pitched the Ace of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"I would like 2 cards, please" added Allan as he pitched the Jack of Spades and the 4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Diamonds and the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin." whispered Amanda.

"I check" he announced. Ricky, Tara and Allan each knocked the table three times to indicate silent checks.

"So with Justin having stood pat in the last drawing round, Ricky has the first draw this round" announced Ricky.

"I stand pat, too" he replied.

"1 more card for me, please" stated Tara as she pitched the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" replied Allan as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 8 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" announced the Skull Girl.

"I check." he replied. Ricky, Tara and Allan each made check signs in the air with their right index fingers.

"Time to show your cards, everyone but Amanda and I" announced the Skull Girl.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low" declared Justin as he turned his cards face up.

"7 Badugi, 9 Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up, hoping he could hold on for half of the pot.

"Take it. Ricky is beating my 9 Badugi and Allan (if not both of you) is beating my 9 Low." responded Tara as she tossed her cards into the muck.

"7 Badugi, 10 Low" replied Allan as he turned his cards face up. Amanda briefly analyzed the 3 hands that were turned face up and announced "Justin collects the Ace-5 lowball half of the pot, while Allan's second highest card is lower than Ricky's so Allan wins the Badugi half of the pot"

Skull Girl split the pot into 2 piles of 12, giving each pile to Allan and Justin. She only remarked "I hate split pots even when I'm not involved with the hand."

Hand #3 began with the Skull Girl declaring "I raise to 12" from under the gun with the Ace of Diamonds, the 10/4 of Spades and the 8/7 of Clubs, Amanda quietly folding the Queen/9/5 of Diamonds and the Queen/6 of Hearts, Allan announcing "I fold" from the cutoff seat with the King/8 of Hearts, the 9/2 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds, Justin quietly folding the 10/4/3 of Diamonds, the 9 of Clubs and the 8 of Spades from the Button, Ricky declaring "Call" from the Small Blind with the 6/3/2 of Clubs, the 6 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts and Tara quietly folding the King/Jack of Clubs, the King/8 of Diamonds and the King of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" whispered Amanda.

"2 cards, please" he replied as he pitched the 6/3 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 10 of Spades and the 8 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/4 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Allan.

"I check" he replied.

"I check too." whispered the Skull Girl.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Justin.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Jack of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same here. 2 more cards for me, please" whispered the Skull Girl as she pitched the Queen/4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Spades and the 10 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Tara.

"I check" he replied. The Skull Girl knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Your drawing option, Ricky" announced Amanda.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 4 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds and the 7 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 more card for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the Jack of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Allan.

"I check" he replied.

"I check too" added the Skull Girl.

"Time to show your cards" announced Justin.

"7 Badugi, Jack Low" declared Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"9 Badugi, 10 Low" replied the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"No need to analyze the hands for tie breakers. Ricky gets the Badugi half, Skull Girl gets the Ace-5 lowball half" announced Tara as she divided the pot into 2 half-pots of 15.

Hand #4 began with Amanda quietly folding the King of Hearts, the Queen/10 of Clubs, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds from under the gun, Allan announcing "I raise to 12" with the King of Diamonds, the 7 of Spades, the 4/3 of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts, Justin quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Ace/King of Spades, the 9/6 of Diamonds and the 7 of Hearts, Ricky quietly folding the Queen/8 of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts and the 7/5 of Clubs from the Button, Tara quietly folding the Jack/5/4 of Diamonds, the 9 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs from the Small Blind and the Skull Girl whispered "Nope, not worth the discount" as she folded the King of Clubs, the Queen/Jack of Hearts and the 10/2 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Allan" announced Amanda.

"2 cards, please" he replied as he pitched the King of Diamonds and the 4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the Jack of Clubs in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards as well" added Justin as he pitched the King of Spades and the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 9/4 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" whispered Ricky.

"I check" he replied. Justin merely nodded at Ricky as he was the dealer for the hand.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Allan" announced Tara.

"Just 1 card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Jack of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the 9/4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Clubs and the 6 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" whispered the Skull Girl.

"I check" he replied. Justin knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Your draw, Allan" whispered Amanda.

"1 more card, please" he replied as he pitched the 7 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Spades in exchange.

"I would also like 1 more card, please" stated Justin as he pitched the 6 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your bet, Allan" whispered Ricky.

"I check" he replied, Justin nodded at Ricky once again.

"Time to show your cards, boys" announced Tara.

"Queen Badugi, Queen Low. I pitched the wrong 7 into the discard pile by mistake" stated Allan as he turned his cards face up.

"8 Badugi, 10 Low" replied Justin as he turned his cards face up, knowing that he had just scooped the pot on Allan's mistake.

"I wonder what's taking so long with our drinks." said Skull Girl, looking heavily distracted.

Hand #5 began with Allan quietly folding the Queen of Diamonds, the Queen of Hearts, the 7 of Clubs and the 4/3 of Spades from under the gun, Justin announcing "I'm out" with the King/7 of Hearts, the 9 of Clubs, the 7 of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades, Ricky quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Ace/10 of Hearts, the Ace of Spades, the 6 of Clubs and the 4 of Diamonds, Tara announcing "I call" from the Button with the Ace/2 of Clubs, the 8/6 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds, Skull Girl quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 9/5/2 of Hearts, 7 of Spades and the 2 of Diamonds while Amanda knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace of Diamonds, the Jack/5/2 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts.

"You have the first draw, Skull Girl" whispered Allan.

"2 cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the 9/2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Spades and the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me too, please" stated Amanda as she pitched the Jack/5 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 10/3 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the Ace of Spades and the 10 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/10 of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Tara as she pitched the 8 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" announced Justin.

"I check" she replied. Amanda, Ricky and Tara each knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Skull Girl" announced Justin.

"2 more cards, please" she replied as she pitched the 9 of Spades and the 8 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Just 1 card this time" stated Amanda as she pitched the 10 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the Queen/10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me" added Tara as she pitched the King of Clubs and the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 10/6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" announced Allan.

"I check" she replied. Amanda, Ricky and Tara each knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Your draw, Skull Girl" whispered Allan.

"I stand pat" she replied.

"I'll take 1 more card, please" stated Amanda as she pitched the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the 8 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Clubs and the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added Tara as she pitched the 10/6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack's of Clubs and Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl." announced Justin.

"I check" she replied. Amanda and Ricky nodded at Tara, as she was the de facto dealer in the hand.

"Time to show your cards, guys" announced Allan.

"7 Badugi, 7 Low" announced the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"Perfect 4 Badugi, King Low" replied Amanda as she turned her cards face up, grinning as she knew that she was getting half of the pot no matter what. There was even a brief standing ovation before the showdown continued.

"You girls beat my 8 Badugi and Queen Low" stated Ricky as he tossed his hand into the muck.

"And you most certainly beat my 6 Tri and Pair of Jacks for low." added Tara as she tossed her hand into the muck.

"So Amanda...quite obviously wins the Badugi Half, while the Skull Girl wins the Ace-5 lowball half" announced Justin as he made 2 piles of 12 out of the pot, giving 1 half to each of them.

Hand #6 began with Justin announcing "I raise to 12" from under the gun with the Ace of Clubs, the Queen/3 of Spades, the Queen of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts, Ricky quietly calling with the Jack/2 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds, the 5 of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts, Tara quietly folding the 10 of Spades, the 9/3 of Clubs, the 9 of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds from the cutoff seat, Skull Girl whispering "I fold" from the Button with the 9/5/4 of Diamonds and the 8/6 of Clubs, Amanda announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace of Diamonds, the 10/6 of Hearts and the 8/4 of Spades while Allan quietly folded the King of Clubs, the 10 of Diamonds, the 9/7 of Spades and the 3 of Hearts from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Amanda" announced Allan.

"2 cards, please" she replied as she pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 8 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 5 of Spades and the 4 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well, please" stated Justin as he pitched both of his Queens of Spades and Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Ricky as he pitched the Jack of Spades and the 8 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Amanda" whispered Tara.

"I check" she replied. Justin and Ricky knocked the table twice each, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Amanda" announced the Skull Girl.

"Just 1 card for me this time, please" she replied as she pitched the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Hearts in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 2's of Clubs and Spades in exchange.

"I stand pat" announced Ricky, much to the collective shock of the table.

"Your betting option, Amanda" announced Allan.

"I check" she replied. Justin and Ricky knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Last draw, Amanda" whispered Tara.

"1 more card for me, please" she replied as she pitched the King of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the 2's of Clubs and Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Diamonds and the 10 of Clubs in exchange.

"And as Mr. Cowboy Vampire stood pat, I believe that we can skip to Amanda's betting option" suggested the Skull Girl.

"I bet 12" replied Amanda as she slid some chips into the pot.

"Annnnnnnnnnnnd I'm out" replied Justin as he folded his hand assertively.

Ricky went into the tank, thinking:

"She's trying to use the memory of her perfect Badugi in order to value bet Justin and I off of the hand. It worked against Justin, it won't work with me. My hand is perfect so I'm scooping regardless"

"I raise 12" he announced, and the re-raising continued until Amanda was all-in.

"Time to show, guys" declared Allan.

"6 Badugi, 8 Low" announced Amanda as she turned over her cards face up. Ricky merely grinned

"Perfect 4 Badugi, Perfect 5 Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"Holy jeepers" shouted the Skull Girl as the door opened and Daniel and Phil returned to the room with the drinks.

"What happened?" asked Daniel.

"Is something wrong?" asked Phil.

Skull Girl pointed at Ricky's hand, Daniel and Phil placed the drinks at the empty table and stared at the cards, with their eyes widening in shock. It was with a sense of honour that both Phil and Daniel shoved all 133 chips over to Ricky.

"Great hand, Ricky." replied Amanda with a smile as they shook hands.

"Yeah, you would've won under normal circumstances." replied Ricky. Amanda grabbed hers and Ricky's glasses of pig's blood, handing Ricky his.

"Much better than wolf blood...I hate wolves" said Ricky angrily through clenched teeth after he took a sip. Daniel and Phil began passing out the rest of the drinks as Amanda waved goodbye to the rest of the players that were still in the game.

"Thank you" said Tara as she received her Vodka and Cranberry juice.

"Thanks" said Justin and Allan as they received their beers.

"Thank you, how much do each of us owe you?" asked the Skull Girl as she squirmed in joy upon receiving her Shirley Temple.

"Amanda's tab covered it" replied Daniel before announcing "My shift is almost over so Phil can deal for you guys for the rest of the game"

"Bye Daniel" said everyone in unison as Daniel exited the room.

"So with Amanda eliminated, who gets the Dealer Button for the next hand?" asked Tara.

"Under Las Vegas casino rules, whoever the previous dealer is gets to be on the Button. In this case, the Button reverts back to the Skull Girl for one more hand" answered Phil.

"Yesssssssss" replied the Skull Girl.

Chip Stacks for the table: Ricky – 297, Allan – 202, Skull Girl – 125, Justin – 92, Tara – 84

Level 4, Final Table = 4-8 Blinds, 8-16 Limits

Hand #1 began with Ricky announcing "I raise to 16" from under the gun with the Ace of Hearts, the King/4/3 of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs, Tara quietly folding the Queen of Clubs, the Jack/8 of Spades and the Jack/6 of Diamonds from the cutoff seat, Skull Girl whispering "I call" from the Button with the Ace/7 of Diamonds, the King/3 of Spades and the 8 of Clubs, Allan quietly calling from the Small Blind with the 9/2 of Diamonds, the 6 of Clubs, the 5 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts while Justin quietly folded the Ace/Jack/4 of Clubs, the 10 of Spades and the 5 of Diamonds from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Allan" whispered Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please." he replied as he pitched the 9 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the King/4 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Spades and the 6 of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added the Skull Girl as she pitched the King of Spades and the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl knocked the table twice each, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Allan" whispered Phil.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"1 more card for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the Ace of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added the Skull Girl as she pitched the 10 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Diamonds and the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl knocked the table three times each, indicating a silent check.

"As Allan has stood pat, Ricky, you start the last drawing round" whispered Phil.

"1 more card, please" he replied as he pitched the Queen of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added the Skull Girl as she pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 8 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Spades and the 10 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl merely nodded at Phil.

"Time to show your cards" whispered Phil.

"5 Badugi, 6 Low" announced Allan as he turned over his cards face up.

"Beats my 7 Badugi and 9 Low" replied Ricky as he tossed his cards into the muck.

"And it beats my 10 Badugi and Queen Low. Take it Allan" added the Skull Girl as she mucked her hand as well. Allan scooped his pot of 56 quickly.

"Wow, A hand where the Skull Girl stayed in past the first round of betting where she didn't win..." started Justin.

"...or at least get her half of the pot." ended Tara.

Hand #2 began with Tara announcing "I raise to 16" from under the gun with the 10 of Spades, the 8 of Clubs, the 6 of Hearts and the 5/4 of Diamonds, the Skull Girl quietly calling from the cutoff seat with the Ace/9/8 of Diamonds, the 9 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts, Allan quietly folding from the Button with the Queen/2 of Diamonds, the 10/4 of Clubs and the 10 of Hearts, Justin announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the 8/7 of Hearts, the 7 of Clubs, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds while Ricky quietly folded the Queen/7/4 of Spades, the Jack of Clubs and the 9 of Hearts from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Justin" announced Phil.

"Oh, just 1 card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 7 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Tara as she pitched the 10 of Spades and the 5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added the Skull Girl as she pitched the 9's of Diamonds and Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Diamonds and the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied. Tara and the Skull Girl knocked the table twice each, indicating silent checks.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Justin" announced Phil.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"2 more cards for me, please" stated Tara as she pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" replied the Skull Girl as she pitched the 10 of Diamonds and the 8 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied. Tara and the Skull Girl knocked the table three times each, indicating silent checks.

"OK, since Justin stood pat, Tara begins the last drawing round" whispered Phil.

"2 more cards, please" replied Tara as she pitched the 5 of Clubs and the 4 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the King of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Tara and the Skull Girl merely nodded at Phil.

"Time to show your cards" whispered Phil.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low" declared Justin as he turned his cards face up.

"I have only an 8 Tri and Jack Low" replied Tara as she tossed her hand into the muck.

"I only have a 5 Tri but I have 8 Low that I think beats Justin's" stated the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up. Phil looked at both Justin's and the Skull Girls hands, nodded, then announced "Justin gets the Badugi Half, the Skull Girl gets the Ace-5 lowball half"

"Spoke too soon" said Allan.

"Yes sir, Skull Girl splits another one" stated Ricky in observation as Phil split the pot into 2 halves of 28 chips each, giving Justin and the Skull Girl 1 half apiece.

Hand #3 began with the Skull Girl announcing "I fold" from under the gun with the Ace of Clubs, the King/10 of Hearts and the Jack/7 of Spades, Allan quietly called from the cutoff seat with the 10/8/4 of Clubs, the 6 of Hearts and the 3 of Diamonds, Justin quietly folded the 8/7/4 of Diamonds, the 7 of Hearts and the 7 of Spades from the Button, Ricky announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the 8/5/3 of Spades, the 6 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts while Tara knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace of Hearts, the Queen/2 of Spades and the 9/3 of Clubs.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 8/3 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds and the 7 of Clubs in exchange.

"2 cards for me as well" stated Tara as she pitched the Queen of Spades and the 9 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the King of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards as well, please" replied Allan as he pitched the 10/8 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the King of Spades and the Queen of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Tara and Allan knocked the table twice each, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me this time, please" he replied as he pitched the Jack of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Diamonds in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Tara as she pitched the King of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Allan as he pitched the King of Spades and the Queen of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Hearts and the 4 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Tara and Allan knocked the table three times each, indicating a silent check.

"Last draw, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"I'll take 2 more cards, please" added Tara as she pitched the 4 of Hearts and the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6 the Clubs and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same here" whispered Allan as he pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 4 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 9's of Hearts and Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"I check." he replied. Tara and Allan merely nodded at Phil, indicating a silent check.

"Time to turn over your cards, guys" announced Phil.

"7 Badugi, 7 Low" announced Ricky as he turned over his cards face up.

"3 High Tri but I have a 6 Low" replied Tara as she turned over her cards face up.

"Take it guys, I only have a 9 Badugi and a 9 Low" declared Allan as he mucked his cards.

"OK, Ricky gets the Badugi half and Tara gets the Ace-5 lowball half" Phil said as he divided the pot into 2 halves of 12, giving 1 half pot each to them.

"Wow, nice hand" commented Justin. Skull Girl merely took a sip of her Shirley Temple.

Hand #4 began with Allan quietly folding the Queen of Spades, the Queen of Hearts, the 7 of Clubs and the 6/3 of Diamonds from under the gun, Justin announcing "I raise to 16" from the cutoff seat with the 8/3 of Spades, the 7/5 of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs, Ricky quietly calling from the Button with the Ace/4/2 of Spades, the 7 of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts, Tara announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the Ace of Hearts, the 10/5 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs while Skull Girl mere shook her head as she folded her Queen of Diamonds, the 6/3/2 of Hearts and the 3 of Clubs from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Tara" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" she replied as she pitched the 10 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Spades in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the 8 of Spades and the 7 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 4 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added Ricky as he pitched the 4/2 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Clubs and the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied. Justin and Ricky knocked the table twice each, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Tara" announced Phil.

"I stand pat" she replied.

"1 more card, please" stated Justin as he pitched the 4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the King of Spades in exchange.

"I'll take 2 more cards, please" added Ricky as he pitched the Queen of Clubs and the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Clubs and the Jack of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" whispered Phil.

"I Check" she replied. Justin and Ricky knocked the table three times each, indicating a silent check.

"Because Tara stood pat, Justin will start the third drawing phase" announced Phil.

"1 more card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the King of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Spades in exchange.

"Same here" stated Ricky as he pitched the Ace of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Tara" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied. Justin and Ricky merely nodded at Phil to check.

"Time to show your cards, guys" announced Phil.

"8 Badugi, 9 Low" replied Tara as she turned her hand face up.

"5 Badugi, 6 Low" declared Justin as he turned his cards face up.

"Sir, I believe that you scoop as I only have 8 Badugi and Jack Low" stated Ricky as he mucked his cards. Justin scooped the pot of 56 with a grin.

"Good Job" said the Skull Girl as Allan finished his beer.

Hand #5 began with Justin quietly folding the Ace of Diamonds, the Jack of Clubs, the 10/9 of Spades and the 10 of Hearts from under the gun, Ricky announcing "I raise to 16" from the cutoff seat with the Ace/2 of Hearts, the Queen/2 of Diamonds and the 6 of Clubs, Tara quietly calling from the Button with the 9/3 of Hearts, the 8 of Diamonds, the 6 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs, Skull Girl quietly folding the King/10/4 of Diamonds, the 9 of Clubs and the 5 of Spades from the Small Blind while Allan announced "Not worth defending, I'm out" as he folded the 10 of Clubs, the 9/5 of Diamonds and the 6/5 of Hearts from the Big Blind.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Ace/Queen of Spades in exchange.

"1 card for me, please" stated Tara as she pitched 3 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil. Ricky quietly bet 8, Tara quietly called.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" replied Ricky as he pitched the Ace/Queen of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"1 more card for me, please" added Tara as she pitched the King of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil. Ricky bet 16, Tara went into the tank, thinking:

"I might as well go for it, as I'm pot-committed and all"

"I'm all-in" she declared. Ricky quickly called.

"OK, nobody turn up your cards yet as there is still 1 more draw phase. Ricky, you may proceed sir" announced Ricky.

"Just 1 more card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"Same here" stated Tara as she pitched the 3 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"OK, NOW you may turn up your cards" announced Phil.

"7 Badugi, 8 Low" replied Ricky as he turned up his cards.

"Take it, I just have 9 Badugi and Jack Low. I'm out" replied Tara as she mucked her cards. Ricky quietly scooped his pot of 84 as Tara walked around the table.

"Pleasure meeting you, Justin and Allan" she said as she shook each of their hands.

"Likewise" they replied simultaneously. Tara then leaned over to the Skull Girl and whispered: "Kick their asses, fight like a girl"

"Yes ma'am" said the Skull Girl out loud while doing a mock salute.

"Great hand Ricky, best of luck to you. Goodnight Phil"

"Goodnight" said Ricky and Phil simultaneously.

Chip Stacks for the table: Ricky – 329, Allan – 226, Justin – 136, Skull Girl – 109

Level 5, Final Table = 5-10 Blinds, 10-20 Limits

Hand #1 began with Ricky announcing "I raise to 20" from under the gun with the 6/3 of Spades, the 6 of Hearts, the 5 of Diamonds and the 2 of Clubs, the Skull Girl quietly called from the Button with the Ace/5 of Spades, the King of Diamonds, the 8 of Clubs and the 3 of Hearts, Allan announced "I call" from the Small Blind with the Queen/8 of Spades, the Queen of Hearts, the 4 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds while Justin quietly folded the Ace/9/6 of Clubs, the Queen of Diamonds and the 7 of Spades from the Big Blind.

"Your draw, Allan" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched both of his Queens into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts in exchange.

"1 card for me, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" replied the Skull Girl as she pitched King of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 4/2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Allan" whispered Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" stated Allan as he pitched the 10 of Spades and the 4 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs in exchange."

"I stand pat" replied Ricky.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added the Skull Girl as she pitched the 4/2 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Spades and the 9 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Allan" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl knocked the table three times each, indicating a silent check.

"Last draw, Allan" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the King of Clubs in exchange.

"And as Mr. Cowboy Vampire stood pat, I'll take 2 more cards, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the Jack of Spades and the 9 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Clubs and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"Last betting option, Allan" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied. Ricky and the Skull Girl merely nodded at Phil.

"Time to show your cards, everyone but Justin" announced Phil.

"8 High Tri, King Low" announced Allan as he turned his cards face up.

"6 Badugi, 7 Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"Take it, I have an 8 High Tri and only 10 Low" stated the Skull Girl as she tossed her cards into the muck. Ricky tipped his hat as he raked in his pot of 70.

"I guess there are no more small pots, now" offered Justin as a commentary of sorts.

Hand #2 began with the Skull Girl quietly folding the Ace of Spades, the 9/7/3 of Hearts and the Jack of Diamonds from under the gun, Allan announcing "I Call" with the Ace of Diamonds, the 8 of Hearts, the 6/5 of Spades and the 4 of Clubs from the Button, Justin quietly folding the Queen/9/5 of Clubs, the Jack of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds from the Small Blind and Ricky knocking the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace of Clubs, the 10/6 of Hearts, the 2 of Diamonds and the 2 of Spades.

"Your drawing option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 10 of Hearts and the 2 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" stated Allan as he pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the King of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied.

"I check" mimicked Allan.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"1 card for me this time, please" he replied as he pitched the Queen of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here, please" stated Allan as he pitched the King of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"I check" he replied. Allan knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"Last draw, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"1 more card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 6 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Spades in exchange.

"I stand pat" declared Allan.

"Your betting option, Ricky" announced Phil.

"I check" he replied. Allan merely nodded at Phil.

"Time to show your cards, gentlemen" announced Phil.

"6 Badugi, 10 Low" declared Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low. I believe Ricky and I get half of the pot each" replied Allan as he turned his hand face up. Phil looked at both hands, nodded and divided the pot into 2 halves, but one chip was left over. As Ricky was the first player that was still in the hand to the dealer's left, Phil gave gave him 13, whereas Allan got 12.

"Correction, THAT was a small pot...half...but still small" remarked the Skull Girl.

"I stand corrected" replied Justin.

Hand #2 began with Allan quietly folding the King/9 of Diamonds, the King of Clubs and the Queen/2 of Spades from under the gun, Justin announcing "I Call" with the Jack of Clubs, the 9/4 of Spades, the 8 of Diamonds and the 5 of Clubs from the Button, Ricky quietly folding the Ace/9 of Clubs, the Ace of Hearts and the 5/4 of Diamonds from the Small Blind and the Skull Girl knocking the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Jack/10/6 of Hearts, the 8 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds.

"Your drawing option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack/10 of Hearts into the discard pile, the 10 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"2 cards for me, please" stated Justin as he pitched the Jack of Clubs and the 9 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/2 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied.

"I check" mimicked Justin.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me this time, please" she replied as she pitched the 10 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Same here, please" stated Justin as he pitched the Queen/5 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the 5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied. Justin knocked the table twice, indicating a silent check.

"Last draw, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the 9 of Hearts and the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Clubs and the 3 of Diamonds in exchange.

"I stand pat" declared Justin.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied. Justin merely nodded at Phil.

"Time to show your cards" announced Phil.

"No Badugi but a 7 High Tri, 8 Low" declared Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"5 Badugi, 8 Low. I believe my 8 Low is lower than yours which means that I scoop" replied Justin as he turned his hand face up. Phil looked at both hands, nodded and gave the pot of 25 to Justin.

"I would still call that a small pot" remarked Ricky.

"Agreed" replied Allan.

Hand #4 began with Justin quietly folding the Ace/King/10 of Clubs and the Ace/7 of Hearts from under the gun, Ricky announcing "I call" from the Button with the 8 of Clubs, the 7/5/3 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades, the Skull Girl quietly calling from the Small Blind with the Queen of Spades, the 9/4 of Hearts, the 7 of Clubs and the 6 of Diamonds while Allan said "Let's take a flop" from the Big Blind with the Jack/6 of Spades, the 8 of Hearts, the 4 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds.

"You have the first draw, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Queen of Spades and the 9 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Clubs and the 10 of Diamonds in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" stated Allan as he pitched the Jack of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" added Ricky as he pitched the 7/5 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"I check" she replied. Allan and Ricky knocked the table twice each, indicating a silent check.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises. You're the second draw, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack of Clubs and the 10 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the Jack of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts in exchange.

"Still needing 1 good card, please" stated Allan as he pitched the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the King of Hearts in exchange.

"2 more cards for me, my good man" added Ricky as he pitched the 5 of Spades and the 3 of Diamonds, receiving the 10 of Spades and the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"I check" she replied. Allan and Ricky knocked the table three times each, indicating a silent check.

"You have the last drawing option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" she replied as she pitched the Jack of Diamonds and the 4 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Diamonds and the 3 of Spades in exchange.

"1 more card for me, please" stated Allan as he pitched the King of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the Queen of Hearts in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" added Ricky as he pitched the 10/8 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 6/5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"20" she replied.

"I raise 20" announced Allan.

"I re-raise 20" countered Ricky.

The re-raising continued even after the Skull Girl was all-in. In a rarity (even for the Aaronverse), both the Skull Girl AND Allan were all-in simultaneously. From a timing point of view, anyway...in regards to chip stacks, it was a slightly different story:

"Due to Allan having a bigger chip stack than the Skull Girl, and Ricky having both of them covered, the main pot of 168 will be contested by all 3 of them whereas the side pot of 129 will only be contested between Allan and Ricky. Would you please proceed to turn over your cards as normal?" asked Phil.

"6 Badugi, 9 Low" announced the Skull Girl as she turned her cards over face up.

"8 Badugi, Queen Low" replied Allan, hoping that his hand was enough to win at least one half of one pot in order to stay alive (even though the Skull Girl was already beating him both ways in the main pot.

"8 Badugi, 8 Low" stated Ricky as he turned his cards face up. It took Phil the better part of a minute in order to determine who exactly won what.

"OK, in the main pot contested by all 3 of you, Skull Girl gets the Badugi Half while Ricky gets the Ace-5 lowball half." announced Phil as he split that (already separated) pot into 2 halves each, giving 1 half to Ricky and the other half to the Skull Girl.

"At least I'm still alive" whispered the Skull Girl.

Phil continued "In the side pot of 129 between Allan and Ricky, Ricky scoops because he easily wins the Ace-5 lowball half plus the second highest card in his Badugi hand is lower than Allan's. An 8-5 Badugi beats an 8-6, Allan is therefore eliminated."

Allan nodded (knowing that Phil was right) and stood up to leave the game.

"Pipped at the post, as they say in the commonwealth" he said as he shook hands with Ricky.

"Craziest hand I've ever played" replied Ricky.

"Good night, Mr. Mcninchkin" stated Skull Girl.

"Mcninchkin?" asked Allan, utterly confused. Frankly, so was the Skull Girl.

"I don't know where I got that from...I think Mommy Pirate sang it to you when you were a baby and she and Mr. Pirate were on vacation in Vancouver" was all that she could get out.

"Crap, if Ricky had won both I'd have folded my way to second place which pays out. Oh well, I guess that I have 1 more person to wait out" remarked Justin.

Chip stacks for the table: Ricky – 580, Justin – 136, Skull Girl – 84

Level 6, Final Table = 10-20 Blinds, 20-40 Limits.

Hand #1 began with the Skull Girl announcing "I call" from under the gun (and the Button) with the Ace of Spades, the 9 of Clubs, the 8/5 of Hearts and the 4 of Diamonds, Justin quietly folding the Queen/9 of Spades, the 10/5 of Clubs and the 8 of Diamonds from the Small Blind, while Ricky whispered "Let's take a flop" from the Big Blind with the Ace/Queen of Clubs, the Queen/5 of Diamonds and the 4 of Spades.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Queens into the discard pile, receiving the Ace of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades in exchange.

"Just 1 card for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 9 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Clubs in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" declared Phil.

"20" he replied.

"I raise to 40" replied the Skull Girl.

"I re-raise to 60" stated Ricky. The Skull Girl turned to Phil and asked "Under Las Vegas Badacey rules, is another re-raise allowed as this is only the second round of betting where the betting limits haven't doubled yet?"

"Only 1 more, which will put you all-in as you only have 4 chips left." stated Phil in a monotone that suggested that he was quoting the rulebook verbatim.

"Thank you sir, I'm all-in." announced the Skull Girl. Ricky chuckled slightly, asking (as a formality) "Sir, as it's not a full bet..."

"...You only have to call what she put into the pot as Justin is already out of the hand" replied Phil in a tone that suggested mild annoyance as incomplete all-in bets were normal in limit poker.

"OK, since the kid is all-in, I don't have to give my usual announcement about the betting being doubled. But please do not turn up your cards as there are 2 more drawing rounds. Ricky, you may proceed" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Ace of Diamonds and the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 10 of Diamonds and the 3 of Hearts in exchange.

"I stand pat" replied the Skull Girl.

"Um...OK...congratulations Ricky, you get to technically draw for a 2nd consecutive time." declared Phil awkwardly.

"Just 1 card from the top will be sufficient" replied Ricky as he pitched the 10 of Diamonds into the discard pile. Phil nodded, and dealt him the King of Spades in exchange.

"Time to show your cards" announced Phil.

"5 Badugi, King Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"6 Badugi, 8 Low" said Skull Girl with perkiness.

"Ricky gets the Badugi half, Skull Girl gets the Ace-5 lowball half" announced Phil as he divided the pot into 2 halves of 89, giving 1 half to each of them.

"Well, I guess you guys are netting a slight profit by dividing my Small Blind in half but damnit, I wanted Skull Girl out so that I could get into the money" lamented Justin.

Hand #2 began with Justin quietly folding the King of Diamonds, the Jack/3 of Clubs, the 10 of Spades and the 2 of Hearts from under the gun (and the Button), Ricky announcing "I call" from the Small Blind with the 7/2 of Diamonds, the 7 of Spades, the 6 of Spades and the 5 of Hearts while the Skull Girl announced "Let's take a flop" from the Big Blind with the Ace of Clubs, the 8/2 of Spades and the 7/4 of Hearts.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And I will take 2 cards, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 8 of Spades and the 7 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 6's of Spades and Diamonds in exchange.

"Your betting option, Ricky" whispered Phil.

"20" he replied.

"I raise to 40" countered the Skull Girl.

"I re-raise to 60" responded Ricky.

"I'm all-in with my last 9" added the Skull Girl, Ricky quietly called.

"Well, at least there won't be any awkward lines of questions regarding the games rules this time" said Justin as he watched from the sidelines.

"Agreed. No one turn over your cards as there are still 2 more betting rounds. Ricky, you may proceed sir" announced Phil.

"No I won't sir, as I stand pat" replied Ricky.

"I will take 1 more card, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving an 8 of Clubs in exchange.

"As Ricky stood pat, you may draw 1 more time" declared Phil to the Skull Girl.

"I may...but I won't, because I stand pat too" she answered cheerfully.

"OK, you may turn your cards over now" announced Phil.

"7 Badugi, 8 Low" announced Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"6 Badugi, 8 Low" replied the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up. Phil took a moment to look over both of the hands.

"Skull Girl scoops as an 8-6 low beats an 8-7 low" he announced as he shoved the pot of 178 over to the Skull Girl, who was happy for her double up.

"Crap, now I'm the short stack" mumbled Justin.

Hand #3 began with Ricky announcing "I call" from under the gun (and the Button) with the King/Jack/4 of Spades, the 8 of Clubs and the 5 of Diamonds, Skull Girl quietly folded the Ace/Queen/10 of Spades and the Jack/3 of Diamonds from the Small Blind while Justin knocked the table three times, indicating a silent check from the Big Blind with the Ace of Clubs, the King/6 of Hearts, the 9 of Diamonds and the 7 of Spades.

"You have the first draw, Justin" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the King of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Spades in exchange.

"And 2 cards for me, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the King/Jack of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/5 of Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" whispered Phil.

"20" he replied.

"I raise to 40" countered Ricky.

"I re-raise to 60" responded Justin.

"I re-re-raise to 80" added Ricky. Justin quietly called

"Wow, re-raising until you reach the limit without an all-in bet...although Justin has less than 1 bet left in the upper betting limit" offered the Skull Girl as commentary.

"Betting limits are doubled and there are no-limits to the number of re-raises, although as the Skull Girl just pointed out, that's kind of a moot point with Justin right now. You're the second draw, Justin" announced Phil.

"1 more card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Diamonds in exchange.

"And 2 more cards for me, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the Queen/5 of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 2's of Clubs and Hearts in exchange.

"Your betting option, Justin" whispered Phil.

Justin tossed his last 26 chips into the pot, Ricky called.

"OK, no one turn over your cards as there is still one more draw phase. You may proceed, Justin" declared Phil.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"And I only need 1 more card, please" said Ricky as he pitched the 2 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 9 of Clubs in exchange.

"With Justin all-in, time to show your cards, gentlemen" announced Phil.

"8 Badugi, 9 Low" replied Justin as he turned his cards face up nervously, hoping to secure at least half of the pot.

"Same. I also have an 8 Badugi and a 9 Low" responded Ricky awkwardly as he turned his cards face up. Phil looked at both hands for the better part of 2 minutes before making his decision.

"Ricky scoops as his 8-5 Badugi beats Justin's 8-7 Badugi for the Badugi half and Ricky's 9-8-5 Ace-5 lowball hand beats Justin's 9-8-7 Ace-5 lowball hand. Justin is therefore eliminated."

"Wow, that's the closest scoop we've had all night" said Skull Girl, genuinely surprised.

Justin got up and walked around the table to say his goodbyes as a broken man, as every bubble boy/girl that busted out before him.

"Great hand sir" he said to Ricky.

"Yeah, that was insanely close" replied Ricky as he tipped his hat to Justin.

"Skull Girl, it was an honour. Thank you for upholding the laws of the Humans and the Changed"

"My pleasure, may you have a safe journey home" she answered. He opened the door as Daniel walked back into the room.

"Oh wow, you guys are down to 2 now." he exclaimed as he took the 800 Koruna out of his shirt pocket. He placed it into 2 uneven piles (1 pile of 600, another of 200).

"Anyone need a drink? There's still a little room on Amanda's tab." asked Daniel.

"Bottle of mineral water" asked Ricky as he raised his hand.

"Make it 2, please" replied the Skull Girl.

"2 mineral waters, coming right up" said Daniel with a smile, taking his leave.

Chip stacks for the table: Ricky – 632, Skull Girl – 168

Level 7 = 20-40 Blinds, 40-80 Limits

"Welcome to heads-up play. 1 quick announcement, as Justin was scheduled to be the Small Blind this hand but was eliminated last hand, the Small Blind for this hand is dead. Ricky will be the Big Blind whereas the Skull Girl will just be on the Button. The Small Blind will return next hand. I know that seems like I'm stacking the deck against you Ricky but..." ranted Phil.

"No, I get it. Rules are rules" replied Ricky.

"Good luck, sir" said the Skull Girl, who was offering her hand to shake. Ricky shook it and smiled, saying nothing.

Hand #1 began with the Skull Girl announcing "I raise to 80" from the Button with the Ace of Spades, the 7/5 of Clubs, the 3 of Diamonds and the 2 of Hearts while Ricky announced "I re-raise to 120" from the Big Blind with the 9/6/4 of Clubs, the 6 of Diamonds and the 5 of Spades. Skull Girl went into the tank, thinking:

"I can win this. He's going to try to outdraw me, and I don't have to draw this hand"

"I re-re raise to 160, which I believe caps the raises for this betting level" countered the Skull Girl.

"It does. Ricky, your only options are to call or fold" informed Phil.

"I understand completely sir, I call" answered Ricky.

"You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the 9/6 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the Queen/4 of Hearts in exchange.

"I stand pat" declared the Skull Girl.

"Are you sure? You can't draw at all if you say that this early" reminded Phil.

"Oh I'm sure" she answered while staring directly at Ricky.

"OK, your betting option, Ricky" declared Phil.

"I don't have to make a full bet if she can't make a full call, right?" asked Ricky. Phil merely nodded, which lead Ricky to putting in just the 8 chips that were needed to put the Skull Girl all-in. Skull Girl winked at Ricky, then quietly called.

"OK, no need to make my betting announcement but no one turn over your cards as there are still 2 more rounds of...well...Ricky drawing cards because the Skull Girl has already stood pat. Ricky, proceed sir" announced Phil.

"2 more cards for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Queen of Hearts and the 4 of Clubs into the discard pile, receiving the 6 of Spades and the 2 of Clubs in exchange.

"OK Ricky, you have the option to draw again if you would like to or you can stand pat and we go straight to the showdown" suggested Phil.

"Um...I'll draw again. Just 1 card for me this time, please" said Ricky as he pitched the 6 of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Spades in exchange.

"Time to show your cards" declared Phil.

"6 Badugi, 8 Low" announced Ricky as he turned his hand face up.

"5 Badugi, 7 Low. I scoop" replied the Skull Girl, raking in her pot of 336.

"Wow...you had that naturally dealt to you. That's amazing" said Ricky, shocked at what should've been an easy victory (and elimination).

Hand #2 began with Ricky announcing "I raise to 80" from the Button (and the Small Blind) with the 10/7 of Hearts, the 10/3 of Clubs and the 2 of Diamonds. Skull Girl quietly re-raised to 120 with the Ace/7 of Diamonds, the 9/6 of Clubs and the 2 of Spades from the Big Blind. Ricky responded by quietly re-re-raising to 160, and Skull Girl called before Phil could remind them that the betting was capped in the first 2 betting rounds.

"You have the first draw, Skull Girl" announced Phil.

"2 cards for me please" she replied as she pitched the 9 of Clubs and the 7 of Diamonds into the discard pile, receiving the 4/3 of Hearts in exchange.

"I'll take 2 cards as well, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the 10's of Clubs and Hearts, receiving the King/9 of Spades in exchange.

"Your betting option, Skull Girl" whispered Phil.

"40" she replied.

"I raise to 80" countered Ricky.

"I re-raise to 120" stated the Skull Girl.

"I...am all-in with my last 16" responded Ricky. Skull Girl quietly called.

"OK, another hand where I don't have to make the double bet announcement. No one turn up their cards yet as there are still 2 more drawing phases to go. Skull Girl, you may proceed"

"Nope, I stand pat" she replied.

"1 more card for me, please" stated Ricky as he pitched the King of Spades into the discard pile, receiving the 8 of Diamonds in exchange. He then turned to Phil and announced "OK, I stand pat too"

"Very well then, turn up your cards" announced Phil.

"6 Badugi, 6 Low" replied the Skull Girl as she turned her cards face up.

"And you beat my 9 Badugi and 9 Low, take it" stated Ricky as he threw his hand into the muck. Skull Girl shrugged and raked in her pot of 672.

"Great, now I'm the 1 on the ropes" lamented Ricky.

Hand #3 began with the Skull Girl announcing "I raise to 80" from under the gun (and the Button) with the Ace of Diamonds, the Jack/4 of Hearts, the 7 of Spades and the 3 of Clubs. Ricky quietly re-raised to 120 from the Big Blind with the Ace/9 of Hearts, the Ace of Clubs, the 4 of Diamonds and the 3 of Spades. Skull Girl analyzed the last of Ricky's chip stack, seeing only 8 more in chips. She quietly pushed Ricky all-in, Ricky announced "I call"

"No one turn over your cards as we still have 3 drawing phases to go through. You have the first draw, Ricky" announced Phil.

"Just 1 card for me, please" he replied as he pitched the Ace of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 7 of Hearts in exchange.

"Same here. 1 card for me, please" stated the Skull Girl as she pitched the Jack of Hearts into the discard pile, receiving the 2 of Spades in exchange.

"OK, no betting round with Ricky all-in and the double betting announcement is moot so Ricky, you have the second draw" declared Phil.

"I stand pat" he replied.

"So do I" added the Skull Girl.

"OK, skipping the second and third drawing phases. Time to show your cards, guys" announced Phil.

"7 Badugi, 9 Low" replied Ricky as he turned his cards face up.

"No good. I have a perfect 4 Badugi and a 7 Low. I guess that's game and my allowance from last week is now 6 times bigger" countered the Skull Girl as she turned her hand face up. Phil nodded, handing Skull Girl her 600 Koruna and Ricky 200 Koruna.

"You played very well, little lady" said Ricky, tipping his hat to her.

"Thank you, sir" she replied as she made a little curtsy. Daniel returned with the 2 bottles of mineral water.

"Did we have a winner?" he asked. Phil nodded and pointed at the Skull Girl.

"Congratulations, we hope you enjoyed your time here."

"I did sir, thank you. But now I must be leaving, The sun will be up before I know it."

"Farewell Skull Girl" said Daniel, Phil and Ricky.

"Now hopefully I can get back my bow and arrows back from the guys wearing the zoot suits at the front of the club without any hassle" mumbled the Skull Girl under breath.

As with the night before, Skull Girl reached the edge of the Vitava River soon afterwards, grabbing a small, white kayak and an Orange oar that she hid behind some hedges at the south end of Vitava Park. She carried it to the Vitava River, setting it down half on land/half in the river.

But when she looked back towards the hedges, she saw phantom hedges at other locations. For the better part of 5 minutes, the surroundings of the Skull Girl seemed like a multiple exposed photograph. Then she looked up at the sky, and saw pieces of it...flickering in and out like a TV set with burned out transistor tubes.

"At least mommy made her own way home but...Is my Prague falling apart, Mr. Pirate?" she asked to surroundings that other than her, were completely empty.

Chapter 7: Co-existence? And Post-credits scenes?

Song to put on: Van Halen – Somebody get me a Doctor

It was 9 days after the new city legislation had been ratified that the terms of the deal were released to the general public (although Dan and the Skull Girl, having had a hand in debating the issues, had seen it earlier). The new legislation was...surprisingly similar to the old terms that had been in place for 3 centuries. Chiara had picked up a copy of the university newsletter (that was printed in English as well as Czech on account of how many English-speaking students that attended classes each year) and began reading it aloud to Amy, Adam, Jen, Lindsay, John and Heather who had gathered around her. Dan (having been a part of the ratification), was in the faculty lounge on the other side of campus.

"OK, so this legislation is good for 1 century" announced Chiara.

"That's a relief. Prague has changed so many times just in the lifetimes of our grandparents alone" remarked Jen.

Chiara continued "No one over 65 has to donate ever again, but they can still volunteer if they so choose"

"A sort of donation retirement plan, I like that" said Lindsay.

"Says the one over 60" replied Adam sarcastically.

"Corpse donation is now mandatory unless determined by a panel of at least 5 doctors that the body is unsalvageable"

"That should benefit the Zombies greatly, but I'm sure that some of our fellow humans are outraged that they will be Zombie food after they die regardless of what their last will and testament says" remarked Amy in a tone that suggested that she personally felt mixed over the issue.

"I wouldn't worry about it. You'll have graduated and left the Czech Republic long before that becomes an issue for you" answered Heather reassuringly.

"Finally, the terminally ill now have the option to become a species of changed of their choosing in the hospital which is guaranteed to provide a safe, clean environment that will also prevent anyone from becoming double-changed by accident." said Chiara.

"Speaking of which, is it all set up for this evening?" asked Lindsay while staring directly at Heather.

"It is. We're meeting out front, 1 hour after sunset, including Dan. She's bringing some of her new friends with her."

It was snowing as all 16 arrived at the hospital (more or less at the same time), there were even the beginnings of Christmas decorations along the streets. Even Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies and all types of double-changed have the yuletide spirit. Skull Girl took the lead in breaking the ice amongst the others:

"For most of you, you know each other through the written adventures of our dear Mr. Pirate"

"Mr. Pirate? Oh right, that's what you guys call Aaron. Sorry, I only just started reading Suspects." asked and remarked Maddie.

"This is Maddie Gudenkauf, she's the newest member of the Aaronverse...that is, the newest member of the Aaronverse that is indigenous, to THIS Aaronworld" continued the Skull Girl.

"You need to open a second Media Maddness store East of the Vitava River. Humans like photography, too" said Jen, having been aware of the store for some time.

"Maybe with more humans and changed interacting in unity, it's time that I look into a second store" she replied. Skull Girl and Heather then handed out baseball bats to everyone.

"Before we get started, does anyone want to back out?" asked Heather.

Everyone shook their heads in the negative. They all walked in, seeing both Barash and Dr. Paradis on duty this evening. He looked at Tamara, and they exchanged nods.

"I better be going home for the evening, goodnight Dr. Paradis"

He had exited the main hallway faster than she could say goodnight.

"So, are all of you coming back from a night of Baseball in the park? Are you all...volunteering to donate this evening?" asked Dr. Paradis.

"No. We're here to get your views on the new legislation. We're...census takers" replied Amanda, who was paler than usual.

Dr. Paradis laughed hysterically "It's a joke. Us doctors will break the legislation just like we did the last time. Now are you going be good little humans and changed and follow the rules that I am above?" she asked smugly.

"No, it's payback time for what you did to me." replied John.

"I see...and how do you expect to do that with my immunity?" she asked with a smirk.

"Oh, but my dear Dr. Paradis, in the new legislation, Doctors no longer have the immunity that you speak of." whispered the Skull Girl.

Dr. Paradis didn't even have enough time to draw a horrified expression on her face before Professor Dotson announced "LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!" leading the charge in grabbing Dr. Paradis from behind the desk and dragging her to the ground. It didn't take long for the sea of baseball bats to break virtually every bone in Dr. Paradis's body.

"You know something guys? I think it's overdue for this doctor to donate to our new changed friends" announced Amy.

Dr. Paradis was technically still alive, but barely as Ricky's fangs extended while announcing "That's the gravy train, right there."

Ricky, Amanda, Maddie, Justin, Allan, Tara and Tamara began their group meal while the other 9 left. The humans agreed amongst themselves earlier that day that it was rude to interrupt their changed friends from engaging in their meal.

"Will she survive?" asked Amy, knowing the answer already.

"No, the different species of the changed will change her DNA so many times that if she survives the meal, the cellular mutations will destroy her at the molecular level. An enemy more deserving of such revenge, I have not met" stated John.

Several hours later, they met up again at a club (a favourite of Chaira's) in the Stare Mesto district called Friends (a fitting name for our group of 16 if ever there was one). What was (up until recently), a predominantly LGBT club was now a club welcoming of Humans and Changed from all ends of the sexual spectrum. Wine, Coffee and Cocktails were plentiful and varied, and depending on the night, you could either just simply relax or join in on the party-theme nights Given the...business that they all had earlier in the evening, they elected for a bit of both, sitting in the large group booth in the back but enjoying the loud music that a certain black-haired DJ was playing.

Song to put on: Skrillex – Kill Everybody

"We must've come on Dubstep night" commented Jen with a grin.

"Thank you for recommending this place, Chiara" added Amy as she and Jen embraced.

The vendors and other patrons left them alone. The Humans that were around them were self-absorbed, Vampires knew not to bother the Skull Girl in the slightest (as she was a child, she was still protected by the more noble ones despite her crossbow skills), Werewolves enjoyed the...lunacy...of the crowd, while Zombies and the Double-changed were engaging in drug deals (which the club ignored as they were high rollers).

"So...do you need my appetite suppressant?" asked Tamara to the Skull Girl.

"Nope, this Skull Girl is straight edge." she replied as everyone got up to dance.

It was several hours after the party at the club, and everyone had gone home in the early morning hours. Tara was asleep, but by no means soundly. The 2 nightmares had been an issue for several months now: Visions of non-humans trying to murder a writer friend of hers while a different version of her watched and watching someone commit suicide off of the Eiffel tower while on a job trying to stop it. She awoke amidst fits of hyperventilating and sweating, then an eerie sense of calm came over her, as she stared at some rope that she had purchased from a hardware store a few months prior...

...and then looked up at a hook in the ceiling of her apartment that was normally reserved for holding a cheap chandelier or the like.

"I bet that could hold me...after I kick the chair out from underneath my feet. Goodbye world, no note, just a hope that some other me is happier in the Aaronverse"

Song to put on: Bruce Springsteen – Streets of Philadelphia

Lindsay took a leave of absence shortly after that evening, heading back to the North American continent (as she often did). But she didn't stop in Toronto, or even in Canada, but rather Philadelphia. Her target was an old bingo hall turned government building located on Ratner street (underneath the Interstate 95), which she reached as she heard on the radio:

"In international news tonight, there was an incident in Prague earlier today where a former mafia princess turned independent contract killer reportedly killed 6 people and injured 20 others near the astronomical clock...with nothing more than a tennis racket. World media is calling her, the Racket Girl"

"Looks like the Skull Girl has herself a villain to contend with. Oh well, none of that will matter soon." remarked Lindsay as she saw a retina scanner by the front door. She bent the upper half of the body downward 20 degrees and let the machine do its' job.

"Subject verified...Good evening, Lindsay Collins"

The door opened as she walked inside. She walked down a long, white hallway in complete silence until she reached a 6 feet thick silver door on the south end of the hall more than a quarter mile away from the elevator. There was also a digital control panel to the left of the door that she walked towards. She punched in her password (CrossingTheBridge, all 1 word) and entered. There was no need to push a button, as there were only ground and basement floors. When the elevator opened, the facility inside was completely void of people, only a series of large contraptions that looked like they had been engineered for transportation somewhere...and possibly abandoned.

"Now, let's see how far you got in crossing the Einstein-Rosen bridge so that you could physically travel between the worlds that you write, my son."