Chapter Six Ellie I stood in the middle of a crowded walkway in the casino, the room abruptly pitch-black. Everyone froze. I could feel the collective confusion and the weighted expectation that, surely, the lights would come back on. They didn’t. After a moment of silence, voices picked up around me, murmurs running through the room. People were checking their phones. When I glanced to my screen, there was no reception whatsoever. I told myself to stay calm. Generators would kick in, and everything would carry on as usual. Whatever had caused the power to blink out would be resolved. Something felt off. My gut pinged with anxiety. After everyone had frozen for a moment, people began to move, following the dim lighting of the emergency exit signs. My anxiety ramped up a few more notch