People say that Las Vegas is a tourist’s paradise. They say that it’s a vacation spot that will appeal to anyone’s tastes. But they’re wrong. Las Vegas is no heaven; it has a devil’s heart. The casinos drain visitors of so much money that many leave with nothing but the clothes on their back. The air is thick with choking smog that clogs up the lungs of unwary tourists. Drugs and gangs are manifest throughout the city, preying on anyone who strays from the lighted pathways. But the worst is the alcohol. To the average visitor, it may just seem like one small beer. But soon, their system is raving for more. They grow restless and violent. The alcohol drains not only their money, but their sanity as well. Las Vegas is like the beautiful, but deadly Venus flytrap. It attracts people from all over the world and then saps away their happiness. One man had experienced this evil firsthand... the evil that ruined his life.

He had seen a little bit of everything in Las Vegas. He had watched the street shows, admired the luminous incandescent lightings, and tried out some of the games in the showy casinos. He had dined in the finest restaurants in Nevada. Now the man decided to end his day with a drink. He sat down at the bar and ordered a glass of Budweiser. He ordered drink, after drink, after drink. He wanted to stop, but the alcohol wouldn’t let him. It had imprisoned him and he was being forced to follow its commands. Before he knew it, he was spewing out some of the most vulgar words he knew. The bar’s bouncer took him by the arm, told him that he had enough beer, and kicked him out of the bar. The man turned around to swear at him, but he couldn’t come up with the right words. Instead, he just smashed the bottle that he had in his hands against the cracked pavement. Someone had screamed, but the man didn’t even turn her way. He was just too drunk to care.

He stepped onto the main street, obstructing the bustling traffic. As he started crossing, frustrated drivers honked their horns viciously and started hollering. He looked around, trying to spot out what had caused all the commotion, unaware that it was all because of him. Suddenly, something hit him hard from the side. He fell to the ground, sprawled out on the asphalt. At first the man was dazed, but he slowly brought himself back up. He shook his head vigorously, trying to put together what had happened. It had felt like he had been struck by an elephant. He turned to his right and found woman apologizing to him out of the window of her car. The reckless driver had driven her red Cadillac right into him! He yelled her angrily. Couldn’t anyone let him cross a street peacefully? The man arrogantly turned aside and tried to make his way across to the other side. He stumbled often, bruising and scraping himself. When he finally made it, he took a seat on a creaky bench and tried to get some shuteye.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not go to sleep. As soon as the man would enter a slight slumber, an annoying driver would honk violently, jolting him awake. His patience finally wore out. He got up and started lumbering down the street. He had nowhere to go. He didn’t know his name or where he came from, but he didn’t care either. He was just walking. Just walking until he couldn’t walk anymore.

About an hour later, he spotted a gorgeous marriage chapel. He thought that maybe someone could help him out. He creaked open the door and took one small step into the warm, glowing room. So many things hit him at once that he suddenly became even dizzier. A strong scent of lavender perfume filled the hall as waiters hurried from the dining area to the kitchen. The walls were beautifully decorated with bright, red carnations and verdant garlands. The floor was lined with golden ribbon and there was a lustrous marble cross on a wooden pedestal in the front of the room. But the man was completely ignoring all of these magnificent sights. He had already found what he wanted: food. There was food beyond his imagination. It was just too much to handle. He instinctively bolted towards the buffet table and started stuffing his mouth with some of the meats, straight from the serving trays. Then he dug into the wedding cake in the center of the table. People all around him started muttering.

“Who is this guy? Was he even invited?” one of the men standing a few yards away from him asked.

“I don’t think so. The way he’s eating… it’s just so revolting! Who does he think he is, intruding like this!” a woman replied. “Someone, call the police! Get this vulgar drunkard out of this building! He’s ruining the wedding!”

A security guard had put a hand on the man’s shoulder. The guard turned him around and gave him the kind of look a teacher gives her student when she’s annoyed with his behavior. Then he grabbed the man’s arm tightly and began shoving him toward the door.

“I think it’s time for you to leave. This is no place for an uncontrollable drunkard like you,” The guard whispered to him.

But the man couldn’t just leave all that food behind. It was like heaven. This good-for-nothing guard had no right to drag him away! He whipped myself free and pushed the guard back. He started muttering a bunch of insane nonsense through his full mouth, protesting blindly. As the sprinted back toward the platters, another security guard ran at him and knocked him to the ground. He placed a pair of manacles around the man’s wrists as the pinned him against the wall. The security guard reached for the man’s head, trying to keep it still. But the man vigorously shook it off and bit hard into the guard’s hand. The guard screamed violently, squeezing his hand. The man then instinctively kicked the guard hard in the shin. Angrily, the guard took out his gun and fired twice straight into the man’s chest.

“Nobody… can…st-stop me, you useless…,” the man muttered as he collapsed to the ground, blood spilling all over the floor.

And although the people tried, he would not wake up…