The House Always Wins | SCP-2549

Albert Thorpe was having a good night at the casino. He was winning at blackjack, a beautiful woman named Gloria had slid up next to him, and he was feeling like himself again—the version of himself that existed before his wife left him, before he had to kill her, before he started worrying that word might have gotten out. He didn't notice the man with yellow eyes watching him from across the gaming floor. He didn't notice when that man picked up his scent through the smoke and perfume. And when the attack came—when the thing that everyone perceived as a man named Mr. Coy, but was actually a wild coyote, leaped onto him and ripped his throat out with its teeth—Albert Thorpe did not fight back. He did not call for help. He did not even struggle. The only sound he made was a faint whisper as he died: "Angela."

It took fourteen seconds for anyone to react. Then Gloria screamed, and the casino erupted.

The Phenomenon