Final Destination: Dead Man's Hand

Final Destination: Dead Man's Hand
Author	Steven A. Roman
Publication date	September 13, 2005
Published by	Black Flame
ISBN	1844161773
Publication Order
Preceded by Final Destination: End of the Line	Followed by Final Destination: Looks Could Kill

Final Destination: Dead Man's Hand is a 2005 novel written by Steven A. Roman, and the fourth Black Flame book.

Alternate cover

Official Summary

More chilling suspense inspired by the smash hit movie series

When Allie Goodwin travels to the desert oasis of Las Vegas, she hopes to turn her luck around. Life's dealt her a bad hand and her current luck seems to be no different. But when Allie has a premonition of a terrible accident, she takes steps to stop it from happening. Allie and four other people survive the ordeal and cheat Death. In a town where the odds are always in the house's favor, can Allie hope to beat the Reaper in this game when she's drawn the Dead Man's Hand?

In the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, the Grim Reaper plays host... and his routine will slay them all!

Plot

Prologue

Aldis Escobar knew it was going to be a bad one when the doors of one of the guest elevators in Merlin's Tower closed on him as he entered it. The doors thankfully retract, only leaving Aldis with minor groin pain. Trying to get over the pain, Aldis started listening to his iPod, which occupied him as the elevator descended. But just as the pain faded away, the elevator suddenly came off its track. The impact caused the window to pop out of its frame and Aldis was thrown towards it. Thankfully, the safety bar caught him at the waist, albeit with more groin pain, leaving Aldis to dangle in the air for a bit before he fell to the floor. The elevator returned to its track. As Aldis laid on the carpet floor, he realized that something was intentionally trying to kill him.

Eventually, the elevator reached the basement, where he is chewed out by his shift manager, Tony Augustino. He scolded Aldis for using the guest elevator and blamed him for the elevator window falling out of its frame. Aldis declares that Tony should be thanking him for taking the elevator before some patron could take it and may not have been as lucky as Aldis. The argument then descended into insults and violence as Tony proceeded to choke Aldis angrily. Thankfully, Aldis talked Tony down, promising to not talk to anyone about what happened in the elevator. Now pleased, Tony told Aldis to go home and that he would see him tomorrow.

Aldis drove home, still furious over what just happened. As Aldis was lost in his own thoughts, a van lost control after its driver tried to beat the changing traffic light. The van hopped on the curb, launching itself into the air. Aldis could only watch when the van made two spins in air and landed on top of Aldis's car. The impact crushed Aldis's chest underneath the steering wheel, shattering his ribcage. The broken bones ripped into Aldis's lungs, heart, and skin. Coughing up blood, Aldis could feel the desert wind touch his face, remembering how some people say that they felt the touch of Death. In his last moments of life, Aldis realized one thing, "The third time is really the charm."

Chapter One

To Be Added

Main Characters

• Almarie Faith Goodwin-Gaines: A diner worker and fast-paced, impulsive party girl, she had convinced Tom to go on vacation in Las Vegas, where the two got drunk and had a quickie wedding. The one who foresaw the collapse of the Merlin's Tower elevator, she is the fifth and last survivor to die, contracting HIV after being covered in the blood of Officer Sean Murphy when he was bisected.
• Thomas Gaines: A carpenter and Allie's husband, the two having impulsively married while on vacation, he can best be described as her better half, being the responsible one. The fourth survivor to die, he is hit by a speeding truck while changing a blown-out tire.
• Arlen Ploog: A low-life everyman, gambling addict and self-professed loser employed by The Big Apple Laundromat. The third survivor to die, he has his penis inadvertently bitten off by the prostitute who was giving him head.
• Detective Warren Ackerman: A burnt-out veteran of the Las Vegas PD with a strong sense of justice, he becomes obsessed with bringing a child killer to justice, planning on retiring after the solving the case. The second survivor to die, he is electrocuted by cables damaged during a gun fight with the child killer.
• Shawna Engles: An exotic dancer employed by the Merlin's Tower show Magipalooza! and Warren's girlfriend. The first survivor to die, she is rammed into a slot machine, the coin dispenser of which impales her through the mouth, by a runaway prize car.
• Detective Isabelle Montoya: A member of the Las Vegas PD who had recently transferred from vice to homicide, she is Warren's partner. Presumably contracts and dies of HIV along with Allie, as she too was completely covered in Officer Murphy's blood.
• Aldis Escobar: A high school drop-out and waiter employed by The Lady of the Lake, a restaurant at the peak of Las Vegas landmark Merlin's Tower, He narrowly avoids falling to his death while using the guest elevator, only to be crushed against his steering wheel later on the same day in a car accident.

Trivia

• According to Steven A. Roman, the disaster would have occurred at the Stratosphere tower, with the rollercoaster breaking free and falling loose. Unfortunately, this was later changed because Final Destination 3 was announced, and Roman was forced to rewrite the manuscript to avoid conflicting with the movie.