The Gods' Games Volume 1 & 2: Graphic Edition (The Gods' Games Series)

by Quil Carter

  “Shh…” Ben hissed, picking up his pace. He looked around to make sure no one else was around. Muggers might not be a worry to him but cops were. “We’ll talk about it once we get home, but yeah, we do.”

  Tav nodded and said nothing else. With their snacks in hand the two crossed the park and continued to head towards their apartment.

  A rush of pleasant heat greeted Ben as the two of them walked into Ben’s two bedroom apartment. He grinned and held his hands out to meet the heat and let out a happy sigh.

  Tav disappeared into the kitchen, and after taking off his jacket and shoes, Ben flopped down on his old cat-scratched couch. He laid down on it and turned on the television, before he started rolling himself a joint.

  He carefully tucked the leaves into the fragile white paper, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he delicately rolled the leaves. By now he was a pro at this; he had been smoking weed since he was fourteen years old and popping pills since he was eighteen. That was his life, but since he was an orphan who had been in and out of foster care with his brother since he was five, Ben thought he was doing just fine.

  Tav could be heard taking out bowls and plates from the kitchen. He was a good kid who loved to do anything he could to help Ben – he was in the running for being one of the best roommates to ever exist.

  In truth Ben had never been sure about the ‘roommate’ thing before, but after almost overdosing alone six months back, his friends had decided for him that it was in his best interest to have someone else living with him.

  To Ben’s own surprise he didn’t have to look long at all to find someone. He had spread the word to a few of his customers and several of his friends and within a matter of days Tav’s name started to surface.

  He had been formerly introduced to Tav at his friend Emett’s house and had connected with the kid right away. Within several hours Tav had officially moved in, but that being said, it really hadn’t taken that long. Tav had next to nothing to his name besides a backpack and a couple suitcases. He had been either crashing on peoples’ couches or staying in cheap hotels.

  And though Ben wasn’t one to trust or tolerate people right off the bat, he had taken one look at Tav’s puppy-dog brown eyes and took pity on the kid. He was good-looking and innocent and those two mixed in with the rough crowd Ben hung out with never resulted in anything good.

  Innocent young men never stayed innocent for long, and if that was going to happen to Tav – Ben wanted to make sure he was the one to corrupt the little foreigner.

  “Okay, pizza is almost heated up!” Tav called excitedly from the kitchen. Ben smiled at his enthusiasm, once again finding it endearing and almost enchanting that the kid got so excited over such stupid things. He had convinced himself that the food must’ve been absolutely horrible in Albania.

  “Thanks, Tav-my-man,” Ben called with a stoned smile on his face. He closed his eyes and stretched his limbs out before settling in and waiting for his roommate to bring him his food.

  I really shouldn’t be charging him rent, Ben said to himself. He opened his eyes again, his dirty and dated apartment swirling around in his blurry vision. He’s more of my live-in nanny than roommate. But, well, at least he’s enjoying himself.

  And Tav seemed to love doting on Ben. He had tried to pass it off as saying that he had younger brothers and sisters in Albania that he was used to taking care of but Ben suspected that it went further than that.

  Which, in truth, he didn’t have a problem with.

  At this inner thought Ben felt a jolt go through his heart. One of the first things Ben had learned about Tav was that, like Ben himself, he was gay. He had never set out to find a gay roommate but when he had found Tav it was like winning the lottery. It hadn’t taken Ben long at all to start feeling that little quiver inside of his gut whenever he was having good quality hangout time with Tav, and with how the kid acted around him – he was starting to think that the feeling might be mutual.

  Ben flinched when he heard Tav let out a sudden yelp. He looked up and saw Tav stumble, almost dropping their plates of food.

  “This living room is such a fucking mess…” Tav grumbled, kicking a pizza box out of the way. “You told me you would at least get the trash out on time. You know I can’t because of college.” Tav put Ben’s two slices of pizza down on the dirty coffee table and a new bottle of Coca-Cola.

  “I’ll get around to it,” Ben said with a grunt. He slouched down on the couch and put his plate of pizza on his stomach.

  “You’ve been saying that for weeks…”

  Ben shrugged but didn’t say anything; instead he started eating his pizza ignoring the fact that he could feel Tav’s unimpressed eyes burrowing into him.

  Sure the apartment was a mess… but it was fine. It wasn’t like they had rats or anything like that. Who was Ben trying to impress anyway? All of his friends were drug dealers and lowlifes just like he was so fuck it. If they got offended by empty pizza boxes and Styrofoam containers that was their damn problem.

  “You know I wouldn’t mind doing it but there isn’t much of a point when…” Tav’s voice trailed when Ben grabbed the remote and started turning up the television to drown him out. Though when Ben’s roommate let out a sad sigh Ben looked at him and gave him a smug but goofy grin.

  But Tav only frowned.

  “I was talking to Emett today… and they think you might be getting depressed…” he said in a meek voice full of both caution and submission. “They’re saying – you’ve kind of been steadily getting worse since Erick disappeared.”

  An awkward silence descended on the room. Tav seemed to writhe in his spot but Ben was just still, staring at the television as if he wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard Tav’s comment.

  “I’m fine,” Ben said flatly after a solid minute had passed. He threw down the piece of pizza and roughly slammed the plate down on the coffee table, so hard that he was surprised it didn’t break.

  “You don’t seem fine…” Tav said in the same small voice. “I know I’m just your roomy, but we’re friends too, right? You never talk about him.”

  “What’s there to talk about?” Ben said in a bitter voice. He brushed his black hair out of his eyes and reached for his bottle of morphine pills. “Erick was a drug-addicted, psychotic loser and he pissed off the wrong person. His bones are probably in a foot of mud by now. What else do you want to know?” He cracked open the bottle and popped a single pill into his mouth before roughly throwing the bottle across the room. It hit the wall and fell in between a black garbage bag and a stack of pizza boxes ten boxes high.

  “Sorry… I’ll shut up,” Tav replied. Then he leaned down and picked up Ben’s plate of food and handed it back to him. “You’re too skinny – at least eat a bit more.”

  Ben grunted, but in truth he was hungry. So he grabbed the plate without protest and waited for the morphine to take his bad mood away.

  And it worked, two hours later Tav’s questions had faded into the muddled background where they belonged. Ben was now on his back with his head on Tav’s lap as the two of them watched Happy Days on the television.

  Ben was enjoying Tav lightly playing with his hair, the little Albanian knew by now how much Ben enjoyed touch when he was rolling on morphine and it seemed that the young man loved nothing better than to give Ben just that.

  “Are you going to be okay to do our drop off in an hour, Benji?” Tav asked as he pressed back Ben’s wavy black hair. “You seem pretty out of it.”

  “Mmhmm,” Ben said, sticking his tongue out to pick up a dribble of drool he could feel sliding down his prickly facial hair. “It’s not too far to drive. I’ll – I’ll be there in – in no thime.”

  “No thime?” Tav looked down at him, a defiant frown on his face. “You’re not driving when you’re this high, and I hate driving at night. We’ll be walking.”

  Ben opened his eyes, and with an annoyed grunt, he waved his roommate off. But as he felt Tav’s eyes burrow into h
im he relented with a sigh and wiped his hands down his face. “Alright, well if we’re walking, we might as well leave now then.”

  “Thank you.” Tav smiled and playfully pinched Ben’s nose. Then after Ben sat up Tav rose and disappeared into Ben’s bedroom, no doubt finding the gear that they were going to need for their upcoming drug deal.

  “Did Emett tell us who we’re meeting?” Ben called after him. He slowly got up off of his old couch, hearing the orchestra of squeaking as he did. That couch had seen better days, and it never missed a chance to protest when it was being abused.

  Tav appeared shaking his head as he handed Ben his jacket and a black suitcase.

  “No, but he said we’re meeting him in the alley on 9th Street,” the young man said as he handed Ben his wallet.

  This had been the routine for the past half-year for the two of them. Every five to six days Ben made the same drug run after getting the necessary calls from either Emett or his business partner David. It was their job to tell him where they were meeting the drug runner and, of course, what to bring.

  Although many men Ben’s age had full-time jobs and responsibilities Ben made his money in the drug trade; it was also how he supplied his friends with drugs. It was a simple routine that Ben had down to a science, some days being pickup days and others drop offs.

  For pickups Ben would drive into the heart of Denver and purchase several thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine, weed, and whatever painkillers the drug supplier had for him that week. After everything was verified he would make the purchase and then turn around and sell smaller amounts to the small-time drug dealers for a hefty mark up. It was simple and the payout was enough to keep the rent paid and the pizza on the table. Ben did have a side job as a secretary however, but it was only to keep the tax man happy.

  “Okay, almost ready.” Ben quickly walked into the bathroom and splashed some cold water onto his unshaven face. He roughly rubbed the towel against his eyes in a vain attempt to wake himself up.

  When he lowered the towel and checked himself out, he found himself staring dully at his reflection. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get rid of the black circles underneath his eyes, or the purple-black lids. He always looked sick or at the very least, that he hadn’t slept well.

  “Got the suitcase?” Ben called as he left the bathroom.

  “Yep,” Tav responded.

  “Wallet?”

  “Yessum.” Tav nodded slipping his jacket on. Then he opened the door to the cold night and slipped outside.

  Ben appeared behind him rubbing his gloved hands together. “Alrighty, let’s roll.” There was a click as Ben closed the door before locking it. Then a moment later the empty night filled with the sound of them walking down the apartment building’s metal stairs.

  The two of them ran across the deserted street and hopped up onto the sidewalk. Ben quickly glanced over his shoulder before they sprinted across the same dimly lit park they had crossed several hours before.

  “I think it’s gotten colder,” Tav commented. They could see the haze of their breath with every exhale; it coated the buildings in front of them with a thin fog before dissipating into the frozen air. “You really should buy a thicker jacket.”

  “We would be fine if you just let me drive,” Ben said with a smile. He always got a unique thrill when Tav was doing deals with him and the potent drugs massaging his brain helped accentuate that feeling.

  He moved closer to Tav so the two of them were practically shoulder to shoulder. “It looks like even the bums and loiterers have gone to sleep. It’s just us in the park tonight.”

  Tav nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets; he looked around at the dark shadows of trees and bushes, then over his shoulder. Ben watched his roommates lips disappear into his mouth before he let out a shallow but pensive breath.

  “Are you all right?” Ben scowled. He was used to seeing Tav apprehensive during their drug deals but he seemed tenser than usual tonight.

  “You know I don’t like this park,” Tav said in a dropped voice. “There could be anything hiding in these shadows, and we don’t have much in the way of defence.”

  “You’re making it sound like we’re in enemy territory or something,” Ben scoffed. He looked around and tried to visualize the park through Tav’s eyes but it was just the same old park to him. “There are no monsters hiding in the dark to come out and butt fuck us. We’re fine.”

  Tav let out a breath through his nose like he wasn’t convinced, then, once again, he glanced behind his shoulder and swept the dark area with his eyes.

  “Stop looking so damn suspicious,” Ben hissed into Tav’s ear. “The one thing we do have to worry about is cops. I don’t need you getting us arrested or else we will be screwed. Just act normal – you can do that, right? Be normal?”

  “Sorry,” Tav said quickly. He looked straight ahead and kept his gaze straight ahead.

  There was no moon tonight but it didn’t make that much of a difference in the Denver suburbs; the light pollution had killed any nocturnal fears one might have from the darkness.

  Or to Ben anyway – Tav seemed to hate being out in the dark. His favourite place seemed to be in the apartment or if he was feeling really socially anxious, in his bedroom.

  “Ahhh, Tavy-man, don’t worry I’ll protect you.” Ben laughed and pushed Tav playfully with his shoulder. Tav flushed and smiled; he moved closer to his roommate.

  “Want me to hold your hand?” Ben said playfully. “So the bad guys don’t try and grab you?”

  Tav flushed. He looked down at the ground and Ben could see red starting to appear on his cheeks. He glanced over at Ben and immediately Ben felt his own wave of embarrassment, realizing that the joke he had just made might’ve been taken a tad too serious by Tav.

  Or… was it a joke? That thought sat awkwardly in Ben’s throat.

  He swallowed the comment and jammed his hands into his pockets. “So, what are we delivering tonight?” Ben said quickly.

  Tav’s cheeks reddened further; he looked down at the suitcase. “Um… green and pills.”

  “And the pills are mine, right?” Ben asked. He knew they were but he needed to press conversation right now. “I have enough funds to afford those this week?”

  Tav nodded. The two of them hopped over the four foot high chain-link fence that separated the park from the sidewalk, then, with a glance in both directions, they sprinted across another street.

  “You know me, I’m not that great at math but we should clear it easily and you’ll still pocket a good amount too,” Tav replied quietly. They passed a few late night bar hoppers as they walked down one of the main streets before the both of them ducked into a dark alleyway.

  “That’s what I like to hear.” Ben gave him a crooked half-smile, though in the sparsely lit alleyway Tav couldn’t see him at all.

  Ben let out a long breath and watched as the frozen air turned his breath into vapour. He leaned his back against the brick wall and scanned the area for any trouble. Ben wasn’t a cigarette smoker but for some reason he always got the temptation to light one whenever he was about to make a drop off; like having a cigarette in his mouth made him more fitting of the part of drug dealer.

  The boy shifted closer to him and Ben found himself absentmindedly putting his arm around his roommate’s shoulder. It wasn’t the handholding but it was something he did feel like he could do in the moment.

  “Zahn?” a male voice called from the shadows. Ben could feel Tav’s body tense up from surprise.

  “That’s me,” Ben said cautiously; he didn’t recognize the voice this time. Usually Emett and David arranged the drop offs to be picked up by the same handful of people but this one was new to him.

  And there was something else that made Ben feel uneasy. The man had a strange quality to his voice, one that Ben couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was unsettling but he decided to push past it. He trusted his friends; they would never try and set him up.

  So w
ith that thought in his head Ben stepped into the small slice of light from a nearby street light and held up the suitcase. But as he looked towards the voice he realized that there were two of them there. One of them, the man who had spoken to Ben, was in the shadows; and the other one, a stocky man with broad shoulders and a menacing expression on his face was in the alleyway.

  The stocky man gave Ben a once over, and held out his hand.

  Ben looked down to see a rolled up wad of cash. He took it from the stocky man and reached around his back, not taking his eyes off of the two men. He felt Tav take the money out of his hand and the three of them waited for him to count it.

  At least they know the routine, Ben thought to himself. I still don’t like this though. I’m going to give Emett a fucking earful for this.

  “It’s all here,” Tav’s mousey voice sounded after half a minute, it was thick with an anxiety that seemed to permeate the air. There was no question that this drug deal was tense but it wasn’t like they were delivering puppies and rainbows; this was drug dealing and you had to deal with shifty people.

  But usually Ben knew these shifty people.

  Behind him Ben could hear Tav put the money into his wallet. When Ben heard the shifting of fabric which was the wallet going into Tav’s pants, Ben handed the suitcase over to the scowling big one. Now, no matter what, the two strangers couldn’t do a smash and grab. Tav had the money and he was a fast runner if things got hairy.

  Though that didn’t seem like something that was on the new guy’s mind. The well-built man turned around and was shrouded in darkness as he stepped away from Ben and Tav. A few moments later they both heard the clicks as the two opened the latches on the suitcase.

  This was the last part of the deal, the transfer; transferring Ben’s stock into their own suitcase, or bag or whatever they brought. After they had transferred everything the deal was supposed to be done and everyone went on their separate ways.

  The one who kept his face hidden took the now empty suitcase from his accomplice and handed it to Ben.