by West, Sam
The noise cut out after less than five seconds, leaving a dull ringing in her ears.
“Please take your seats,” a voice blared over an unseen speaker. Jasper’s voice. “Decide amongst yourselves who will be dealer. Play must commence in under a minute otherwise you will be punished.”
Jasper’s voice cut out and all of them looked frantically around, including Kendra. God only knew what she was searching for, what any of them were searching for. There was no escape route.
“What the fuck does he mean, you will all be punished?” Maria, the hard-faced blonde said.
“I don’t know and I’m not about to find out,” Kendra replied, taking her seat once more.
If nothing else, Kendra considered herself to be a practical woman. She would act if and when the opportunity presented itself. She knew perfectly well when someone had the upper-hand over her; when it was pointless to protest.
And speaking of hands, there was a game that they had to play. She sat up in her seat and stretched out for the cards.
“Allow me, sweetheart,” Craig said, beating her to it, then sitting down in his original seat next to hers.
“Are you crazy?” Maria said to Craig. “Are you forgetting that you just got fucking electrocuted in that fucking seat?”
“Yeah, my memory ain’t that short,” Craig said, shuffling the cards with an expert’s flair.
“I don’t want to sit down,” Jean complained.
Wayne was still comforting her, his gaze flitting nervously from the fat woman to his seat. “I think perhaps we should,” he said softly.
“Will you three please just sit,” Kendra said. “I think we should play along until we understand fully what we’re up against.”
“I don’t like being someone’s plaything,” Kevin said through gritted teeth.
“Kevin, please, now is not the time to rebel.”
She locked eyes with her former flame, her heart slamming in her chest. She held her breath as a look flashed across his eyes, one she wasn’t quite able to read.
Defeat, she thought with a shaky sigh of relief as he took his seat opposite her.
“I’m not sitting,” Jean sobbed.
“You have to,” Kendra said.
Jasper’s voice suddenly filled the room, blaring out over the unseen speakers and making all of them flinch: “Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
“Fuck this,” Wayne said, abandoning Jean and sitting down to Kendra’s left.
By the time Jasper got to one, Jean was still standing. The voice cut out, and all was silent. No one spoke, or even moved. Jean just stood there, her eyes wide and glazed, swaying on the spot. A movement caused Kendra’s head to swivel round to the door she had spotted earlier. A man strode into the room, someone she didn’t recognise. He was dressed in black jeans and a plain black t-shirt, and over his head he wore a balaclava.
Her insides shrivelled when she saw he was holding a gun. Kendra knew next to nothing about guns, but it was long and thin, and she guessed it was a rifle.
A hunting gun, she thought with a shudder. And we’re the prey.
The well-built man shouldered the weapon, and pointed it at Jean. Without ceremony, he fired the gun. It happened so fast, Kendra barely had time to comprehend what had happened. Her ears rang from the loudness of the blast in the confined space as she stared in disbelief at the dead woman on the ground.
She blinked, her entire body numb and heavy with shock. Accompanied by a brief eruption of blood, Jean had crumpled to the floor without a sound. Now she lay unmoving on her back, her black dress rucked up around her flabby thighs. One fat leg was twisted awkwardly at the knee and one arm was flung over her head as if she were sleeping. Blood seeped around her, an ever-growing puddle that fanned out around her head and torso.
Shot in the heart, Kendra thought distantly. A direct shot, judging from the perfect little hole over her heart…
The fact that Jean probably felt only the briefest flash of agony in the nanosecond before her heart exploded provided little comfort. Her head swam and she could only stare at the dead woman, her jaw slack. Jean’s eyes were still open, wide with surprise.
By the time Kendra wrenched her gaze away from the macabre spectacle, the man that had shot her had disappeared. No one moved or spoke, and Kendra flinched when Jasper’s voice flooded the room once more:
“This is what happens when you don’t play by my rules, and I hope that Jean’s untimely demise will serve as a warning to the rest of you. You have one minute to deal.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“It’s a good thing his face was hidden, right? It means we’re supposed to live?” Maria said in a small voice.
“Try telling that to Jean,” Craig said, picking up the cards in front of him on the table and proceeding to give them a shuffle.
Cheating had occurred to him – it would be relatively easy to make sure the cards were stacked in his favour – but that damn camera was watching him. Craig figured he would probably get away with it, but he wasn’t prepared to take that risk, less he ended up like Jean. The woman’s death left him unmoved, he had no sympathy for her whatsoever. The silly cow would still be alive if she had just done what she was supposed to, it was her own dopey fault. He gazed disdainfully over at the dead woman.
Jesus Christ, what a fucking porker, I can’t believe I used to fuck that when I was fifteen...
With all the finesse of a Black Jack dealer in Vegas – all those years of playing Poker in his local of a Wednesday night had paid off – he skimmed the cards across the table, one to each of them.
“You’re a bastard,” Kendra said softly.
Her words angered him, but he tried not to let it show. “Just playing the game, baby.”
Kendra shook her head in obvious disgust. Kevin and Wayne just looked shell-shocked, the drippy, pathetic bastards. They really needed to man up if they wanted to live.
Let’s hope they don’t, ‘cause I ain’t got no intention of losing.
Kendra stared at the card in front of her like it was a Cobra about to strike. No one made a move to pick up their card, apart from Craig.
Queen of hearts. Not too shabby.
He smirked at his card, holding it so the others couldn’t see.
Let the fucker’s sweat.
“Let’s all do it on the count of three,” Kevin said. The other three nodded. “One, two, three.”
Each of them turned over their card, laying it face-up in front of them on the table. Craig quickly scanned the revealed cards, his heart sinking.
I don’t fucking believe it.
Kendra had a fucking king. Un-fucking-believable. Still, at least he didn’t have to play this time.
“Looks like it’s me and you,” Wayne said to Maria.
Wayne held a two of hearts and Maria a three of diamonds. Kevin was in the clear with a joker.
Maria’s tan looked even more orange and fake as the colour drained from her face. “What will we have to do?”
“Whatever you’re told to do, sweet-cheeks. I’m sure even a washed-up old slut like you can grasp that concept, or did they fill your brain with silicone to match your tits?”
“Oi, watch yourself,” Kevin said, eyes blazing.
Craig ignored him and smirked at the dumb slapper, vaguely irked that Kendra had completely blanked his witty little comment.
“Relax Maria,” Kendra said, “I’ve got the king, you don’t have to worry.”
Craig rolled his eyes. The stupid twats were going to drag this arsehole game out forever if they were going to pussy-foot around it.
Go big or go home. They ain’t gonna know what’s hit them when it’s my turn.
“Don’t worry, Maria,” Wayne was saying, “if we all pull together and make the tasks as painless as possible, we might just get through this.”
Craig couldn’t believe what a fucking loser Wayne had become. He used to be up for a laugh, he used to be alright.
“Well, that ain’t gonna work now, is it
?” he said, unable to stop himself. “We’ll be here for fucking ever if we do that. Someone has to win, don’t they?”
Who gives a fuck about him, anyway, Craig decided. He figured it would just make what he had to do all the easier.
“For God’s sake, Craig, we have to look out for each other, help each other.”
“Says you,” Craig scoffed
“I’ve changed. I’m not the person I used to be.”
“Bollocks, no one changes, not really.”
“I have. I was a real jerk in school. I’m sorry for the way I treated Jasper and I regret the way I used to carry on.”
“You’re just saying that because of that,” Craig said, gesturing to the camera mounted on the ceiling with the faintest flick of his head. Christ, this guy’s holier-than-thou attitude was really beginning to get on his wick.
“Stop, we don’t have time for this,” Kendra butted in. “We have a game to play, and I have to set a task before anyone else is bloody well shot. Wayne, Maria, I want you to stand up and shake hands.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Craig said, rolling his eyes to the heavens.
“You need to watch your step mate, I’ve had just about enough of you,” Kevin said.
Craig regarded him, deciding that he looked really pissed. “Why don’t you take that hammer and shove it up your arse?” he said casually.
“You’d better fucking hope it’s not me with the highest card, because I might just make you do that.”
Craig laughed. “That’s the spirit, mate. At least then one of us might get out of here alive.”
“No one else is going to die,” Kendra said firmly. “We can’t let that happen.”
For a quack, Craig figured she was really bloody stupid. I’m not going to be the one doing the dying, that’s for sure.
Craig watched as Wayne and Maria met halfway behind Kevin and solemnly shook hands, after which they sat back down again.
Unbelievable, he thought for the umpteenth time, shaking his head.
The ear-splitting shriek of the bell cut through the quiet of the room, making him flinch. It stopped after a few seconds and everyone sat there stunned.
“One minute to deal, folks,” Craig said. “Who’s gonna do the honours because I don’t fancy being shot?”
Just when he thought no one was going to make a move to pick up the cards, Kevin stood up and snatched them before sitting down again. Craig watched in disdain as he shuffled them awkwardly – he’d seen ten-year-old girls handle a deck better.
Kevin’s hand trembled as he dealt and when Craig claimed the card that slid towards him, he was gripped by a spasm of doubt.
This shit is hardcore.
Fleetingly, he harboured thoughts of going soft. Maybe the others were right, maybe, if they kept the tasks ‘safe’ over a period of time, the ginger tosser would get bored and let them go.
Nah, bollocks to that, like fuck he will. In it to win it, remember?
In that moment, Craig changed his mind; he decided he was going to cheat, camera be damned. It would be reasonably easy to ‘float’ his card to the top of the deck while he was shuffling. Why the hell not, he had gotten away with it a hundred times before. He was only going to be shot by some faceless cunt anyway if Kevin chucked a shitty task his way that was impossible to complete. Yep, these fuckers were in for a shock when he got a king, and next time he dealt he would make damn sure that he did.
Come on then, bring it on, I ain’t dying today.
Taking a deep breath, Craig turned over his card.
CHAPTER SIX
Kendra stared at the card laying face-down in front of her on the table, scared out of her mind. She was beyond terrified, they were at the mercy of a lunatic and there was no unity. Craig was out of control, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would royally screw them over as soon as he was able.
The stupid bastard is going to get us all killed.
Just as she was about to turn over her card, Kevin leapt up from his seat and grabbed the bottle of red wine.
“What are you doing? You can’t touch the props,” Maria said.
“Who says?” Kevin replied. “Jasper never said anything about that.”
He proceeded to unscrew the lid and took a big chug of wine with all four of them staring at him.
“What? Haven’t you ever seen an alcoholic before?”
Craig laughed and Kendra’s heart sank. This was going from bad to worse, everything was spiralling out of control. Now Kevin could officially join the ranks of instability along with Craig.
“Kevin, please, I really think you should keep a clear head,” she pleaded, knowing it was pointless.
Kevin let out a hollow laugh. “A clear head? It’s been a long while since I had one of them.”
Kendra’s heart sank to rock-bottom. How could things get so bad, so quickly?
Just you wait until Craig gets the king…
An icy sweat broke out on her back and she closed her eyes, pushing down the wave of panic.
It didn’t bear thinking about.
But you have to think about it because it is inevitable that it will happen at some point.
“Are we going to turn these over, or not?” Wayne was saying, snapping her out of her dire musings.
Craig, of course, had already turned over his and was cradling the card to his chest. Stealing herself, she turned over her card the same time as the other three.
Maria began to sob and Kevin threw back his head and laughed. After that, he picked up the wine bottle and chugged down half of it.
Kendra took in everyone’s cards apart from Craig’s, who was still keeping his hidden. There was a nasty little smirk on his face which she didn’t like one bit.
I’m in the clear, she thought with an entirely selfish shudder of relief. Wayne had an ace, so he was definitely playing, and Maria had a two of diamonds. She had a seven of spades, and Kevin had a six of hearts.
But what does Craig have?
“A king of clubs,” Craig said proudly, laying his card face-up the table.
Kendra’s blood ran cold.
“This can’t be happening,” Maria said, her eyes wide in her orange face.
“But it is happening,” Craig reminded her. “So in all of our interests, I suggest that we get on with it. Wayne and Maria, seeing as you two used to be an item back in school, I’d like you both to strip naked and indulge in a little fucky-fucky. And when you’ve done that, Maria, I’d like you to take that rolling-pin and shove it all the way up Wayne’s arse.”
Kevin jumped to his feet, his eyes blazing and his jaw set. “You piece of fucking shit. You cunt.”
Kendra eyed Kevin’s clenched fists with some alarm – if Kevin didn’t play by the rules, then they’d likely all be shot. She had to at least try and reason with Craig, surely he couldn’t be that evil, deep down?
“Come on, Craig, you don’t have to do it this way. Please, we can get through this if we just pull together…”
“Fuck that,” Craig said, cutting her down. “Only one person can win, don’t you get it?”
Kevin took a step towards him. “You sadistic, fucking scum-bag…”
“Kevin, please, that isn’t helping,” Kendra said.
“There’s only one more cunt that’s going to die round here.”
“It’s a bit late for that, wouldn’t you say? Jean’s already dead, and only one of us is going to walk out of here alive. This shit is hardcore, it’s to the fucking death.” Craig turned to address Wayne. “Would you rather I was a twat like Kendra and dragged this out forever, or would you rather a clean shot in the heart? You’re supposed to decline the fucking challenge, and bow out gracefully.”
“You’re fucking enjoying this,” Maria said. “If you were decent, you’d either make the task really easy or totally impossible as a way to get us shot. You’re just out to fucking humiliate us. So fuck you.”
“No, baby,” Craig retorted. “It’s you that’s gonna get fucked.�
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Kendra gasped when Kevin flew for Craig and punched him in the face.
That’s that, then. We’re all dead, game over.
Craig cupped his nose in his hands, his blood splashing on the concrete floor. “You’ll fucking regret that,” he muttered.
Kendra stared over at the door, waiting for the man with the gun to come back and put them all out of their misery.
He didn’t appear. Suddenly, Jasper’s voice boomed out over the speakers, accompanied by a tinny, distorted wailing that hurt her ears:
“This is your last chance, folks. Stop messing around and play the game. If play doesn’t commence in under a minute, you will all experience more pain than any of you could ever have dreamed possible.”
For a moment they all stood there in silence, staring helplessly at each other. Wayne was the one to break the silence.
“What do you say, Maria, shall we do the right thing?”
“I suppose getting fucked is better than getting shot.”
“You gonna take one for the team, Wayne?” Craig smirked.
“Yeah, you sick fuck, I am. Just you wait ‘til the tables are turned.”
Kendra winced, expecting Craig to come back with some wise-ass retort, but all he did was smirk.
Wayne extended his hand to Maria. “Shall we?”
“Yeah, let’s do this thing,” she said, accepting his offered hand.
Kendra watched them, her heart in her throat.
I can’t believe this is happening…
In deathly silence, the two of them undressed. Kendra squirmed in embarrassment, her gaze flitting to Craig. His expression was unreadable, his body still.
Wayne and Maria stood there naked, looking scared and unsure of themselves. Wayne did not look good naked; his paunch appeared even bigger without clothes and his skin was the colour of uncooked dough. His shoulders were narrow and hairy, his arse saggy. Maria looked like a bronzed goddess next to him, despite the cheap-looking boob-job. Her body didn’t seem as bony without clothes on, the gentle curves of her buttocks youthful and enticing. For some reason the sight of her naked breasts made Kendra feel sad; why would a woman do that to herself? Her skin was tight and thin over the implants, and she wondered if her chest felt as painful as it looked.
