GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

MENTAL CLASHES

Paul and Sandra were quite shocked after hearing what their leader has told the speaker that he does not want to share to anyone who was going to play the escaping match. They were shocked but were expecting that to happen already. The two just nodded their heads down twice before the speaker continued on talking. “Well, that was an unexpected turn of events,” the speaker uttered as Denton lowered his head. “As a speaker who have seen all the games you played, you are a great leader and you help people. This is surprising that you chose to not give anyone your strategy of getting the highest number. Well, as the winner of the seventh round, we must respect his decision.”

Both Hector and Denton did not talk a lot during the seventh and the last escaping match. Hector was just looking at Denton who chose to silence himself, provided that anything he say or do, Hector might take it as something he should be offended to. “That was so unexpected of you, Denton,” Hector muttered, and with his voice, he was surely teasing the hell out of Denton. “You are just like me, Denton. You act like you care about the others, but the truth is, you only cared for yourself. In short, we are both selfish.”

Denton did not give a damn about what the bigger guy has told him. In fact, Denton was not trying to hear what Hector was telling him, because he was busy blaming himself in advance for the outcome of the escaping game. He, for sure, did that with purpose... Paul and Sandra believes Denton has a good heart, and that whatever he does, it must be derived with purpose.

Paul looked at Denton who was looking at the ground, sitting on the highest pointer’s seat. “It must be hard for him to come up with such a decision,” he muttered. “But if it is the only thing that will make him stay alive, he, for sure would do that. After all, he has a family to live for. He has the most reason to stay alive. And if it is only one that he can tell his strategy to, he must have chosen the equal path for both Sandra and I. I know Denton, though we were here just for few days yet, he likes to be equal as must as possible.”

The game has started with the same process and arrangement, excluding both Hector and Denton who already advanced to the finals. As expected from the players who haven’t identified the real strategy yet, they are just going with their guts and how they actually did it on the main match. It was Paul’s turn and he was really struggling and was in chaos while he was playing. His life depends on the game, and so he was really anxious, hoping that he will get to win the game miraculously. Unfortunately, with only five points from the first placer, he was short as he was shot on the back by one of the guards.

His unconscious body was dragged to the room where the eliminated players are placed. Denton could not even get to look at Paul, his best pal in the game, being shot from behind as he failed to win the escaping round. The first place has yet been replaced, and there was only one player left which was Sandra, who were obviously crying as she went out of the cottage with her cards. The dealer who has seen a lot of deaths in front of her, although anxious and scared, continued the game with the last player of the round’s escaping match.

Sandra could not bear to think about Paul and Jannah’s death, which happened after her eyes only. What adds the feeling she has right now is the possibility of her continuing the fate of the other two members who was once inside the team Denton has built for his alliance. Although crying, Sandra continued the round like she still has hope to win. Well, unfortunately, she never made it to the cutoff and was eliminated immediately after she failed to win against the one unbattled winner of the escaping match.

While the speaker was announcing the winner of the escaping match, Denton was already tearing on himself. As much as he wanted to help, he can’t, knowing that there is only one person between them who will survive, otherwise, the other one will be eliminated if he chose to help one between them. He really can’t bare the burden of seeing the two members of his established team being slain after the other one left them inside the game. After the announcement of the escaping match’s winner, the last two men standing were guided to the arena, where there are only two beds, for Denton and Hector on the rightmost and leftmost side of the arena. The space between them is vast, and is only enough for them to not talk with each other.

Denton went to his bed directly and laid his body down on it. The whole day was really a mess for him. Aside from he is overthinking about the next and the last game, he is also taking the blame about the death of his two former teammates. He placed the blanket on top of him and silently closed his eyes while telling himself... “I don’t know if it was the right thing to do but... I am honestly going to take the blame once they don’t make it out alive.”

“You betrayed your own teammates,” Hector shouted inside the arena, it broke the silence between them. Hector was trying to make a talk with Denton who was silently mourning for the lost of his two teammates. “I mean, those two are, for sure, expecting you to help them but you chose not to, why? Because you want to own your own benefits on your own. That’s not-so you, Denton, who did everything just to protect your teammates.” Hector laughed like there’s no tomorrow. “You hated me for being selfish, now you ate your own words. Look at you now, you are now also a selfish one. After all, this game is a survival game. We do everything for our own sake, which is why you betrayed your own teammates. Fair enough.”

“Of course, it’s my fault,” Denton muttered in a low voice but due to the echo inside the arena, Hector was still able to hear that from him. “The death of my teammates should and always must be blamed to me. Why? Because I did not help them? I, at least, made a way to help them get on this round. You? You only helped them because you have something to get from them? We are different, Hector. Do not compare me to you.”

Hector smirked as he stopped on laughing. “Are we really different, Denton?” Hector asked him with furrowed brows. “Aren’t you also the so-called leader of the team, but ended up having no one in his team escape the game because you focused yourself too much that you forgot you have members to help get the hell out of with?” Denton stopped at the moment. “You only made a team so you could win the game, bag the prize money and go back to your lovely daughters. Did you actually care about the three members of yours? I guess you only made a team because you think you can’t take the pressure of the game, and for you to survive up to this time, you must acquire team members who will work for your ass.”

Denton heaved a sigh. “This is only his way to attack your mental side, Denton. You should not be affected by his words, because those are just words from someone who despises you a lot,” he told himself. He kept on lying on the bed but is still talking to Hector. “Me? I acquired team members for them to work on my behalf? Isn’t it you who actually did that? You brought so many disciples here, but... nobody has even escaped the game.” Denton thinks that if Hector wants a mental fight, then he’ll give him one. He is just one step ahead of the victory, and he will never ever going to take one step back, just because of Hector’s words.

Denton knows that despite of all his shortages and shortcomings, Sandra, Jannah and Paul would be happy to see his victory in the game that they all tried to win but failed. Denton was the only hope for their team, and to win against his archenemy should be fulfilling to Denton. However, the idea of killing Hector just guilts Denton. After all the things Hector have done to him, he still thinks killing him is of injustice. Whenever he feels the guilt of killing other people to survive, he just thinks of how his three teammates died because of Hector or after failing to win the matches. That is his only resort and reason to keep on fighting.