GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

CHAPTER 17

“SHOULD WE improve the manpower on our team?” Paul suggested, all of a sudden. The other three teammates looked at him with confusion on their eyes. “I mean, I am not saying that our team is weak. It’s just that, we are not quite strong yet. Also, I worry about Hector and his minions. They always attack our team because of Denton. This is making our lives at risk.”

Sandra looked at Denton before she looked back at Paul, whose worry was really visible on his face. “Now, tell me. You are Denton’s first teammate and he considers you as his friend here, in this game. Do you, by any chance, regret joining this team or nah?”

“It’s not that I regret being in Denton’s team, Sandra. You do not understand me,” Paul answered her back. “The only point I have in this argument is about us lacking manpower, if ever, they try to bring us down and take us all to death. Who knows? This is an isolated place and no police or any authorities are here, except the game head. People can do every single thing they want, since the game indicates that cheating, killing or doing things against the rules is allowed. I am just worried because we are only four and there are too many. I do not regret being on Denton’s team. I was just suggesting having more members.”

“I understand your point, Paul, but you have to understand our points as well. The more we have members that we promised to make them escape this hell, the more stressful it would be for us,” Denton replied. “We already finished the fifth game and we are just looking forward to the sixth one. If we have a lot of members and we only have limited time, there is a possibility that no one between us all can escape.” Paul went silent after. “It’s okay, Paul. We acknowledge your suggestion and we know that you are only seeking for the safety of us all. We are already enough, may I say. You and Sandra are assigned as the brawns of our team; Jannah and I will be the brains. If we have perfect cooperation and teamwork, we can defeat them all. Just trust the process. It will not fail us... or I suppose.”

Paul nodded. “I know, I know. I get your point and since you are the leader of this team, I must respect that,” he muttered. “Maybe, I was just anxious enough to think about these things. Maybe, I was just overthinking.” He stood up and faced the three. “I should get a nap first. I’ll talk to you three times after I have gotten enough sleep.”

Denton nodded while looking at Paul walking towards their lane, put himself on the bed and covered himself with a mattress. “I can see Paul getting a bit too different this day,” Sandra noted. Jannah, who was not talking, was agreeing with Sandra on her mind. “Maybe, he is just really anxious.”

“We are all anxious,” Denton corrected Sandra, who nodded after. “I cannot blame him, since the pressure of being in this game must be so hard, really. Imagine seeing your life at risk in a game where survival is of no assurance. I am even, but I am remaining calm since overthinking does no good. Let Paul rest and refresh his mind. Tomorrow, he’ll still be on our team. Just trust him because I know he trusts us all.”

Sandra stood up as she saw someone coming from behind Denton. The latter had no idea what it was about. He raised his brows as if asking Sandra what was wrong. Sandra was not able to answer him, instead, somebody punched his face as soon as he looked back. “f**k,” Denton muttered while massaging his jaw. His face bled the time he was punched. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You happened, and it is the wrongest thing that happened in my life,” Hector replied. He slowly went near Denton who was just lying on the ground, looking at Hector madly. “You really need to put your ass away from me or I will never think twice about killing you.”

Denton released a smirk. “Go on, kill me. As if I am afraid of dying,” he replied. Hector was about to punch him and he never flinched. “The first one, sure, is painful. But you can never scare me with the same thing that you did already...” The people around them are just gasping and listening to what the two were talking about. “If that’s the best way you could do to win, then do. Hector, you never did anything in a clean way. You are dirty and so your actions are. If it will benefit you, then kill me right away. No one is telling you not to do so.”

Hector heaved a deep sigh, a sigh of anger. “I will prove you that I can win against you in a legal way. You are just a loser who lost his wife and a gamble addict with two daughters and a brother. You are nothing,” Hector muttered. He grabbed his hand away from Denton’s collar but is still looking at him. “I will kill you in the next game. You should look after that. I will never let you live until the second to the last game.”

The gate opened and there entered the guards which were bringing the foods for the players inside the arena. “Dinner is ready,” one of the guards muttered. Hector, who was still looking at Denton with his death glare, stood up and left him alone. Denton, who was punched in the face, was then helped by Sandra and Paul to stand up and sit on his bed.

Sandra looked at Hector who was getting a massage from one of his minion before she looked at Denton whose lips are bleeding. “That jerk, really. You are not even doing anything yet he is still so mad at you. Why was he even born in the first place?”

“I really hate how he overpowers Denton just because he is bigger and stronger,” Paul said. Poor guy was just sleeping but was bothered by a big sound, made by Hector’s fist bumping onto Denton’s face. “I will tell the guards to bring you to the clinic.”

Denton raised his palm. “It’s okay. I am fine.”

“You are literally bleeding and you are fine? Lie to me, Denton,” Paul muttered as he went to the nearest guard around the area. The guard looked at him without saying anything. “Can you, at least, give us a piece of cloth and an antiseptic? Or, if you do have one, take my friend to the infirmary.”

The guard looked at Denton who was holding his bruised lips. “Bring one other player with him and follow me,” the guard muttered. The other guards just looked at the guard who talked to Paul, confused of what he said. Later on, they removed the idea from their minds.

Paul walked back towards the place where Denton, Sandra and Jannah was at. “The guard told me that Denton must bring one other player together with him. Follow him, that guard, to the infirmary.”

Sandra stood up. “I learned basic first aid, so I will come. They must have an infirmary but has no nurses inside,” she muttered. She guided Denton to stand up. “Let’s help cure those bruises. It might affect your performance for tomorrow’s game.”

Denton stood up, by Sandra’s command. He did not like the idea of going to the infirmary but his teammates are pushing him to do so. They stopped at a white door. The room, for sure, is not a transparent-walled, so nobody is going to see what’s going on inside the room. “So, are we just going inside this room and cleaning my wounds ourselves?”

The guard was silent for a minute before he talked. “The infirmary in this place is self-serviced. You got a wound, you cure your own wound,” the guard replied. “The reason I made you bring someone because you look like you would not go to the infirmary by your own. Let this girl cure your wound. The room is filled with antiseptic ointments and medicines for all causes. I will be waiting outside until you are done.”

Denton grabbed the doorknob and opened the infirmary. They were greeted by a white painted room but is also filled with things that everyone could see inside the infirmary. “The infirmary looks so expensive,” Sandra muttered before she looked at the guard outside, slammed the door after. “Do you think he can here us inside here?” Sandra walked towards the cabinet of medicines. “I never know if one of these have poison in it but they are beautifully arranged.”

“There are rubbers all around the corners and sides of the room, it probably is sound-proof and no one can hear you talk all these things,” Denton replied. “What must be the reason why they don’t have a nurse here? What is an infirmary if it has no nurse in it? There must be something inside here.”