GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

EVEN MORE BRUTAL

Some of the players started running towards their king’s table and started on getting the potion cards that were originally theirs. Some of them succeeded on getting their cards back from their kind but some did not. The zombie king was already greedy to win and will do everything not to lose against the human king. The greed he have for power is at least equal, compared to the greed he has to survive. He will do everything just to survive. He does not even care for his own members. “No, don’t do that. You all have sworn to take my kind as your kind but… what are you all doing?”

“Welcome to our kind,” Denton muttered as he welcomes another recruit from the other kind. He looked at Paul who is assessing the potions. He smiled at Denton. “Good thing you gave us your potion card. It looks like we are already winning at this point.” He looked at the timer that shows only three minutes left to exchange lanes and kinds. As the round is slowly reaching the end, a lot more players started to go on the line and ask for a potion. “How should we do?”

Paul shrugged. “Denton, we only have twelve potions left and there are a lot of people asking still.”

“We have to finish this with the favor in us, but is still helping on every player that we can give help to… but we should still take a look at those people who initially trusted us,” Denton muttered. He looked at Paul who was looking at him as well. “We have to help these people who initially trusted us. We can’t lose for them. If only I have unlimited potions, I would have given them all… but we are in shortage of the supply. Paul, just give these limited potions to people you want. I can’t choose.”

Paul twinkled his eyes. “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

“I can’t choose who to give these potions between them,” Denton muttered. “You decide. You do it.”

Paul looked at the clock before he grabbed all the twelve vials of potion left. He started on giving the potions to people on the first row. It was a total chaos, the people who got the vials of potion fighting with the people who wanted to get the vials of potion but are unable to do so. Denton can’t look at it, since the guilt is tripping him. He really wanted to help everybody drink the potions, but he is really short on the supply of the potions. It was an awful sight to him. If only he could do something to help everybody equally, he could have done that already.

“The third main match has ended,” the speaker muttered after the third round of the match. Denton looked at the zombie king who was looking hopeless while looking at all the other zombies who are unable to get their own supply of potion. There was a sudden five minutes of silence before the speaker continued on talking his agenda. “The total tally of the zombie kind is fifty-five members and one king. The total tally of the human kind is one hundred and eleven members and one kind. In this match, the zombie kind lost and will be eliminated in an instant.”

The zombie ones started on moving hysterically as they experience a different kind of pain inside them. Some of them started on producing bubbles on their mouth and later started on coughing bloods. Worst scenario scene before all of them lied down inside their lane, they started coughing more intensely bringing their organs out of their system. The whole lane was surrounded by hearts and lungs by the slain players. “Why… is the zombie king still alive, though?”

“The poison was placed on the meat and was intended to kill people who was under that kind. The potion is actually an antidote that will remove the poison from the person who consumed the meat. That is why some of the players started on burping or even farting, to release the gas which was originally the poison,” Denton explained with all his members listening to him. “That is the reason why the king is the only one alive on that kind. He was the only one who did not consume the meat. If he consumed that, he must have died together with his members.”

That explanation of Denton amazed his members. Denton realized it as he saw some observations. It was one of his guesses but still continued on believing it, which is the reason why he did some ways to add more potions with him because he wanted to help as much people as he can. “As the only one alive on the zombie kind, the zombie king will be automatically a player for the escaping game,” the speaker told the players. “The escaping game will be composed of ten players. The first one is the zombie king and the other nine from the surviving human kind members. The human kind is also exempted to this round’s escaping match. We will now start on drawing code names of player who will play the escaping match.”

Paul tapped Denton’s shoulder. “You have your exemptions and you deserve that. You did great on leading the human kind. I was actually shocked with you exceptional leading skills,” Paul muttered. “And the way you actually guessed what is happening right. Although I want to be happy for you, I am still thinking whether I want to be called or not? Hmm… I think I would not want yet.”

“They already have announced the eighth, you have lesser probability to be picked. Hopefully, you won’t be called as you wanted,” Denton muttered while waiting for the next announcement. “Oh, looks like the luck went on with you right now. We have to go to the arena already. I am too hungry after this match; I do not know. Though this match is too bloody, I don’t know, I am… really hungry.”

“Are you, by any chance, evolving into a cannibal?” Paul kidded. He put his hand on Denton’s shoulder. “I was just kidding, though. Let’s go back to the arena. I am also too hungry after all that happened.”

Everybody who survived started on going to the arena. While the guards are still fixing the battlefield, the other guards are starting on giving out lunchboxes to the surviving players. Denton and Paul went to an area and sat with each other on each side. “Did that girl survive the drawing of the escaping players?”

Denton nodded. “Yes, why did you ask?”

“I just see that you look at her with something. I am not necessarily saying that you are romantically attached to her, like she’s a lot younger than you but… you really have that something on your look to her,” Paul muttered. “Why do you really want to go get him and put on your team?”

Denton shook his head. “I don’t know. She reminds me of my daughters. I think I just miss them a lot.”

“You surely do. Anyway, I am glad that, that girl changed directions last minute. She looks so dumb at first but she looks like she has a plan on her, which might be some sort of helpful for us, if ever she accepted us as her groupmate,” Paul muttered. He looked at his right and saw the other woman who once helped Denton eating on the corner of the arena. “She looks good at battles too, and she seems to trust you already. Do you have a plan on recruiting her?”

Denton nodded. “She really has the potential, plus she’s kind. I will ask her later.”

“The game is already starting,” Paul muttered to inform Denton of what actually is happening to the battlefield on the same exact moment. The escaping match will be a bit different the past escaping matches and will be of connection to the main match preceding it. Everybody will be required to eat the meat with poison. Only one potion will be given and will be hidden inside the battlefield. Whoever got the potion and drink it, will get to escape. After ten minutes, the poison will start to affect them. If there is no one able to find the potion, nobody will get to escape and everybody will be quickly eliminated. “This game is too brutal. How could they think of something like this?”

Denton scoffed. Paul looked at him with confusion on his eyes. “Of course, they can think of something brutal like this. They can actually think of something even more brutal,” Denton muttered. Paul did nothing more than a blink on his eyes. It’s his first-time seeing Denton talk like he is really pissed off. Though he thinks Denton really is already pissed off, he still thinks why would he still play the game and he surely knows the answer to his own question. “Paul, we are placed in this place brutally. They lured us to play in this game. They killed hundred of people. They can surely do something even more brutal…”