GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

LUCKILY UNLUCKY

The monitor showed a statistic that shows fifty-nine heart cards were pulled over sixty. The other one might be discarded or was not drew. The players with heart cards enjoyed their moment as they walked towards their lane. “Enter the second lane, players with spade cards,” he continued. Statistics showed that there are forty-nine players with spade cards and that they assumed that they are now safe from elimination. “With only a gap difference from spades, enter the third lane, players with diamond cards.”

Only two groups of players are left and there was Denton who was just standing in between of other players, holding his own card – the joker one. “The monitor will show the comparison between the number of players who have club cards and joker cards.” It was a nerve-stopping scenario since only one group between the two will survive and the other two will be eliminated. The statistics showed on the monitor, showing that there are forty players on the club group and only twenty-two players attained joker cards. The smile and celebration of the players with club cards were really heard inside the battlefield. “Step on the fourth group, players with club cards.”

Denton was anxious the time that the club cards were called out to step on the fourth group. Paul looked at Denton with worried eyes, silently blaming the woman who swapped cards with Denton. “Since this match is called Luckily Unlucky, the plot twist will never end.” The players looked behind them as the speaker talked. The guards were already back. “The real winner of this game is the joker team since they are unlucky enough to pick that card.” The players gasped as they heard that happened. “The winning group will choose who to eliminate in this came. I will give them five minutes to discuss who they want to eliminate.”

The once happy faces of the people inside the area vanished and turned into an anxious one. “Who must we eliminate?” one of the joker holders asked the other people but all of them did not respond to him. “Shall we eliminate the heart holders? Since they are too many, eliminating them will make it easy for us to survive.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen as you think,” Denton muttered. “A normal person will think that it will be an advantage if there is a lower number of players inside a game, but in this game, it’s not. Perhaps, the game head was not the one deciding how many shall make it to the final cut.” He paused for a second before he continued. “I don’t think that the number of players is making us in advantage, neither it is higher or lower. In my opinion, we should eliminate the lower. I am afraid some of you will disagree but… I would rather vote for the club than the hearts. Although, I don’t like what’s happening after.”

The other remained silent after Denton talked. “How about diamond group?”

“Don’t eliminate them,” Denton immediately muttered after the girl asked the whole group. The entire group looked at him. “Just don’t vote for them. Some of them are really good people and they are really good people who will help some of us if we give them a favor. Although we will all still eliminate each other, I still think… people inside the diamond lane are really trustworthy enough for us to eliminate them… some. Please don’t.” Denton thought of saving Paul, rather than eliminating Hector, who are both on the same group – diamond lane. Of course, Paul is his friend, he would probably save him.

“I agree,” one of the people inside the joker group muttered. “Diamond people are good. Clubs are not. One of them is really a big bully. Help me take my revenge to him…” The guy was clearly asking for help but no one responded to him, as the speaker has already grabbed the mic to speak with back.

“Raise your hand if you want to eliminate the heart group,” the speaker said, directly without informing these people that they will have voting. The joker players are shocked but some still raised their hands upon the request to raise hands. Denton just sighed. “Spade group,” the speaker asked and no one raised their hand. “Diamond group,” the speaker continued on asking. Only two raised their hands. “Lastly, club group.” Denton who was not moving all the time slowly raised his hand. He looked at the woman who predicted that this will happen. It really is happening now and he was one of those who agreed on killing her. “The results have been tallied. The joker group eliminated the clubs group.”

Everyone anticipated the guards to kill the players inside the club group’s lane but they did not. “Kill them.”

That was a shout from a player who was asking the guards to kill everyone inside the club group’s lane. The guard looked at him and aimed for him. The guy who commanded him was killed due to headshot. “The guards do not want to be commanded by some random losers,” the speaker muttered. “If you are being curious, the guards will not kill these players but they will be in the escaping match. They are automatically chosen as the third escaping match players. The third escaping match will be the same as the second escaping match. Each of them will be given time to aim. Once you get shot, you’re eliminated. The last man standing will finally escape from this game.”

The guards silently pushed the safe players towards the arena, leaving the escaping match players behind the battlefield. The rule inside the arena was not yet announced before the guards left and so Denton and Paul went near each other to ask them how each other was doing. “I was actually thinking that you are going to be killed back there in the battlefield,” Paul muttered. “I almost swore the lady for swapping the cards but I guess, she is really right with what she did. The only thing I don’t understand is why would she swap the cards with you when that mere card can protect her?”

“I don’t really understand her, to be honest. I swapped our cards because it was meant to happen, and I also don’t have the block card. However, she did all that to protect me,” Denton muttered. “But… I still voted for her group to be eliminated. How can I do this, for greed?”

Paul heaved a sigh. “Maybe it is meant to happen… for her? I don’t really get her too.” Denton was focused on watching on the monitor about the escaping match that will happen minutes later. What is being seen inside the monitor is the actual and live footage of the escaping match. The guards are still doing their jobs, fixing the battlefield as shooting ranges. The players are there, feels like freezing, not talking to each other before beginning the bloodshed. “Oh, are they starting already?”

“Nah, they are still fixing the battlefield… oh, and they are being blindfolded already,” Denton muttered, narrating everything that he is seeing. The first player is a guy. He was not yet given a gun but everyone can say how nerve-wracking the happening is. Everybody is indeed in a scenario no one would want to be in. “I think they are about to start the escaping match. I still hope that the woman who helped me would, at least, escape this hell. I am feeling guilty of voting them out.”

“You did that to survive. Anybody would do the same thing as you did,” Paul muttered and placed his hand on Denton’s shoulder. “Just watch the escaping match and support the fortuneteller as much as you want.”

The escaping match has commenced and the players continued on playing until there are fewer and fewer number of players playing. In this game, only one can survive and so, everybody is desperate of doing good as it was their last resort to have escape the hell. Since everybody was desperate, all of them plays the match seriously and with faith that somehow, luck will hold onto them.