GAMBLE: Rule of Cards

CHAPTER 23

DENTON WAS placed in the table three. He was guided towards the third table nearest from the gate of the battlefield. Paul, however, was placed in the table four. Jannah was placed in the table five and Sandra was placed in the sixth table. Denton smiled as the plan worked well. In this case, they do not have to kill each other just to survive. “This is just the first step,” Denton muttered as he looked at Paul, Jannah and Sandra. The three nodded to their leader as a response. Jannah, however, was looking worried, which worried Denton, as well. “You can do it!” he mumbled to Jannah who just looked at him with worried eyes.

Since they were in a separated table, which is really helpful for them to both survive, the only thing Denton can do to his teammates is to cheer them. The speaker showed up in the monitor. “The time for this game is indefinite,” he muttered. “The game will halt after all the winners of the table has been identified. The players, except for the monkeys, will be eliminated by the guards thay are guiding each table. We will now start the game at this exact moment.”

The guards opened the box of the cards and started on shuffling each. There is a total of eighteen deck of cards, since there is one deck of card each table. There are also five guards that are guarding each table. They will be the one to look after the cards of each player. These five guards also have a gun with them, since they are the one who will be eliminating the player they are assigned to, if they lose all their cards. “Seven cards will be given to the players as the starting deck of card,” the shuffling guard muttered as he started on giving the players their card in the traditional way. “Since the cards are already given, you can now start on monitoring your own card. Monitoring the card will not cost a player’s life since seven is an odd number. You can bring down similar number cards down after monitoring the cards. Also, cheating is not allowed. Hiding the cards from the guard monitoring you will be a grounds for elimination. Be sure to make the cards visible to your monitoring guard but not to the other player of this match.” The shuffling guard grabbed a card and placed the card inside the box of the emptied deck of cards. “This will be the monkey card. Whoever who gets the similar number of this card will be the monkey. The Monkey Game starts now.”

Denton first looked at his monitoring guard who was looking intently at him. He gulped as his sight went to the gun the guard was holding. He knew that one wrong move might cost him his own life being taken by the gun trying to pluck his back. He grabbed the deck of seven cards in front of him and looked at his card. He gulped as he saw his own cards. “f**k,” he silently cussed as he looked back at the guard who held firmly on his gun. “I am doomed. Nah, Denton, it’s just the beginning. You can still win this game.”

What’s important in this game is the momentum and Denton lost it just after seeing his own cards. “A pair of six, pair of king and a pair of jack,” he muttered as he placed the three pairs, total of six individual, cards on the table, in the middle. “Now, I am left with only one card. Who knows it is just how I will play the game. No one knows. I might even win this game with this single cards.”

He is oozing with confidence before he saw the other players of the table with three or more cards. He told himself, internally, to not look at his opponents but can’t help it since he is the only one with only one left card. “Starting with Player I-05, teach player will get one from the stack of left cards on the table,” the shuffling guard muttered. “If the card you got has the same number as the card you already have, you must place that pair in the middle of the table. Remember that the monitoring guards are on your back, so they can see what cards the players get. You will now start.”

Starting from Player I-05, Denton will be the third player to draw cards from the deck of cards on the table. Player I-05 grabbed a card on the table and drew a number six, he has a number six on the table, so he grabbed the number six card he had and placed it with the other one in the middle of the table. Then, the next one drew a card and got a number card with no pair, so she kept it together with her own cards. The next one to draw the card was Denton who was wishing silently not to draw a number four from the deck of cards since it might be the reason for his elimination. He immediately placed his hand on the deck of card as he grabbed the topmost card on it. “Yes,” he muttered as he saw the spades of jack and placed it on his cards. “I still have the chance.”

The fourth and fifth players got cards that has no similar card to them. The second round of circular drawing motion of card has started and it again attacked the first player which left him with only three cards. The rest of the player was lucky enough to get no similar cards with theirs. The third round of circular drawing motion started and Denton was happy enough to get another unique card, added to his card collection. The last round made Denton upset since there are only two cards left and those two cards were for the first and the second player. “Since there are no card left on the deck, the third player will not grab a card from fourth player. The motion will be the same for the fourth player and the other players of this table.”

Denton stopped at the moment before he looked at the fourth player who was just smiling with his seven cards. Denton only has three cards but that did not make him think of giving up. “This,” he muttered as he got the card. He heaved a deep breath after seeing a totally difference card as he placed it on his card collection. The game continued as the fourth player started on getting a card from the fifth player, then the fifth player grabbed a card from the first player and so on and so for. The players are really fighting well, trying to not lose another card again.

It was Denton’s turn again. He looked at the fourth player who has a lot of cards. He silently grabbed one card and looked at it. The monitoring guard of him looked at him, he just nodded to the thought. “Another pair,” he muttered as he placed a pair of three cards on the table. “s**t, I am slowly losing my cards.”

The game continued with all the players continuing to get card from the person after them. Since the cycle of the card is never ending and is in a circular manner, in this case, where all of them still have more than three cards, the possibility of ending this game early is not that big yet. “Third player,” the shuffling guard told Denton who was already spacing out, looking at his four cards. “It is your turn to get a card from the fourth player. Be sure to be attentive while playing the game.”

Denton grabbed a card from the cards of the fourth player and placed it together with his cards. The fourth player, who once has the most number of cards only has two cards. Upon grabbing another card from the fifth player, he placed the pair of two’s and was left with only one card. Denton looked nervous upon seeing the situation. “The next player, please,” the shuffling guard muttered as he looked at Denton who grabbed the only card left to the fourth player. The monitoring guard immediately grabbed his gun and shot the fourth player on the head. This made the fourth player to fall down on the ground, lifeless. “Based on the given rule, once the player has no cards left in his hand, he will be immediately eliminated.”

The game continued with the fifth player getting a card from the first player. The fifth player placed another pair on the table, leaving him with only one card left. The second player has only five cards left and Denton has three cards left yet. The first player was left with only one card too. Denton grabbed another card from the fifth player, leaving him left with no card. The guard showed no mercy and killed the player the moment Denton grabbed the last card. The first player, however, grabbed a card from the second player and unfortunately, he picked a card with the same number as the card left with him. He was then immediately killed after placing his card on the pile of used cards on the table. Finally, there are only two players left.