6 Chapter 5: Card Game

"Wow. This is a casino?" Theo roamed his eyes around like a kid who hadn't seen a theme park in his entire life.

Table games, electronic machine games and random number ticket games dotted the casino: Slots, Panchinko, Roulette, Bingo, Keno, Farkle, Baccarat, the Wheel of Fortune and many others could be found.

All around, the assorted flashing lights and shades of yellow color ironically blinded them. The gold sheets sparkled and screamed expensive luxury. There were no signs of dust to indicate old age nor defected machines. Accidentally breaking the casino property would never be an option. Who would be happy about paying a damaged property?

Everyone split in different directions to explore the area.

"Bro! Look at this!" Klein motioned for his older brother to come over to the slot machines.

Yves, who stood by the video poker machine, sauntered beside him. He stared at the slots like it was impossible to have that kind of design. "Are slots supposed to look like that?"

Klein shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me."

Ordinary slot machines should be the same in appearance, but the ones here had intricate designs and metals were used to create a bigger-sized slot machine. Multiple options appeared on the screen, too. However, what spooked them out the most was the pixelated image projected at the topmost part of it. A woman had a playing card pierced right through her throat. She laid motionless on the blood-soaked floor near a table game. Cards and chips were also scattered around.

Yves grimaced, wrapping his fingers around his throat. "Is that a thing?"

Klein swallowed his saliva. "I hope it's not."

"Twins!"

"Holy cheese nuts-" Klein flinched and almost stumbled back at the sudden loud voice beside him. With a hand over his throbbing chest, he turned and threw her a glare. "Meg! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

She arched an eyebrow. "Why are you so jumpy? I was just going to tell you two about Kacey's Poker tutorial. They're waiting for us."

Klein heavily sighed and pointed at the slots. "Have a look of that disturbing image."

Meg shifted her eyes at the screen. The pixelated image of the dead woman made her nose wrinkle. "Creepy much? It's not even Halloween."

"Yeah. It's kinda weird." Yves bit his bottom lip.

"Probably just a random theme or whatever." Meg dismissed the thought.

"I don't know anything about casino games but we should go." Klein lifted a thumb, pointing at the rest of them gathered around a poker table. "We've got a lot of learning to do."

The three of them turned on their heels and headed over to the rest of the group.

Klein jogged towards Kacey who held a piece of paper in her hand. She appeared to be reading the instruction from the game master while the rest were seated on their respective seats, checking out their own colored betting chips. Then his eyes traveled around the poker table. Their own name plates were placed on the top rail so they did not have to choose their own. An odd machine stood at the center with a deck of card in its slot while a keypad with the buttons ON/OFF, START, DEAL, CALL and FOLD was installed at the dealer's position, just where Kacey stood.

"What does it say?" Klein looked closer.

"Well, this game master seem to know that I play Poker so he instructed me to teach and guide the beginners as we play." Sighing through her nostrils, Kacey placed the paper down on the table and pointed at the keypad beside her. "I'll be operating this rotating dealing machine."

He stretched a grin. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's start!"

Just as promised, Kacey tutored the beginners: Faith, Theo, Judy, Meg, Klein and Yves. It took them roughly around 30 minutes to completely get a hang of the rules. From Royal Flush to Straight Flush, Four Of A Kind and Full House, the list went on to Flush, Straight, Three Of A Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and High Card. Explaining and teaching them about the known combination of cards and the lowest to highest ranks over and over again could be tiring, but she had help from others to quicken the learning process.

"All right!" Kacey clapped once before scanning everyone's faces. "So . . . Are we ready to play?"

"Let's do it!" Klein's eyes were on fire. "I'm gonna beat all of you!"

"Don't be so confident." Theo chuckled quietly.

"You might eat your words." Faith shook her head in amusement.

"Why do I feel like I will be the loser here?" Meg's nose flared.

"Nah. Too early to say." Yves patted her left shoulder.

"All right!" Kacey made eye contact with them. "As I've said earlier, in the beginning, two players will be forced to put out bets known as the blinds. They are called the Small Blind and the Big Blind. Since I'm seated at the left side of the dealer, I'll start with the Small Blind." She put out a white chip marked with the number 1 on the table. "Then the betting turns will continue clockwise."

Daren took a deep breath and put out two white chips on the table. "Big Blind. It's double the amount of the Small Blind. This is also the minimum bet."

"Then we're dealt with two cards one at a time starting at the Small Blind's position. That's me." Kacey turned to the dealing machine's keypad. She pressed the ON/OFF and START buttons and it began to rotate in a moderate speed, distributing the first card to her. Once each player had two cards in hand, including the imaginary dealer, she lifted her cards up. "These two cards are known as the Hole Cards. Since Daren and I have betted out our chips, we will now begin the betting round called Pre-Flop."

"Call." Hans, who was seated at the left side of Daren, put out two white chips to match his bet. He was the first player to take action. "The position to the immediate left of the Big Blind is called Under the Gun." Then he glanced over to Judy.

In her hand, she had the 3 of Hearts and 2 of Hearts. "So, okay, I have like four actions to choose from: Call, Raise, All In and Fold, right?"

Hans nodded his head. "You got it."

Judy put out two white chips on the table, matching Hans' bet. "Call."

"Call." Maxine copied her bet.

"Call." Klein did the same.

Faith, Jared, Yves, Theo and Olwen chose Call but Meg put out two red chips marked with the number 5 on the table.

"Raise." She smirked proudly. In her hand, she had the 5 of Hearts and 7 of Hearts.

"Whoa!" they said in chorus.

"Meg's going to crush us." Yves laughed.

"And here I thought you're the loser." Jared laughed louder along with the rest.

"I changed my mind." Meg stuck out her tongue.

"Feeling confident?" Kacey chuckled as she pressed the CALL button on the keypad. It coughed out two red chips, mirroring Meg's bet.

"Oh, I am!" She grinned wider.

"Shame. I'll go for an early Fold." Kacey flipped her cards down, implying that she could no longer see a win with her cards. "I'm out."

"Damn, that was early." Daren hissed as he focused his eyes on his cards. After several seconds, he put out a red chip and a blue chip marked with the number 10. "Raise."

The Pre-Flop went on with a few of them choosing Fold, pressing a small button on the top rail of the table to inform the dealing machine about their withdrawal. The remaining players for this betting round were Daren, Hans, Judy, Faith, Jared, Yves, Olwen and Meg.

Kacey reached out for the keypad and pressed the DEAL button. Three cards were coughed out onto the green felt surface: Ace of Clubs, 8 of Hearts and 6 of Hearts.

"I'll repeat it again for the beginners. This is called The Flop." She pointed at the cards on the table. "It consists of three community cards. We'll now start with the Post-Flop betting round with Daren. His choices are Check, if he wants to pass the action to Hans, Bet, All In or Fold."

"I never felt so pressured before." Daren let out a low chuckle before putting out a red chip and a green chip marked with the number 25. "Bet."

Hans smiled a little, putting out two green chips. "Raise."

"Call." Judy put out her matching bet with a trembling hand. "Ah! This is making me nervous!"

"Relax! Just focus and you'll be fine." Maxine gently nudged her arm and she returned a lopsided smile.

The Post-Flop went on with Hans, Faith and Yves choosing Fold. For this betting round, Daren, Judy, Jared, Olwen and Meg remained. Once again, Kacey pressed the DEAL button on the keypad. Another card was coughed out: 9 of Spades.

"As for this one, the fourth community card is called The Turn. Same rules as the previous betting round."

"Check." Daren passed the action to Judy.

"Bet." She put out two green chips.

"Call." Jared matched hers.

"Fold." Olwen withdrew.

"Call." Meg copied him.

Kacey pressed a few numbers on the keypad. After the CALL button, the dealing machine coughed out two green chips.

"Raise." Daren put out a black chip marked with the number 100.

"Call!" Judy smacked her black chip on the table with a squeal.

"Fold." Jared frowned.

"Call." Meg widened her grin.

The Post-Flop ended with the dealing machine choosing CALL.

"Woo! We have three remaining players!" Klein waved his imaginary flag in the air. "Go, Daren and Meg!"

"Meg will win for sure." Daren shook his head in amusement while Meg confidently flipped her hair back.

"No! Judy will win!" Faith and Maxine cheered for her.

"Nah! I bet Daren will let Meg win." Yves threw Daren a playful look and the other guy just laughed it off.

"Shut up, guys! What if I lose?" Judy swung her legs rapidly with her face crinkling as if something disgusting had been doused over her head. Not to mention, her chills were becoming frequent as the betting round continued. She did try to ignore it, but something had been bothering her. Or maybe it was because of the game?

"We shall see!" Kacey cleared her throat. "This betting round is the final round called The Showdown. As for the fifth community card, this is called The River."

For the final push, she pressed the DEAL button and the dealing machine coughed out the last card: 4 of Hearts.

"It says here, the dealing machine will automatically be a Fold." After Kacey read the last instruction of the game master on the paper, she turned to Daren. "Your choice?"

"Fold . . ." Daren let out a sigh.

"All In!" Judy put out two green chips and one black chip. "Flush!"

"All In!" Meg placed her cards down on the table, stood up and threw her arms high in the air with a victorious grin. "Straight Flush!"

Kacey eyed Meg and gave her a proud smile. "Congratulations, Meg! Straight Flush is the highest rank!"

"Meg, you did it!" Daren went to her side and raised his right hand, giving her a high five.

"You did it!" Jared headed over to her seat. He patted her back numerous times while the rest clapped their hands and leaned on the table, giving her another high five.

As they were celebrating, Olwen had been intensely staring at the dealing machine with her brows knitted. There was something strange about it throughout the game, in no doubt. It couldn't be her imagination.

She leaned in and whispered to Yves, "Hey? Is it me or . . . the dealing machine's speed kept on increasing each round?"

"Uh, what?" Yves stared at her like she was a madwoman. "I don't think so."

Olwen pursed her lips, glancing at the dealing machine again. "But I am sure of it . . ."

Meanwhile, Kacey went to Judy snickering. She wanted to tease her about almost winning the game. "Better luck next time, short stuff! You were born to be a loser."

'Yes, you lost . . . Now, die.'

"You don't need to rub it in my face, Kay." Judy playfully glared at her. "But, hey! Thank you for teaching and guiding us along the way." A happy-go-lucky smile got plastered on her face.

"Not a problem!" She flicked a thumb up and grinned. "It was the least I could do."

Judy was so close to winning! But she had to accept defeat. It was definitely a good game and they could always play another time. When she stood up and leaned towards the dealing machine, she tried talking to it like an idiot who couldn't identify an object from a human being. "Hey you, stupid! Did you make me lose on purpose? Is that how it is?"

"That machine won't talk back, Judy." Faith giggled at how hilarious her friend appeared before them. Judy had always been the joy of the group and she never failed to make them laugh.

However, in spite of the happy chattering, Olwen was not the only one who had been picking up an ominous vibe.

"Hold on a second!" Theo raised his voice, catching everyone's attention. Something was not quite right so his face darkened. "The game master mentioned about getting your room keys if you win but Meg's the only winner."

Simultaneous gasps occurred.

"Crap, you're right." Klein widened his eyes as his face turned pale. "What are we supposed to do?"

"The usual?" Maxine swapped puzzled looks with them. "We wait for the announcement?"

"Should we stay put?" Hans creased his forehead.

"I guess that's the best option." Faith pursed her lips.

"We should sit and wait. I don't want any of you disappearing from my sight." Daren's tone of voice became firm and stern.

Meg rolled her eyes. "We're not toddlers, Daren. You sound like there is something bad that's going to happen."

"Who knows what might happen, Meg." He gave her a serious gaze.

"Fine." She puffed her cheeks.

Unbeknownst to them, a tiny slot the size of a playing card's width slid down in the dealing machine. From its view through the hole, it was targeting someone's throat. Something clicked and Olwen's ears seemed to have caught the sound. She stared at the dealing machine once again with her heart racing abnormally. She held her breath. When the machine made an odd zipping noise, her eyes flew wide.

"Judy, you better move aside!"

With that sudden loud outburst, everything seemed to slow down. Judy was about to turn her attention to her friend when the card jetted straight for her throat.

It easily pierced through her skin.

As gruesome as it could get, half of it burrowed in. Blood flowed out and it trickled down to her neck as she gagged and sputtered with her hands trying to pluck it out of her throat. More blood sprayed out from her mouth. One could only imagine her level of pain and how her breathing had been cut shortly.

"Judy!" Maxine wanted to help her but she remained stunned in her seat. Her legs didn't want to move a muscle.

"H . . . elp . . ." Standing on both feet, Judy struggled to gasp for some air as she coughed out more blood. She tried to keep her posture straight, but she lost her balance that she fell over the carpet.

Everyone else gasped, stood and rushed for her aid. However, as soon as they fixed their eyes on her body, she remained motionless on the floor with her eyes hauntingly opened. Her life had been sucked out of her in snap of a finger.

Olwen collapsed on her knees and crawled beside her. Taking out the card from her throat could be a disgusting feeling, but her courage prompted her and so she managed to hold the playing card, swiftly taking it out. Her fingers got stained with Judy's blood, but she didn't care. She carefully laid her head on her lap and immediately welled up in tears upon the sight of her bloodied neck and mouth.

It was unimaginable to see her lifeless.

Still, she tried to check her friend's pulse on her wrist but her heart no longer functioned. Olwen let out a high-pitched sob before the back of her hand covered her mouth to muffle the incessant sounds. Her chest burned and constricted. Her emotions overwhelmed her. They lost a friend and she couldn't accept the fact that someone just murdered her right before their eyes.

"N-No . . . What is happening?" Faith trembled with her vision starting to blur. She couldn't fully process their situation in her head. Was her intuition right all along? Had they been kidnapped to become the killer's plaything?

Theo, on the other hand, found it too sickening to the stomach that he felt as though his bile was coming out of his mouth. He averted his gaze elsewhere but Faith started to cry beside him. He pulled her closer to him and buried her face against his chest, hiding her eyes away from the delicate scene.

"You can't possibly be dead, Judy . . ." Kacey couldn't believe her own eyes. She continuously shook her head as if her sudden death was merely an illusion. But reality punched her hard in the gut. Her closest friend, her best friend was truly dead. "No . . . No! Judy! Wake up!"

She had planned to shake her body in attempt to wake her up, but Maxine grabbed her arm, pulling her back to subdue her. "Kacey! She's dead!" Her voice croaked.

"No! Let me go!" Kacey violently flailed around with her face now streaming with bitter tears. "Judy! Judy! Don't do this to me, asshole! Who am I . . . Who am I going to tease all I want from now on? Just who . . ."

Maxine widened her eyes. Unexpectedly, her friend's weight became heavier. "Kacey! Get a grip!"

She fainted in her arms.

As for the twins, this death scene was all too familiar for them. They had seen this scenario before but where?

"This looks exactly like . . ." Klein trailed off.

"W-We saw this exact image on the screen!" Meg breathed in and out as she stared down on Judy's body with horrified eyes.

"What screen?" Hans slightly raised an eyebrow.

"T-The slot machine. The twins and I saw a dead woman with the same cause of death . . ." Meg's lips quivered. Taking a step back, she clutched onto Daren's shirt as she began to hyperventilate. The dead woman kept replaying inside her head. She couldn't get rid of it as fear slowly ate her whole. "I-It was a warning . . . We're going to . . ."

She was too shocked to speak that her throat went dry. Were they brought in the hotel for actual murder? If so, they were doomed to die. Just when her insanity seemed to be intact, she fainted.

"Meg!" Daren caught her in his strong arms, just in the nick of time.

"Shit. We're going to die . . ." Yves tightly gripped his hair, chanting the same lines repeatedly. He paced back and forth before kicking the stool chair of the poker table. "We have to get out of here!"

"Bro, calm your nuts!" Klein held his older brother's left arm to pacify him.

"Don't hold me. Don't fucking hold me!" Yves pried his younger brother's hand away. He glared at him and pointed a finger downwards. "We are all going to die here if we don't leave! And you tell me to calm my nuts?"

"I-I was just . . ." Klein shut his mouth closed.

"Yves! That's enough!" Hans went in between the twins and looked at him directly in the eye. "We have to try and stay calm in this situation!"

"Hans is right." Jared stared at them with a frown. "This . . . killer wants us to panic. We have to keep our head on straight."

Olwen scoffed, glancing back at the boys with her eyes narrowed. Only one emotion had been riling up inside of her and she planned to unleash it. She gently placed Judy down on the floor, stood up and began shouting at this so-called killer. She did not care about what would happen next. "Show yourself, coward! You murderer! What game are you playing at? You think this is fun? What did we ever do to you?"

"Olwen . . ." Maxine frowned as she witnessed her fury. Her friend's eyes were ablaze, far from the Olwen she had known.

"Answer me!"

After a short silence, a shrilling noise echoed throughout the casino.

Faith tightened her arms around Theo's torso while he rested his chin on top of her head. She was still shaking and this broke his heart. He felt powerless. If he could only take it away from her, he would have done it. But was it possible in this dilemma? To protect and keep an eye on her was never just an obligation for him but a will.

His jaw clenched tight when the killer finally spoke behind the microphone with his or her altered voice.

"What an unexpected event. Judy died." The killer clicked his tongue thrice. "Do you know what type of game you are playing? That's right. A death game."

"We are leaving this fucking death game of yours!" Daren, who was kneeling on the floor while holding Meg, gnashed his teeth together. "We're not toys-"

"I'm sorry. No one is allowed to leave not until all of you have played the games that I have prepared. For now, enjoy mourning for the loss of your precious friend." The killer menacingly laughed, his distorted voice reverberating in the casino.

Some of them began shedding tears and cursing under their breath. They were all going to die in this hotel by the hands of a psychotic killer. Was it possible to escape this whole nightmare?

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Clue: Names, names, names . . .

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