Game 5: Deal or No Deal

The dealer did as he was told, giving the five remaining players each two face down cards.

“I'll raise the bet to three Life.” Another round of electric shocks. Two more players folded. Three remained: Rita, the mayor, and Doc Holiday. The total wager was now at 30 Life.

The first three face up cards were then dealt: a seven of diamonds, a king of clubs, and an ace of spades. Neither Rita nor Doc were confident in their ability to win the game at this stage. Each player called the existing wager.

The next card was then dealt: a queen of clubs. The mayor once again said, “Raise the ante!”

Rita turned to her opponent. “Don't you realize that will put you down to zero Life?”

“Only if I were to lose, little missy,” the mayor responded with a crooked snarl on his face. “Do you call or do you fold?”

“I'll call.” She noticed there was no electric shock this time, meaning the mayor was telling the truth. The last electric shock would only come if she were to lose this round. The wager was now set at 32 Life.

“I'll fold,” Doc told them. “If I die here, right now, there would be nobody in this here town to uphold the law.”

"Only two players remain,” the mayor realized. “Reveal the last card.”

The dealer did so, revealing a jack of clubs. With this kind of setup, a win would be very difficult to achieve for either Rita or the mayor.

“Rita…” was all Takeshi could say. Only the cards would seal the fate of the two remaining players now.

The mayor confidently revealed his two face down cards: a seven of clubs and a seven of hearts. “Three of a kind! Let's see you try to beat that, little missy.”

Rita hesitated to reveal her face down cards. She knew that she needed to somehow do better than the mayor's hand to not only win the game, but also to stay alive.

•

She suddenly remembered a distant memory she once thought long lost. She was seven years old, or so she remembered. She had an older brother who taught her how to play this game.

But he had disappeared one day, never to be seen again.

Had he fallen for this scheme? Had he become a victim of The Game?

She would never know the truth.

She had been here for so long, did the truth even matter to her anymore?

It was all faded and fuzzy to her, but it was something. It was a connection to the world she once knew, a world she might never return to.

Sure, The Game told her the same way it told all the other players upon their arrival: “When your Life hits 0, you lose The Game, and you will be returned to your life as you once knew it. It would be as if you had never even played The Game at all.”

But could she know for sure whether it was telling the truth?

Would she ever find out?

Perhaps it was all just meant to end right here, right now.

•

“I can't do this…” she told herself. “I've let everyone I've ever met down…”

“What's the matter?” the mayor asked her. “You scared? Are you afraid to reveal your cards, little missy? Or have you realized you've already lost?!”

No… she thought to herself, it can't end here. She knew the rules of poker well enough to know there were plenty of hands that could do better than the mayor's. But which one was the most likely for her to have? She knew.

“I can't let them down,” she continued speaking under her breath. “Not Takeshi, not the people of Innsbruck, not anyone. Never again!”

She slammed her cards face up onto the table. A nine of clubs and a ten of clubs.

“That's impossible!” the mayor cried. “It's a straight flush!”

“Looks like we gots ourselves a winner, Mr. Mayor,” Doc told him. “Alas, it ain't gonna be you.”

The mayor protested, “This girl must have cheated! I demand to speak to the dealer about this! I will not tolerate this collusion -”

He could not finish his sentence as the final electric shocks began their course through his body. He let out a loud cry as his last Life was spent. He went all in on his bet, and he had lost.

“Game Over.”

Before anyone knew it, the mayor's body had vanished into thin air. The whole saloon could only look on in silence. No matter how many times this game had been played before, the end result always remained the same.

Rita was victorious, but the ordeal left her completely drained. One by one, the remaining players were unhooked from the machine, free to live another day. However, the crowd inside the saloon began to stir and make moves towards Rita and Takeshi.

It wasn't until Doc Holiday came over to undo her connection to the machine that Rita fully understood what had happened. But first, he had to contend with the beginnings of an unruly mob.

“Now, y’all listen up here. This miss won the game fair and square. I don't want no one trying to make any funny movements, ya hear?”

“What happened?” Rita asked, somehow not fully aware of the last five minutes.

“As we've promised, Miss. You won in Holy Combat, so you get to keep your items and go on your merry way.”

“You could come with us,” Takeshi offered. “There's really no reason to stay in a place like this.”

“Naw,” Doc answered. “Someone's gotta uphold the law ‘round here. Besides, now that the mayor has lost The Game, someone has to keep this here town glued together. Without that kind of stability, this whole town would just fall apart.” He then snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

“Well, try to get this place on the map, then,” Takeshi added. “That way we can find this place on purpose next time.”

“Takeshi, I'd like to get out of here while we still have the free grace period,” Rita interrupted.

“Hold on,” Doc interrupted them. “Before you leave, don't forget your winnings. Thirty-two Heart Cookies.”

“Right… Thanks?”

•

As the two of them left Single Pigeon, Takeshi and Rita began to make their way towards the Slicer's hideout.

“Next stop, the Badlands,” Rita said.

“After you, hero,” Takeshi told her.

“Ah, yes, but first.” Rita grabbed a Heart Cookie out of her bag. “Gotta recharge my Life.” She then ate the entire cookie in one bite. Although she couldn't stand the taste of the cookies, she needed to eat at least one as soon as possible. “Insurance policy. Tastes like dirt, but it's so worth it…”