Midnight Creek Tales

#1. Cut The Deck / Chapter 5

While Gerald slept, he began to dream about all the great times he had in Vegas. Between buying the best babes, and eating at the tastiest restaurants, nothing could compare to winning 100 grand from the foolish Mexican boy. He started to remember him more vividly. He was tall and skinny, and he seemed to have just finished high school, (always an easy target, stupid young people who don't know what they are doing).

His name was Alberto Cardenas IV, and Gerald's fondest memory of him was, his furious red expression on his face when he scammed his 'sorry ass.'

'My finest scam' Gerald would always quote. It was the victory that launched his illustrious career of conning people out of their cash.

Gerald was waking up now.

A weird sensation began to surge through his eyes, and both of them opened slowly, and in front of him he could see vacant darkness. His eyes searched around wondering 'Where am I?' 'Am I dead?' 'Is this purgatory or something?' His pupils scanned the room like a camera, but he couldn't see a thing. Gerald blinked multiple times to try to come to reality and to get a grip on the situation, and then realized something. He couldn't move.

He started to panic and tried turning his neck to see if anything was behind him. Gerald's neck was stiff as a block of wood and frozen like an ice statue. All he could do was open and close his eyes in apprehensive terror.

All of a sudden he heard something click, and there was a bang. Out of nowhere a TV stand in front of him lit up. It flickered profoundly, reminding him of the movie Saw.

At first, the reception was blurry, but it soon became evident that it showed Antonio sitting in a fancy presidential armchair smoking a Cuban cigar and drinking some whiskey.

Gerald realized that Antonio had changed his clothes and was now in a black suit, and he seemed to be at his work desk. In the background, there were also curtains and a window. It was still dark outside.

Antonio puffed and inhaled his cigar like a silent steam engine for about fifteen seconds and then started talking.

"Gerald by now you are wide awake and probably curious on where you are. And I can't say much about where you are, but what I can tell you is that you have a second chance to redeem yourself now."

Gerald grunted and started to try to wiggle and squirm out of his seat. He was starting to loosen up as his senses were returning.

Gerald's hands were behind his back, and he could assume that they were tied up.

"Right now your senses should be coming back. And right about... now you should be able to get at least a couple of words out." Antonio sipped his glass and continued, "Now scum like you should be gotten rid of on this Earth, but who knows? Maybe you're worth something to society? But it will take a lot to prove it. I don't let anyone just slide by without proving themselves, God must be the one to spare them. Only the toughest make it out in the real world. It takes skill, wits, and strength to make a man really a man. Not some cowardly lion like yourself."

"Hey! Take that back you snotty rich conceited cocksucker!" Gerald felt all of his anger building up inside of him, and he wanted to beat the living shit out of Antonio. At this point, he was willing to cut off his own hand just to have a chance of giving him some of the pain he endured tonight.

"Oh – so you can speak now? Very well, Gerald, it's time to begin..."

"Right now you are tied up to a chair with barbed wire, both on your arms and legs. Soon, you'll meet a terrible fate if you're not careful. Be quick and use good judgment. If you happen to surpass this test, you'll advance to the next challenge. Best of luck, con artist!"