Raven's Eyes (A Zodiac Story)

BLUFF

"Let me give you a tour before the main event."

Everybody was on edge at this point but they had no choice but to follow him. They walked down the hallway until they reached a cavernous room that had various doors leading into smaller rooms. The lighting was blood red, to make it either intimidating or sensual.

"These are the private game rooms. If you get into the finals this is where you will be playing in."

He gave a soft knock on the door before opening.

"Mind if we watch your game a bit? They're new here."

The man sitting in the head chair quietly agreed and continued his game. It was dead silent in the room until a person on the side shuffled some sticks in the middle.

"What are they playing?" Capricorn whispered.

"They're playing King. This game is one of the most dangerous. You chose a stick and one of them will king. The king can ask the servants to do whatever he wants, for a price. Servants gain money from doing the action."

"How do you win?" Capricorn asked.

"Be the last one standing. If you withdraw or refuse to do an action all your money goes to the king. If you are the last servant you get the other servants money and you're free to go."

"So it's best if you're King..." Taurus notes.

"Thanks for letting us watch, we will be going now." The man bowed and led everyone out of the room.

"Everything you do here will be for a price so it's best to win as much money as you can from the public games."

The next large room was an unusual blue color. Blue light is usually used to soothe you but in this case the lighting was strangely unsettling. The doors to these were less secure than the ones before, made out of simple wood.

"I'll go through this one fast. These are the pleasure rooms."

"What the fuck..." Cancer whispered.

"In layman's terms they're prostitutes. These are people who are devastated from the games or have a debt to pay. We have girls and guys so don't be shy." He breezed through the explanation and walked forward.

"That's all I can disclose to you so the next room is where the public games will take place. Before you enter please hand over any phones or technology you own." He pulled out a bin.

With some hesitation they put their phones in the bin and waited as he unlocked the heavy iron door.

"Good luck gambling."

Everyone stuck very close to each other as the entered. The large room was filled with silence except for the occasional whisper here and there. A group of stressed out boys sat in the middle, poker chips that represented their money was stacked in the middle. A much taller man in a tailored suit approached them. He was very well put together and didn't have a mask on his face.

"Welcome, I am the judge. You will be playing as a group with a few other people next round."

"BLUFF! YOU'RE FUCKING LYING!" Someone shouted and slammed his hands on the table.

"Check the cards." The other smirked.

"W-what..." he flipped the card over and sank in his seat, defeated.

The judge walked over and pushed the man's remaining chips towards the one that won.

"No...no...you can't do this!" He screamed and threw his cards on the ground.