The Gambler

Chapter 1: Abracadabra

I hope you enjoy the story as much as I'm writing. Be sure to give suggestions for any grammar issues, and ill get it resolved.

I'll try to post a new chapter every week. I give updates on this story on my Tumblr if you want to take that a look.

“What do you think about Elijah Adler, is he one of the best or the worst paranormal investigators out there? We will start taking callers so that you can give your opinion.” the radio host said as the driver who was listening was merely grinning as he let the radio in his car continue. “Well, because of him, my house caught on fire, and all he said was that he was fighting a water spirit and needed fire to defeat it,” a caller said. “Yeah, that’s weird, the guy is even weirder. Have you seen him? He always has a deck of blank playing cards with him at all times; there is something about that guy, something I don’t like.” the radio host said. 

The driver quickly turned off the radio and deeply sighed “if they only knew what the truth was, but they will soon know when I, Elijah Adler, saves the world from destruction,” Elijah boasted while pulling out a blank playing card and turning into a cigarette. “Man, this ability is convenient,” he thought as he lit the cigarette. Still, before he could take a puff of his cigarette, he noticed that the car was starting to slow down at an exponential rate and then stopping in a matter of a minute. 

 “FUCK” Elijah screamed as his car started to stop in the middle of the deserted road. He got out and lifted the hood of his vehicle to assess the damage. “I might be one of the best paranormal investigators out there, but I’m no fucking mechanic,” Elijah muttered quietly to himself as he felt his anger quickly rising within him. “Alright, Elijah, calm down, there’s probably a place around here that can fix my car,” he said, instantly calming down. He looked around the road and noticed a rusted sign pole that said Handeemen Studio .5 Miles.

“Well, that is convenient, I hope somebody there can help me,” he said as he went back into his car to get all the necessities like his coat, bag, and folder holding his next case. He opened the folder making sure nothing was lost “well, it looks like this pizzeria is gonna have to wait until I can get my car back into working shape,” he muttered while putting the folder into his bag. He locked his car and started to walk.

After ten minutes of walking, Elijah noticed a large building with what looked like a puppet with a top hat and monocle that said Handeemen Studios, “I’m guessing this is my stop,” he said as he approached the door of the building. As he opened the door and went inside, the first thing he noticed was the horrible smell of the lousy quality paint that was on the walls and a matter of fact, the walls themselves were peeling off, showing bugs that use it for nesting; Elijah shuddered with disgust and moved on. 

He explored the lobby until he saw what looked like a person sitting at a table with a red cloth above them. The man was wearing a black covering on his head with a noose around his neck, making sure it didn’t come off. Still, the weirdest part about this guy’s appearance was that he seemed to have a puppet of what looked like the puppet on the building on his right hand. “hey, can you help me? My car broke down a half a mile from here, do know where a mechanic shop is?” he said while gaining no response from the man as he had his left hand on his head signify that he was bored.

“Maybe he didn’t hear me,” Elijah reasoned and started to walk towards the man and was about to repeat what he said until the puppet sprung to life. “Welcome old bean to the Handeemen Studio. I am Mortimer Handee pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The now ‘alive’ puppet said in a British accent, “This man is a good ventriloquist, I wonder if he does birthday parties,” Elijah thought to himself as he decided to play along. “Well, Mr.Handee, I was wondering if you know if there is someone who can help me fix my car,” he said, trying his best to do a British accent but failing at it. 

“No, I cannot help you, sir, but you seem like you need fun in your life. So why not take a patented Handee man puppet free of charge,” he said as the floor in front of Elijah opened up to reveal five puppets that had different colors and hairstyles, but ultimately looked the same in structure.

“Pick one, their all the same,” Mortimer said with a slight grin. Elijah stared at the five puppets. “These look like these belong together, I think you should just keep them,” Elijah replied in a neutral tone; in reality, he did not want the puppets, since they looked like they could be infested with bugs or diseases.

Mortimer, on the other hand, was utterly baffled. Everyone who came in this building accepted a puppet, but pushing his thoughts aside, he decided to try to convince this man a tool, “you do not need to worry, my friend these puppets are meant to find homes with people, and one of them will be happy with you” he said.  

“Look, dude, I don’t want one of your puppets. They look like they’re infested with roaches,” Elijah said with brutal honesty while looking at the man with the cloth mask and not Mortimer. But before any of them could say anything, Elijah’s phone started ringing, startling both of them. Elijah pulled out his phone and answered it while Mortimer looked like he was about to explode with anger.

 “Hello,” Elijah said while walking around the room. There were a couple of seconds of silence as the person of the other end replied, “well, Mr.Smith I’m sorry, but my car broke down, it looks like my investigation is gonna have to wait until I get it fixed,” he said as he ended the call and turned back to the man and puppet. “Isn’t it rude to answer a call while you are having a conversation with someone?” Mortimer asked judgmentally while making it evident that he was livid.

Elijah sighed, “look, dude, I think we got off on the wrong foot, look I’ll take one of those puppets. So you don’t get your panties in a twist,” he said while looking at the five puppets. He picked up the one in the middle and started showing it off to Mortimer by posing with it mockingly. “You know, there is a certain magic about Handeemen puppets, they wear you,” Mortimer said with absolute glee as the man who was ‘controlling’ him fell face-first onto the table.

Mortimer then started to chant something in another language. Around him, a green mist began to form around Mortimer and eventually the room, but before the spell ended, Elijah’s eyes rolled back into his head as he fainted.