Russian Roulette

I have absolutely no idea what made me come up with this story but I've spent the last half an hour writing it for your reading pleasure. I was considering incorporating it into a longer tale.

 Russian Roulette

Russian roulette. One revolver, six chambers, one bullet and a million dollars on the table for the winner. If I win I'm loaded and if I lose I'm dead, literally. 

This billionaire knows how to entertain himself, wine in one hand, a cigar in the other with some twenty something, barely dressed, little slut sat on his lap. He's at least in his sixties, it must be lonely having all that money and no wife or children. I suppose my current situation proves that a lack of love in your life can send you crazy, but hey. I was living on the streets and someone was probably gonna shoot me sooner or later so I might as well risk it being sooner.

The night air is refreshing. I stand here in the middle of a huge courtyard, artificial lights only dimly lighting the place. "Begin boys." The old man has called for it to start. I load the bullet into the chamber and spin it. I then pass it to the guy opposite me.

"Spin it again and you go first." The guy looked like he was gonna wet himself with fear. He doesn't understand death like I do. I know that death is coming sooner or later, probably to drag my ass down into hell, and there's nothing I can do about it. It's gonna happen one day, maybe tomorrow, then I definitely would regret not doing this if I only have one day left anyway.

The guy can only be about twenty, he probably needs this for college or something. He's signed the contract now, theres nothing he can do to back out. I can see the fear on his sweat soaked face and in the shake of his arm as he raises his hand with the revolver. I look straight down the barrel and nod my head... CLICK. Empty barrel. Now it's one in five.

He passes it over to me. The thing is soaked in sweat from his hands. "Don't be scared kid." I try to reassure him. "If you go down do it like a man." I aimed, readied myself and... CLICK. I could see the urine stain traveling down his trouser leg until it dribbled out onto his feet and onto the floor. "Better?" All he can do is rapidly nod his head as I had him the gun. One in four.

"Sorry if I kill you." His high pitched voice was pitiful.

"No worries. Just do it."

I'd like to say he's shaking but that doesn't do it justice. Vigourously vibrating, that better suits his present state. He's just standing there pointing it at me.

"Just shoot me kid for God's sake!" This kid's really pushing me now. CLICK. "Finally." One in three.

I grab the gun out of his hand and don't give him chance to say or do anything... CLICK. Down to a fifty fifty.

I look at the kid. "Make it quick." He takes the revolver from me. "After three. One, two..." Click. We both freeze at the sound. One left. "It looks like I'm gonna have to kill you kid."

"I don't want to die." Tears flow from his eyes and drip from his chin, like an overfilled cup still having water poured into it. His squeaky voice in audible in this quiet courtyard.

"You know what you signed up for you scrawny little girl." That billionaire's really starting to annoy me now. Why can't he let the kid absorb that it's his last moments. Maybe he want us to pass on a last message or something, we could at least pay him that respect.

"Let him take it in." I tell the pompous idiot before I turn to the kid. Dammit, this is gonna be like shooting a puppy or something. "Anything you want to say? A message for your mother?"

"You know the deal you morons!" The old man's on one now. "The contract clearly states that one of you must die for the other to get the money and neither of you can leave this courtyard while the other is alive. I don't care how but one of you is going to die tonight whether you like it or not!"

"True." I turn to the kid. "Do me a favour and cremate me. Do what you will with the ashes. I put the revolver to my head and turn to the bastard who put us in this position, other than ourselves. "One of us will die. Me"

In notice a sly grin on the billionaires face as I close my eyes and pull the trigger...

What do we think? If I prolong it would it be into the afterlife, the lesson the kid learned or perhaps the old billionaire's joke is that the gun doesn't even work. That's why I stopped where I did. Too many options... :-D