Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 3 2018 | Page 55

Unfamiliar heat flowed along my bones. Why would he do that? Out of the blue, I opened my mouth and
declared: “I challenge you for the rights of being King!”
Oh God, why did I say that! I can’t take it back! Everyone saw me!
“Sure,” the King replied, with an unsettling sly smirk. “I’m a gambling man, so let’s play a game I choose,
but what do I get if I win?”
“Um-,” I stuttered.
“We’ll give our lives to you. Use us as bait, kill us as you please, if you can...” Deus unwaveringly proposed.
“Fair enough. I choose snakes and ladders, but listen. There are no ladders, only snakes, but only particular
snakes push you back. So you and your loser team may work together to try to beat me. Good luck… you’ll
need it.” The King instructed, overconfident.
“Ok,” Deus replied, unwavering, “But first I’d like to make a phone call.”
It should be simple. Roll the dice, advance, just like any other game, but I was sorely mistaken. The board
was littered with blood-eyed snakes, so we kept falling back, whilst the King advanced, suspiciously landing
only on snake-free squares. However, the King rolled a six, only to land on a snake. Finally I thought, until
he whipped out a shadowy pistol and bang , piercing its right fear-stricken eye, a crimson puddle flowing
and a motionless creature lying. He didn’t move backwards.
“The snake can bump you down,” Penny began, solemnly. “Whether it’s alive or not, or even injured.”
We turned to each other. Miserable . None of us had the guts to kill another being. Hopeless. The King
swiftly advanced whilst we were stuck on square 10. Forlorn . Penny dropped the dice, scarce of any hope, it
landed on a six. I look up, another snake. Lost .
But, I won’t back down. No, the best gamers will never lose.As far as we may have come, we were now at
the snake, about to be bumped down, when something swooped past my vision, a humanoid blur. Smack .
I saw a stone-still snake and a beaming Sun. “Well, let’s get going,” he cheered.
My voice trapped in my throat, waterfalls pouring from my eyes. I smiled from ear to ear, ecstatic.
“Why is he here?” the King roared savagely, hands clenched.
“Yo