The Odds - Jeff Strand Page 0,55
was going into some very dark places right now.
They pulled into a very long, winding driveway, finally parking in front of a large yellow house.
“We’re the first ones here,” said Rick. “That’s good. You’ve got some extra time to stretch your legs.”
They got out of the van and went inside the home. It was sparsely furnished and gave the impression of “second home that’s not used very often.” Rick offered Ethan and the driver a bottle of water from the refrigerator, then they sat on the living room couch.
“Do you want to watch television?” Rick asked.
“Nah, that’s all right,” said Ethan.
“Can I have the remote?” the driver asked.
Rick handed it over. The driver turned on the television, switched the channel to one of those courtroom shows, and sat back happily on the couch as he watched. Ethan just sat there, wondering when Rick might tell him what kind of advantage he had in the challenge. Maybe it would never be safe to tell him. He’d just have to trust the guy.
After about half an hour of shitty TV, Rick got a call. He said “Okay” a couple of times, hung up, then stood up. “We’re ready to go.”
Rick and Ethan went out to the backyard. A wooden fence, not quite as tall as Ethan, blocked everything from view. Five other people were standing there. Ethan had never met any of them, but from the expressions and body language, it was pretty obvious that a blonde woman and a man slightly younger than Ethan were the other two players.
A middle-aged man with an expensive looking haircut and too-white teeth walked over and shook Ethan’s hand. He wore a t-shirt with a giant crab claw on the front. “Pleased to finally meet you in person,” he said. “It’s great to shake the hand of somebody I’ve been spying on all this time.” He laughed. “Ethan, I want you to meet Kenny and Lisa. They’ll be your competitors in the next challenge.”
Ethan had guessed correctly. He assumed the other two people—a man and a woman—had the same job as Rick.
Lisa only appeared to be in her early twenties, and she looked extremely fit, like she jogged every day without hating every second of it. Kenny had a somewhat doughier body type, but in a one-on-one altercation, Ethan wasn’t sure he could take him. He hoped this wasn’t too physical of a challenge, and that Rick had taken care of him as promised.
Rick did not look like somebody who was confident that he had everything under control.
“Before I tell you about the challenge,” said The Claw Man, “I’ll tell you about the prizes.” He walked over to a small table, upon which rested a wooden box. He lifted the lid. “To the winner goes this unregistered, untraceable, fully loaded pistol. You’ll be glad to have it. Plus, you get a point.” He replaced the lid. “To the second place finisher, no weapon, but you also get a point.”
“When are you going to tell us what the points are for?” Kenny asked. The man next to him looked annoyed, as if they’d discussed this already.
The Claw Man ignored him. “Now I’m guessing that what you really want to know is what penalty the loser receives. So everybody follow me.”
The seven of them walked around the perimeter of the fence until they saw a shed. The Claw Man opened the door and gestured inside.
There was large steel barrel, resting upon what appeared to be a giant stovetop burner. Suspended from the ceiling was a pair of chains with handcuffs on the end.
“Inside that barrel is boiling oil,” said The Claw Man. “The loser of this challenge will be slowly lowered into the oil—feet first, because we don’t want the suffering to end too soon. I assume they’ll be dead before they’re completely submerged. I’m sure it’s not the worst possible way to die, but it’s not one of the better ones.”
Lisa and Kenny did not drop to their knees and beg for mercy, so Ethan didn’t, either.
“Oh, and there’s another prize,” said The Claw Man. “First place doesn’t have to watch. Second place won’t be so lucky.”
They walked away from the shed and back to where they’d been standing before. The Claw Man opened the gate to the fenced-in area.
“The rules are very simple,” he said. “You will run through the maze searching for three keys. Lisa, yours are red. Kenny, yours are green. Ethan, yours are blue. You may not steal somebody else’s keys. When