Flickering Out part VI

Ivory was glaring at the dice, her eyes hard and narrow as if she thought it might change the roll.‘Let me see those,’ she said, the sound of her voice betraying her disbelief. She reached out.

‘Leave it,’ Boss said. He was on his knees, rubbing his face. Even so, by the sound of his voice, Billie didn’t think he was messing around.

Ivory scoffed. ‘Do I look like a puppy you son of a bitch?’

‘Snake eyes is snake eyes.’ Jeff said with a grin.

Boss was glaring at the pips in disbelief as if they were looking back at him. That was either the luckiest throw in the history of dice or those things are weighted. Either way it doesn’t matter.’ He looked up with a face almost as red as his beard, ‘The roll is ineligible.’

Ineligible? Billie felt anger rising within her.‘Because it wasn’t what you wanted?’Feeling emboldened by the roll, she said,‘you set the rules dude.’

‘Those rules didn’t include a rude and unprovoked pitch into my face.’ Boss rubbed his eyes. He appeared to be regaining his composure a bit, though he was still intermittently staring at the dice.

‘You never rolled snake eyes?’ Jeff said.

Now Boss was glaring at Jeff. ‘Of course I have you fool. That’s not it.’

‘Look,’ Jeff said,‘it’s snake eyes fair and square.’ He was pointing at the dice.

Billie thought the look on Jeff’s face was about as satisfied as she’d ever seen. Boss, however, wasn’t looking so good and to Billie’s horror the man’s hand was hovering above the big axe at his waist.

‘Like the girl said, you made the rules. It’s snake eyes and you lost.’

The girl? Billie gave Jeff a look of disgust, but he didn’t seem to notice.

‘Now that you’ve ruined our evening would you two mind leaving? I think we’ve earned it.’

Ivory fidgeted, looking anxiously at the gun boss snatched away from her earlier.

Billie watched Ivory. I guess I should be glad he has the gun now.

‘I’ll make you a deal,’ boss said.

What? Billie knew she and Jeff weren’t in a position to control the situation. They didn’t have weapons, after all, but this situation was getting to be too much. ‘Deal’s been made already,’ she said, ‘and you lost.’

‘Clearly this joker cheats at dice,’ Ivory piped in. ‘You think you can survive this place you’re going to learn. You ought to wish I had that gun.’ Looking back at boss she said, ‘anyway lucky for you a killing tonight ain’t gonna fly.’

“And why is that?’ Boss said. His eyes were hard.

We don’t have a place to take the bodies while they bleed out.’

Disgusting.

‘That’s the least of our problems Ivory and you know it.’

Jeff said, ‘At least you’re talking sense.’ He rubbed his shoulder. ‘I’d rather not bleed out tonight. Look, I took a fall back there in the sticks. Didn’t do me too much harm, but I’ve got a nasty welt.’ He turned to make the injury obvious. ‘I don’t need to be killed as well.’

Ivory’s lips turend up. ‘I was gonna say something, like maybe you need to get checked out. That welt’s nasty. But, seen as we were fixn to put you down and all, I didn’t thnk it mattered.’ Ivory smiled, like her words were something to be proud of. ‘Then I remembered all our bleeding stations are occupied at the moment.’

Bleeding stations? These two are mainiacs. ‘What type of person says something like that?’

‘Type of person uses people for their own ends,’ Ivory said. Her pale skin was glistening now, her teeth white pearls in the moonlight.

‘How else are you gonna know you’re alive you’re not bleeding out?’ Boss said. Then he chuckled long and hard. His long beard was swaying as his head moved side to side. When he was done laughing he said, ‘I’m afraid you two are way too involved in this now to be let go. My apologies for breaking our little deal, but you did cheat. Now you’ll soon wish for someting more merciful.’ His hand was hovering above the axe again. ‘Know what I mean?’

‘Involved in what,’ Jeff said. He was moving to retrieve the dice.

‘We have no desire to be involved in anything with you two. You’ve convinced us it’s time to go. Come on Jeff.’

‘Not so fast,’ Boss said. His hands were in the air now as if motioning for them to stop and listen. Billie thought his demeanor had changed somehow.

‘This ought to be good,’ Ivory said. She rolled her eyes.

‘Cork it Ivory,’ Boss said with a mean looking glare.

Odd relationship these two.

‘Truth is,’ Boss continued, ‘we are trying to protect you. We noticed you coming up the trail half mile back. Even that’s too close.’ His eyes got really big. ‘There are things you’re going to regret in life. One of them is coming up here tonight. Look, we’ve been visited.’

‘Visited?’ Billie said. ‘What’s does that mean?’