Ante Up

ANTE UP






The sudden thud of a heavy metal door opening and banging against the wall scattered rats in all directions. The dark, deserted, slime-ridden alleyway enhanced the commotion.

A huge burly bald-headed man with a body full of tattoos pulled a small mousy type man up the metal stairs from the basement and threw him unceremoniously into the alley. The bouncer pointed a finger at the smaller man, who was trying to get his face out of the wet muck that littered the cobblestones. "I don't want to see your ugly face in here ever again." The bald man clumped down the stairs and slammed the door shut behind him.

The mousy man sat up and in utter desolation, covered his face with his hands."Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"Well, Benny, you've gotten yourself into quite a fix this time, haven't you?"

Benny jerked his hands away from his face and looked in the direction of the slow, honey-dripping southern-drawl voice. He squinted at the tall shadowy figure trying to make out the face half hidden under a black fedora hat.

Benny stood and brushed his hands together.

"Do I know you?"

The stranger ignored Benny's question.

"I've been watching you, Benny. You have a wife and two kids waiting for you and that twenty-five hundred dollar bonus check that you gambled away. And after that sweet heartfelt promise you made." The stranger pursed his lips and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The shadowy alley and the mysterious demeanor of the stranger made Benny nervous. He backed away slowly, and then turned on his heel to walk quickly toward the sanctuary of the streetlight just ahead. Benny doesn't remember seeing the stranger in the gambling establishment. But then his focus is always on the game , not the people.

"I have a deal for you, Benny." The strangers voice floated sound his ears. "A deal that could get your twenty-five hundred back."

Benny stopped. A deal, he thought. He would do anything if he didn't have to go home and tell his wife they might get thrown out of their house anyway. With that thought Benny turned around. The stranger stood in the same spot.

"What kind of a deal?"

"Only a game. One game of draw poker."

Benny's hopes were dashed as quickly as they had come.

"I have no money." He turned to walk away.

"Money is no problem, Benny. I will loan it to you."

Benny stood for a moment then walked toward the stranger. He stopped in front of the mystery man and peered into the still hidden face. He caught a glimpse of shiny black eyes.

"And why would you do that?"

"Like you, Benny, I have been blacklisted from all public and private gaming rooms around. All I want is to play the game. We have a sickness, you and I. I am compelled to gamble." He waved his blacked gloved hand. "Money is no object, I am a rich man. So I seek out men such as yourself and pay them to gamble with me."

It sounded logical to Benny. He did need that money. He fumbled with his tie and brushed at his coat and pants in a hopeless attempt to look presentable.

"All right, where?"

The stranger led Benny to the opposite end of the alley onto a dimly lit deserted street. Out of nowhere a long black stretch limousine pulled noiselessly to the curb. A midget hopped out of the drivers' side wearing a black tuxedo and top hat. He had to stretch to reach the handle of the door. With an elaborate bow he ushered the two into plush leather seats.

"Something to drink?"

A click and whir produced a decanter of bourbon and two glasses. Benny licked his lips and looked lovingly at the bourbon.

"Go ahead."

Benny almost knocked the glasses over with his enthusiasm. His hands shook slightly as he poured two glasses and handed one to the stranger.

"To success." The stranger raised his glass and drank in one gulp.

Benny did the same and almost choked on the fiery liquid rushing down his throat. After he sputtered and coughed, Benny poured himself another drink. This time he sipped.

"So, you never told me your name."

"My apologies, Benny. It's Ted H. Levi. Call me Ted, please."

Benny gazed around at the leather and gold trim, the DVD player, the TV, the full bar and two telephones.

"Any relation to the Levi Jeans people?"

"Maybe eons ago. I made my money being a high end deal maker."

Benny nodded and took another drink. Something just under the surface of his subconscious wriggled to get out, but the warm liquid that spread through his body quickly quieted the nagging.

Ted removed his fedora and placed it on the seat. Benny's breath caught in his throat with shock and dismay. The white haired man looked a lot like his father, who had passed away last year. Except for the eyes. What looked at Benny were coal black unfathomable eyes, deep-set in a craggy face. His Fathers eyes had been light blue, always twinkling at the world around him. Benny shivered and drowned the unknown nagging thought with another slug of bourbon.



They stopped in front of a high-rise building. Benny looked at his watch after they had exited the limousine. Three AM. The streets were eerily quiet and devoid of any life. The limo had pulled away as quietly as it had come.

Benny followed Ted into the building thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Being greeted at the door by two scantily clad blonde women who giggled and took each of Benny's arms dispelled any hesitation he had. He glanced at the strange night watchman as he was being led to the elevators. His face was bubbly with bulbous bumps and small darting eyes, who watched the entourage with unconcealed hatred every step to the elevators.

The elevator doors opened and Benny was immediately assailed with noise and smoke. Benny felt at ease with the familiar dinging of slot machines, laughter and the occasional yelling of victory on a win at the craps table. The outdated clothes the people wore did not register with Benny as he was led to a poker table. The dealer wore a traditional dealers cap, a shirt with bands around the upper sleeves and a stubby cigar protruding from his thin wide lips.

The giggling blonde women let go his arms and he sat where Ted indicated. Three stacks of one hundred dollar bills of five bundles each sat in front of him. He licked his lips in awe and greed. He had never seen this much money. He could feel the women standing behind him and always suspicious when it came to playing cards he asked them to move. Ted gave a nod and they left. He noticed a drink on the table that he was sure wasn't there a second ago. He picked it up and took a quick drink anyway.

Ted smiled at him from across the table.

"Shall we get started?"

Benny nodded.

Without removing the cigar from his mouth, the dealers gruff and gravely voice demanded, "Ante up".


An hour into the game and Benny felt confident. His four and a half stacks looked good against Ted's one and a half stacks. His whiskey on the rocks kept coming, as did the money.

"All in."

Benny looked at his opponent in surprise. Ted shoved all his money to the middle and leaned back to smile at Benny.

Tough cookie, Benny thought as he unfolded his ten to Ace straight. His opponent was completely unreadable so Benny had to rely on his ability to count cards; a trick that had gotten him thrown out of many establishments. But at that moment, his bourbon-soaked brain couldn't remember the last sequence of cards. Trying to look confident and unconcerned Benny pushed his call to the middle.

Ted spread the three kings and two nines on the table. Benny looked at the kings in dismay as Ted raked in his winnings. He was sure a king had been out a couple of hands before, and a new deck had not been started yet. His head spun sickeningly from drink as he looked around at the people. They seemed different now. Not happy and carefree but angry and solemn. They seemed to suck the very air from Benny's lungs as they pressed so close that he could smell their foul, rancid breath. The vacant slot machines whirred and dinged. Benny needed a break to quiet the queasiness in his stomach.

He stood and had to brace himself against the table.

"Which way to the bathroom?"

"Straight back to the left."

Benny turned and pushed himself though the crowd. The disconcerting stares he received as he made his way to the bathroom only heightened his apprehension. The unearthly quietness, except for the dinging of the now vacant slot machines, gave him a chill he couldn't quite fathom.

He splashed his face with water and looked at his pointy-chinned weak pale face in the mirror. He had to get out of here. But then all that money. Just one good hand and then he would leave. He glanced at his watch. Five o'clock. Marian's certain anger niggled at his thoughts, but only for a second. Just one more hand.

He left the bathroom and was relieved to find everything back to normal. People laughed, yelled and played their different games once again. No one stared or pressed in as he made his way back to the table. A thought of caution made its way once again to his brain that something was terribly wrong. He quickly blamed his illusions on the bourbon and dismissed any cautionary thoughts. Just one more hand.

Several hands later, Benny stared at his almost non-existent stack of bills in disbelief. Two hands later there was nothing in front of him.

He stood and swayed with the unsteadiness of a man that had drank too much. Regaining his composure quickly, he snugged his tie to his neck and straightened his jacket.

"I thank you Mr. Levi for inviting me to your game. But I have to go. I have a divorce waiting for me at home."

"Aw, Benny, I feel so bad. Come, come, and sit down. Let me give you a chance to win some money, then you can leave."

Benny stared at the six stacks in front of Ted with a sense of sadness and loss.

"Sorry, I'm fresh out."

"Wait," Ted flipped open a once folded paper. "I have a proposition for you. I have here a contract for you. You lose, you work for me. You win; you could win a lot of money and this will be torn up." He sensed Benny's uncertainness. "Look at it this way, one way you will have a job receiving a lot more than you deserve, I assure you, the other you will have money. It's really a win-win situation."

Benny sat and Ted pushed the paper and pen across the table.

"One hand, no ante. Just this," He tapped the paper, "Against this." He tapped the stacks of money.

Benny's' mind whirled as he mentally calculated what he could do with sixty thousand dollars.

"What is it exactly I would have to do if I lose?" Benny asked, knowing his bourbon soaked vision couldn't make heads or tails out of the contract. Just one more hand, and all that money could be his.

Ted cocked his head slightly at Benny and smiled a slick smile. "You would just be a stand-in for more poker games, Benny. As I have told you before, it is very difficult for me to find a game in the conventional sense."

Slowly and with shaking fingers he signed the contract. All became silent in the room as the people pressed in once again.

"New deck." The dealer announced.

Benny was dealt four aces and a five of hearts. He kept stone faced but his mind joyfully did flips.

Ted pushed all the money to the middle and Benny pretended to hesitate before throwing in the paper he had just signed.

Ted turned over each card slowly and methodically.

King of Hearts.

Queen of hearts.

Jack of hearts.

Ten of Hearts.

Ted held the last card and smiled with malicious glee.

Benny held his breath. He didn't bother to wipe at the drop of sweat hanging from his brow. An unseen hand squeezed his heart tighter with each turn of the card.

And finally with the turn of the nine of hearts the room whirled in a kaleidoscope of colors. Benny was caught up inside a demonic tornado. The other patrons whriled inside with Benny and taunted him with grotesque grimaces and shrill laughter.

Sudden blakness enveloped him and he opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out.

He awoke in pitch-black darkness. He felt he was sitting but couldn't stand for some reason. A red glow popped on above his head casting an eerie light over the table filled with poker chips, cards and shot glasses. Benny gasped in horror at the creature sitting across from him. What was once a man now had rotting worm crawling flesh hanging in slimy strips from his face. His red eyes bulged while a worm wriggled its way behind one of the orbs. His jaw and teeth were exposed forever in a macabre grin. Benny struggled to get up but couldn't. He looked down and gazed in horror at the stumps below his hips where legs had once been.

The thing bent, retrieved an object from the  floor, threw it on the table with a thump and smiled, gnashing its teeth.

Terrifying disbelief clutched his body as Benny recognized his own foot, still clad in brown argyle socks and brown shoes, rocking slightly, blood oozing from the severed limb.

"Ante up." It said.
Benny screamed.

















Copyrighted by Ingrid Wooten, November 1, 2007