Chapter Four
ThE JokER
Storm clouds were obscuring the sunlight. A few random rays had managed to filter through and illuminate the dark day. The abominable weather perfectly matched my acrimonious mood. It was too still, too quiet. The horses hooves pounded against the ground below, and that was the only sound. It was the calm before the storm. The town sat in the distance, I could see the lights from here. I spurred the horse to move faster. Little giggles bubbled up from the excitement of finally seeing the town.
I reached the town within minutes. My dismount was more like a mixture between a mad scramble and a lunge. I tied the horse's reigns to the pole outside the saloon. Someone was playing the piano inside, and bright lights shone from the openings in the shutters. I could have skipped inside from excitement. Pushing the door open, I sauntered in. Men of all shapes and sizes sat at different tables scattered across the room. I glanced around for a minute, before advancing to a table and sliding into a chair.
"Five bucks to enter," the dealer said without looking up. I pulled out the cash from my pocket; I had six. I tossed the money onto the table. The dealer looked up while shuffling the deck, his eyes widened in surprise. "You sure you know where you are buddy? You sure you ain't lost? 'Cause I didn't know the circus was in town."
The other men at the table chuckled and looked at me. "Oh, I'm not lost. I am looking for someone. But, first, I would like to win some extra cash. Never know when it will come in handy."
The dealer shrugged and handed me my cards. My grin stretched wider across my face. This was all to easy. How did they even think they stood a chance? I won the round without blinking an eye, and then the next round. My grin stretched further with every fold. After my fourth straight win, one of the men slammed his fist against the table.
"This joker here has got to be cheating!" Joker, I liked that.
"No, I am not," I replied simply. He roughly grabbed my arm and pulled up my sleeve. Nothing.
"He's left-handed," another man said. The man grabbed my other arm and checked. Once again, there was nothing. He glared ferociously at me. I grinned back. But, my grin slowly disappeared, as it was gradually replaced by a frown. But, should I let him get away with this rudeness? How dare he accuse me? My arm flashed out and I snatched his arm. Another man interrupted my thoughts by grabbing the instigator's arm.
"Hey. He isn't cheating. Sit down already." My grin magically reappeared. It wasn't twenty minutes before I won another round. The instigator shot out of his chair and threw a handful of chips and cards at me.
"He is cheating. I know he is, and if nobody else is gonna stop him, then I guess I will." He managed to refrain from shouting. His voice was low and attempting to be menacing. I pulled a switchblade out of my pocket and flicked it open. The three inch blade would serve me nicely. I pushed it into my sleeve and stood up from my chair. The other man was rolling up his sleeves and crouching into a fighting stance. The bartender was getting ready to tell us to take it outside when I shot across the table.
The blade slid out of my sleeve and tore through his flesh and bone. Blood splattered across my face and my new clothes. He grasped at his neck before slumping to the floor. A few cards slid out of his sleeve. I bent over and picked one up, an ace. A few giggles escaped me, the only sound in a frozen room. I licked the blood from my lips, and wiped the knife on my pants.
I slid back into my seat and held up the card for everyone to see. "Well, as the saying goes, I guess cheaters never win." I flicked my wrist and tossed the card onto the table. "Now, I need some information about a certain bat."
Hello Readers. I am making this note for the sole purpose of saying I am sorry. My brain refused to acknowledge that yesterday was Saturday, so I did not update. However, since I am conceited enough to believe that their are peple following this story, I would like to inform potential readers that I will update every Saturday. If I don't, I will update early Sunday morning.
