Sins Loom: The Unwilling Weaver

“Let me out of here! Do you even know who I am?”

Waking up to the sounds of someone yelling, Claudio looked around in a daze. Looking at where the sounds were coming from, he saw an elegant and beautiful young woman shouting at a well-dressed man across the table from them. Turning around, he saw a door being blocked by a large bouncer, and three other people asleep around the semi-circle table. A poker table, am I still in the casino, what’s going on?

“What’s going on here?” he asked, turning to the angry woman.

“Oh, thank God, somebody else is awake.” She said, turning to Claudio. “These two bastards are refusing to let us leave, saying that we have to wait for the others so we can play a game.” Turning back to the dealer, she pointed a finger at his face while yelling. “When I get out of here, I’m going to make sure that you are both arrested and left to rot for the rest of your lives.”

Looking around the room more actively, he felt a sense of familiarity. Wait, is this one of my private rooms? Looking at the dealer, he failed to match a name to the face, not recognising him as one of his workers. Pulling the woman back from the dealer, he whispered into her ear. “I think it's for the best if we wait for the others to wake up first. We don’t want to agitate these people. We’ve got no clue what they are willing to do, at least for now we are somewhat safe.”

Paling at his words, she started to shake in fear. “Do you really think they will hurt us?”

Gently soothing her, he whispered. “It is a possibility, so let's just calm down before we do anything rash. My name is Claudio, what’s your name?”

“I’m Avery, I just wanted to have some fun at a casino. I heard about a good one from a family friend, I didn’t expect it to be this dangerous. I never should have come here.”

Seeing her calm down, he continued to ask her questions to distract her. “Do you have any clues as to where we are? Where were you before you woke up here?”

“I was in The Noble Star casino. I was just getting my chips ready before I blacked out.”

The Noble Star Casino... Am I actually trapped in my own casino, or did they take us somewhere else? “These men aren’t employees for The Noble Star Casino, I can tell you that. I’m not sure if we’re still there, the room does look familiar, but they could’ve just reconstructed a room somewhere else.”

Confused, she looked at him. “How do you know all of this?”

“Because I’m the owner of the casino. I’ve never seen these men before in my life, but this does look exactly like one of my private rooms.”

Recoiling away from him, she looked at him warily. “How do I know that you’re telling the truth? What if you’re working with them and you’re just trying to lower my guard.”

“I can see why you don’t trust me; I promise you that I’m not working with them, I hope that you’re willing to trust me, as it’s the best way for us to get out of here alive.”

Looking down, she started to think for a few moments. “Okay, I’ll trust you. I hope we can make it out of here.”

Turning around, he saw the others slowly starting to rouse.

“Good morning, everyone. You all have your own reasons for being here. One of you, out of fear and greed, has willingly destroyed countless families. So, I have put you in here as a way to seek forgiveness and face retribution. The rest of you will just be considered collateral damage until this person truly repents, so know that one of you controls the fate of everyone in this room. Today will be a game of skill, courage, and willpower. You should all be able to see that you are sitting in front of a poker table. You will play against each other for an hour. All who survive will be allowed to leave and go back to their lives. The rest of you will die in this room. The rules of the game are simple; it will be a standard game of Texas hold’em, something you should all be familiar with. Good luck.”

The room went silent after the voice stopped talking. Everyone still processing what they just heard. Hold’em... I think I can last an hour. I have to try and figure out who is doing this, and how they know what I’ve done. If what he said was true, then they should already have enough information to control me for the rest of my life. They could have just gone to the officials with this, and I would be done for. They must want control over everything that I have. He briefly glanced at Avery. I’m sorry that I am putting you through this.

“Where are the poker chips?” said the man beside him.

Hearing the question, he turned to look at the table noticing the lack of chips. Strange.

Picking up the sealed pack of cards, the dealer showed it to everyone before breaking it open. Shuffling the cards, he smiled at the surrounding players. “Today you won’t be betting with money, as there is too much of a disparity in terms of wealth within this group for that to be fair.” The dealer paused, giving a quick look at Claudio. “Instead, you all will be betting with a different form of currency, namely, pounds of flesh.” Everyone in the room turned pale, as the dealer dealt out the first hand.

This is insane, there’s no way they can make us do this. Looking over at Avery, he saw her shivering in fear. Poor girl. Comforting her, he looked up at the dealer, seeing a wide grin on his face. Sick bastard.

“I can tell what all of you are thinking and trust me, it will be easier if you all just comply. Otherwise, my colleague here will have to step in and enforce the rules personally.” The dealer said, pointing at the guard at the door. “Also, the timer only counts down when you all are actively playing, so don’t think about just sitting here to waste away the hour. Besides, we wouldn’t want anything to happen now, would we?” Seeing everyone start to sweat, he nodded.

“Good. Now that we have that out of the way, let’s establish some base rules. A game will only be considered active if two or more players make it to the turn card being revealed, if this doesn’t happen, the time lost will be added back to the clock. The minimum wager will be two pounds, and blinds are active. A small blind is a pound, big blind is two pounds. This here is the dealer button.” He said, spinning a plain white chip in between his fingers. “If a player folds, their flesh will be paid at the end of the round before revealing the community card, if they don’t fold, all flesh will be paid at the end of each game. To keep things simple, you all have been given a number, you are player one” he said, pointing at the person to his left, before counting around clockwise. “Now that we have that covered, let’s begin.” Leaving the dealer chip in front of himself, he dealt out cards clockwise to the players.

Picking up his cards, Claudio gave them a quick look before putting them back down. A two of hearts and a five of clubs. Not much I can do here, I’m safe for now so I’ll just fold, but this strategy won’t hold for long. Looking around, he saw that there were two people either side of him and knew that he’d be the next to pay the big blind. “I fold.” he called out, taking his arms off the table.

To his left, Avery also folded. The following player paused for a moment, before calling. The other two players called as well. The flop cards were turned over, revealing an ace of spades, a four of clubs, and a six of diamonds. Seeing the cards, player five called. Player one folded and player two called.

Player one looked between the dealer and the guard. Moving so quick that he couldn't even be seen, the guard appeared next to him, accurately cut off three pounds of flesh, then moved back to the door. Seeing the flesh land on the table, Avery screamed and closed her eyes. Gritting his teeth, Claudio continued to watch the game unfold.

The turn is revealed, showing the queen of hearts. Player five thought for a moment before calling. Looking back at her hand, player two hesitantly folded. She flipped her hand over revealing a four of spades and a five of diamonds. Player five flipped over his hand, revealing an ace of hearts and a queen of clubs.

“Player five wins the pot by default.” Collecting the cards, the dealer moved the button around and started shuffling. Six pounds of flesh fell on the table, gathering with the rest before moving over to player 5.

What the fuck. Claudio stared wide-eyed in shock as the flesh moved on its own. His body tried to vomit, but it refused to leave his stomach. Distracted by the flesh, he didn't realise that the cards had already been dealt.

“I fold.” said Avery, bringing Claudio’s attention back to the game. Checking his hand, he tried to think about what to do. A ten and a jack of clubs, this could be good. I’m already going to lose a bit because of the blind, I might as well try and win this round. Hearing everybody but Avery call, he decides to call as well, hoping to get something good from the flop.

The cards were turned over, showing a jack of hearts, a nine of clubs, and a seven of clubs. Good, I just need an eight of clubs, then I’ll win. Player five folded, and two pounds were cut off. Player one called while player two folded, losing three pounds. Getting to his turn, Claudio called, hoping to get something good from the turn.

The turn was revealed to be a three of hearts. Useless for me, let’s see what he does. Looking over at player one, he saw some hesitation in his eyes. Folding, player one showed his hand to be a king of spades and a seven of hearts. His best hand from this was a pair of sevens, I guess he decided to cut his losses. Flipping his hand over, he waited for the dealer to take the cards back.

“Player three wins the pot by default.” The dealer prepped for the next hand as his colleague got to work. The flesh wiggled towards Claudio, making him want to vomit. Trying to ignore the pile of flesh, he stared at the dealer, waiting for the next hand.

Hearing some shuffling next to him, he turned to see Avery trying to move away from the piles, but unfortunately found herself stuck in between both of them and unable to move away from the table. Poor girl. Turning his attention back to the game, he picked up his hand. A pair of sevens. Not bad. I’ll see how the flop goes.

Player five started off by calling, while player one immediately folded. Seems like he’s learned to play it a bit safer. That’s good. Seeing player two call, Claudio followed up by calling, and turned to see what Avery would do. She folded, visibly shaking and terrified, knowing what was about to come. Before the guard even moveed, she started wailing in fear.

“Please don’t do anything. I did nothing wrong. Why are you doing this to me?” She cried out, pleading to the dealer. Ignoring her cries, the blade came down, quickly cutting off her flesh.

Disturbed by the scene, Claudio turned away, trying to block out her wails by focusing on the cards. The flop was revealed, showing a two of clubs, a king of spades, and a jack of diamonds. Players five and two called, while Claudio decided to cut his losses and folded. Some of the flesh in his pile split off, crawling towards the pot.

The turn was revealed, showing a jack of clubs. Seeing this, both players confidently called. The river was turned over, showing a three of hearts. Again, they both called, believing that they had the winning hand. They both revealed their hands. Player two had a pair of jacks, while player five had a pair of kings.

Four of a kind vs a full house.

“Player two wins the pot with four of a kind vs player five’s full house.” A pound of flesh was cut off player five, joining the pot before it moved to sit in front of player two.

The next two games passed in the same way, with two players betting until they revealed their hands. Players two and four competed in game four, with player four coming out the victor, and in game five Claudio bested player one to win the game. A large chunk of flesh was cut off of player one. Weighing 18 pounds, it thudded on the table, adding to Claudio's ever increasing pile. Player one was sitting there, looking frail and weak.

The cards were dealt for game six. A two of hearts and a nine of diamonds, no luck. Claudio folded. With a confident smile Avery immediately called. Player five folded, while players one and two both called. The flop was turned over, revealing a king of diamonds, a six of clubs, and a two of diamonds. Avery stared down the other players before raising the bet to four pounds. Looking at their hands, players one and two followed, waiting to see what the turn card was.

The card was flipped over, showing a six of hearts. Avery raised the bet to 10 pounds. Confident in his hand, player one followed Avery up with a call, while player two hesitated, before deciding to fold. The blade came down as player two wailed.

The river is turned over showing a five of diamonds. Breaking out into a smile, player one looks over at Avery, and sees that she is now forcing her smile to stay up.

Avery hesitated for a moment, growing solemn before calling out, “I raise... 150 pounds.” she struggled to keep her smile on her face, showing her determination. The room fell silent, everyone shocked by her actions.

What is she doing? Having spent years gambling, Claudio looked into Avery’s eyes, trying to see through her schemes. Nothing, she must be breaking under the pressure. Unable to find anything, he looked at her with pity, hoping that the young woman could survive. Delirious from the blood loss and confident in his hand player one called her bluff, going all in.

Both players flipped over their hands.

“Player four wins the pot with a full house vs player one’s flush.” The room fell silent after the dealer stopped talking, everyone staring slack-jawed at the cards on the table. Player one turned pale, frozen to the spot in fear and disbelief. Before he could say anything, his body exploded, sending chunks flying across the room. Bits of viscera landed in Claudio’s open mouth, sliding down his throat.

Still shocked by everything that was happening, it took his brain a moment to realise what just happened, and when it did, he bent over trying to vomit everything out. Feeling something wiggle in his throat, he started to choke, struggling to breathe as the chunks of intestine started to squirm back up his throat. The rest of the blood and bits from across the room started to congregate on the table in front of Avery.

Finally, it dislodged itself from Claudio’s throat, landing on top of the enormous pile. Looking at the pile in front of her, Avery looked at it with glee, giggling madly as she pulled it closer towards herself, staring down the other players, as if she was afraid that they would try and take it away.

Eventually pulling himself back together, Claudio looked over at Avery, seeing the most disturbing scene he’d ever witnessed. Like a child, she picked up some of the flesh and played with it, all the while giggling like a little girl. Completely broken, she dipped her fingers in the blood, smearing it all over the desk and herself.

Afraid to continue watching, everyone turned away. When I get out of here, I’ll try and help her family. That’s the least I can do. After a few minutes, her laughter finally stopped as she grew quieter, sticking to playing with the flesh in front of her.

Seeing that things had calmed down; the dealer continued the game. Focusing back on the cards, Claudio tried to ignore her. A pair of queens, I’ll try and win this round. Stuck in his thoughts, it took him a while to realise that nobody had made their move. Looking at the others, he saw that they’re both staring at Avery. Claudio realised that it was her turn, and frowned when he saw that she hadn't touched her hand, but was instead playing with a heart, rolling it in her hands. Leaning towards her, he triee to get her attention back on the game. “Hey Avery, it’s your turn, do you want to put that down and play with us instead?” he ask3e, trying to be gentle.

She looked at him in fear, pausing for a moment. “It’s mine!” she shouted, before shoving the heart into her mouth. She sealed her lips shut, shaking her head as if to tell him to not come closer. Seeing this, everyone tried to vomit, bending over and retching, but nothing came out. She giggled as the heart tried to wiggle back out into the pile.

Seeing this, the dealer sighed. “Seeing that player four is unwilling to make a move, we will consider this as a fold on her part so that the game can continue.” Everyone nodded, and the game continued.

The next four games played out quickly. With Avery not able to focus on the game, she was made to fold every round, as the three remaining players took turns winning small pots, trying to stall out until the one-hour mark.

Game eleven began as the hands were dealt. A nine of diamonds and a queen of spades this could be decent. He turned over to player five, waiting to see what he would do to start the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Avery’s bloody hands pick up the cards, holding them in front of her eyes as if they were a new toy. Distracted by the cards, the heart flopped out of her mouth, landing close to the pot.

“Player four has called, placing her bet forward.” Some of the flesh from her pile moves forward to meet the heart, bringing it up to two pounds. Shocked for a moment, player five fumbled over their words, before calling. Player two looked at her hand before quickly folding. Claudio also called.

The flop was turned over, showing a queen of diamonds, a seven of clubs, and a ten of diamonds. I could get a straight flush here. Looking over at Avery, he waited for her turn to be voided.

While playing around, Avery pushed forward a small pile of flesh, giggling as it jiggled around.

“Player four has raised the bet to ten pounds.” The dealer called as the pile wiggled into the pot.

Distraught watching it move away, Avery cried, trying to get it back. Soon, she was distracted by the larger pile in front of her and forgot all about it.

Gulping, player five hurriedly folded, not daring to risk anything. Claudio hesitated but looked at the pile in front of him and decided that he could take the risk. “I call.” he said calmly, looking at the cards in the centre.

The turn was revealed to be a jack of diamonds.

All I need is the king of diamonds and I’ll win. Then we will be safe to survive till the end. He turned to stare at Avery, wondering what would happen next. Picking up a handful of flesh, she pegged it at the middle of the table, trying to knock the pile of flesh over. Stopping after a few throws, she sulked in her chair, having failed to knock it over, instead only making the pile bigger.

“Player four raises the bet to fifty pounds.”

Gritting his teeth, Claudio called, waiting to see what the last card will be.

The river was flipped over, showing a king of diamonds. I’ve won. Hopefully she doesn’t participate in any other rounds after she loses a big chunk of her pile.

Still sulking, Avery grew angry, pouting and throwing a tantrum. She pushed everything away, causing most of her pile to land near the pot, with only little bits still left lying around her as she slumped on the table.

Smiling the dealer started speaking. “Player four has once again raised the bet, this time by two hundred and seventy pounds.

Completely shocked, Claudio grew quiet, hesitating for a long moment. How is that two hundred and seventy, her pile wasn’t that big. Looking over, he saw that part of Avery’s body was splayed over the desk. He’s counting her body as part of her bet, this bastard. Slowly breathing out, Claudio went all in, knowing that she would still have enough to survive. No one should have to go through something like that. Even if she does make it out of this alive, she will just be reduced to a blubbering mess, I don’t think she would want to live like that. If only I had more than her, then I would be able to put her out of her misery. Looking over at her, Claudio saw her looking up at him. Almost as if he could see the last remnants of her sanity pleading to him, he flipped over his hand waiting for the dealer to give him the victory.

Seeing that Avery hadn’t flipped her hand, the dealer leaned over and flipped it for her. In front of everyone, her hand was revealed to be a two of clubs and an ace of diamonds.

What. Completely shocked, Claudio’s head buzzed as he looked at her cards, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. I’ve lost.

“Player four wins the pot with a royal flush vs player three’s king-high straight flush."

Rooted to the spot by the dealer’s words, Claudio failed to notice as Avery went back to normal, casually wiping the blood of her face before giving him a pleasant smile.

“You have run out of pounds to spare Claudio. Unfortunately, that means your time here has come to an end. You have spent your life gambling and built an entire business empire based around gambling. In the end, just like all gamblers, you went too far and risked too much. Gambling has become your undoing. Enjoy Hell Claudio, Goodbye.” The voice from earlier grew quiet, leaving the room in silence before Claudio burst open, his body scattering across the room.