Excerpt: Gamers

Travis knocked on Amanda’s door.
“Come in,” she said.
He opened the door and looked over at her. She was in bed with the covers bunched up around her. A table lamp was casting pale light over her as she sat there. She had a book in her hands and Zeus and Ares were curled up on the bed on either side of her.
“Well, don’t you look comfy,” he smiled.
“You’re not going to get after me about how vicious these dogs are again, are you?”
“No, in fact, I think they’ll be the perfect bedtime buddies for you tonight,” he said.
“Did you want to sit down?’ she asked.
“Sure,” he shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed.
Zeus gave a low growl on the far side of Amanda, but she soothed him by petting his head and shushing him. Zeus laid his head in her lap and stared at Travis.
Ares just ignored him.
“You brought me into something dangerous, didn’t you?’ she looked at Travis. “That’s why you don’t want me wandering around at night. Right?”
Travis looked down at his hands, ashamed of himself. But he nodded.
“How dangerous is it?” she asked.
“You saw for yourself tonight, how dangerous it is.”
“No. Not the other teams. How dangerous is it here? In this house?”
Travis looked up at her. He could see the fear in her eyes.
“Travis, you brought me into this. The least you can do is tell me the truth.”
“It’s dangerous. But only if you don’t follow the rules. Otherwise it’s perfectly safe.” He hoped he sounded convincing.
“Can I get out?” she asked.
Travis stayed silent.
“Travis, what happened to the last gamer? The one before me?”
“I told you, he retired.”
“He retired, or he was retired?”
Travis patted Ares on the head. Ares growled at him.
“Travis?”
He sighed and looked at her. He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“They killed him, didn’t they?”
Travis looked away.
“At least tell me that you weren’t the one who did it.”
“I wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. But it was my fault he was here.”
“You’re what? Like the recruiter?”
“No. I just happened to find the last gamer.”
“And what happened to him?”
“He moonlighted,” he looked into her eyes. “He got paid off by another team to throw the game. Mr. Russo lost a lot of money.”
“And so he killed him?”
Travis didn’t say anything.
“Has there been a gamer who has gotten out of here alive?” she asked.
“Not in the two years I’ve been here. But they’ve all broken the rules. They all got greedy.”
Amanda sat back against the headboard. “So what happens if I don’t break the rules? I just stay here forever?”
Travis shrugged and looked back at his hands. “I’ve never seen anyone get out of here alive.”
“And you thought it was a good idea to drag me into this?”
“It was either that or I’d be retired myself.”
Amanda stared at him.
Travis forced himself to meet her eyes. When he finally did, she said two words to him.
“Get out.”