Polished. Cold. Hungry.
I reach for it and hear Jeremy gasp like the air has been ripped out of his lungs.
“What—what are you—”
“Let’s play a game,” I say softly, cutting him off. “Russian roulette. You know it?”
He stares at me like I’ve grown horns. I smile again.
“I’ll explain. One bullet. Six chambers. I spin. Point. Then pull the trigger. You live, we go again. You die…” I shrug, then glance at the older man. “Well. One less soul to worry about.”
“Y-you’re insane,” Jeremy whispers.
“Possibly,” I murmur, flipping the chamber open with a soft click. I slide a single bullet in, spin it. The cylinder blurs in a smooth whirl, then locks with a sharp clack.
“This will be your third time playing this game, right?”
The question is meant for the older man, and he glares at me with disdain in his eyes. he doesn’t say anything, but the rise and fall of his chest tells me he’s as scared as Jeremy.
“Well, let’s see if you’ll get lucky again today,” I say as I walk around them slowly. Letting them feel me circling like a fucking vulture.
I stopped behind Jeremy first.
His shoulders flinch when the cold barrel kisses the back of his head.
I lean down, just enough so he can hear my breath.
“You bullied someone who couldn’t fight back,” I whisper. “That’s the part that pisses me off the most.”
“Wait, what?” he asks
I pull the trigger.
It clicks. nothing
Jeremy lets out a sharp breath, his whole body shaking. I can hear his teeth clacking.
I hum softly, spin the cylinder, and then move behind the other man. He stares forward, silent. There’s a kind of dignity in him. Or maybe he’s just used to this game.
Click.
Still empty.
The tension hangs in the air like a cloud of smoke. I smile again, a little wider now, and spin the chamber once more.
“Let’s keep going, shall we?”
On and on it went; they twitched, flinched, and Jeremy couldn’t stop blabbing and begging.
Every time it clicks, I feel them unraveling.
After a while, I sigh, then walk to the front, crouching between them like I’m hosting a fucking game show.
“Let’s raise the stakes,” I say calmly, “Getting bored, and I have a dinner to attend tonight.”
I take a second bullet. Slowly, deliberately. I hold it up between my fingers so they can see.
Their faces turn white.
