Second Chance Casino by Simon Collison

I’m in a casino watching lots of people playing different games and they all have that desperate, grim look upon their faces.

I don’t know why I’m here.

I never gamble.

I don’t know anyone here.

I don’t recognise any of the people here. Some of the crowd lift their heads to take a glance at me momentarily before returning their focus to their game.

Trying to remember how I got here.

I ask a face in a smart suit what was going on around here.

He looks at me with the same concern he would have given looking at a scratch upon his shoe.

He directs me to the manager with a minatory movement of his head.

The manager snarls and tells me to collect my chips from the blood red booth.

“But I have not bought any,” I plead.

He tells me with a growl that, ”They’re waiting to be collected by you.” And adds,

“They got your name on them, bud.”  He spits that last word out venomously.

I go and collect 9 chips.

A woman in a shiny red dress sidles up close next to me. I can smell her cheap perfume. She tells me, "Play wisely, don't rush it. All the players get nine chips to play with. You won’t get any more.”

And with a sly wink, she’s off to another table to find someone else to sidle up to.

She moves all slinky like a salamander, as lithe as a serpent. A slippery customer alright.

I wonder if she knows how I got here?

I glance at the other players. Some are playing fast, others slow. And some are in a world of their own.

Most of the players are wary and watchful.

Since I've been in this room no one has smiled or laughed.

Around the room, all the usual casino games are here. Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Poker, Baccarat and Spanish 21. I’m still trying to remember how I ended up here.

Suddenly, it goes quiet and all eyes are focused on the roulette table.

Someone has played their last chip and lost.

Then I see a sad-faced man being led away to a velvety papered wall with some elevators. He is directed into one.

The doors slam shut.

The woman in red slides close to me, her scarlet dress shimmering.

”He’s run out of chances," I hear her whisper loudly.

There is a murmur for a moment.

Then the players return their attention to their games. Each contemplating their dwindling chips.

I start hearing people’s stories. They are all the same. They have all been in near death situations. Each has been given 9 chips. 9 chips that can be used on any game in this lurid casino.

Nine chances to win a second chance of life.

When you're out of chips, you are led away from the casino to the lifts. One that goes up and one that goes down, mainly down. I notice very few people go up.

The thought passes through me more than once: if I run out of chips, which doorway will I be led through?

In my mind a quick calculation is made weighing up my good deeds against those I knew were bad. I run through all the main memories in my life. At moments like this, it's hard to think of the good deeds done

And I have a fairly good idea of which doorway I’d be placed in,  if and when my chips run out.

More recent memories start flooding back. Me leaving work. Walking on a pavement, the car veering off the road, the driver losing control. I remember his horrible, ugly face. You don’t forget the face that runs you down. Then everything went black.

I wonder who runs the casino? The angels or the demons?

The woman in red caresses my shoulder and whispers, “It's both” and my skin tingles to her touch.

I reply, "But how can you tell? They are all in the same smart suits.”

But she has already moved on to whispering into another's ear. I think to myself, she’s a slippery customer. I wonder which side she works for? I don't think I can totally trust her.

.

Perhaps the ones that smile are angels. But then I remember no one smiles here.

Then  I get a shock when I see the person who was driving that car that hit me stumble into the casino. They look bewildered and confused. As they go through the same routine as me. Sent to collect their nine chips.

We catch glances. He’s still got an ugly face. His eyes quickly turn away to scan the floor.

The lady in red appears. She tells me,

“Those who win are guided, escorted back to the scene of their near death to come round into the land of the living. They will be given a second chance to live their lives. All knowledge of this place erased.”

“How do you know that?” I replied.

But she has vanished once more.

This place has all the games. You choose which ones to play and use your nine chips as best you can.  Trouble is the unsmiling faces in suits aren’t dealing any aces tonight. Once your chips are gone, you're gone. You are escorted to the lift and you take your leave of this casino and life.

I don’t know how long I’ve been here.

Time in a place like this loses all meaning.

I know I’ve played eight chips and lost.

And now I’m down to my last chip.

I grip it tight, like my life depends upon it.

Which it does.

Never have I felt so strong a desire to live. I want to win and live again.

I want to live again.

The woman in red blows me a kiss and says, “If I were you, I’d put your last chip on 49.”

I nervously place my last chip on 49, and watch fearfully as the roulette wheel spins…