Blood Money
By Jessica Cambrook

Copyright Jessica Cambrook 2012
Published at Smashwords
Cover Photograph: The Knowles Gallery


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Blood Money

Either I would die, or I would win a million pounds. More than enough to get my family out of debt. I could move with my wife and daughter to somewhere hot, away from this damned city full of regrets and bad memories.
Of course my wife didn’t know my plan. If she did, I’d probably be a divorcee with an estranged daughter. All I wanted was for us all of us to have happier lives and to not worry where our next meal was coming from. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Risking my life was just one of those measures. 
“Alright. I’ll go first.” I said, trying to appear confident. I glanced at the other two other men sitting uncomfortably around the table with me. Men just like me. With wives, kids, jobs, memories...
“No, I want to.” A muscular man with a bald head that was shiny with sweat growled at me. There was no saying no to him. Really it didn’t make a damn difference who went first. It was the suspense of not knowing whether I was going to live or die that was eating me up inside. The fact that millions of people were watching for entertainment didn’t help matters much.
“For Suzie.” He announced with a proud grimace. I had a feeling he was talking more to himself than to us. None of us knew each other, but we all had one common factor. We were all desperate enough for some money that we would chance our life on getting it. Only one of us would walk away with the million. The other two would be dead within the next five minutes.
A shiver ran down my spine at the sharp noise. The cold, cement walls felt oppressive. The bald man dropped dead in the name of Suzie, whoever she was. I wondered who would tell her, or if she would be watching. I stared hatefully into the CCTV camera with its blinking red light in the corner of the room. Always recording us.
Before we had been locked in the small room of death, we had been told the rules. They were simple enough.
1.Pull the trigger.
2.If you’re the last one standing, you win.
The man who had died for Suzie still had blood pumping fervently from his temple. In a way, I felt sickeningly glad. One bullet down. One more to go. The other man was pale with worry, sweating profusely. He wore a suit, wanting to look his best even if he had to die. 
“I’m next.” I told him fiercely. What were the chances that the bullets would be placed together? That would be no fun for them. I snatched the gun from the dead man’s hand and placed it to my head. Clicking the hammer back to load the next cartridge, I breathed out deeply to calm myself and pulled the trigger. 
Click.
It was empty. I pulled the trigger again while I had the guts to, and heard another innocent click. It was risky but it got two goes out of the way so I knew I would be safe for a moment. With a smug grin I handed the gun back to the other guy who now looked ready to pass out. Shaking, he reached out and took the deadly weapon. He managed to guide it with his quivering hand to his head and twitched his finger on the trigger. 
Click.
His mouth wide open, he gazed at me with watery eyes. He’d made it. But he still owed one more shot. 
“Go on.” I said, licking my dry lips nervously. If he shot this and survived, it would mean the last chamber would definitely contain a bullet. 
Exhaling and turning a light shade of green, the man I had no desire to see live past this shot yanked the trigger again.
In that moment I thought about my daughter. My precious daughter, only three years old. I wanted her to go to private school. I wanted her to have a successful and happy life. Something she couldn’t have if her dad was up to his eyeballs in debt from credit cards and loan sharks. If I died, the debt would be passed to my wife. They would come after her for the money and kill her if she didn’t have it. I needed to win.
I watched as he opened his eyes after the click. The bullet was in the last chamber. I should have expected something like this. They had planned this well. Kill the first volunteer to shoot, and have the other two fight over who has to have the last remaining turn. Even if we had taken turns one after the other, the last shot would still have been unfair. 
The other man kept the gun clutched tightly in his hand. Considering each other for a second, I spoke first.
“Do you have a family?” I asked calmly.
He eyed me suspiciously for a second before he responded. “Yes.”
“Don’t you want to win this money for them?” I leaned forward in my chair.
“Of course.” He scowled, wiping the sweat from his brow. “I’m here, aren’t I?” 
“Then give me the gun. I have debt that will get me killed when I leave here anyway. I have nothing to lose, nothing to live for. Give me the gun and you win.” I shrugged. “I’m not scared of death, I’m scared of how slowly those loan sharks out there will kill me.” 
There was a glimmer of doubt in the other man’s eyes. He put his head in his hands to think, the gun resting against his temple. 
“Fine. Take it.” He thrust the gun at me without meeting my gaze and I took it with a small nod. 
“You’ve done the right thing.” I smiled at him. “If you’re willing to let me die for you to win for some money, I’m willing to do the same.”
As his eyes widened in realisation and his hands came up to protect his head uselessly, in one swift movement I aimed the gun at his face and blasted it. Blood sprayed all over me, chunks of flesh slapping against the concrete walls with horrible squelch noises.
I wiped the crimson liquid from my eyes. I felt nothing. A buzzer sounded and the door unlocked, a man in a pinstripe suit stepping through. 
“Congratulations, sir. Step right this way for your money.” He bowed slightly and gestured politely with his hand where I needed to go.
The event was televised, and millions of people watched as I shot the man in cold blood. His name was Barry Thompson. He was thirty eight with four children aged between four and twelve, and a wife named Julie. These are all facts I learnt at court as I was given my life sentence. 

THE END 

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Thank you for reading!
Discover other titles by Jessica Cambrook at Smashwords.com:
Salvatore  – Alexa is a lonely traveller eager to return home to Opura but torn by having to leave her only friend Rocco. When her grandfather dies and leaves her his generations old sword, she decides to enter a fighting tournament in a strange little town. In a cut-throat competition with a prize that isn't what it seems, will Alexa be able to hold her own? Or will the consequences be fatal?
Salvatore: Book Two - After winning a sword fighting tournament in Graften, Alexa is left reeling from her final foe's dying words. "If you win, you can’t just take the money. You will wish I had killed you. Your family, friends, village, everything you know will be in danger and there’s nothing you can do to stop it." With his words in mind, Alexa has to make a life changing decision. Family or Kingdom? 
Vessels of Existence - A woman wakes up in a concrete cell with no recollection of how she got there. She has a bed and a toilet. The man in the cell next to her has been there for three months and his time is running out. Will she be able to remember her past? Will she be able to escape? Or will her time run out first? A gripping and tense short story that will keep you glued to the story until the very last word. 
The Boy Who Found Himself - Nick doesn't understand how his life has reached such a low. Sitting on the edge of his bathtub, razor blade in hand, he remembers everything that led him there, from ex-girlfriends to his murdered dog. As he probes deeper into his own mind, he discovers a dark secret he buried away even from himself... 
A Following of Demons - They want you. Do not panic. Stop your pulse racing. Do not close your eyes. Hear that? They are coming for you. They will get you.

Jessica Cambrook is an eighteen year old sushi addict from England.

To find out more or to leave a review, go to her Smashwords page or e-mail her at j.s.cambrook@live.co.uk.