My steps into the grimy room felt heavy, every surface covered in dirt and rust. The room was damp like an old sewer pipe full of rats. I was one of those rats, a dirty man. "Sit down here," the man who walked me had said.

I sat down on the metal fold out chair. It was cold and the cushion felt wet, fear had me not check what it was wet from. Home felt so much warmer, far more comforting then my current situation. I sat there thinking to myself, memories of what led me here, the sterile doctors office, the loud and annoying insurance office, my cramped and old house, and the shady bar. My rested head in my hands transferred my shaking to my head, making all my thoughts ramble. The room looks out of a horror maze at some cheap run down state fair. After a bit I heard the squeak and creak of a metal door opening. A different man entered, he looked as frightened as me. Not very rat-like, more like a field mouse, small and shaken. He had big ears and a pointy nose. His shirt was tan and buttoned up nearly to the top except for the final button. Slowly he made his way to the table and sat across from me. I can't read minds but I knew we were sharing a thought at this moment. We both sat there surrounded by shadowy figures obscured by the dust and darkness. Finally another door opened letting in one more rat. The last man to walk in wore a brown suit. It looked dirty and handed down. There was a mysterious stain by his collarbone, it was dark and dry. The dim lights made it difficult to figure out what it could be. He sat down between the two of us.

"Ok boys I'll be quick about this, you know why you're here," he pulled out an old western revolver and put it on the table, "Are you two ready?".

His voice was scratchy and rustic almost like a farmer from a town not far from the middle of nowhere. It even had a small southern accent to compliment. The other man and I stared at the gun. It sat there with such a gravitational pull you'd think it would create a black hole. "I'll take your silence as a yes. You boys know how this works, we all take turns taking this fine piece of steel to the dome and pray to whatever god you believe in that it doesn't fire on you. Winner gets all the cash your heart desires," the Suited Man said as he loaded the bullet into the gun.

Instantly he spun the cylinder with a rattle, as a snake that was preparing to bite its next victim. All three of us had an even chance of being shot. It was all up into fate's hand and whatever she decided for us. The suited man handed the gun to the other man. There were silent tears running down his face. He was scared out of his mind, we could all see it. Shaking, he reached down for the gun. This was it for him, he either dies a mouse or gets another chance at the cheese. Slowly he raised the gun to his temple. "There you go boy, right there, just in case and all," the Suited Man chuckled to himself.

I could see him shake, every muscle in his body was needed to steady the gun to his head. His mouth opened, he was going to say something to us. "M-my na-name i-i-is St-," the ring of the gun muffled out the rest of his name.

His body hit the ground with a loud thud. Like a ton of bricks were dropped from a construction site. I gasped audibly at the sight, but the Suited man sat there chuckling to himself. Everyone was silent but him, he enjoyed it. This grotesque man liked this game. I could see it in his hungry eyes. The men in the shadows came up and hurried his body away. With the shut of the same door he walked into, he was gone. "Just me and you boy," the Suited Man said as he loaded in another bullet.

He spun the gun and handed it to me. I grabbed it efficiently to try and mask my fear. "Slow down Champ, the reaper is in no rush for a beggar like you," he said.

Slowly I pulled the gun up to my temple, this was it, my moment. Everything froze around me. I took note of everything in the room. The cracked windows. The dirty splinter riddled table. The wet dog smell filling in all the empty space. The cold steel of the gun to my head. The motion couldn't have been longer than a second but it felt like an eternity. Click, and just like that I had more time. A sigh of relief washed over my whole body. "Not bad boy, now it's my turn," the Suited Man said as he snatched the gun from my hand.

Before I could even react he pulled the trigger right against his head. It was almost impressive how boldly he did it. He handed it back to me as grinned with such evil you'd think the devil himself was staring back at you. I lifted the gun to my head but it felt far heavier than the first time. "You gotta one in four chance boy, how bad do ya need the money?" he asked.

I pointed the gun back at my head and exhaled, I pictured my family and their beautiful smiles, my daughters imperfect teeth and amazing dimples. Click, I was really doing this and succeeding. When I handed back the gun the greed of his eyes were replaced with fury. "You're getting real lucky boy, maybe the reaper don't want ya," he said as he put the gun up to his head.

Bam, and he was down on the floor, his dirty brown suit being flooded with dark red. I looked around in shock, I won, I really won. I could save my family, my daughter. "Good job, you did it, come with us," one of the guards said as he waved me to the door the Suited Man came out from.

I stood up and slowly crept to the door, not fully being able to trust the men who were leading me. The sound of my footsteps echoed in the whole room, I was the last man standing. They opened the door for me and a blue fluorescent light blinded me. It resembled a long tube with fogged glass and bright green text that read, "Transfer Complete". With a hiss the latch on the tube opened and released the fog into the room. Then I saw it, "Not bad boy, but next time don't go on gettin' blinded by the cheddar," the Suited Man said.

"Wait no, no no, I wo-" I was cut off by the sound of a bullet.

Bang. "Prep them boys, save what we need, sell the rest," I told my men.

I slipped on my coat to cover myself and stared down at the man's body. A filthy low-life rat of a man, so easy to lure into traps with the simple smell of cheese. "Get me my suit, the next round is starting soon,".