King of Hearts

I was pretty sure it was morning when my eyes opened again. I was expecting to seem the ceiling of my room at home, just like any other day.

After blinking the sleep from my eyes, I realized I was in a room that I didn't recognize. "Damn it!" I'd really been hoping that last night was a dream. Being under the care of an insane man wasn't really my idea of fun.

I lifted myself up, and attempted to untangle myself from the sheets. I failed miserably at this, and fell onto the cold, hard ground. That was a better wake up call than anything, if you ask me, but the bed still seemed to be calling my name.

Whether it was because I was tired or because sleeping was an excuse to not see the man who this mansion belonged to, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that the bed wanted me back and I had to fight to resist throwing myself back into the safety of the covers.

I put my jeans back on, almost mockingly, showing the bed that I wasn't coming back. Then my sweatshirt, and then I went to grab my glasses from the night stand next to the bed. My hand fell upon an empty, dusty surface.

"Looking for these?" the man came through the door then, still dressed in his magician's garb. He looked even more like a madman with his hair tousled from sleep and shadows under his eyes. He was holding my glasses in his left hand, his arm extended out towards me.

His stance was friendly, but his eyes seemed to challenge me. I reached out carefully, but right before my fingers touched the glasses, the man pulled his hand away. A few seconds later, he dropped his hand, and my glasses were no where to be found.

"I need those to see!" whoever this guy was, I was seriously doubting his common sense. No matter how insane you are, it just doesn't make sense to take random people's glasses.

"Uh uh, nope! You want them to see." he put emphasis on the want. "How many heads do I have?"

"Uh, one?" what kind of question was that?

"Oh, really? I thought I had more..." he grumbled to himself. "My name's Pete!" he yelled suddenly. I was taken aback by the sudden loud noise, but replied with, "Uh, My name's Patrick..." Pete looked at me as if I was the insane one. "I knew that silly!" he hit my arm playfully.

"Anyways, Pete, I really do need my glasses." I spoke with caution, always afraid something I did or said would end up triggering something. I'm not sure what I expected would happen, but I don't think I really want to know.

"Please, don't call me Pete." he looked at me as if I should know this; like it was common knowledge.

"Well, what do you want me to call you then?"

"Panda. It's short for King of Hearts. Has a nice ring to it, yeah?" this guy was clueless. This guy was clueless, and I needed my glasses. I went to push them up, as I'm so used to having them on my face, but they weren't there.

"Patrick, I would love to give you your glasses back." this confused me. "Then why don't you?" there was no logic included with anything he did.

"There's a catch, love. I want you to play a little game with me." Well, if it got me out of here faster, I don't see why not. "What... what kind of game are you thinking of?" he grinned at the word 'game.'

A table fell from the ceiling, and Pete sat at it in a chair that just so happened to be conveniently placed at the foot of my bed. "A card game. Take a seat." he acted as if this was all a normal, everyday happening.

I figured that it was for him, and went to grab the chair sitting in the corner. "So, what kind of card game?" I didn't usually play cards, but I guess the crazy man gets what the crazy man wants. Maybe I should wander around in the woods a little longer, become insane myself...

"You'll see. It's one I made up. Great fun!" he talked as he lay four cards face down on the surface of the table.

"Okay, Patrick, I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" he looked at me with such sincerity that I almost forgot he was psycho.

"I've only just met you, uh, Panda. How am I supposed to trust you already?" he looked disappointed at this statement. "Really. That's a shame. Perhaps we will play another day, when you've learned to put your trust in me." he waved his had over the cards, each one disappearing as his slender fingers passed over them.

"Actually, I was hoping to get going. Do you know how to get back into town from these woods?" I still spoke with caution, but apparently not as much as I should've because his face turned from disappointment into fierce anger as the words left my mouth.

"You think you can leave! Escape isn't an option, Patrick!" he spat out my name as if it would leave a bad taste in his mouth if he savored it too long.

"You've chosen to stay the night, love, and therefor have chosen to play the game." he spoke more calmly now, but there was a hysteric edge to his voice that made me wince. His eyes were crazed and he began laughing. It was a crazy laugh, one that pierced your ears with such reality, that you weren't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore.

His laughing continued up until the point where he disappeared from the room, leaving only my glasses behind. The sound seemed to echo through the room, bouncing off each wall and coming back to me. My mind was tucking it away deep inside for my nightmares.

I heard his voice speaking again as I bent over to pick up my glasses. It wasn't coming from a specific place, but seemingly from all around me. "Remember, Patrick. You're in the game now, and it's only just begun."