The gentle sound of two dice rolling across the floor echoed around the cell.

Damn. Snake eyes again.

The woman slouched against the cell wall stared blankly at the dice on the filthy ground, her eyes unfocused. She reached out slowly and grabbed them with her right hand, rolling them around and around between her fingers.

C’mon, baby. Mama needs a new pair of handcuffs. Let’s see a nine…

She rolled the dice again.  The woman stared rapturously as the dice danced on the ground, utterly captivated. When they fell to rest, the numbers 3 and 4 were face up. The woman’s face fell at the unfavorable combination.

My luck is all dried up.

She wore a navy blue bombshell dress, conforming closely to her figure, and 3 inch heels. She had wavy blond hair that fell elegantly about her shoulders. Blue eye shadow graced her eyelids and her lips were painted with ruby red lipstick. She would have been pretty, beautiful even, but her time in the asylum had worn her beyond her 27 years. Plus, her mind was half gone.

The cell door suddenly moaned and began to creak open. The woman’s head snapped sharply to watch the door, her eyes narrowing. A man stepped from the shadowy hallway into the cell, his plain boots kicking up little clouds of dust. The woman stared up at him with a mixture of suspicion and fascination. It was hard not to look at him. He was rather grotesque. A completely bald head, a sunken eye, jagged scars crisscrossing his face. And there was something entrancing about his smile. There seemed to be some dark secret hidden behind it.

The man said nothing. He looked down at the woman in the cell and held out his hand, palm up. In his hand was a small trinket, a golden viper head with bright red eyes. The woman gasped.

“My charm…” she whispered. She stood up. “How did you…? It was lost! I thought it was gone forever… My husband destroyed it, right before I killed him.”

She took a step towards the man, her arm reaching out for the charm. “Give it to me…”

The man closed his fist around the viper head, saying nothing. His unwavering gaze met the woman’s with a strange intensity. He took her by the wrist and led her out of the cell. His grip was surprisingly strong. They walked down the dark hallway, an eerie quiet filling the asylum. There were no guards in sight. Exiting from the back door, the man who said nothing led her to the impound lot. A battered, dark blue 1967 Shelby Cobra with white stripes sat in the center of the lot, vibrating as the engine purred.

The woman smiled and ran her finger along the side of the vehicle. She stepped in and settled herself in the driver’s seat, watching the silent man intently the whole time.

“ I can drive my car again…” she said to herself. “Can I have my charm now?”

The man still said nothing, his smile growing ever so slightly at the corners. He motioned to an envelope on the dashboard. The woman opened it tentatively. Inside was a single, yellowed paper, with the words scrawled across it. She looked up and the man was gone. She sighed, then gunned the engine, peeling away from the asylum.

I guess I’ll have to make my own luck…

***

Driver: Lady Luck
Vehicle: Snake Eyes
-      Speed – 9/10
-      Control – 8/10
-      Armor – 3/10
-      Special – 7/10 – Loaded Dice - Lady Luck rolls the dice against her dash board. A number of homing missiles is fired off towards an opponent, the same number as the number rolled, for a maximum of 12.

***

The woman slumped in the driver’s seat, her head resting on the steering wheel. The darkness outside the car was pierced by the glowing light of the destroyed tanker smoldering slowly amidst heaps of rusting car bodies.

“Honey, I’m home,” said her husband as he stepped through the front door. She greeted him with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek. They walked into the kitchen. He sat down at the table, and she stood by the counter, finishing the dinner she was preparing for them.

“Why are you so dressed up tonight?” He asked her lightly, speaking of her dark blue dress and heels. She spoke over her shoulder. “I figured I’d go out again for a night on the town. You’re welcome to join me.”

The man groaned. “Again, darling? It’s only Tuesday. Why don’t we spend a nice quiet evening at home? I’m a little worried about you.”

She glared at him as she brought the roast over to the table. “I’m feeling especially lucky tonight.”

They ate their dinner in silence. Upon finishing, the woman got up and grabbed her purse, leaving her dishes on the table.

“Alright, I’m leaving now. Are you coming?”

“I think I’d rather not.”
“Well then.” She shuffled around in her purse, looking for something. “Honey, do you know where my charm is? I always keep it here in my purse.”

“You’re… charm? Um, no,” he said, looking away.

“Don’t lie to me,” she spoke, an edge to her voice. “Tell me where it is.”

“I… got rid of it.”

“YOU WHAT?!” she screamed, dropping the purse in shock.

“It was controlling you, dear! I couldn’t have you gamble our savings away! I had to do something!”

The woman looked at him with death in her eyes, breathing heavily. “That, was the reason for all of my luck,” she growled through gritted teeth. “Now how am I supposed to win?”

“Honey, calm down!”

The woman snarled at him and suddenly lunged at him with fearsome ferocity. She grabbed the carving knife they had used to cut the roast and plunged it deep into his chest before he had time to react. His eyes glazed over and he sat unmoving in his chair, blood beginning to leak through his shirt. The woman stared with unseeing eyes at the grisly sight before her, her chest heaving, her face burning. Her charm was gone. Now her luck was all gone…

The woman’s eyes jolted open and her head snapped up as she awoke from the flashback. She had a way to reverse her fortune now, to restore her luck. She was halfway there. She turned the key in the ignition and sped away from the scene of the carnage.

I hope I still have luck enough left to last til the end…

***

The woman stood before the bald man again, looking up at him as he lounged on a throne of broken auto parts. She had won the contest. She resolutely demanded that he returned the charm to her. The man said nothing, but smiled his devilish smile, his eyes burning with an invisible fire. He held out his closed hand, and the woman reached for it. He dropped what he was holding into her outstretched palm. It was a pair of dice. Black and cracked with red spots. She understood. There was one final test of luck.

“Seven!” she called out, throwing the dice against the hood of a car. They seemed to take an eternity to stop rolling. She opened her eyes, realizing she had closed them, and exhaled, realizing she had been holding her breath. Snake eyes. The bald man broke his silence for the first time, laughing a chilling, sinister laugh. He held a pistol between the woman’s eyes and abruptly fired. She crumpled to the ground, lifeless. He stooped down and pressed the viper head charm into the woman’s cold, limp hand. Her luck had run out.

Thanks. Other feedback is appreciated (From other people )