Gilly Flower Writings

The Game of War

By Kathryn Evans

Eddie had never lost a game of War. Ever. When he was little his parents used to give him and his brother a deck of cards to entertain themselves and, because they could never agree on another game, they always played War. You can’t cheat at War. It all depends on sheer luck and how the cards fall and there is no way to bluff your way out, though his brother always tried. But Eddie always won no matter how many times they played and regardless of the rules of statistics. Eddie never lost and his brother soon refused to play with him.

In college Eddie always carried a deck of cards with him and he was able to avoid ever having to pay a beer tab. People would swear he was a cheat but he would play with any deck, with his sleeves rolled up, and his hands always on the table and he would still win every game. Eddie began to believe he had been blessed. How else could he have the luck he had?

And so he wasn’t all that concerned when there was a knock on his door one night and he opened it to find the Devil staring him in the face. The Devil was quite impressive, being wreathed in a fiery halo and the souls of the damned reflected in his black eyes.

“I’ve come for your soul,” the Devil laughed manically.

“Right,” said Eddie slowly. “But I am kind of using it at the moment.”

“Do you think I care, Mortal? I’ve come for your eternal soul and I’m not leaving without it.”

“Yeah, but it is not really a good time for me right now. I have a job interview in the morning. Do you think you could maybe come back next week?”

“Listen here, Mortal,” the Devil roared and his fiery halo erupted around him. “I am here for your soul and I want it now!”

Eddie coughed slightly as ash fell around him. “Tell you what, if you can beat me in a single game of War then you can have my soul, no qualms about it.”

The Devil considered this and then smiled wickedly. “Alright, it’s a deal. But we use my cards,” he said, producing a deck of ordinary-looking playing cards.

Eddie hesitated but finally had no choice but to invite the Devil in. They cleared off the kitchen table, pulled up chairs and sat down opposite each other. The Devil was kind enough to let Eddie deal. Eddie just prayed that his luck wouldn’t fail him now.

The deck was dealt and the game began. The Devil won the first five throws, Eddie won the next six. The Devil won three, Eddie won two. Back and forth. Back and forth. Whenever one player would start to run low on cards then a massive war would break out and the failing player would always take the pile.

The Devil began to get agitated. Things were not going as he had planned and he still had more souls to damn that night.

Eddie was also starting to get worried. He was almost certain that he couldn’t lose but he didn’t know if he could win either. They were using the Devil’s deck after all and no one had ever beaten the Devil at cards.

The game continued and dawn paled the sky. Dawn gave way to day and day turned to night. The game continued.

No one ever heard what became of Eddie or why the Underworld suddenly lost all order. But, somewhere, Eddie and the Devil are still playing a never-ending game of War.