Nine

Alma took the top card and scored a nine. The remote buzzer went off, and the first round of the game kicked off. Alma didn’t move with any great speed or with any urgency at all. She let a few seconds pass. Neither woman moved until Alma threw a hand across the table. The slap cracked off Imogen’s face. The blow almost made Imogen lose her balance. But Alma didn’t come for her as the round ended.

Imogen felt the blow smarting. Already she sensed a red mark forming on her pale skin. Alma had used the first round to play with her.

“I just wanted you to think about what I’m going to do to you. It will be worse as our time together goes up. Besides, these rounds don’t give me any time to punish you.” Alma smiled.

Imogen raised a hand to her cheek. “Bitch. Want to go straight to a minute?”

Alma nodded. "If you want to lose faster, that's up to you."

"You just wasted one of your wins. You're in trouble when I get you."

There were no rules against upping the time. Their friends upstairs could reprogram the clock with a click of a button. Both girls could agree to skip forward if they wanted to. Either way, they would get there in the end.

Imogen took her turn to take a card again. This time she got a four. Her stomach dropped as she knew what was coming.