"The pot got bigger. So did the danger."
Ethan Price is a charismatic hustler who turns hostel poker night into a personal casino. At Rio Plata Hostel, he runs the table and humiliates a local drifter who keeps doubling down.
The pot grows, the tension spikes, and the drifter snaps. A @HostelReaper note above the bar reads "The house always wins," but Ethan only laughs after hearing about the Lisbon locker stabbing. He doesn’t realize that this table has no house, only rage.
One broken bottle later, the game ends in blood. The hostel covers the stain, but the rumor spreads anyway.
Name: Ethan Price
Age: 29
Type: Tech bro
Fatal Flaw: Arrogant swagger
Role: Victim
Name: Raul Mendes
Age: 34
Type: Local drifter
Fatal Flaw: Explosive pride
Role: Killer
Name: Lucia Serra
Age: 27
Type: Hostel staff
Fatal Flaw: Lets the game run
Role: Witness
Name: @HostelReaper
Age: ???
Type: Mysterious presence
Fatal Flaw: None documented
Role: Observer
The Rio Plata common room glowed with string lights and the soft clatter of chips. Ethan dealt with the ease of a man who made money by convincing people he was lucky. He wore a grin that looked like a line of credit and called everyone "mate" as he scooped their chips.
Raul sat across from him, shoulders tight, knuckles white around a plastic cup. He wasn't used to losing, and he wasn't used to losing to a traveler in a hoodie. The pot had grown to a pile of bills, travel cards, and favors. Lucia glanced at the table from the bar and told herself it was harmless fun.
Above the bar, a scribbled note read "@HostelReaper: The house always wins." Ethan laughed when he saw it. "That must be me," he said, tossing in his last chip and pushing the pot forward. The room leaned in.
The river card flipped. Ethan had the better hand. Raul's jaw clenched as Ethan raked in everything. "You cheated," Raul said. Ethan shrugged. "You can check the deck." The words hung between them like a dare.
Raul stood, grabbed the bottle he had been nursing all night, and slammed it against the table. Glass shattered. The music stopped. Ethan reached out, reflexively, as if to calm him. Raul moved faster. The jagged bottle caught Ethan in the throat, a sudden slash that turned his laugh into a wet gasp.
Chips scattered across the floor like confetti. Lucia screamed and vaulted the bar. Someone called for help. Ethan pressed his hand to his neck and sank onto the table, eyes wide, blood spilling onto the cards. Raul fled into the street, the sound of footsteps swallowed by the night.
The ambulance arrived to find a common room soaked in red and silence. The hostel scrubbed the floor and banned poker for a week. The @HostelReaper account posted a photo of a single chip with a scythe drawn on it: "Death #29. The house always wins." The next night, someone dealt cards again.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The poker tension is razor sharp." - @LastChip
⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The bottle break scene is brutal." - @RiverCard
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The house always wins is perfect." - @AllInReader