A way out.

The plane’s engine roared endlessly in Luscious (Lucky's) ear, a sound he barely noticed anymore. Flying gave him a feeling of independence and autonomy that dealing cards simply couldn't. He was free up here, to Lucky, that was all he could ever want. Beside him, his golden retriever, Eli, slept softly, his tongue hanging from his mouth like it always did when they flew. Lucky laid back on his pilot's chair, one hand on the throttle and the other fidgeting with the brown leather pouch tied around his belt loop. The sack contained Lucky’s most prized possessions, two bone-white dice etched with mahogany and oak wood runes in place of the usual numbers. The pair had never left his side since he found them hidden in the dirt during his first trip with Eli. It was as if they kept a strange hold on him.

Moonlight shone through the airplane cockpit, bathing the controls in a cool glow. Lucky and Eli were heading to Alaska for their annual week-long camping trip, this year was different though, it was the 5th anniversary of adopting Eli from the shelter and Lucky wanted it to be special. As he flew, Eli began to whimper and look out the window like he typically did when he got scared. “Don't worry buddy, we’ll get there safe and sound like we always do” Lucky said with a slight chuckle as he shook the dice pouch in Eli’s ear to try and calm him. This was his go-to move to try and calm him down, and this time was no different, aside from the strange feeling in the air now. Eli’s whimpering began to subside and Lucky leaned back in his chair with a sense of tranquility, he could tell this trip would be something they’d never forget.

With a start, the plane lurched sideways without warning. Eli erupted into frantic barking as Lucky's grip tightened on the controls. He fought to fix their course, but the plane only groaned in protest and began to dip. Their altitude was now dropping by the second, and Lucky began to panic. Alarms went off all around him as Eli yelped and struggled in the corner.

He attempted everything he could think of to slow their descent but nothing worked. No matter what he did, the ground grew closer with every passing moment until their altitude was only a few hundred feet up. The plane rushed downward and soon he could see the treetops of the thick Canadian forest below. At the last second, he managed to level out the plane just enough to skim the trees before they slammed into the ground. Lucky wrapped his arms around Eli, hugging him tight as he whispered a quick prayer. The sound of shattering glass and groaning metal lulled him into an enveloping blackness.

Earlier than expected.

Lucky awoke to a dull ache and unsettling taste of blood in his mouth. The mangled skeleton of their plane was a twisted silhouette in the moonlight. His breath caught as he noticed Eli’s body in the wreckage, bloody and unmoving. He jumped up and quickly ran to his closest friend, his family. Checking for any sign of life.

A minute passed, then another. Nothing. Tears streamed down his face as he tried to stop his best friend in the world from leaving him forever. “Please!” he sobbed. As Lucky tried to wake up Eli, his arm brushed against the cool leather of the Dice pouch around his waist, shaking it slightly. As the tears fell from his face onto Eli he wished for him to wake up, if he’d just come back for a minute, Lucky would be able to say goodbye… Suddenly, Eli began to whimper, a noise that reminded Lucky too much of crying out in pain. Then a loud noise, he began frantically barking for a few moments and stopped just as suddenly as he started. Now, tears of joy formed in Lucky’s eyes as he watched Eli struggle to his feet. He wavered for a moment but steadied himself, he began to walk, walk right into Lucky’s arms.

Overcome with joy but now able to think, a sharp aching pain grabbed hold of Lucky’s focus. He looked down at his left hand to see the entire right side of it an ugly shade of purple. “Broken,” he murmured aloud. Lucky did his best to ignore the pain in his hand as he walked back to the plane, Eli trailing closely behind. He made his way to the cockpit in search of their camping supplies, somehow they were still strapped to the back of his chair, everything but the food had survived the crash. He slipped the backpack, bow, and sleeping bag over his shoulder and left the cockpit. Now, back in the glade where they had crashed, he began to set up a campsite near the back left wing of the plane. Lucky rubbed Eli on the head and whispered to him, “It'll be okay bud, our camping trip just came a little early”. Eli barked loudly in agreement.

Now with their camp set up, the next thing on Lucky’s mind was food. They hadn’t eaten since their departure in New York and both were starving. Since their food hadn’t survived the crash, Lucky would have to go hunting. Just as he had a million other times over the past 5 years, he slung the bow back over his shoulder and began to move toward the edge of the glade. He knew there had to be some kind of deer or elk hiding out there somewhere, and he would be the one to find it. As Lucky reached the clearing he heard a rustling in the distance, he quickly moved toward it, maneuvering between trees and bristles until the noise was only a few feet away. Hand on the bowstring, Lucky peered around the tree to see what animal it was. What stood before him was the most magnificent-looking stag he had ever seen, glowing in a bath of moonlight.

His eyes opened wide and a grin spread across his face, the amount of food they would have from this would be insurmountable. Lucky turned fully around the tree and quickly pulled back on the bowstring with a scream. Alerted by the noise, the stag ran off into the woods. “no no No NO NO!” Lucky screamed. Excited to catch food, he’d completely forgotten about his hand. When he pulled back on the bowstring it ripped his hand apart, you could now see the bones sticking up through his skin. Nearly piercing it.

Now in crippling pain and starving, hope started to fade. He tried his best to find his way back to camp, only this time it took him what felt like a week, maybe two. He survived only by the occasional berry bush in his path. Finally, he heard the sound of Eli barking and ran in that direction as fast as he could, after what felt like hours he saw the clearing. Once he arrived, he saw Eli curled up by their fire. Lucky could hear whimpering coming from him. He leaned against the plane side and slumped to the ground with a sigh. How could I let this happen? “WE JUST NEED FOOD,” Lucky screamed with a sob as he tossed his dice pouch in protest. The dice spilled from the pouch into the moonlight. VSHOO. The noise rang out across the forest. The dice began to hover slowly back toward Lucky, their runes glowing a beautiful shade of magenta.

A spiral into nothingness.

It was the most breathtaking thing he’d ever seen. He extended his hand toward them when they arrived, they shuddered to a stop and dropped into his palm, their radiating glow now almost unnoticeable. Lucky inspected them and saw that the “runes” had warped into typical dice pips. They showed perfect boxcars (double sixes), the highest roll you can get.

Stunned by the situation, Lucky almost didn’t notice Eli barking at a shape moving toward them, hidden by the shadows of the trees. Instincts kicked in as he tossed the dice into their pouch, hooked it onto his belt, and retrieved an arrow from his quiver. He watched as the figure grew closer. Beads of sweat condensed on his forehead as he began to fear. Could he really protect himself with this broken hand? Let alone, Eli. As the figure stepped forward, into the moonlight, Lucky gasped. It was the stag he’d scared off earlier, an unnatural glimmer in its eyes. It kneeled in front of him and lowered its head to the ground. Knowing the sign, Lucky sighed, he gave the buck a slight head nod, and with one swift movement, slit the creature's throat. He was finally free, if not from the woods, then at least from the hunger that had consumed him for the past weeks.

Lucky sat motionless, staring at the stag’s lifeless body as blood pooled around his boots. Eli, sensing his master’s unease, whined softly before resting his head on Lucky’s lap. The forest grew silent around them, the usual rustle of leaves and hum of insects replaced by a stillness that felt suffocating. Lucky’s breath came in shallow bursts, his chest tightening as the weight of everything crashed down on him.

He glanced down at his injured hand, now swollen and dark, throbbing with a sharp ache that matched the one in his chest. The leather pouch at his side seemed to hum faintly, the dice within vibrating against his hip as if alive. The image of their eerie, magenta glow lingered in his mind, refusing to fade. Lucky couldn’t shake the feeling that they were watching him, silently urging him toward some dark, unknown purpose. They weren’t here to help him. They must want something more.

“They’re just dice,” he muttered, his voice hoarse and shaky. But even as he spoke the words, he didn’t believe them. He remembered the impossible way they hovered, how Eli had seemingly come back from the dead when he’d wished for it, how their runes had twisted into numbers as if they were responding to him. His hands trembled as he unhooked the pouch, holding it in front of him. “What are you?” he whispered, his voice trembling as the words left his mouth.

Eli stirred, his ears perking up, but Lucky barely noticed. The storm of questions in his mind drowned everything else out. Why him? Why the dice? Why this unshakable feeling that they thrived on his greed? His chest heaved as a grim realization settled over him. He wasn’t free—not from the crash, not from his pain, and certainly not from the dice. Clouds shifted in the nighttime sky above him, shading the buck just a moment from the midnight glow. When the light returned, Lucky looked in horror as the stag's lifeless body had rotted away instantly, its flesh bloody and maggot-ridden.

Now without food, and grief-stricken, Luscious knew there was only one thing left to do.

His fingers gripped the pouch, his voice breaking as he choked out a plea. “If you can give me anything... just give me a way out. Please.”

The air around him shifted, cold and electric, as the pouch seemed to respond. The dice spilled out, glowing a deep, pulsing red. They spun slowly in the moonlight, faster and faster, until they clattered to the ground. Lucky’s heart stopped as he saw the result: snake eyes.

A way out.

A soft metallic clink drew his attention. Just inches away, an object lay in the dirt, its steel edges glinting under the pale glow of the moon. The sight of it sent a shiver down his spine, cold and final. Eli barked, a sharp, pleading sound that cut through the silence like a blade. Lucky reached out to the dog, his fingers brushing through Eli’s ragged fur. “It’s okay, buddy,” he whispered, though his voice wavered with every word. “It’s all gonna be okay.”

He picked up the object, its weight heavy in his hand, and stared at it, his mind spiraling. The forest around him seemed to fade, the world narrowing to just him, Eli, and the cold steel in his grip. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the dirt and blood smeared across his body.

“I’m sorry, boy,” Lucky whispered, his voice barely audible. He pressed his forehead against Eli’s, closing his eyes as he held the dog close. “I just can’t do this anymore.”

With trembling hands, Lucky raised the item to his head, its sharp edges gleaming in the nighttime aura. Cold and hard against his temple. His thoughts, scattered and jagged, focused on one thing—Eli. The golden retriever who had been his family, his partner, his only reason to keep going. “Take care of yourself, boy, at least now your hunger will be satiated” he murmured, his voice cracking with a broken kind of love.

The forest echoed with the sharp crack of a gunshot, silencing the night.