Infected

Too Much, Too Little

Ben

There's nothing in the world like sleeping in late, I had to admit. Even though Silver got hurt, it could end up being a good thing, right?

No, I thought as I lain there awake in the late morning. That's selfish. He could've died.

Even so, I didn't mind the break, and I was pretty sure he didn't mind it, either. I sat up, the old bed creaking as my body shifted. Mike was already gone. He left me to sleep in. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and leaned against the doorway, looking out at the open area.

It's hard to believe he did this by himself, with only a little help. He was either crazy or just prepared. Maybe a little of both. Clean, purified water whenever anyone needed it, a place to use the bathroom, bathe, sleep, eat. Somewhere safe, away from most of the danger(not everything is 100%). Everything, and now the entertainment to keep everyone happy. He really thought this through. And now the new construction coming along.

As I stood there, I suddenly saw a scene unfold in my mind. Lots of children going into a building, people walking by and talking casually, dogs chasing each other. I could see what he saw. He really had a dream.

I walked to the water and splashed my face in it and used my shirt to dry it. I looked up and saw that some of the runners were huddled around at the picnic tables. I walked over to see what the commotion was about. Silver was sitting in his wheelchair, his leg propped up with a bandage around it.

"Hey, Ben!" Mike whispered to me. "Come sit here!"

I sat down next to him.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Not too bad, actually." He said. "He said there isn't much pain, and the swelling has gone down some. Cindy said, if it's not too badly injured, it should take at least six weeks for it to heal properly before he can start walking."

"So, what's going on here?"

"We're playing a game. We have five total, but I'm sure you can join."

"What're we playing?" I looked at his cards.

"President."

"President? What's that?"

"The goal is to get rid of your cards first before everyone else. The first person is the President, and the second person is the Vice President."

He put down two tens.

"It goes on from there until the last two people go out. They're the butt and vice butt. After every game, they have to give either one or two cards to the President and Vice President. Then, it goes on from there."

"President." Silver said, laying down two nines and a six.

"As usual." Someone mumbled.

"Why did he put down a six?" I asked.

"Oh. Sixes are wild cards, twos are the highest, followed by Ace, king, queen, and so on. The three of clubs is the trump card. It'll close out any hand. Four or more of the same cards are automatic close-outs."

"Mike, your turn." Brian said.

He laid down his three, now out of cards.

"Ha ha. Middleman." Mike sat back a little, watching the others one by one throw down their remaining cards.

"Can I join?"

"Sure." Silver said. "You come in as middleman."

He shuffled the cards and passed them out. I got a six, a two, two threes, a five, an eight, and two nines.