The Rig

The chessboard was brought out again, and Reyes grimaced at the sight of it. He flicked his lighter open several times, no use really. In their absence from civilization it was hard for him to find cigarettes, and it would be hard to grow tobacco in the Arctic circle.

They grouped themselves around a small poker table in one of the rooms. Still dressed in their polyester company jackets, imprinted with the logo of the Oil-co company. Reyes hadn't changed his clothes for about a week now, the heating went out a few days prior and he was having less and less energy as time went on.

"Do you want to play white or black?" Frank asked taking out the chess pieces. Reyes pointed to white without speaking, it was his favorite color to play as. The fire in the corner of the room was slowly dying and they were running out of serviceable fuel. Reyes was a security guard, and Frank was a grunt, and they both needed more men to harvest oil from the rig. That was an unfortunate impossibility considering how many bullets they wasted on the rest of their coworkers.

"Ever... been to India?" Reyes asked him, his voice faltering as he spoke. He reached into his pocket and blew his nose on a napkin. The cold was starting to get to him more then ever.

"Can't say I have..." Frank was a bigger man with a bushy mustache. He had a long black mane, and the odd habit of smiling broadly. His finely pronounced canine teeth always dripped of raw saliva as he spoke. Reyes felt cannibalism was as natural to Frank as playing chess was. It was only indicative of how they both knew this game would turn out.

"Chess was made in India..." Reyes was trying to keep himself talking to warm up, buying him time. His hands were already too preoccupied to rub together.

"Right..." He said, his face looking elsewhere for a second. He turned his head and smiled. "Well we both know how this game will end." Frank said with his booming voice. He had his tough meaty hand clutched on a brown bottle of pills he started to pop into his mouth. Frank and Reyes were the only ones left on the rig. The rest were... well they were appetizers when the supplies ran out.

"Don't push your luck... I go first." Reyes moved his knight out onto the board. His heart thudding in his chest like a jackrabbit on steroids. He was more concerned about his opponent then the game itself. Frank had a pipe wrench propped up close to his seat, as if a warning to his opponent. Reyes could only see it from the only main light source in the room besides the dying fire, a window. It had been covered with snow and forever blinded them to the outside world.

"When... do you think the supplies will start coming again?" Reyes asked him almost pleadingly. It had been several months since they last saw a supply boat.

"Why do you keep asking me that stupid? We wouldn't be playing this game if I knew." Frank chuckled to himself a little, swallowed some more pills and continued to move his pieces. He had already taken both of his knights, and was starting to move in on the rooks. "Remember, I aim to keep my promises." Frank started to look at him hungrily. Like a dog staring at a steak right outside of his cage. It frightened Reyes and he didn't know just how to react. "Tell me something Reyes. What did you think when you saw the mushroom cloud over Canada?" He asked with a strange grin approaching on his face. They could just see the coast of Canada and the Arctic with binoculars, but the cloud was unmistakable.

"I didn't believe it at first... then you told me we couldn't make it to the Arctic coast from here". There was a dinghy available on the lower deck, which was to be used in emergencies. Frank simply scoffed at him and crossed his arms.

"Not unless you want to freeze to death. It's about a kilometer from any known settlements if you make it to the coast, and even then they might be in a worse spot then we are." He moved his queen forward, into check with the white king. It forced him to sacrifice a bishop. "It's just you and me now." Reyes didn't get the feeling Frank wanted to go back to civilization. Originally the first one to speak out against "feeding" was their foreman, calling it inhuman. When they killed the site foreman he was almost livid at the idea of eating his desiccated carcass.

Playing chess removed all the stigma attached to murder, all the fear. There was a choice in it. They chose to settle it over a logical game like chess, devoid of any luck or fairness. There was only one's own wits against each other. Reyes looked at Frank and all he could see was a man who preferred to see his meat raw and frightened before it died. However, neither wanted to sleep in the same room as the other, and trying to chase the other around the 70 ft tall oil rig was just as foolish. Reyes knew, he'd seen it happen. The rest of them only backed down to the hungry security guard with a gun. The fire went out and along with that did much of the light, but the chessboard was still illuminated by the window. They were left with both of their kings, with black cornering the white. Frank cracked his knuckles as he moved his pieces forward, victory felt within his grasp.

"Well now..." he said licking his lips. "I suppose that is that." Frank reached for his pipe wrench. Reyes moved his king to the right, confusing Frank for a second. They moved back and forth for a few turns before he cast his hands down on the table. "You... you tricked me again." The kings were locked into a loop, unfortunately unable to checkmate the other.

"Quite right, we both lose." Reyes smiled. His heart beginning to slow down a little. Frank's face puffed out like a beet out of anger. His hands smashing down on the poker table again and again. His pill bottle of heart medication falling to the ground empty.

"Stalemate again... and again" He was almost starting to choke on his words out of anger. He clutched his heart and heaved over as he sputtered to speak. "The last... few games..." Reyes laughed a little, Frank's heart condition acting up just like he planned.

"Looks like I win" Reyes said smiling to himself as Frank collapsed in a heap of revulsion. Though in his mind he knew his former co-worker wouldn't last him very long.