Entering a D.I.E. tournament with my childhood tormentor Wes Grimsbane… was it even worth the effort for a card, no matter how hard I’d worked to earn it?

I lay on my bed, staring at the shadows on the ceiling.

Wes’ face leered close to mine; his hands around my neck.

My stomach twisted and I sat up quickly.

Wes was right.

Without D.I.E. I have nothing.

No friends.

No social skills.

No special abilities to speak of.

Scraping through school even though I was already set back two years due to my poor academic performance; I was a disappointment to my parents and teachers.

All I had going for me was an obsession with a card game that clicked with my brain in a way that nothing else ever did…

In a way that no-one could understand…

I rolled over on my bed, laughing into my pillow.

Wes probably thought he’d set up the perfect blackmail for me.

But he was wrong.

I didn’t care about the $500 prize money.

Heck, I didn’t even care about the Dark Wolf card.

The only thing that gave my life any purpose was playing D.I.E.

If I was manipulated into playing D.I.E. for someone else’s needs, then so be it.