The scruffy letters on the back of the coaster stood out clearly.
CADEN.
It was done. It was over. Caden was going over the line.
No one dared to look up. The wind gently danced around them, stirring their clothes, their hair.
“I win. Right? So…what’s that mean…I mean, wha—” Caden was slurring so badly it was hard to make out his words. He was shuffling from side to side like a preschooler. Whatever was going on inside his head, it wasn’t making any sense. “Imma…I’m…” He sniffed and rubbed hard at his nose.
“It means it’s time for a drink,” Ellis said quietly. He pulled a mini bottle of vodka out of his pocket and cracked the top, holding it out to Caden. Ellis’s hand was oddly still. No shaking, no weakness.
Caden took the bottle and knocked it back in one gulp, flinging it on the ground when he was done. It rolled next to the coaster.
Ellis passed him another. He was recalibrating, the vote hadn’t gone as planned. But it was okay, he could pivot. After Caden went, he would reset, come up with a new plan. After Caden…
There were minutes left to do this. Ellis took a deep breath and forced himself to look up. He needed to know what he was dealing with here. Caden was confused and fearful; he’d overmedicated and was barely holding himself upright, but it would be a mistake to underestimate him. He’d had military training. He might still be dangerous.
The others were in varied states of shock. Jade was hopeless, her face was frozen in a grimace of fear. Raya was crying. Alex looked like a puppy in headlights. None of them would have the balls to do what needed to be done.
That left Danny’s sister and Jax. They still looked functional. But when push came to shove, would they help?
“Hey, Cade,” Ellis said, moving closer to him, positioning the bus at Caden’s back. There needed to be one way out of this. Only one direction to go. Across the line. “Time to go, buddy. Let’s go find a place to hang out and get off our faces, okay?” He reached his arm out and gently nudged Caden towards the line.
Caden nodded, he was always up for getting higher. He turned slightly towards the line.
“That’s it, buddy. That’s it.” Ellis pointed out across the line, at the empty road. “I reckon we passed a bar, just up the road there. Noway they’ll card us after all this. Let’s head out and get a cold beer.” He nudged him, a little harder this time.
One step, two. Caden stumbled closer to the line.
“Oh, god…” It was Jade’s voice. There was sobbing too. Ellis silently cursed the others. If they weren’t going to help him, they could at least shut the fuck up and stay out of his way.
“Imma…not sure…” Caden turned back to face Ellis and the others. “I’m gonna…stay.”
“No, no, buddy. We’re going. It’s safe now. It’s time to leave. We’re going to head out and get a nice cold beer. It’s all good.” Ellis stretched out both arms wide. He had the wingspan of a point guard. He could cover a lot of space. He edged forward.
Caden stepped back. His heels were on the line. He looked around, his red eyes taking in everything, struggling to focus.
“I’m staying.”
This wasn’t working.
“Jax!” Ellis said sharply.
Jax moved forward and positioned himself behind Ellis’s right shoulder. The two of them formed a wall. There was nowhere for Caden to go. Just the line.
“Go!” Ellis said firmly. There was no time left for games.
“Oh my god! Ellis, we only have two minutes left.” It was Jade’s voice, hitting a new shrill note of alarm.
“Go!” Ellis commanded. He moved forward, pushing into Caden.
“I don’t wanna…I don’t…” Caden’s face turned red. His big mouth opened into anOand he wailed. “I don’t. I don’t. Don’t make me.” He looked like a scaled-up toddler. A full-scale tantrum was settling in on him, cutting through the fog in his head. Maybe he didn’t understand what was happening, but some instinct was telling himto stay. He started moving, pushing back against Ellis. “I don’t wanna go…I won’t.”
Ellis held fast, he grabbed onto Caden’s camo T-shirt, locking him in place. Caden was making a high-pitched keening sound, his movements were becoming wilder, more violent. If this turned into a fight, Ellis could lose. He had to end this quickly.
“One minute! Ellis, you have to do it. Now!” Jade’s voice cut in.
This was worse than he’d ever imagined. Could he actually do this? Ellis faltered. He knew what this meant. He was about to kill someone. Physically throw them to their death. He edged forward, but Caden was reeling around now; he was clearly hitting his limit. This was not good. If Caden lost it, they could all die.
