“Don’t just stand there, help me flip the tractor,” Ellis said to Jax. No point in asking Jade to help; she was clearly not invested in this. The two of them stood on one side and, on the count of three, hefted the rusted old machine up, crunching it loudly over on its side, then rolling it onto its back. A wheel spun wildly in the air. Ellis grabbed one end of the rope.
“Are youserious?” Jade had finally found her voice.
“Yes, I’m fucking serious! I don’t plan on throwing everyone overthe line, and I don’t see you stepping up to help,” Ellis snapped. He passed the rope under the front axle and looped it around tightly, several times. “This is cleaner and safer. We can take turns on the wheel so it’s not all on me. If you don’t like it, you can go and join the other team.”
Fucking sheep.No way was he taking on their moral judgment. They could pretend to be better than him, but if it was Jade’s turn to cross the line, she would happily strap her own mother to the rope faster than she could do a gym squat. Ellis knew it, even if Jade didn’t—yet.
Taking the rope in both hands, he pulled hard. It snapped tight, all the way out to the signpost. Keeping it taut, Ellis knotted it securely, and there it was—the death machine, ready to go. All they needed to do was tie someone on and turn the wheel.
“Want to test it?” He glanced sideways at Jade, throwing her a dark smile.
“I will!” Jax shouted, raising his hand to volunteer.
“No!” Jade quickly stepped in. “No, Jax. For once in your life don’t be an idiot.”
Ellis laughed.
“Smart move. Let’s test it on that,” Ellis said, pointing to a plastic orange-and-white traffic barrel lying upended near the roadside.
“This will look so cool on film.” Jax nodded happily.
The two of them kick-rolled the barrel over to the rope. It must have weighed about forty pounds. Much lighter than a human, especially one resisting being dragged over a line to their death. They scooped sand into it, lifting it up from time to time to estimate when it was close to a human’s weight.
Finally ready, Ellis pulled a handful of plastic zip ties out of his back pocket.
Jade recoiled. “Seriously, Ellis?”
“I know, right?” Ellis said, smiling. “I found these in a shed back there. Very serial killer.” He looped one through a hole in the barrel and tightened it.
“Wait!” Jax shouted, running to the line. “I’ve got to film this. This is going to look great.” He squatted, cocking his head, checking his phone screen. “Okay. Go ahead, Ellis.”
Ellis grabbed the wheel and turned.
There was a creak and crunch as the barrel fell sideways, rolling and smashing hard against the ground. Sand spilled out as it flipped around, dragged slowly, inevitably towards the white line.
Ellis turned faster. It took all his strength to turn the wheel, but it worked. The barrel crossed the line, pulled farther and farther out of the circle.
There was a crack. The plastic split and the barrel finally dropped off the rope, rolling across the desert, red sand spilling like blood onto the ground.
Jax cheered. Ellis smiled, relieved he’d removed all the nearby cameras—he didn’t want a record of his death machine in action. The test run was a success. Next time, it would be a person. Anactualperson was going to be zip-tied to the machine and dragged across the line. Ellis felt an odd thrill of exhilaration.
Clearly the same thought had occurred to Jade. She jumped up and started walking around in a tight circle, clutching at her chest, gasping.
“Oh my god…can’t breathe…I can’t…”
“Babe, it’s fine.” Jax walked up to her and put an arm around her waist. “You got this. Just breathe—like Dankman showed us. Like a box or something. Nice and slow. In hold…out hold…” He was holding his phone out, low-angle, capturing his manful, supportive boyfriend move. He flashed a quick smile at the camera. “Doing good,babe. The death machine isn’t for us. It’s for the others. When they lose the vote.”
“What if we lose the vote, Jax?” Jade shouted. “What if they know about the video and…and…” Her face had turned red; she pushed Jax’s phone away.
“C’mon, babe. I won’t let that happen. I’ll protect you.”
“You? Protectme? Wait, are you being serious right now? You do know you are just as guilty as me, or have you forgotten? In fact, if anyone knew what you did… Maybe I’m not the one who should be worried.”
“Yeah, but I’m safe, babe. No one knows what I did. That’s all I meant.” He put his phone away for the first time all day.
“You’resafe?” Jade’s hands went straight to her hips. “Oh, no, no, no. You do not get to besafe, while my life is on the line. I am not going down alone. No fucking way!”
“Babe, don’t be like this,” Jax entreated; his voice had an edge to it. He tried to slip an arm around her waist, but she smacked him away, hard.
