“Shit, Alex. What happened? Are you hurt?” She scrambled over to him, her eyes round with concern.
Alex nodded at his leg. His shoe had come off, and the right foot was turned inwards at an unnatural angle. Ana sunk down to the ground next to him. Whatever happened now, he wasn’t going anywhere.
“You…you should go. Run. Get somewhere safe, hide somewhere where Ellis won’t find you. Quick—before he wakes up.” Sweat was breaking out on his forehead, he bit his lower lip.
On cue, Ellis groaned and shifted slightly. They didn’t have long.
They were in trouble. Alex knew it. If it came to a two-against-one fight, he was realistic enough to know that the odds would still be in Ellis’s favor, especially now with his ankle. There had to be something hecould do—anything. He looked around desperately. There was a large rock under the death machine. Large enough.
“Go, and I’ll take care of Ellis…I’ll stop him. I’ll…I’ll…” He felt sickened at himself for even thinking it. He didn’t know if he had it in him to kill someone in cold blood, or how he would live with himself after. But he had to try. For Ana. He had to end this game.
“No, Alex!” Ana sat up. “No, you can’t hurt Ellis. I can’t explain now—there’s no time. I need you to do what I say, okay? Even if it doesn’t make sense…” She looked up at him, her eyes imploring.
Alex nodded. Whatever she needed.
Ellis groaned again. His hands were working now, flopping around. They had moments, at most.
“Quickly—I’ll help you up.” Ana’s voice was shaky but clear. “We need to get to the line.”
“The line?” Alex paused. That was the last place they should go. If they were on the line, Ellis could force them over. It didn’t make sense. They should go as far away from the line as possible.
“Alex.I need you to listen. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
Alex smiled for the first time in a long time and nodded. That would be the easiest thing he’d done all day. He trusted her. Always.
Bending down, she reached her arms around his waist and gently helped him up. His head fell against her shoulder. The pain was breathtaking. A wave of dizziness and nausea swept over him. He could feel her hand pressed against his chest, his heart beating hard and fast against it.
“It’s going to be okay, Alex. We can do this,” she said. Half-walking, half-carrying him, they staggered towards the line.
Just in time.
Ellis rolled onto his front. He was struggling to get his arms andknees under him, to push himself up. He was mumbling a little, unintelligible words. Slowly, he turned his head sideways. His unfocused eyes found them.
Time was up.
***
07:35
Ana was holding Alex up, his arm over her shoulder. He could feel how hard it was for her even just standing there, supporting his weight. He pulled her closer.
“Ow,” Ellis said, rubbing his neck and glaring at them both. “You should have tried out for the football team, Alex.”
“Hurts less than being strangled to death,” Ana said sharply.
“Fair point.” Ellis was looking around, his eyes scanning everything. The loose lamp cord, Alex’s ankle, the defunct death machine. He smiled and gave a small, sharp bark of a laugh. “Well, here we are again. Time’s almost up and—no offense intended—I think I have the upper hand when it comes to speed. How’s this going to play out?”
“You’re going to cross the line,” Ana said calmly.
Ellis stood still, an amused half-smile on his face.
“Okay, interesting. Let’s run with this. Um, why exactly am I going to cross the line?” Ellis raised his eyebrows.
“Because your life is already over,” Ana said. She was speaking slowly, choosing her words carefully. Ellis’s smile slipped a minuscule amount.
“Explain.”
“When we were chatting earlier, I never got the chance to mention that I met Bates, or should I say Matt Hunt—Karl’s dad. He’s aninteresting man—a little bitter.”
