Chapter 20 Jade
Jade
“Gas?” Jade felt her stomach drop. “Are you serious right now?”
The sickening stench of gas was everywhere, spread around by people’s hands, their shoes, their clothes.
It was inescapable—nauseating. Jade’s thoughts were jumping all over the place, fueled by a flurry of blind panic.
How was this even possible? The bus exploded—all the gas should have burned off.
What were they going to do? The shelter plan had failed.
There was so little time left…so little time…
She looked around; the others were just as lost. The only one who seemed capable of functioning was Ellis.
True to form, he climbed onto the steps of the bus and took charge.
“All right. Let’s stay calm and think this through.
” He rubbed his hand over his head, hard, his face creased with worry. “How much time have we got left?”
“About fifteen minutes,” Jax called out, eyes on his phone.
“Oh my god. Ellis, what are we going to do?” Jade’s voice sounded odd, even to herself. Fifteen minutes. Nausea swelled in the back of her mouth. In fifteen minutes, someone would have to cross the line. She pictured Benny, the blood, the truck.
“I say we do nothing,” Raya spoke up, her sharp voice silencing the others. “It’s hot. The gas will evaporate. We can wait and go on just before the hour’s up. Odds are we’ll be far enough from the explosion that the bus won’t catch fire.”
“That’s your plan, Mori?” Ellis looked incredulous. “The gas is obviously leaking from somewhere. Do you seriously think it’s a good idea to lie down on top of a gas leak and hope we don’t catch fire? We will burn to death. Do you get it? Burn.”
That did the job. They’d been at the gym a year ago. No need to go into details.
“Well…maybe we can hide out somewhere else? We could grab this lot and run.” Raya gestured at the now useless pile of bedding. “What about the pool, or the reception area?”
“Have you forgotten that the whole motel is wired to explode? The bus was our only safe bet.”
“Out of the fire into the frying pan. We just can’t catch a freaking break,” Raya muttered.
Jade could taste the vomit now; she swallowed hard, folding her arms tightly in an effort to steady herself. There were bad pictures and ugly thoughts circling in her head. The reality of her situation was both obvious and terrifying. She could actually die. She could be dead soon—dead, like Benny.
Footsteps momentarily pulled her up. Ana—the mastermind of this shitshow, had finally bothered to show up.
Alex caught her up on the situation, pointing to the bus, talking in a low voice.
Probably explaining how spectacularly Ana’s shelter plan had failed, how someone was going to die because of her.
Maybe it should be Ana. It seemed only fair.
Jade was considering the politics of suggesting this when Ana stepped forward.
“I found something.” Ana spoke directly to Ellis. “I think someone’s inside the circle with us.” Jade only half-listened to the mumbled story about a cleaned microphone and soap, how if they weren’t alone, maybe they could find Bates and blah, blah.
She was relieved when Ellis called it.
“Just stop! We don’t have fucking time for another of your stupid ideas,” he snapped.
Ana recoiled, shocked. “We can’t make another shelter.
We can’t go on the hunt for some goddamn microphone-cleaning psycho.
Don’t you get it? If someone doesn’t cross the fucking line when the timer runs out, we are all going to die. ”
Oh, god. Did he have to say it like that? Jade sniffed, desperately holding on to herself, trying to be strong, trying to be brave.
“Listen, we have no choice.” Ellis turned to face them, arms spread wide.
“There’s only one option left. I know this is fucking hard, but we have to do what we have to do if we want to survive this and go home.
” His handsome face was sincere, honest. He was their leader—no question, and he was right.
There was only one way this was going to play out. Only one terrifying, horrific way.
Everyone knew what was coming next.
“Like it or not, if we want to live past the hour…we have to play the Balloon Game. When the hour’s up, we vote. The loser crosses the line.”
Jade dug her nails into her palms, willing herself not to cry.
So, this was it. No way out. In less than fifteen minutes, they were going to decide who was guiltiest, and then another one of them would be dead.
The problem was…it could be her. If anyone here remembered what she’d posted a year ago on the day of the fire, she could lose the vote. She could be the one. She could die.
She pictured the red truck. Oh, god, the truck. Those men, grabbing her by her toned ankles, slinging her body onto the flatbed like a piece of meat. It was just too real. Too close.
Panic smacked her viciously in her gut. Whatever happened next, she couldn’t survive this alone. She needed help.
She turned to look for Jax, but he was squatting in the shade of the bus staring at his beloved phone screen, seemingly oblivious to their predicament. Useless. Delusional. The stakes were too high to rely on Jax.
No, she knew what she needed to do. She needed strength and power on her side. She needed to win this game, and to do that—she needed a winner.
***
11:18
Ellis had already gone to the reception area to collect a random assortment of pens and drink coasters from the desk drawer. They would use them to vote. Jade sprinted after him, slamming the door so hard she almost smacked him in the face.
“Ellis. We need to talk—now.”
Ellis was irritatingly calm, as though he was above all this. Normally it would have annoyed the hell out of Jade, but his arrogance implied confidence, and confidence meant he could help her. He nodded.
“Go on.”
“Ellis, I can’t do this. I can’t just die. You have to help me,” she said, her voice low and urgent.
He watched her dispassionately, his pale gray eyes giving away nothing. How could he be so damn cool? The minutes were counting down and her life was on the line.
After what felt like forever, he nodded and pushed his way out of the door, motioning for Jade to follow.
The wind was kicking up, blowing unpleasantly hot air and dust in Jade’s face.
She kept having to tuck loose strands of blonde hair behind her ears as she trotted along behind him, frantically talking to his back.
“We’re friends, right? We’ve been friends for a long time. You know we always hang out at parties and stuff. I mean, we’re the same. Our parents are famous. We’re A-list, right? You, me, and Jax.”
Ellis didn’t slow down.
“Ellis, please. We need to help each other out. I have money. My mom would pay anything to keep me safe. People like us, we need to stick together. Ellis, please!” She was begging but didn’t care.
Ellis stopped abruptly and turned to look at her with a calculating expression. She tried to hold his gaze, but the panic was becoming overwhelming again.
“I’m not going to die out here!” she blurted out. “I can’t. Not like this.” Tears were welling up.
“What makes you think you’re going to die, Jade?”
“Because…because…” Jade’s bored pout had been replaced by a steely, tight expression.
Ellis narrowed his eyes.
“Because of your video, maybe? Your little bullying prank that bought you a one-way ticket to the Motel Loba?”
“You…you’ve seen it?” Jade stuttered. Her skin turned bright red under her carefully applied foundation.
She’d only posted it on her private story and taken it down right after Karl’s suicide and the fire.
But what was she thinking? These things had a way of spreading.
She knew that better than anyone. Of course he’d seen it.
Of course he knew, and the odds were, he wasn’t the only one.
Ellis gave a short laugh. “Yeah. I saw it. Can’t really forget that one. Brutal.”
Oh, god, the video. She could picture it now.
It was filmed in the St. Francis locker room the day before the fire.
A group of heavily made-up blonde girls giggled next to a shower curtain.
Jade was in front of them, mugging for the camera.
She held up her fingers: three, two, one.
They whipped the shower curtain back and there was Karl Hunt, in the middle of the locker room, naked.
A cacophony of mocking laughter ensued as the person holding the camera raced forward, closing in on Hunt’s nudity, the girls surrounding him.
It had been a mistake. She knew that now. But what could you do? What was done was done.
“It wasn’t bullying, Ellis. People have no idea what it’s like to have a celebrity mom.
Everyone wants a piece of me. Hunt was a creep.
He was always lurking around my locker and staring at me over his lunch tray.
Everyone noticed. It was embarrassing. It was sexual harassment.
I had no choice. I told him I was hot for him and to meet me in the locker room and get naked.
So, he did—what kind of loser even does that?
He deserved it. People like him deserve what they get. ”
“You don’t see what’s wrong with that?” Ellis said, raising his eyebrows.
“No. I don’t! I was doing a public service,” Jade said flatly, folding her arms over her crop top.
She looked around desperately. “Any self-respecting feminist would have done the same thing. I don’t deserve to die for this, Ellis.
I don’t. If they vote for who’s guilty, I know someone will have seen it.
Someone will remember. Please, you’ve got to help me.
I can’t die out here like this. Ellis, please! ”
After a brief pause, Ellis nodded, as if making his mind up about something. His expression softened.
“Okay, Jade. I can help you. On two conditions.”
Jade felt like throwing her arms around him but knew better. “Yes. Anything, Ellis. Anything.”
“First, if I tell you to do something, even if you don’t understand it, you’ve got to do exactly what I say,” Ellis said, watching her response closely.
“Yes, yes. I do, I mean, I will. Yes!” Jade smiled. He was on her side. She felt an intense wave of relief.
“Secondly, you have to promise you’ve got my back,” Ellis said in a measured tone. “If we stick together, we can survive this. But only if we stick together…and you bring your lapdog with you.” Ellis nodded to where Jax was standing by the bus with the others.
“You got it, Ellis. Whatever you say goes. We’re a team.
You, Jax, and me. We will do whatever you say.
Thank you.” Jade tried to stop. Gushing was never a good look—right up there with begging and brownnosing.
They were signs of weakness and Ellis didn’t respect weakness.
She pulled herself up, wiping at her streaked mascara with the back of her hands.
She must look ridiculous. Nothing good in life came from looking bad. Her mom had taught her that.
Ellis held out his hand. It was a slightly odd, old-fashioned gesture, but Jade was past caring. She took it, and they shook on it. It felt good—real somehow, a silent contract that would guarantee her survival. They would win this game because that’s what Ellis did. He won things.
Jade could breathe again. She liked being taken care of. It felt good.
Ellis turned and started jogging towards the bus. Jade trotted along behind him feeling much better, almost hopeful. Without realizing it, she started humming quietly to herself.
I will survive…
I will survive. For the first time in hours, she smiled.