Dying for the Rose

by A. Anders

  The ax came at me fast. It flipped end over end. When it was high enough to grab, the only thing within reach was the blade. I stuck my hand out before quickly recoiling it, and the guys scattered as the ax returned to earth.

  “Again,” I yelled, feeling my flesh blister through my thin cotton shirt.

  Bob collected it and threw it again. The rotation was slower this time. I leaned against the scowling railing bracing myself. Handle, blade, handle, blade. It was getting closer. I would have to reach out and grab it… Now!

  I had it. Pulling away from the railing, I could feel parts of my skin peeling off.

  Without hesitation, I aligned the ax and swung. Bong! The swollen tank bellowed under its thousands of gallons of water.

  I hitched back and swung again. This time, the metal dented. Feeling the heat mount behind me, I swung again and again, each time harder. When the corner of the ax finally punctured the weakened metal, water gushed out like a fire hose.

  With a swing, I widened the hole. The pressure was uncontrollable. The stream of water shot out. It was about ten feet off of its mark, but I knew that one more blow would do it.

  I had to drive the blade through the water and hit a point on the far side of the breach. It was a nearly impossible, but I took aim, braced myself, and swung as hard as I could.

  The blade entered the stream and wrenched my grip. I was unable to keep it steady, and it changed direction and then flung out of my hands. As it shot towards the ground, the guys dove for cover.

  Thrown against the railing, I got up and looked out at the stream. It had increased by ten feet. It wasn’t enough to completely extinguish the flames, but at least it was on target. Now some of it sprayed the burning building and the rest carved through the dirt.

  I leaned over the railing and barked instructions. “You need to dig a trench around the downhill side of the building,” I yelled over the thunder of rushing water. “We can’t let the fire jump to the trees. If we do, we’re all dead.”

  No one argued. Everyone grabbed a shovel or an ax and ran to the far side of the generator.

  With them out of sight, I fell to my knees cradling my throbbing hands. The vibration from metal hitting metal had rattled them useless, and the pain pulsed through my body mercilessly. I had to get up, though. I had to climb down.

  Focusing as I gripped the railing, I spun my body around. This time, the metal ladder wasn’t as hot, or maybe I just couldn’t feel it. Either way, I worked my way down, relying as little on my hands as possible.

  Again on the ground, I knew what I had to do next. Running past the still burning building, I approached the guys who were hard at work.

  “The trench has to be at least a foot deep and three feet wide,” I ordered.

  They heard me, but I didn’t know if it was possible. The water was pouring down too quickly. As soon as someone shoveled a hole, it was filled and washed away. It was a nearly impossible task.

  They had to figure it out, though. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have to worry about being eliminated. We would die in the forest fire long before that.

  I turned and began jogging away from the fire.

  “Where are you going?” I heard Brad yell.

  “Keep digging. We need the trench,” I replied, not looking back.

  Standing on the water tower looking down, I had realized something. No one was in the camp. The fire had drawn everyone out. If Carl had set the fire to get free access to the camp, that’s where he was now.

  It was more than half a mile to the camp, and I jogged the entire way. The distance wouldn’t have been so bad if every step didn’t shoot a bolt of electricity to my hands.

  When I arrived at camp, I didn’t find Carl, but I did find drag marks. Their shaky lines were scraped across the stone walkway and continued through the dirt. I followed them out of camp and towards the shore. And I stopped when I saw what was making them.

  “What are you doing, Carl?” I asked demandingly.

  Pulling one of the bamboo bed frames, Carl looked at me startled. Worried, he turned to his left. That’s when I saw Rose. She looked scared.

  “Carl, don’t do anything stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid. I’m getting out here. And Rose is coming with me.”

  “Kidnapping Rose isn’t a smart idea, Carl.”

  “I’m not kidnapping her. She wants to come.”

  I looked at Rose, not believing him.

  “He told me that you all were planning on killing me, Ford. Was that how you were gonna keep me safe? That’s what you said, right? That you would keep me safe?”

  “No. Rose, he’s lying. No one’s gonna hurt you,” I protested, unsure of how to get out of this situation.

  “You heard them, Ford,” Carl claimed. “They wanna kill her.”

  “No!” I turned to Rose. “It’s not like that. Someone said something. We all agreed that it was a stupid idea.”

  “Oh my god, you did. You discussed killing me,” she realized in horror. “Well, what did you all decide on?” she asked feeling scared and betrayed. “What, are you gonna drown me? You gonna use one of your steak knives on me? Huh? You gonna get together and beat me to death?” she taunted.

  A surge of anger rushed through me. “We’re dying here, Rose! Okay! People are scared. No one knows who’s next. People said things they didn’t mean, but we have a plan now. I told you that I would keep you safe, and I will.”

  “We have a plan too,” Carl explained. “We’re gonna use this bed frame and paddle our way out of here. You’ve seen them float. You know it’ll work. We could even take you with us.”

  I considered it. Yes, the Viking funeral proved that the bed frames could float. It might even be able to carry three people.

  “Are you forgetting about the sharks?” I asked.

  “As long as we don’t go swimming, we’ll be fine,” Carl offered desperately.

  “This is a stupid idea. Where do you plan on going? You just gonna float until you hit land? What about food? What about water? You’ll die in two days.

  “Look, we have a plan. We’re hiking across the island to the compound. It will take a few days, but it’s our best chance.”

  Rose spoke up. “And what if there’s another elimination on the way? You really think they’re gonna sit around doing nothing as I kill people?”

  “And you think people won’t die if you drown at sea?” I countered.

  “There’s gotta be a range limit or something, right?” Rose asked.

  She had a point. She wasn’t suddenly psychic. Something had to be helping her kill people, and whatever it was had to have its limits.

  “But will we all die the second you get out of range? There could be some sort of failsafe. If it loses your signal, it could be programmed to kill us.”

  “We could sail to the compound,” Carl spit. “We’ll get there a lot faster.”

  That was a good point. With the right currents and a little luck, it could take us less than a day.

  “But what if the current pushes us the wrong way?” I asked. “We could smash into the rocks or end up drifting out to sea. Or what if the waves pick up. If we capsize, how long would we have before the sharks found us?”

  Carl didn’t get a chance to reply. The sound of men running up behind me drew our attention.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded. “Is the fire out?”

  I looked back at the hillside sky. Clouds of smoke still hung in the air.

  “It’s out,” Gray barked. “What’s going on here? You making plans with your friends?”

  Rose stepped back in fear. I felt the instinct to protect her. “You’re fine,” I said reassuring her. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “And what are you doing with that?” Gray demanded. “Planning on going somewhere?”

  Carl stood frozen. The tension was building quickly. And when Gray withdrew a gun from his pocket, things turned dangerous.

  “He made a mistake, Gray. Carl tho
ught we were gonna do something to Rose. I told them about our plan to go to the compound. Everything’s okay now.” I turned to Carl. “Right?”

  Carl didn’t reply.

  Gray snarled. “Carl thought that Rose was in danger? Is that what he said?”

  “Don’t, Gray,” I said, not convinced that I could stop him.

  “Honey, that’s not why he took you. He took you because he thought that taking you was his best way to survive. You think he cares about you? He’s using you.

  “He was the first person to suggest killing you. You know when that was? It was three days ago. He doesn’t give a shit about you. He’s just trying to save his own ass.”

  That was a revelation to me. None of them knew what was going on three days ago. So, why would Carl have suggested killing Rose then? I wasn’t sure that true.

  I looked at him, expecting a full-throated rebuke, and didn’t get one.

  “That’s not true, Rose,” Carl said. “It was Gray who said it. He said it tonight as well. I just wanted to keep you safe. I love you, babe. Don’t you know that?”

  Crackling shrieks screamed behind me. Startled, I looked back. A fountain of sparks flew up from behind the trees. A loud boom! was followed by another. When the fireworks couldn’t get any louder, the light from the camp blinked off.

  Everything around us wasn’t dark, though. The pale white of the lighthouse tower hovered over the horizon like the moon. All night it had shone the same pale white light, but suddenly it was changing.

  Pink hues tinted the tower’s light. It happened quickly. Just as quickly, the pink became coral and then turned to red.

  When it stopped, it was blood red. The demonic light cast eerie shadows over everyone. Looking around, only one person wasn’t disturbed.

  Throughout it all, Rose had never taken her eyes off Carl. Was she humiliated? Was she feeling used? I didn’t know, but it was clear that she was mad. As my attention shifted between the two of them, Carl began to choke.

  Fighting for breath, Carl fell to his knees. He was dying. Rose was doing it. He had betrayed her, and she was killing him for it. Finally, when he lay motionless with a dead man’s stare, the tower’s light quickly turned from red back to a white.

  What had we just seen? Rose, the red light, Carl’s death, all of it had to be connected.

  I looked up at Rose. She was shocked. She threw her hand over her mouth and searched our faces for answers.

  Finding none, she looked down at Carl’s lifeless body. She stared at it in silence until she began to tremble. She was shaking uncontrollably. She was about to fall apart.

  “I think I know what’s going on,” Thorin said from the back of the group.

  Thorin pushed past everyone settling beside Carl’s body. Kneeling, he brushed back Carl’s shaggy hair.

  “Someone help me, please,” he asked, looking back at us.

  I hurried over and helped him flip Carl onto his stomach. Again moving his hair, Thorin positioned the nape of Carl’s neck into the light.

  “There. Look. See?” Thorin chirped.

  I leaned in. He had a small mark behind his ear.

  “Do you have a chip?” Thorin asked Rose.

  “Of course. Why?” she replied.

  “Is there anyone here who doesn’t have a chip?” Thorin asked the guys.

  “Yeah, me,” Brad said confidently.

  Thorin ran to him, and I followed. Turning Brad into the light, I saw the same mark behind his ear.

  “Well, you do now,” Thorin confirmed.

  “That’s impossible. How?” Brad protested.

  “What about me?” Thorin asked showing me his neck.

  “Yeah, it’s there,” I confirmed.

  “I didn’t have one either,” Thorin said deflated. “But now, it looks like we all do. I think I know why I’m here. I know why they sent me back.”

  Chapter 9

  B illy suddenly snapped the tension. “I don’t understand. It wasn’t time yet. We just had an elimination. Why did Carl die?”

  “Neuropathic inceptors,” Thorin explained. “Everyone here has been chipped. And if I’m right, then they’re like the ones I put in product testers.” He paused. “Well, maybe not exactly those ones. These seemed to be getting a signal from the tower.”

  “I don’t get it,” I admitted. “So, the tower’s killing people?”

  “Not exactly. I think that the tower is reading Rose’s neuro patterns. When Rose makes a decision about someone—it could be subconscious, it could just be her losing interest in them—but, whatever triggers it, her chip sends a signal to the tower. The tower then transmits the signal to a local computer, then that computer sends a kill signal to the chip in whoever Rose has lost interest in.”

  Brad stepped forward. “So we can end this by taking down the tower, right? No tower, no signal.”

  “Chips are continuously looking for a signal. It would be like a dead man’s switch,” Thorin said.

  “Dead man’s switch?” Brad asked.

  I answered. “A dead man’s switch is like when a dying man holds a grenade knowing that once he dies, he’ll let go of the trigger and the grenade will explode. Thorin’s saying that if we kill the tower, we’ll all die.”

  “Then what do we do?” Billy asked. “Are we supposed to just sit around trying not to upset her until we’re all dead?”

  “No. He can take the chips out,” Gray replied. “You said that was your job, right?” he asked, turning to Thorin.

  “Yeah, but…” Thorin said, hesitating.

  “Then take them out!” Gray ordered.

  “With what? A coconut and toilet paper?” Thorin spit in terrified outrage. “I worked in a sterilized lab with specialized equipment. I could kill you trying to take it out.”

  “That’s not what we’re gonna do,” I told everybody.

  “Okay, big man,” Gray said, turning to me challengingly. “You tell us. What are we gonna do?”

  “We’re heading to the compound. It’s what we all agreed to do. And it’s the only place on the island where we can shut off the chips.”

  “And that’s what we’re all gonna do,” Gray commanded.

  Stepping forward, Gray’s demeanor had instantly changed. He was standing taller and speaking in a lower register. He reminded me of a boy trying to impress a girl on the playground.

  “We’re gonna follow the coast to the compound. And when we get there, Thorin will take these chips out of our heads,” Gray confirmed.

  “That’s a bad plan,” I interrupted.

  “Well, if you want to leave yours in, then go ahead,” Gray said with a glare.

  “Not that part. We shouldn’t follow the coast. That would put our backs against the shark infested water. If something attacks us, we won’t have anywhere to go.”

  “Then we fight,” Gray announced. “You scared to do a little fighting?”

  I looked at Gray. Had he forgotten that I had whipped his ass every time he came up against me? I guess some guys just didn’t know when they were beaten.

  “Let’s put it to a vote,” I said, knowing there was an easier way of defeating him.

  “Okay,” he agreed. “Who here wants to leave themselves open to being attacked from either side?”

  No one raised their hand. Even I didn’t at first. The man knew how to misrepresent an idea.

  “And who wants to follow the coastline to a building which is also on the coast?”

  Brad, Thorin, Bob, Billy, and Gray all raised their hands. I had to admit, he had outplayed me with that one. My only shot at changing everyone’s mind lay in the only person who hadn’t voted, Rose.

  “Rose. What do you think? You wannna take the fastest path there? Or do you want to travel the entire way without an escape route if… I mean, when something large attacks us?” Obviously, two people could play that game.

  “I don’t know,” Rose whispered. “I’ll do whatever you all decide. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone else getting h
urt.”

  I looked closer at Rose. She was still shaking. Again, I had forced her into a no-win situation.

  I had gotten too caught up in my pissing contest with Gray to realize what this tension was doing to her. Either directly or indirectly, she was responsible for everyone’s death. She knew it, and it was tearing her apart.

  “There you have it,” Gray concluded. “We’re gonna stay here tonight. At the first sign of light, we’re heading to the coast.”

  Gray looked at me to see if I would challenge him. I didn’t. It was still a bad plan, but I was going to let him have it.

  I was more concerned about making sure Rose was alright. I decided to subtly keep an eye on her. As I watched her, I learned some unexpected things.

  Although she stood tall and stuck out her chin, her hands were shaking. She was trying hard to appear unaffected and strong, but it was just an act. She was scared and devastated by all of this. It broke my heart.

  But then, the longer I watched, the more I admired her for just remaining upright. Most people would have collapsed under the same weight, but Rose didn’t. It made me wonder where her strength came from. What could have forged her mettle? She had to have gone through a lot in her life.

  Apparently, Rose wasn’t just a girl on a game show looking for love. There was more to her than I had ever imagined. I really liked that.

  Gray ordered us to sleep in one room. I didn’t have a problem with that. I was done with fighting for the sake of fighting, and I was comfortable with letting him take the lead for the time being.

  The only thing I did have a problem with was how Gray had distributed the guns. As far as I could tell, he had brought back three of them. He gave one to Bob, one to Billy, and kept the third one for himself.

  Both Bob and Billy were his “group date” allies. It seemed that Gray was still treating this nightmare like a game show. I was the person most likely to be eliminated next, so I didn’t think this was the time for silly alliances and show tactics. Considering that Buck-Naked Billy was wearing pants for the first time since we got here, I was sure that Gray’s ally would agree with me.