Raymond slowly regained consciousness: all around was darkness. He felt manacles on his hands and arms; though standing, he was pressed onto a rigid, curved surface. A cacophony of metal sounds roared as he was jolted upwards; a few seconds later, it stopped. He heard the echoes die down, then seconds later, it repeated; more loud noises, and another abrupt yank upwards.

As his eyes got used to the dim light, he could see another track to his left. It consisted of manacles and full body-sized seats, like his, but they were empty. Every time his track jerked forward, that one, with a short random delay, would move in the other direction. Raymond groaned; it was like the safety harness on a macabre ride in the world’s worst amusement park.

The light intensified slightly as he continued to rise, and the wall to his right ended. Across the way, he could see Carlos, one of the other prisoners. The noise made it difficult to communicate, but after expressing some confusion about how they got here, they both recalled being ordered to hold onto the steel bars of their cell, then feeling a sudden burst of electricity surge through them. Neither had any idea where they were.

The track continued to jolt in fits and starts. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought of Clara, his lady and love. He vowed, if he could ever get out of this prison, that he would live up to his responsibilities and be a better man for her. He choked up at the thought of his precious son, Julio. It seemed like a lifetime since Raymond last saw him, and he scolded himself for the horrible way he treated his kid. He deserved a better father, and he silently promised he would make up for the years of absence.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Finally, they reached the roof. Raymond could see past the back of the seat in front of him; he realized they were all occupied, as were the ones in Carlos’ line. Solar panels covered the vast majority of the roof. It seemed their seats were slowly being taken over the edge of the roof, only to return empty. Raymond swallowed hard and tried to see what was going on.

As he neared the roof’s edge, he could see the ground. There was a large crowd of cheering people, holding signs such as “The wages of sin”, “It’s about time”, and “God hates criminals”. They were quite far away — the building was at least six stories high — but Raymond felt some of them were looking directly at him, making mocking expressions and vulgar gestures. Through the din, he thought he could hear a terrified shriek, an instant after a loud banging sound, before the line moved forward again.

As he passed the roof’s edge, he could see below him. There was a large metal box, the size of a standard shipping container, standing on its end, its top open. Leading into it was a sturdy-looking metal chute, open at the top. He gaped as he saw a body fall towards it, hit with a sickening thud, then slide into the container. This was a mass execution! He realized that such a fall was probably the cheapest way to kill someone. Glumly, he realized that, with all the solar panels, it was probably also the greenest method.

He reached the head of the line. Time froze for an instant. In a single motion, his manacles released and his seat pushed him forward. He watched the metal chute rush up to him. He didn’t bother to scream.