Chapter 50

‘Do I need to ask where your vote is going or can I assume?’ Fiona asked Libby.

Libby’s eyes flitted from screen to screen, skipping over Sofia who remained hidden behind a covered lens. She took in Claire and her unborn baby; Sam, a father of four and husband of two; and his wife Heidi, the woman scorned. Finally, she settled on Jude, the man she had been infatuated with but who no longer recognised any worth in living.

The right thing to do would be to pick someone who wanted a second shot at life, but Jude was not that man. Before her were worthier candidates but who were as flawed as him. She was aware that whatever decision she made, it would weigh heavy on her shoulders. However, try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to condemn him to death for an illness he had no control over. Libby considered that perhaps he was right in his suggestion that by trying to save Jude, she was making up for her failure to save her brother. She couldn’t be sure. All she knew for certain was that hers was the only vote he was likely to receive and she could not let him down.

‘I’m supporting Jude,’ she said finally, and Fiona added his name to her tally.

‘Waste of time,’ grunted Jack.

With Sam also earning one vote, Claire awarded another and Heidi receiving two, Jude’s death was not a foregone conclusion. Everything now depended upon the public. But they had a taste for blood. They had hounded Shabana to her death and sought to turn Sofia’s car into a travelling pyre. The depth of their hatred without knowing the Passengers’

entire stories appalled her. It was unlikely they would develop compassion for a man who had already planned his own death.

‘Cadman,’ said the Hacker suddenly, and the social media expert jerked like he’d been stung by a wasp. ‘Can you tell us where collective public opinion lies?’

‘Of course,’ he replied. His colleague passed him a tablet and he raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at the data scanning across the screen before him.

‘Well, this makes for interesting reading.’

‘Interesting in a good way or a bad way?’ Fiona replied.

‘That depends on whose car you’re in.’

Jack looked to the ceiling as if appealing to the Hacker’s better nature.

‘Could you kindly ask your monkey to stop dancing around the organ and inform us which Passenger the public has chosen? Is it Mr or Mrs Cole?’

‘Now, now, Jack, stop playing hard to get,’ Cadman retorted. ‘If the answer is based only upon the hashtag “save” then the most frequent trending tag across all social media platforms is #saveheidi.’

The result was as expected, but it still felt to Libby as if the rug had been pulled from under her feet. She glanced at Matthew and Fiona who had both vocalised their support for Heidi. She assumed both were pleased, but out of respect to the other Passengers they kept their gratitude restrained.

‘However,’ added Cadman. The jurors turned to face him as he made his way into the centre of the room, leaving a dramatic pause. ‘If we’re adding the “save” hashtag to all the other independent hashtags generated and spread by social media users, then another name tops the list. Two names, in fact. And they amount to almost double the number of votes

#saveHeidi received.’

‘And?’ asked Jack, growing impatient.

‘And,’ Cadman repeated, then swiped his tablet so that one hashtag appeared on a wall opposite the screens, ‘members of the jury and ladies and gentlemen at home, may I present to you #givejudeandlibbyachance.’

Libby’s eyes opened wide like saucers. ‘I’m sorry?’ she asked, perplexed. ‘What did you just say?’

‘#givejudeandlibbyachance,’ Cadman repeated. ‘Your ten-minute conversation with Jude is the only thing the world is talking about right now. They’re not ready for your story to come to an end. They’re desperate to know what happens next. Look.’

The contents of Cadman’s screen filled the rest of the wall; dozens and dozens of messages along with hashtags including ‘#Libby4Jude’

‘#HappyEverAfter4J&L’ and ‘#Savethestarcrossedlovers’ along with memes and GIFs.

‘Has the world gone fucking mad?’ asked a stunned Jack.

‘People always love an underdog,’ Cadman shrugged.

‘And people have always been wrong.’

‘I’m sorry, Jack, but the public has become invested in these two lovebirds. They’ve even spliced their names together so that ‘#judy’ has the

honour of being the fastest spreading hashtag of all time. Social media is very clear about this – their votes go to Jude.’

Libby looked to him; Jude’s bewildered face mirrored hers. Against all odds, there was now a chance he might survive. ‘I don’t understand it,’

Libby continued. ‘People who don’t know us, actually care?’

‘They don’t care about you!’ Jack hissed. ‘You’re as real to them as bloody Santa Claus. People want something to believe in even if it’s made-up rubbish like you and Mr Harrison. Don’t fool yourself into believing anyone inside or outside this room gives a damn about what happens to either of you after these cars collide.’

‘With two votes apiece, it’s a tie between Heidi and Jude,’ said Fiona, resting her tablet on the table top. ‘So what happens now?’

‘One of you must change your vote,’ said the Hacker.

‘And if we don’t?’

‘Then you will be sending them all to their deaths. Who would like to begin?’