Good Views

‘I dare you to climb right to the top.’ 

 

Chime looks up at the electrical tower and shakes her head. ‘You’ve got to be kidding, right?’ 

 

‘Since when wasn’t this serious?’  

 

Josh has a point.  They’ve all been playing the dumb arse dare game since high school and not once has a gauntlet been thrown down and rejected.  Every dare is valid – that’s the whole point of it.  The crazier the challenge, the more kudos to whoever takes it on.  Still, the stakes are higher than usual…literally.

 

‘I’m passing,’ Chime says.  ‘No way I’m climbing to the top of that thing while pissed.’

 

‘You’re out of passes,’ Max points out.  ‘Three strikes, baby.’

 

Chime groans and falls back onto the wet grass.  The tower looms above her like the skeleton of some monstrous robot.  She fucking hates heights, but they all agreed to the rules long ago.  They have even published them on their social media accounts, where footage of their dares has earned them all a steady income, plus a moderate amount of fame.

 

‘Can’t you think of something else?’

 

‘Nope.  I asked you the same thing last week when you dared me catch a sewer rat, fry it up and eat it.’

 

‘Yeah, but I could die climbing that thing.’

 

‘Do you know how many germs I ingested?  That rat probably carried the black plague.’

 

Max’s big head looms over Chime. She can see right up his nostrils. ‘Think of the views.’

​

She is thinking of them. The money their videos make is divided between them according to the popularity of their respective dares.  The more views on a video, the greater percentage of the profits for the month.  It’s a fair system and she needs the cash to pay childcare bills. Unfortunately, her last dare just didn’t hit the sweet spot and that sexist, arsehole Max keeps applying pressure to her to keep up with the boys.

 

Chime taps her head.  ‘I have a generous mind, fellas. The rat dare was a gift – massive views for you Josh.  And Max, don’t forget the cash you pulled from the fire breathing dare. Thank you very muchly. And now, you serve me this shit?  I mean, climbing an electrical tower?  I wouldn’t call it exciting viewing.’

 

She sits up and stares into the camera that Josh holds. ‘Get behind me, people. This might be long and boring, but I’ll give you a treat at the top. You gotta watch right to the end, it’ll be worth it.’

 

‘Whatcha ganna do?  Take your top off?’ Max asks.

 

‘You wish. Remember, that’s one of the dares I passed up.’

 

‘Yeah, I remember.’

 

‘But still, you keep trying…’

 

‘It’d give us good views.’

 

‘I’ve got respect for myself.’  Chime looks straight at the camera again.  ‘Remember that girls, taking off your clothes is not a dare, it’s a cop out.’

 

Josh takes a long swig of his beer. ‘Set her up, Marley.’

 

Marley puts down the camera and begins to fiddle with the go pro. ‘Good lead in. You be careful up there.’ From now on, it’ll be recording everything she says and does.

​

‘Well, I don’t plan on falling, but there’s any number of things that can go wrong.  An angry bird protecting its nest, a sprinkle of rain making it slippery –‘

 

‘20 000 volts.’

 

‘Shut up, Josh.’

 

Chime stands, her legs already wobbly.  ‘I hate you Max and Josh, you’re an arsehole.  I’m going to spit on you both from the top.’

 

The boys laugh and Chime throws them the bird as she marches to the tower.  ‘Here goes, motherfuckers,’ she growls, noticing that the barbed wire that stops climbers has been torn down.  She should have asked more questions when Josh suggested this location. 

​

Chime is tall and strong and both work in her favour as she climbs the metal rungs. The metal is cold and greasy from the sweat on her hands. She surprises herself, until she makes the mistake of looking down. Panic paralyses her like a heavy dose of anaesthesia and she suddenly empathizes with those people who are conscious during operations. ‘You got this!’ Marley screams.

 

‘You’re losing the views,’ Max yells.

 

‘It’s getting boring,’ Josh jibes.

 

Chime grips hold of her motivation. She needs the money more than anyone. Someone’s gotta provide for her kid.  One hand, one foot, pull up, there, she chants, repeating the mantra as she climbs higher. It’s cold up high and Chime is horrified to feel a stiff breeze. It’s a constant roar around her and she wonders if it’ll interfere with her audio or just add to the atmosphere. Is it possible to be blown off? she thinks, before telling herself to stop being a dick head and concentrate.

 

And then, she is at the top, just under the peak and the whole thing is humming. Chime suddenly remembers the electricity.  Until now, not falling had been her priority, but now being electrocuted is a very real fear. ‘Well, fuck me, I made it,’ she says, clinging to the ladder like a lichen.  She gazes out over the farmland that stretches as far as the eye can see. Down below, Josh, Max and Marley look like lego characters and Chime thinks she must be at least 30m off the ground.

 

‘Now, I promised you something special for sticking with me,’ Chime says, her voice shaking and betraying her terror. She hears Max’s nasal voice in her head, take your top off.  ‘Fuck you, Max,’ she adds.   

 

Chime looks over at what she thinks are conductors, grouped together on the arm of the tower and is hit with inspiration. ‘I’m going to throw my shoe into the conductor. Let’s see what happens.’ Chime is pretty sure this is a bad idea, but it’s preferable to hanging upside down off the ladder, balancing along a cross beam or something equally terrifying.  It’s all she’s got.

​

Getting a shoe off is a life-threatening endeavor and Chime grips to survival with one hand, as she fiddles with her laces with the other. ‘Still sticking with me?’ she cries, half blinded with the tears induced by the icy cold wind.  Holding the shoe, Chime deals with the imbalance in her three points of contact.  Her remaining shoe give her at least an inch in height and her sock is slippery.  ‘I just made things worse for myself.  It’s a bad habit I gotta do something about,’ she says.    

​

Thanks to years of baseball, Chime is a good shot and as she prepares to throw her shoe at the conductor, she doesn’t doubt her aim.  Before she launches her $130 dollar shoe, Chime notices something black, approaching at speed.  ‘What the fuck?’ she mutters as the object hovers just off the arm of the tower.  ‘It’s a drone.  Damn!’ 

 

The Government uses drones as surveillance tools and Chime can’t afford to have the exact location of her person identified.  Without hesitating, she hurls her shoe at it, the laces skimming the conductor as it flies over it. 

 

Chime doesn’t understand that high-voltage electricity can jump through the air if an object gets too close—but she learns the hard way. An electric charge accompanies her shoe, which neatly hits the drone.

 

The explosion lights up the sky like New Years Eve fireworks.  ‘Holy shit!’ Chime screams, as she clings to the ladder.  The tower seems to come alive, vibrating and crackling and she waits to sizzle like a hunk of steak.  Chime is not ready for death, but she’s not surprised by it either.

 

As quickly as it happened, the whole thing is over.  ‘I’m alive!  Take that, mother fucking Government drone!’ she screams.  ‘Hell!  That was so good!  Did you stay with me?  Shit yeah! I delivered!’

 

Climbing down takes Chime a long time.  Her arms and legs have gone to jelly but the views will be guaranteed and this part can be cut from the footage. Once on solid ground, she holds it together long enough to drop into a theatrical bow, before collapsing in a fit of laughter.

‘I just hit the motherload,’ she gasps.   

 

Marley runs over and tackles Chime, rolling her over with puppy like exuberance. ‘That was epic!’ 

Josh walks over and pulls her up. ‘Well played. That was some extreme shit.’ Max shrugs, his face a poorly constructed mask of indifference.

​

‘Oh, come one! I sizzled a fucking government drone, from the top of an electrical tower with a toss of a shoe! You gotta be happy with that?’

 

‘Yeah, ya did.’

 

‘Is that all you’re going to give me?’

 

Max reaches out and pats Chime on the back. ‘You did good – real good.’

 

Chime looks at Josh and grins. ‘Thank you for being a prick. You did me a favour.’

 

‘My pleasure.  Do me a similar?’

 

‘You got it.’

 

Chime looks up at the electrical tower, giddy with euphoria.  She makes a silent vow never to go near one of those dangerous mother fuckers again.  Still, it’s got to be the world’s biggest trophy and it belongs to her. 

 

On the drive out, they pass a paddock with a solitary bull in it.  It’s a massive animal, well equipped for goring. A small voice inside tells Chime that she should stop and walk away while she’s still breathing. But then she sees Josh’s face—waiting for her to throw the next gauntlet.

 

‘Stop the truck,’ Chime orders and Marley slams on the brake.  ‘Get the camera.’

 

‘Got it.’

 

Josh looks at the bull.  ‘You’ve got to be kidding?’

​

‘You asked me to give you a solid.’​

​

‘Yeah, but that thing will kill me.’

 

‘Think of the views, Josh.’