Monica didn’t understand. Why didn’t she feel the blade on the back of her neck? Was she dead already? There hadn’t been any pain like Caroline had promised she’d feel.

The redhead cracked her eyes open. She was still where she was before, head still attached to her neck. What was that loud cracking sound then, if not a blade slicing through her spinal column?

She looked up confusedly. The blade that had wedged in place just prior to severing her neck. Was it some kind of accident? She looked again at the bolt that the worker girl had inserted into the guillotine… There was some writing next to it. - ‘Safety Lock’

Confetti drifted down around her from where it had been launched from party favours, and a large banner unfurled above her.

Elation filled her heart. Had she been the meatgirl picked to get pardoned? She had given up hope when the blade had been triggered. That was it… she was the Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon Draw winner! Monica simply couldn’t believe it. It was more than she could ever have hoped. It was her. It was her! It was her!!!

The entire crew of floor personnel started clapping loudly in joyous celebration of her sparing.
Not everyone was congratulating Monica, the line of Meatgirls behind her all looked downtrodden, Caroline most of all. Monica’s survival meant that all hope of their own survival had just gone out the window. There could only be one draw winner, and now they all knew it wasn’t them.

Caroline’s depression was palpable.