Essential

The axe swishes through the air and lands in Zendaya's chest with a satisfying thunk. Fault lines spider web out from the blade, and the next second her body breaks apart like a chocolate Easter bunny. I pick up the hollow fragments and toss them into the melting pot. The late September sun scorches the back of my neck. They say this summer's gonna be one for the record books. Highest temperatures. Highest unemployment. Highest mortality rate...