Spatter. Splash.
The sound of the mud under my feet echoed in the midnight air as I trudged up the large hill, bound by the chains on my wrists. Dragging me behind him, was the stoic prison guard, his eyes as dull as death.
The chains pulled against my wrists and I cringed as the bands of metal dug into my already-scarred and frail skin. The guard was moving fast, faster than my worn feet could walk, but I didn't dare speak out. The last thing I wanted was for him to drag me back down the hill without getting to see Alfred for the first time in a long, long while.
So I walked quicker, not liking the looks the man was giving me.
I had worked hard for this opportunity, but I knew it was held by a weak string. This guard was risking his life to bring me up here and I would lose this moment for any wrong step.
I thought of what to say once I got to him. There was so many things I could say. First I knew I would apologize, even if what I had done was a thing that couldn't be forgiven with words.
I'm not sure what I would do second. Hopefully once I was there I would know.
"You have five minutes." I saw the prison guard facing me, his eyes piercing mine.
"Yes, sir."
I walked past the guard and walked closer to the large tree that was perched on the top of this hill.
Slowly I approached him, kneeling down in front of him and pointing my eyes at the ground.
"I'm so sorry Alfred."
There was no response, it was only what I expected.
"I-I was a coward. I shouldn't have left you alone. I shouldn't have ran."
The tears started to well in my eyes, no matter how I tried to force them away. I looked back up at Alfred.
The night made it so I could barely see him, I was only able to make out an outline but it still made my tears finally fall and sting the cuts on my face.
"Three minutes." The guard said sternly.
Through my tears, I choked out, "I shouldn't have let the Japanese take me. You were right. It was my one chance to be free, to be with you. It was my one chance to escape the torture of this war. And now,"
I paused in between my whimpers and gazed above him, onto the empty rope hanging from the tree.
Not a drop of blood stained it.
"I regret it every day. But I know I'm just getting what I paid for because," I sobbed, using my hands to wipe away my tears, "Anything would be better than this."
My eyes flickered back down to what was left of him, the pile of dirt. It was the least they did for him. But it was better than throwing his body into the lake.
A/N: I've been wanting to write a story based off the song "The Hanging Tree" for a while now, so here we go! Hope you all enjoyed!