Inspired by the song 'What a Shame' by Shinedown. A Holiday fic that takes a different turn than others... Just to be clear, all the TD characters are mostly in their early or mid twenties here.
Today-December 26th
Duncan chuckled softly to himself as two security guards, both gruff and tired from the long work hours, led him down a hallway that smelled of panic and sweat. He felt nothing, a heavy boulder inside him blocked all emotions except for emptiness. When he looked at them, the guards would advert their eyes for fear of guilt entering them. They were about to send a kid, barely a few years above the legal age of adult, to his death. Nobody, not even these grizzled veterans, wanted that on their conscious. Duncan didn't blame them. He chuckled once more. How strange it had been to spend Christmas day in a prison cell.
Looking back on it all, memories entered his mind. They seemed to slow down time outside of his body, making the walk down the hallway stretch on into a much longer period.
One Year Ago-December 24th
"Gah...why do you force me to come to these things?"Duncan scratched at his neck, pulling at the bow tie that threatened to choke him with it's starchiness.
"Stop being such a baby!"Gwen playfully mocked him, reaching over and straightening out the bow tie so it wouldn't be so tight around him."It's Christmas eve...you love to party."
"Yeah, but not with these snobs."Duncan lowered his voice as they entered a room full of noise and elegance. Sharp-dressed men and women in grand dresses walked about, either chatting about their rich lives or enjoying the appetizing finger foods. He sighed."Why does Courtney insist on inviting us to these stupid parties? I stand out like a sore thumb..."He scowled at people who were caught staring too long at his green mohawk. They quickly turned away out of fear or indignity.
He wore a crisp black tuxedo, very uncomfortable to him as he was not used to such confining clothes. Gwen walked beside him, an equally coal-black dress flowed over her slender frame, beautifully contrasted to her pale skin and teal hair."You know Courtney's trying to repair our friendships...she just started talking to me again."Gwen replied.
"And she just stopped sending me death threats."Duncan added.
"I don't know if you're kidding me...or being serious."Gwen hooked her arm around Duncan's.
The woman of conversation cheerfully strided over to them, dragging a bored Noah behind her."Glad you could make it!"Courtney smiled, hugging Gwen and giving Duncan a half-hearted wave."Noah, say hi."She commanded her date. He held up a hand to give a wave weaker than Courtney's to Duncan's."Hey you two..."He mumbled.
A brief conversation followed suit, and Duncan and Noah managed to slip away, leaving their female counterparts to talk by themselves. Duncan slouched against the back wall, Noah beside him."Dude...you really know how to pick 'em."Duncan commented him, nudging his elbow into his ribs."I'm just saying...you picked her first."Noah replied, grinning slightly. Duncan pulled out a lighter and cigarette from his pocket."You don't mind if I...?"He asked Noah.
Noah shrugged."Go ahead, I hate this party as much you do. Maybe the fumes will frighten these snobs off."
Duncan smirked at their agreement, lighting up his cigarette, breathing in and puffing out a smooth ring of smoke. The nearby people who was in their vicinity quickly scooted away."How's it going with Princess?"Duncan asked after a few minutes of relaxed silence.
Another signature shrug from the bookworm."She's...pretty nice. To me at least. She only threatens to sue me thrice a day now, and..."He raised an eyebrow, his sarcastic smirk growing slightly."She's lightning under the sheets."
The Punk nearly swallowed his cigarette, choking it out."Y-you've done it with her?"
Noah laughed."Naw...just pulling your leg. She's waiting until marriage, how very Christian of her. She'll only go as far as kissing and cuddling me for right now."
Duncan laughed along with him, returning to his cigarette."I'm guessing you've done it with Gwen?"He added. Duncan grinned mischievously and nodded.
Meanwhile on the side of the fairer sex, Courtney introduced Gwen to her friends she had made in the legal business. A man with pale skin equalled to hers, a lanky build with piercing eyes and slicked back hair was the last to be met."Gwen,"Courtney grabbed the Goth's hand and held it out to the man."This is Lyle Gavin, another Attorney that works at my law firm."
Lyle bowed, kissing Gwen's hand with cold, thin lips."The pleasure is all mine, MizGwen."He said, pronouncing 'miss' with a drawled out accent that replaced the s's with a zzz sound. He stood up, his gaze meeting hers. Gwen couldn't quite explain it...but inside those eyes was something...inhuman. Raving, wanting her for himself...or itself. She forced a grin and ignored the goosebumps crawling down her spine.
One Year Ago-December 25th
Just past midnight on the silent night known for it's miracles. After the party, most had retired to a nearby hotel for the night. Inside their own hotel room, Gwen moved closer to Duncan, feeling his body heat, the beat of their hearts matching. Like one of those strange things happening during sleep, Gwen suddenly felt a scratchy dryness in her throat. She slowly crept out of the bed as not to wake Duncan, putting on a robe. She remembered there being a water fountain just across the hall. She tip-toed through the darkness, exiting the room and entering the even darker hall, feeling along the wall for the fountain that would quench her. Instead, her hands touched human skin, her fingers assessing the shapes and features of a face. Cold, hard hands gripped her own, wrenching her against the wall forcefully.
One hand went over her mouth, muffling her cries. Her eyes adjusted to the shadows, she guessed it was panic-fueled adrenaline, revealing her assailant. Lyle Gavin grinned maliciously down at her."Now c'mon Miz Gwen..."He whispered in her ear."I just want a little something-something..."He moved his body closer to hers, the goosebumps from earlier covering her.
Her knee went up instantaneously, making him squeal in pain as it made contact with his crotch. His grip loosened, but not enough. She rushed back to her room to get Duncan, but Lyle wouldn't let go. He dragged her back, a glint shimmering in the blackness."You wanna see your lover so bad?"His voice a tad higher than it should be, but still threatening."Here...let's give him something of yours he doesn't usually see..."
The shimmer whizzed through the air, a slicing then splattering sound followed, and Gwen fell to the floor with a heavy thud.
Duncan mumbled in his sleep, feeling around his bed for Gwen. Nobody met him. He got out of bed in his boxers in search for Gwen, going outside their hotel room. His bare feet felt something warm and liquid on the ground. His night vision much better, he unleashed a gutteral roar from the depths of human instinct at what greeted him. Lyle Gavin stood over Gwen's dead body, with a butterfly knife in hand, blooding pouring from her throat."Oops..."Lyle grinned, letting out a cackle. Duncan tackled him, his much more muscled form crushing Lyle against the force. They both struggled in the gloom, grunts and sounds of fists hitting filled the whole hotel.
The lights came on, revealing a half naked Duncan beating a barely conscious Lyle. The crowd gathered didn't know what to look at, The one sided fight or Gwen's lifeless form. Courtney shouted an order, and they were pulled apart, two men trying with all their might to restrict the enfuriated Duncan. Lyle stood back up to his feet shakily, pointing at Duncan with eyes wide."He...he killed Miz Gwen!"
Today-One month ago, November 15th
He had waited nearly an entire year for his trial. That fateful night...changed everything, crumpled it up, and sent it straight to hell. During the fight, Lyle slipped the damning evidence, the butterfly knife, into Duncan's hands. Trying to protest this, he was still dragged away by the police.
Now, Duncan sat in a courtroom, the accusing faces of the gathered jury glared at him. He was in a prisoner's orange jumpsuit, his hands cuffed. Courtney sat beside him, representing him as his defense in the trial. Across from them, Lyle Gavin acted as the Prosecution, giving them no signs of emotion except for contempt. During the months leading up to the trial, Lyle Gavin had denied any claims of being the murderer.
Today-One month ago, November 14th
"Your trial is tomorrow..."Courtney and Duncan spoke to each other across a glass wall. He only nodded in reply."Look, I'll try the best I can to prove your innocence..."She continued."I know you would never do anything to hurt Gwen, let alone KILL her, but the evidence..."She stopped to take a breath."The evidence and witness testimonies are going to make this case hard. They all state you are the killer..."
"Gavin's the killer."Duncan replied tiredly.
"I know. You've said that every time we've spoken..."
"The little prick's a killer."
"But the proof of that-"
"He's the killer. If you don't believe me, just quit the case."
Courtney remained silent, gazing down at the floor as if something interesting was down there now. She slowly brought her eyes back up to look at Duncan. His face stitched into a look of sadness and rage. A tiny piece of sharpened metal flicked against the tender throat of a lover could shatter a man and his entire world.
"I wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral..."Duncan raised his voice, alerting the guards stationed to keep an eye on him."I had to wait in a cold cell. I didn't even get to see her one last time before she took the dirt nap..."
Duncan smashed his head against the glass out of misery."My family won't even speak to me. Gwen's family is trying their best to work with Gavin, to prove I killed her..."He whispered. Courtney had never seen him so broken before. The guards now grabbed him, pulling him back to his cell.
"I know you didn't kill her..."She said under her breath.
Today-One month ago, November 15th
Hours into the trial, Lyle Gavin, the prosecuting attorney, was to be one of the witnesses next. He sat in the witness box next to the Judge."People of the jury..."He motioned as the group."Your honor..."his hand went to the judge."I can say without a doubt this man..."A pointing finger at Duncan."Killed dear Miz Gwen. May I proceed with my testimony?"
"You may."The judge said.
Lyle coughed to clear his throat."It was right after our little party...we all had retired to our quarters afterwards. Just after the stroke of midnight, I had left my room to obtain a glass of water from the nearby fountain. I was quite parched and all that. While in the gloom of the dark halls, I heard a sound most unsettling. I followed it, and lo and behold my horror...that brute had slit Gwen's throat."
"Objection! The knife in question had fingerprints on it! They could've been yours."Courtney shouted.
"Tsk, tsk, Miz Courtney. Haven't you read the case file yet? The fingerprints matched Mister Duncan's..."Lyle laughed."And if you don't quite remember...I wore gloves that evening. My prints wouldn't even show up at the crime scene."
Silenced, she sat back down.
"Now if I may continue...Once Mister Duncan had seen me perform his dark deed, he leapt at me, trying to be rid of any witness. Luckily, most of the ruckus woke up the other guests on our floor."
"Why would Duncan even want to kill Gwen? I've known the two for nearly ten years, ever since Total Drama, and their relationship seemed very fine...in fact, loving!"
Lyle grinned at her, shrugging."Who knows what mad thoughts go through a killer's mind right before the murder? This man could very well be plotting yours, mine, or even the entire jury's death right now!"
"Nope."Duncan shook his head."Just yours, Gavin."
Courtney elbowed him sharply in the ribs."Don't joke about things like that!"
He stared at her blankly."I'm not."
Today-December 26th
Duncan continued down the hall, reaching the end. One guard opened the door while the other shoved him out. What greeted him was cold winter weather and a wooden, upside L with a rope noose hanging from it. He slowly approached it, two people standing side by side in front of his execution ground. The Warden of the jail, to make sure he was hung properly, and a Priest, to save his damned soul.
Today-One month ago, November 15th
The Judge sighed, rubbing his temples. After many more extensive hours in the trial, it seemed the case was coming to a close.
"Duncan..."Courtney whispered to the mohawk'ed man."No matter what happens..."
He stopped her by holding up his shackled hands."I'll be fine."He replied.
"In review of this trial, the evidence, and the Jury's decision..."The Judge continued raising his gavel into the air, his next words about to decide a man's fate."We hereby find you, Duncan Faust, guilty of murder in the first degree, and the attempted murder of Lyle Gavin."
He wasn't surprised. Duncan nodded.
"Even though Canada hasn't done this since 1962...you are sentenced to the death penalty, hanging. You have one month until your execution."
The Judge slammed the gavel onto his desk, a sound echoing through the world.
After the trial, Duncan and Courtney met once again in the window wall situation."I'm...I'm sorry."She sputtered out, trying to hold back tears.
"I admit I'm a sinner...but I ain't no saint either."Duncan said. He shrugged."It's just the way things are...I was denied my wings."
Today-December 26th
The Priest read to him his last rites. Once he was finished, the guards lead him to the stand underneath the rope. They tied the noose around his neck and quickly backed away, trying to wipe the guilty images from their minds."Any last words?"The Priest asked him.
"What a Shame."Duncan replied. Taking this as a dead man's folly words, the Warden pulled a switch beside the stage, the floor beneath Duncan's feet dissapearing and his body dropping. The noose caught tight around his throat, slowly suffocating him. His eyesight went blurry, then just dissapeared all together. His breath gaspy until that ceased as well. His mind was dissipating into darkness.
Slowly, ever so slowly, a trickle of light appeared in front of him. He grinned through the haze."Hey Gwen, nice to see ya again..."
Faust...I just came up with that at the last minute for Duncan's last name.
Look it up, it's true! Canada hasn't used the death penalty since 1962. I just did it for the story.
Hope you enjoyed it...I feel sad now.