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Who's to Blame: An Unofficial Sequel to A Separate Peace
In the middle of the dark room, there was a spot of light circling a chair that held a boy. No not a boy, but still not a man. He was around 19. Maybe older, maybe younger. But that's not the point. The point is why he was on the chair.
"Do you know why your here Mr. Forrester?" asked a deep husky voice coming from a point in the darkness in front of the chair.
"Vaguely," was his brisk reply. He was such an insecure person, but a certain event left him a hard cold shell of a person. He had lost all contact with his family and went straight to war. He didn't look back at his school days until now. He was in a courtroom. His status as a war veteran wouldn't help him in anyway whatsoever now. He may have only been in the service for a year or so, but the amount of enemies he killed had quickly racked up giving him high status among his fellow soldiers and commanding officers.
"You realize what the charges against you could mean, right?" The voice asked.
"Yes." "Do you wish to have representation?"
"No"
"You wish to represent yourself? Is this correct?"
"Yes."
"Then let the trial commence." The room was suddenly filled with more light. A circle of light surrounded a jury, the judge, an empty witness box, a bailiff, and a door. The door presumably led. to a corridor where witnesses will be led through. The boy, Gene Forrester, looked up towards the judge. He noticed he had kind, energetic eyes. Almost like Finny's. He closed his eyes and flashes of that year passed before his eyes. Him and Finny at the tree. Jumping down. At the beach. Playing Blitzball. Running towards the tree. A branch bouncing. Finny's face. Finny falling. Confusion in his face. A trial by Brinker. A slip. A death. Gene folded his hands and put them on the table he now realized was before him. He took a deep breath to prepare him for what was next.
"We are all here to bring justice to a boy, fallen before his time. Before he could contribute to this world. We must find out who really is to blame for it. To start I will have Mr. James call his first witness." Another light lit, revealing a similar table to Gene's next to him.
"Thank you, your honor," he said, nodding his head in respect. "I shall call my first witness. Mr. Elwin 'Leper' Lepellier to the stand," you could detect a slight Southern accent from the man. The door opened and in walked Leper. Or at least what was left of him. Since that night, Leper's mental health took a nose dive for the worse. He was now escorted by a big burly man and he was sporting a lovely white straight jacket.
"Now it is understood that Mr. Lepellier here is not in the best of health and will only be taken seriously if his story corroborates with that of the other witnesses," the judge told the jury. They nodded their heads in agreement. When Leper was seated Gene could tell that he was really bad. He was shaking all over and muttering to himself the same thing over and over again. You can tell something was wrong with him. Seeing Leper like this sent a icicle through Gene's frozen heart.
"Poor Leper," he mummered under his breath. The man, Mr. James, walked around his table and in front of the witness stand. He picked up a bible from its surface and held it in front of Leper.
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?" he asked the trembling and muttering Leper. His head shook up and down really fast. "Use your words Mr. Lepellier," the judge said in a kind voice. After a few moments of trembling and staring at the book he opened his mouth to speak.
"Yes I solemnly swear. Who wouldn't solemnly swear to something like this. I'll tell you who. CRAZY PEOPLE!" His maniacal laughter filled the courtroom. Yea he definitely has it bad, Gene thought.
"Mr. Lepellier, you have got to calm down before this trial can continue. Can you do that?" Judge said. He didn't respond. He was rocking back and forth in his chair with an occasional laugh escaping his lips. "Mr. Lepellier?" Judge shook his head in disappointment. The boy would be no help in the case against Gene. He would be no help to anyone, at least not in his state of mind. He was still rocking back and forth. This time his muttering was audible and you could here him talking about aliens and mind control. "Take him. He won't help any," Judge told the bailiff and the big man who brought Leper in. They each grabbed an arm and took him in the direction of the door. When they were halfway to the door Leper started to struggle with the men.
"Wait, WAIT! They are all to blame. They all did it! If it wasn't for them then he wouldn't have stormed out and fallen! They all deserve to DIE! They killed him!" Leper screamed out to the court as he was dragged to the door. His outcry could be continued to be heard as he was dragged down the outside corridor.
"Mr. James, move onto your next witness please," Judge said.
"Surely your honor," he said in his southern drawl, "Next I shall call Mr. Brinker Hadley to the stand." He mostly said this for the jury, but Gene had a feeling that it was partially for a dramatic filling before a big conflict. Both were plausible and probably the reason. The door opened and shut. Gene didn't look towards it for fear of what Brinker might have transformed into since their last meeting. He just closed his eyes and waited for the trial to continue.
"Mr. Hadley, please remember that when you are answering questions that you have been sworn in and if you tell a lie it will be prosecuted and we will hold you in contempt."
"Yes your honor. It's understood." Gene risked a look at his friend at the stand. He looked almost the same, but his face was worn and tattered from the war. All soldiers from the war had the same look. It was from seeing the truth of the world after being shielded for so long.
"Now Mr. Hadley, please tell the jury what happened the night that Mr. Phineas Connelly broke his leg again, the same injury that caused his death."
"Well, I've always fancied having a job in law enforcement. More specifically a lawyer or a judge. So I decided to make a little practice game using a real 'case'. I heard all the rumors going around school and I knew the truth, but nobody else did other than me, Finny and Gene. Or at least that's what I thought. I found out Leper knew too. So I got a bunch of my friends to agree to it and we set up a courtroom. We brought Finny and Gene down during the night and started the trial. About halfway through we brought Leper down because we found out where he was. He was going to be our witness because he was at the tree. Afterwards Finny got real emotional and stormed out. We could hear his steps and then we heard his fall. And that was it." He leaned back in his chair as he finished his story.
"Did anybody run after him before he fell?"
"I don't believe so."
"You don't believe so? Elaborate that for us please," Mr. James asked.
"Well at the time I was in such a state of shock that I didn't bother to notice that detail," he replied confidently.
"Did anybody run after him after you all heard him fall?"
"Well yea because what kinda friend hears that and doesn't go and check on him?"
"Not a very good one. Next question Mr. James," Judge said boredly. Gene glanced at the name plate that resided on the judge's stand. Carved into the gold in a neat cursive was Hon. J. Connelly. Connelly? Gene thought, That's Finny's dad. Why's he looking so bored? Shouldn't he be excited about finding the truth of who's responsible for his son's death?
Well maybe that's where Finny's attitude comes from. A child who feels that they aren't shown enough love and caring will try and find it in others. Finny, being away at a boarding school most of the year, used his outgoing personality to find it in his friends at school. That could be why he isn't being very emotional during this trial. Did anyone care for Finny? Besides those at school? Did his mother care? Was she even here?
Gene sat up straight in his seat and tried to look around the mostly dark room. You couldn't see much except the spots with the lights on them.
"So, Mr. Hadley, who do you think is responsible?" Mr. James continued on.
"Who do I think is responsible?" he asked. A nod from Mr. James let him know that he could continue. "Oh well, I think that Gene's at fault." The jury's eyes all swung to look at Gene who was still trying to see beyond the darkness.
"And why would that be?" The eyes swung back over to the witness stand awaiting the next answer, as if it would make or break the case.
"I know all the details on this matter," Brinker smirked. Wait, since when did Brinker start being so smug?, Gene thought. Thinking this wasn't the time or place, Gene refocused his thoughts on the trial at hand.
"How?" It was a simple question, but it was also very important. If Brinker answered correctly then he was in the clear and Gene would take the full brunt of the charges. If he answered wrongly then he and Gene would be sharing a cell in some high security jail somewhere. Gene may have been a killing machine during the war, but he still would not do good in jail even with his new cold exterior.
"Excuse me?" Brinker's smugness was slipping. This was not good for him. If he couldn't keep his cool then he was doomed.
"How do you know all the details on this matter?" he repeated the question nonchalantly.
"Well isn't it obvious?" He tried regaining his smug attitude by tipping his chair backwards, but then he realized that the chair was attached and his movement looked so weird. He sat straight in his chair again and hoped nobody saw his awkward move.
"What's obvious Mr. Hadley?"
"Well that I know everything that goes on in that school therefore I know exactly what happened at that tree," he said. Mr. James went to his table and looked through a few papers quickly then leaned into the darkness behind the table. A faint whisper reached Gene's ear. Wonder who he's talking to, he thought.
"Mr. James," Judge said in a warning tone, "You know that you're only supposed to adress the people in the lighted areas."
"Yes of course your honor. Must've slipped my mind. Sorry, won't happen again."
"It better not or else I'll have no choice, but to hold you in contempt," he said. What is with these people. I know I haven't been in court before, but surely this isn't how it's supposed to go, Gene thought.
"Okeydokey then, onto the next question. Mr. Hadley, how do you know everything that happened at the tree?"
"Is this a joke?" There he goes again, the mask slipping and the false sense of confidence leaving him. He's making small mistakes that will eventually come back and bite him.
"Don't believe it is Mr. Hadley," Mr. James said in his calm southern voice. Maybe it was more calming to Gene because it was familiar.
"Just answer the question!" Judge snapped. Woah! Mood swings are not good in a person deciding whether or not I'm going to jail.
"OK! I will. As I said before I know everything that goes on in that school."
"Were you actually there?" Mr. James walked up to the stand again.
"Hm?" Brinker was losing this trial and he was starting to realize it now. At least Gene wouldn't be doing his time alone.
"Were you there at the tree when the incident occurred?" Mr. James walked and stood next to the jurors stand.
"I didn't need to be there to know what exactly happened," he smirked and leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest. He may look like he had everything under control, but it was slowly slipping away.
"You hear him? He doesn't need to be at the scene of the incident during the time that the crime was committed in order to know the facts. Now I might not be a detective, but if you weren't at the scene and you didn't see it happen then how in this world would you know everything?" he addressed the jurors with this question.
"Don't answer that," Judge said before somebody could, "Mr. James here can only ask questions to the current witness."
"Keep in mind what he has said about how he knows everthing without being there," Mr. James walked towards the center of the court, "Your honor I am done with this witness." The bailiff who had escorted Leper out early had come back in the room unnoticed by Gene. He now escorted Brinker, more kindly, off the witness stand and out of the courtroom. Gene watched as Brinker stalked out of the room. He waited in silence for the next witness to be called and brought in.
"Your next witness, Mr. James," Judge said. He sounded bored again.
"Dr. Stanpole is up next your honor," and sure enough the good doctor came through the door next. He walked with a cane these days. Soon after Finny's death, he retired from the school and started working in an asylum. One of the "pyschos" flipped on him one day and it ended with him having the need of the cane for the rest of his days. Gene almost felt bad for him. Almost. A part of Gene still blamed him for botching the surgery that was supposed to be routine.
"Good day doctor," Mr. James greeted as Dr. Stanpole sat down in the witness stand. Dr. Stanpole nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"So am I correct in understanding that you were the one to perform the surgery to set Mr. Connely's leg?" Instead of verbally answering the question, the doctor nodded his head.
"For the record, please note that Dr. Stanpole has nodded his head in agreement to the previously asked question. Doctor, for future reference you must answer the given question with an appropriate verbal response or you will be removed from the courtroom. Is this understood sir?" Mr. James said. Dr. Stanpole started to nod, but stopped and answered.
"It's understood."
"Good. Now will you please explain to the court the what you did?"
"Well one of the students had retrieved me after Phineas had fallen. I had him brought to the infirmary so I could examine the damage," he started.
"What was the damage Doctor?"
"Well my assessment was that it was a clean break and it was easily fixable. So I had decided to fix it myself. It was such a simple break. I should've been able to fix it."
"Why didn't you?" It was a good question, but it hit the doctor in a sensitive spot. Normaly the doctor made minimal mistakes. He'd made mistakes before Finny's accident, but ever since he'd been making mistakes left or right. That little botched surgery really messed up his mental game. He couldn't do anything without thinking of Finny's unconscious face during the surgery. Dr. Stanpole had been thinking of that question since it happened.
"It happened so fast. I didn't know it had happened until his heart stopped. I was concentrating hard on fixing the bone. When I moved the bone to set it, some marrow must have escaped. It traveled straight to his heart and stopped it."
"If you hadn't operated on him yourself and sent him to the hospital, do you think he would still be alive?" Mr. James asked.
"It's quite possible, but then again it's quite possible that he would've died anyway."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well sometimes there is no way of knowing if the marrow will leave the bone and once its out you really can't stop its path unless you cut off the vein, but that's a very invasive procedure. So the hospitals doctors might not have been able to save him either way." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply.
"Do you believe that you made a wrong judgement call?"
"At the time, keeping Phineas in the infirmary didn't seem like a wrong descision because of the clean break, but looking back on it I realize that I should've sent him to a real medical facility."
"Ok. Your honor, I rest." Mr. James went back to his table and sat down.
"Very well then. Jurors, you will be sent to a separate room and will discuss the case. You will come to an anonymous decision and then we will give out sentences. You are dismissed," Judge turned to face Gene, "You will be brought out into the corridor and wait for the jury to come to a descision."
The jurors and Gene left. The jurors left through a door hidden in the darkness of the courtroom and Gene left through the same one that Leper and Brinker used. Dr. Stanpole followed him out. Gene sat down on a hard bench and looked around the corridor. There were so many people. Gene felt left out. All of them were in suits. None of them were familiar.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. While waiting to hear his sentence, various questions ran through Gene's mind. Why didn't he get the chance to ask questions? Why didn't he get the chance to call his own witnesses? Why didn't he get the chance to tell his side of the story? This was unfair. Life, or in this case death, is unfair, a voice in Gene's head said. It sounded strangely like Finny. Maybe not so strange since Gene was at his murder trial.
The clock tick-tocked a few thousand more times, or so it felt to Gene, and the bailiff came out of the door and beckoned for Gene to follow. He did so without a word and reclaimed his seat from earlier. The room had changed. Next to Gene's seat were three more. The room was lit better, besides the spotlights you could now see through the darkness a little better. It was dimly lit, but better before.
Gene heard dry heaves which he thought to be sobs. He looked around and behind Mr. James' seat was a lady sobbing into a handkerchief. He assumed that this was Finny's mother, the judge's wife. She looked very much like what Finny would've looked like as a woman. Her eyes, now shining with tears, were the exact shade as his. Her hair was the exact shade as well. She was pretty and Gene felt sorry that she had to lose her son.
Gene sat in his seat waiting for the judge and jury to enter the courtroom. As he did so the door that he entered in swung open. In came Leper, now in a yellow straight jacket which was probably stronger than the other one, Brinker, who was guiding Leper, and Dr. Stanpole. The bailiff who had told Gene to come back, in pointed at the three seats next to Gene. They made their way over to him and seated themselves. Dr. Stanpole sat directly next to Gene. He made a rush for it just in case Brinker or Gene decided to start something with the other.
"All rise," stated the bailiff. The hidden door must've opened because out of the dim light you could make out thirteen figures. The Judge walked out of the dim light first and walked to his stand. The jurors did the same.
"You may be seated," Judge said as he sat down. Everywhere in the room you heard shuffling from the people, seen and unseen, sitting down.
"Will the foreman of the jury please rise and read the verdict," he stated with his voice sounding more amused than it was before.
"We, the people of the jury find the defendant, Gene Forrester guilty on the charge of murder in the second degree. We also find Brinker Hadley and Elwin Lepellier guilty on the charge of murder in the second degree. Dr. Stanpole was found innocent of this charge. There will be a separate trial, if this is the wish of the parents, for a suit against the doctor for malpractise."
"We thank the jury for their services. They may be dismissed," he waited until they all exited before continuing. "Gene Forrester please stand," he did so. "You are to serve fifteen years in prison. No chance of parole is available for you. You may sit and Brinker Hadely may stand next," they did as they were told. "You are to serve a length of three years in prison with a chance of parole after the second year. You may sit. Elwin Lepellier you are to serve time in The Danver's State Lunatic Hospital until your doctors see it fit for you to return to the outside world. You are all finished here and may leave."
The trial was over. Sentences were handed out. Gene got the worse of it. Or did Leper? What's worse? A prison or a mental facility? said Finny's voice inside of Gene's head.
Gene's eyes fluttered open and all it saw was dark. The cold, cold dark of prison. Or is this my room? Was that whole trial just a dream or did that really happen? Then all the memories came flooding back to him. He got up off his bed and walked across the cold floor until his outstretched arms touched metal, cold metal.
It was true. All of it was. And there was nothing Gene could do about. He had made a split-second decision and now he must suffer the consequences. All the world has to pay for their actions and the same holds true for Gene. What goes around comes around.
THE END
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