Timothy D. Tucker
----------Judgement----------
For whom the bell tolls...
The abrasive fabric of the bag lashed the face of Miriam Kent as she unwillingly breathed in the overly ripe stench of rotting fruit. The bag mercifully obscured her face as she was led along by thick chains, clinging to her arms and torso like metal snakes. Around her, she was pelted upon her naked body with stones, food, and any other projectiles the rabid spectators could get their hands on.
Miriam fought back tears of pain and humiliation. Chants of damnation and hostility spewed from the once peaceful residents of Silent Hill, from her family, friends, the people she loved and cared about, all beckoning her towards death.
She felt her bare feet crack and bleed as she was led up stairs made of splintered wood. An eruption of cheers emanated from the assembly. They hissed and taunted her frail body, cursed her very name, and mocked her muffled cries of anguish. Strong hands clasped her by the head and slowly removed the foul smelling sack from her face, and Miriam felt her heart stop at the sight of the gallows, it's foreboding shape a skeletal mass of pan...and death.
"Cleanse her soul!! She must repent for her sins!!"
"Traitorous dog!! DIE!!"
"It's the witch!! Look! It's the witch!!"
The last remnants of daylight burnt in the early evening sky, casting the scene in a rich yellowish haze. Behind them, Toluca Lake sparkled with the coming dusk. A strong gale from the lake wisped towards the congregation, wrapping Miriam's body in an invisible veil of serenity. The branches of the early Autumn trees stretched eerily towards the burnt sky like bony fingers seeking salvation, and Miriam wondered if they were actually reaching for something, just as she was, only to find the sky uncaring and without feeling.
"Gaze now upon this wretched child of the Devil! She has betrayed us all, now, she must repent!!" Another storm of applause erupted from the towns people. They continued to pelt Miriam with debris, their black hearts showing beneath their white clothing.
She could fight the tears no more, and they poured from her eyes in massive torrents of anguish. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!!? I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!"
The hive mind of the towns people lashed out at her again in a hail of insults and abuse. A large stone nearly avoided crushing her skull as her executioners hastily undid the chains that bound her.
"Please, do not do this! I have done nothing wrong!" Miriam hopelessly pleaded with her executioners, desperately trying to prolong her life.
"The traitorous liar denies her guilt!?"
No, please...
"KILL THE WITCH!! KILL THE WITCH!!"
"Be still child. You will only make this more difficult." One of her executioners said, slowly bringing the worn noose around her head like a morbid halo. The thick rope slid uncomfortably around her slender neck, tightening to the point of strangulation.
"IF SHE WILL NOT TURN TO GOD'S LIGHT THAN MAY HER BE FORCED TO BY DEATHS SYCTHE!!"
Another wave of thunderous ovation burst from the crowd. Miriam was positioned above a trap door set atop the gallows. Her feet left bloody prints as she stood there, motionless like stone. The noise of the crowd died to a hushed whisper, then to complete silence as they watched Miriam in her final moments.
"Does the condemned have any final words?"
Miriam stood speechless. The golden light cast strange shadows about the towns people still frames, their faces stoically waiting for her hanging.
"Does the condemned have any final words?" The voice repeated.
The light began to die more rapidly from the gruesome scene. Hundreds of eyes twinkled in the semi darkness like fire flies.
"Very well then."
Ding...dong...ding...dong...
The ceremonial bell began to bleat its melancholic chord as The Reverend began to read Miriam's Last Rites.
"We gather here, on the twenty first day of August, to bear witness to the execution of one, Miriam Kent. May her soul find respite in the grace of God and may He forgive her of the traitorous acts of which she has damned our haven of Silent Hill. Go with God child, let Him show you the way of the truly righteous...Amen."
"Amen."
Darkness covered the land in it's unholy curtain, and the spontaneous lighting of torches flared from the on lookers. Suddenly, the trap door beneath her feet sprang open. Miriam managed to utter a cry of surprise as she felt herself falling, the dark abyss of the ground rushing to meet her----------
----------CRACKKKKK!!!
Silenced reigned. The only sounds were the gentle swaying of the rope, creaking back and fourth from under the dead girls weight, and the limp swaying of the trees, their ghastly branches sending a bone rattling crescendo through the unforgiving sky.
THE END