A horrified silence followed the video footage of the attack.
"Islanders, you will now be asked to vote on a punishment for each of the perpetrators, the options are as follows: Death via a public hanging, banishment from the islands, life imprisonment within the confines of the campus with all privileges withdrawn or counselling. Please fill in the form handed to you and place it in the box which shall be passed round". Ed announced.
The Islanders hastily scribbled on the form for most of them it was a decision that came from the heart and was based upon not only their gut reaction after witnessing the attack on screen but also upon what punishment they feared most themselves.
They began to whisper amongst themselves as the box was emptied and the votes counted up. Finally after what seemed an eternity Ed banged his first upon the table signalling that the votes had been counted and he was ready to announce the results.
The Islanders fell silent once more as they awaited the outcome of the public vote.
"The vote has been cast and the results are as follows; 94 have voted for either a public hanging or banishment as the punishment for all four Elite members on trial here today". Ed began his voice clear and authoritative.
"For Choy 52 of you have voted that he be banished from the Islands, for Hobson 68 of you have voted that he also be banished, for Layth an overwhelming 82 of votes suggest that the appropriate punishment for him too is banishment. However 47 of you have voted that Jeremy shod be subjected to death via a public hanging. A further 47 have voted that he be banished from the Islands. I will leave it up to our jury members to decide his fate".
"Will each of you in turn please rise and tell everyone your decision". Ed concluded.
Elisa was first to stand, the crowd some of whom had experienced her spoilt tantrums and attention seeking diva-like behaviour first hand began to jeer and shout abuse, in her usual superior tone she spoke over the ruckus and haughtily informed everyone that if it were up to her to make the decision Jeremy would be hung.
Ish stood up next and clearly told everybody that she believed that in order to be fair Jeremy's punishment should match that given to the other rapist, Choy and that Jeremy should be banished from the Islands.
Livia stood up and turning to face the Islanders crowded into the auditorium she waited until they were completely quiet before she spoke. "I believe that rapists should be hung for everybody to witness as an example to all of us of how criminals on this island will be punished".
Then it is Dan's turn. Reluctantly he rose from his seat to address the people gathered in the auditorium. The anger in his voice is plain to all of those present as he begins to speak.
"To witness a rape and the brutal beating of an innocent victim through the eyes of a coward was horrific, but to know that we are letting these criminals, who are criminals of the worst kind, go on living possibly to rape and potentially murder another girl is in my belief unthinkably unjust. In my opinion, although it is no longer relevant, all four, including Jeremy should be hung".
Dayne stands up coughing nervously before he casts his vote. "The Elite have given me a safe place to sleep, food to eat and a purpose, to take this away would be the worst punishment I could ever imagine. I believe that Jeremy should be thrown out of the Elite and banished from the Islands".
As Dayne retakes his seat Brie stands. "I believe that all life is sacred and nobody should the power to decide if another's life should be taken from them as punishment no matter how terrible the crime. I am going to vote that Jeremy be banished".
"Chase, you have the deciding vote". Ed informs them all. "Please think carefully before making your decision".
Chase nods in response before standing, signally that he has already reached his decision.
"I think to live knowing what they have done to this girl, that they have raped her, beaten her, broken her and left her so brain damaged that she would never move, talk or see even if she were to awake from the coma they put her in will be punishment enough. They will have to live with the knowledge that when we switch off the machines sustaining their victims' life they will become murders. In my opinion the worst punishment is to try to live their lives out in a new and alien country with the weight of their crimes upon their conscience, therefore I am going to vote that Jeremy be banished from the Islands".
There is a crash as Dan's chair tips over and he staggers blindly, one hand over his mouth to stifle the angry sobs rising in the back of his throat from the auditorium in disbelief.
Ed rises from his chair for the final time and speaks to all of those present. "From this moment onwards Jeremy, Choy, Hobson and Layth are banished from the Islands and are never to return, if they do I can assure you that they will be killed upon sight. Immediately following this trial they will board a small boat with enough fuel and supplies to get them to the mainland. Thank you all for attending and for your input on this most tragic of events".
Ed turns and leaves the auditorium via the back entrance, the rest of the Elite members file out after him leaving the public to disperse.
Dan looks up as Chase bursts through the door to their room, before Chase has a chance to open his mouth Dan starts yelling at him. "When were you going to tell me? Were you just going to kill her and hope I didn't notice?"
Chase reaches out to put his hand upon Dan's shoulder; Dan angrily pushes him away before he even touches him. "At least let me explain". He pauses, waiting for Dan to answer back instead Dan opens one of the drawers and starts stuffing clothes into a holdall lying on his bed.
"She's as good as dead anyway, didn't you listen to what I said in there? The scan I carried out earlier today showed massive brain damage, the kind people don't get better from, do you understand what I'm saying?" Chase tells Dan impatiently.
"But she's not dead is she? If there's even a chance she could wake up you shouldn't be turning off those machines! 'We' did this to her the whole lot of us, everybody in this stinking place is responsible for what happened, don't you get it? The Elite let her down the moment 'we' let that lunatic Choy onto the streets, the moment Ed teamed him up with someone as volatile as Jeremy, 'we' put every person on this Island at risk and you're not even willing to take responsibility one girl? She is the only innocent victim here!" Dan responds angrily.
"'We've' done the best we can for her Dan. Our knowledge, our equipment, our supplies are limited. We can't waste them on someone who is this badly injured, 'we' have to conserve them, what if it one of us have an accident, if it's you, me, Brie or one of the kids Travis or Jeneh or somebody, what happens then do 'we' say sorry we're going to let you die because we used everything we had to keep this girl alive, someone who even if they did wake up would be a vegetable and need constant care for the rest of her life. Is that how you want it to be?" Chase demands.
"That's just it though isn't it? She's not one of 'us', so she doesn't matter, you, Ed or whoever gets to decide that our precious resources are more important than her life! Suddenly it's all about becoming a superpower, about controlling people. 'We' aren't better than anybody else, just because you're Elite doesn't give you the right to play god". Dan screams at him as he zips up the holdall and storms out of the room.
"Leaving isn't going to change anything, it's just running away, we have a chance to play a major part in society, to influence people, to help them and you're just going to throw that away like it doesn't count for anything?" Chase shouts after him.
"Too right, I am. I don't want to be part of this crp any more". Dan mutters more to himself than anyone else as he rushes down the stairs and out of the building that he had made his home.
Brie was sitting waiting for him in a chair next to the girl's bed when Dan burst into her infirmary room a couple of minutes later.
"What are you doing here?" Dan asked him.
"I knew if I sat here long enough you'd show up". Brie replied.
"I came to say good bye". Dan responded quietly as he sat gingerly on the edge of the unconscious girl's hospital bed.
"I figured as much. Before you rush into anything will you listen to what I have to say?" Brie asked.
"I guess, what harm is listening to one more sermon about how great the Elite is going to do?" Dan answered begrudgenly.
"It's not about the Elite, it's about me, ok?" Brie said. Dan shrugged in response.
"My sister had variant CJD, she died of it. Do you know what that is?"
"Mad cow's disease".
"Yeah the human form. Nobody was sure what was wrong with her not until after she died. It took over two years, it was slow and agonising for us all, a living hell for her she lost all her dignity, all her control". Brie explained sadly.
"What's the point Brie; I don't have all day to sit around listening to some sob story". Dan replied sarcastically.
"The point is when she died, she couldn't breathe on her own, couldn't hear or see, couldn't move. We had to do everything for her, feed her, wash her, change her diapers like she was a baby again. You really want to inflict that upon this girl?
She could live for years, be uncomfortable, in pain and not be able to tell anybody, not feel, see or hear what's going on around her, do you have any idea how terrifying that would be?
The last thing she remembers if she wakes up, if she remembers anything at all, will be those animals attacking her". Brie argued passionately.
"Just so I understand this, your telling me it would be better to let her die? Jesus, everybody round here, even you, wants to play god these days…." Dan stormed.
"If it was me, if 'she' was my sister, if I'd have had the choice back then, when I was a kid, for her not to have experienced the torture, the anguish she felt at being trapped in a body that increasingly refused to co-operate and what her loose the ability to communicate, Yes, I would have alleviated her suffering in a heartbeat!
Sometimes letting a person go, even though it doesn't seem ethical and it hurts like hell is what is best for that person.
Think about what I said Dan, before you make any rash decisions". Brie told Dan as he got up to leave.
He turned and smiled sadly at his friend as he opened the door. "And Dan, if you decide that you still want to leave, that you can't help others, people like her find a better way of life by staying here, then I'll go with you, others will too, you know that don't you?"
Dan sat staring into the face of the motionless girl and began to seriously contemplate everything Brie had said to him.
Meanwhile in the residential halls on the other side of the campus, Kennis sat next to Travis on his bed in the room he shared with Jeremy. The boy was staring across the room at the empty space that has once belonged to his hero, his blood brother, his father figure, his friend Jeremy.
There wasn't a single reminder of Jeremy left in the room, it had all been cleared away the evening Jeremy had raped the girl. There were blank spaces on the wall where his rock posters had been, empty drawers that had once held his clothes, an empty bed where he had once slept, it made Travis want to cry, just looking at it all, but he had to be strong now, he had to be a man because his sister needed him.
Travis, like his sister, felt a mixture of grief and anger. His thoughts were abruptly broken as the door opened and Jeneh entered the room.
Kennis looked up. "The trial's finished?" She asked wearily. Jeneh nodded in response not really knowing what she could say that would be of comfort to Kennis and her brother.
"He's gone?" Travis questioned her.
"Yes, they've decided on the punishment and they've gone, banished from the Islands forever".
"Then this nightmare is over". Kennis said her voice thick with emotion.
Jeneh sat down next to her friend and put her arm around her shoulder is a gesture of comfort.
"Yes, Kennis, it's finally over". She replied.
THE END
