“What happened? Why did you leave?”
“I’d rather not discuss it. It’s very personal.”
“I’d appreciate it if you did.”
Lori didn’t like his last comment but understood where it was coming from.
The magistrate didn’t flinch; he sat waiting for her to respond.
“Since you must know, my family was separated from me and I was raped.”
Not showing a glimmer of emotion, the magistrate said, “I’m sorry to hear that. I can see why you wouldn’t want to stay.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Lori said sarcastically.
“Please don’t misinterpret my line of questioning. We have fought and worked hard to have all of this. We are generous, but please don’t mistake what kindness and mercy we show as weakness. I can assure you that would be a mistake.”
“So I’m free to go?”
“Anytime you choose. If you want fuel and food, we can provide some to get you going, or you are more than welcome to stay.”
“Stay?”
“Yes, we understand that in order for our town to continue to flourish, we must grow. We need more people.”
“Let me think about that. Is it fine if I stay in town while I make my decision?”
“Of course. Brick, do you want to be responsible?”
“I will house her, Magistrate.”
“Great!” the magistrate said, standing and putting his hand out.
Lori stood, took his hand and shook. “Thank you. Oh, two other things.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“What’s your name?”
“Magistrate, call me Magistrate.”
“Oh, okay,” Lori blurted out. She found it odd he didn’t use a real name. She turned to leave when he stopped her.
“Lori, you had a second question for me?”
“Yes, thanks, I’m so absentminded these days. I wanted to get my weapons back.”
Still standing, he put his hands on his hips and answered, “We’ll be holding on to those for the time being.”
“I thought I was free to go. I’m not being convicted of anything. I think that grants me the right to get my possessions back.”
“Lori, you’re thinking of the ways or laws from the past. Hope doesn’t work like that. You’re welcome here, you can roam around freely, but until we get to know you without any doubts, we’ll be keeping your weapons.”
“So you don’t trust me?”
“We trust, but we also verify. I’m sure you can understand. We have a lot to protect here.”
Not liking the idea that she wouldn’t be getting her weapons, she stormed out of the magistrate’s office with Brick following right behind.
“Lori,” Brick called out, walking a few feet behind her.
She stopped and waited for him, then replied, “Is he always so smug?”
“He’s a good man. He’s doing what’s best for us.”
“If I’m not guilty of anything, I want my weapons,” Lori charged.
“Not my call, but I agree with the magistrate. If you want your weapons back today, we can provide them for you at the far checkpoints on your way out of town.”
“Such bull.”
“I can assure you, you’re safe here. There’s no need for your weapons.”
Lori thought about what he said. It wasn’t that she wanted them strictly to protect herself from them. It was more for being able to use them if she could get Travis freed.
Some commotion broke out down the hall.
Brick and Lori turned to see people pouring out of the holding room where she’d last seen Travis go.
Several people pushed past them, heading towards the activity. Lori stopped one of them and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Public trial starts in five minutes,” the woman said excitedly.
Lori knew what that meant. She looked at Brick and said, “I want to stay for that.”
He looked at his watch and asked, “Aren’t you hungry? C’mon, let’s go home and get some lunch.”
Lori wasn’t paying any attention to him. She was focused on the ever-growing crowd down the hall.
Brick began to walk towards the exit away from the crowd. He didn’t have the time nor desire to stick around for the mayhem that encircled a trial.
Lori knew what it was and had to see. She darted away from Brick and down the hall into the mass of people.
She then caught sight of Travis, his tall build towering above the others. They were escorting him outside the front doors. Taking her place in the crowd, she slowly shuffled out the front. There she was amazed by the crowd that had gathered. She couldn’t believe the size and the setup that had all come together in the hour she’d been inside.
To the right of the gallows sat a long table with several chairs. Just in front of that was a single chair. Lori imagined that was Travis’s chair. What frightened Lori most of all was that his trial was being conducted next to the ominous-looking gallows. She thought this could only portend his death.
Travis was escorted to the single chair and instructed to stand.
The loud crowd suddenly became silent.
Lori craned her head and saw the magistrate exit the front, flanked by Franklin and Carolyn. They approached the long table and stood at their chairs, the magistrate taking the center.
The magistrate raised his arms in the air and said, “Let us all bow our heads and pray that God will give us and this man the justice that is deserved.” A short pause followed, then he said, “Amen.”
Travis was pushed into his chair.
The magistrate and Franklin sat. Carolyn remained standing.
She called out, “This man before you is accused of attempted theft. Last night Janine McDonough caught him attempting to hot-wire and steal her truck right from her driveway.”
Lori shook her head. None of this might have happened had he just listened to her and not tried to steal a vehicle from someone’s house.
“Janine McDonough, please step forward and tell us your account,” Carolyn instructed, then took her seat.
Janine stepped from the crowd and walked to a spot in between Travis and the table. She looked at Travis, but this time the look of anger was gone. A feeling of sympathy came over her as she saw this man sit and await his conviction.
“Janine, please go ahead,” Carolyn pressed after watching her stand and look at Travis for what seemed like minutes.
Standing tall, thrusting her shoulders back and clearing her throat, she began, “I heard some noise outside. I stepped out to investigate, and that’s when I heard the noise again. It was clear to me that someone was in my truck. I had a gun, my shotgun, and slowly approached. I was scared and didn’t know how many people might be out there or who it was. All I knew is I didn’t want Carl’s truck taken. He loved that truck, and I still needed it. So putting aside my fear, I approached the truck. The door was open, and I saw someone inside.”
“Is that man here?” Carolyn asked.
Janine looked at Travis and answered, “Yes.”
“Where?”
Janine pointed at Travis. This caused the crowd to mutter and talk.
“What happened next?” Carolyn asked.
“I hollered for him to stop and get out of the truck. He did just that, but he kept blinding me with his flashlight. I stepped aside out of the light, and that’s when he hit me with the truck door. The shotgun fired and he ran.”
The crowd muttered louder.
“I didn’t know what happened next, but I think he ran into Brent in the street. All I know is he’s on the ground, and Brent asks me what I want to do with him. I, of course, told him that we needed to bring him before the magistrate.”
“Can Brent Sharrod please come forward?” Carolyn called out.
Janine turned to leave, but Carolyn stopped her.
“Janine, please stay put.”
Brent stepped out of the crowd and walked up alongside Janine.
“What is your st
ory?” Carolyn asked.
“I was on patrol; I heard a scream for help. I ran towards it, and this guy here ran full force into me. I asked Janine if she wanted to bring him here, of course she said yes, and I then struck him.”
The whole time the accounts were being told Travis sat unmoving and staring straight ahead.
“Why did you hit him?” the magistrate asked.
“Sir, I hit him because I thought he was a threat, and my intention was to knock him out, which I did, so I could bring him here.”
“Very well, continue.”
“That’s about it,” Brent said.
“Janine, anything else to add?” Carolyn asked.
She looked at Carolyn and then to Travis again. “Nothing to add.”
The magistrate looked at Travis and asked, “Do you have anything you’d like to say? This is your time to challenge their testimony.”
“I didn’t know I was taking her truck. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m a good man, just made a bad decision,” Travis said somberly. He finished by looking directly at Janine and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Very well. Thank you Janine and Brent for your courage and testimony today. You may be excused,” Carolyn said.
The two walked back into the crowd.
The magistrate stood and proclaimed, “Seven months ago, an evil descended upon our Earth and gave us the Death. This was not from the heavens but from the hands of man. Out of the ashes I found you and gave you a new system by which to live. This system requires a code to live by. That code states we must love one another and treat them with care. This code also deals with justice. It must be handled swiftly, fairly and appropriately. Will the accused stand?”
Travis stood.
“What is your full name?” the magistrate asked.
Sweat was streaming down Lori’s face, and her body was shaking in anticipation of what was about to happen.
“My name is Travis Priddy.”
“Travis Priddy, you have been accused of attempted theft of a coveted piece of equipment. Vehicles are no longer a novelty but a necessity, and in many ways can determine if one lives or dies. By your own admission you did this. So based upon the covenant and codes of Hope, I hereby find you guilty and sentence you accordingly. For attempted theft, your sentence shall be death by hanging.”
The crowd grew loud as everyone began to discuss the outcome.
Lori felt her knees begin to give out. She swayed and was about to collapse when Brick steadied her.
The two men who had escorted Travis out came up alongside him and took him only a few feet away to the base of the gallows
Travis had given in to his fate and didn’t resist. There wasn’t a thing he could do, and he knew it.
A third man appeared; he was wearing black clothes and donned a black hood.
Lori continued to watch and couldn’t believe what she was seeing; the third man looked like someone from the Middle Ages.
He sauntered over to Travis and stopped just a foot away.
Travis looked at his dark brown eyes peering from the hood. “Make the rope slack, will ya?”
The hooded man spoke; his thick raspy voice replied, “It will be.”
Travis lowered his head as he was walked up the stairs to the thick two-inch rope that dangled.
The executioner asked, “Do you want a hood?”
“No, I want to see the world before I go.”
“Very well,” the executioner said. He placed the noose around Travis’s neck and, just as he said, kept it loose. He walked to a lever and grasped it.
“Stop, stop! Please stop!” Janine screamed and came running out of the crowd.
Everyone began to chatter loudly.
Janine ran towards the gallows yelling, “Stop, don’t!”
“Janine, this is entirely inappropriate!” Carolyn hollered.
“I invoke the victim’s code!” she cried out.
“Too late for that, carry out the sentence” Carolyn responded.
“No, stop!” Janine screamed.
“Wait! Everyone please wait a minute!” the magistrate bellowed. He stood and looked at Janine. “Why, why do you wish to invoke the victim’s code? You had your chance, but you presented this case before me knowing what would happen if he were convicted.”
“I can see this man is not bad, but desperate.”
The magistrate’s facial expression changed from shock at Janine’s abrupt display to a contentment most often seen on him. “What would you have us do?”
“I’d…um…I’d have him let go. Let us show mercy.”
“That, we cannot do. You had your choice at the moment to do that. You know your rights and freely gave him up for us to judge. You know how the covenant works, Janine. If we deviate from it, then our world, the one we all can agree was in turmoil, will return to that. The covenant gives us peace because it gives us a system to follow.”
“Please show mercy this once,” Janine begged.
“Where is this coming from? Is it because you lost your husband and son?” he asked.
The magistrate’s assumptions were like a pinprick strike at her heart. Janine had lost both her son and husband. Not to the Death but to the barbarism that followed. Their story was similar to Travis’s.
“Magistrate, I believe in the covenant, but I also believe this man can do good if given the chance. You tell us that we need more people so that we can grow and flourish. Our town grows, but every time our hunting parties go out, they come back with fewer able-bodied men. We need more people. We need more men.”
“Or do you need a man?” Carolyn sniped.
Ignoring Carolyn, Janine again begged, “I believe this man can be of help.”
“And how could you even come to a conclusion like that?” the magistrate asked.
“Because he’s a Marine,” Janine replied.
“Marine? How do you know that?”
“The night of the attack, we searched him. On his right arm is a tattoo, a Marine Corps tattoo. Brent can confirm this,” Janine replied.
The magistrate looked to Brent, who said, “It’s true, his upper right shoulder.”
“Mr. Priddy, are you a Marine?” the magistrate asked.
Travis thought about how he should answer. Since it seemed like it could benefit him, he remained honest to a point. “Yes. I was a captain in the Marines, an infantry officer.”
“Hmm, an infantry officer could be useful. Answer me this, are you a master tactician or an excellent marksman?” the magistrate asked. He had now walked from behind the table and was standing at the base of the gallows.
“I’m great at both,” Travis replied.
“Pick one.”
Travis didn’t know where this was going but answered the one he thought would spare him. “I was one of the top tacticians in my class at OCS.”
“So you’re better at war planning and tactics than you are a shooter, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Good,” the magistrate said and walked back to the table.
“You’re not going to let him go, are you?” Carolyn asked, her face scrunched in frustration at the situation.
“Janine, I agree with you. This man will be more valuable to us, but there are two conditions. One, he has to agree to stay, and second, you must house him. If he steps out of bounds, we will then carry out this sentence fully, no mercy. You will also be subject to the same punishment if he flees. Do I make myself clear?’
Janine looked at Travis and then back to the magistrate. “Understood, I agree.”
“Mr. Priddy, oh, wait a minute, we should call you Captain Priddy. Do you agree that this sentence will not be carried out?”
“I agree.”
Hearing this, Lori almost exploded with excitement.
“I protest. Franklin, say something,” Carolyn barked at her colleague.
“Let all of you here be witnesses. I hereby commute the sentence given to Captain Pri
ddy. You have heard the reasons—”
“This is not how the system works. Magistrate, you are deviating from the covenant!” Carolyn exclaimed.
Many in the crowd began to stir and shouted their protests.
The magistrate stopped speaking. He couldn’t be heard, and he didn’t like being interrupted. He stood waiting for everyone to quiet down.
Franklin, seeing an opportunity to be on the magistrate’s good side, called out, “Everyone, please stop talking. Let him finish!”
The crowd grew silent again.
The executioner removed the noose and walked to the side.
The two guards took Travis and escorted him from the gallows and back to his chair.
“I know that the covenant is sacred, and I am not abandoning it completely. I will not hang this man, but he should still receive a punishment for his crime that is fitting.”
Janine looked oddly at the magistrate, as she didn’t know what he was doing.
“Janine has agreed to care for this man, and he has agreed to be a part of our community in exchange for not killing him. However, I am sworn to uphold the covenant and must still sentence this man to a punishment that fits the crime.”
“What’s going on?” Travis asked.
“Captain Priddy, your life has been spared, but you must still be punished for your crime. Not to do that would jeopardize everything we’ve worked so hard to accomplish.”
A smile began to spread across Carolyn’s face as the magistrate continued to speak.
Lori’s previous panic attack started again as she feared the worst was coming.
“So I decree that Captain Priddy’s punishment will be the amputation of his left hand.”
The crowd howled in excitement at the news.
“You said I—” Travis protested.
The guards grabbed him, but this time Travis resisted; however, they were too strong for him as they dragged him to the side of the gallows. There sat a large log, the top stained with blood and showing the hack marks of past sentences. They pushed him to his knees, grabbed his left hand, and placed it on the top of the log.
“This was not the arrangement!” Travis screamed.
“Captain Priddy, I said I would commute the sentence of death by hanging. You must still be punished. It is our way, it is our laws, it is our covenant.”
The executioner reappeared, but now holding a large axe.
The Death: The Complete Trilogy Page 35