» The Stage

[Whoopy4]

Slowly, I go through the rythmic motions of tieing my laces. Maneuvering the small strings around eachother.

Today is my day. It's my turn.

With a deep breath, I pull my body off of my wooden chair. It's old, and chipped away, but it still stands under my weight. I look at the table beside me. It appears to have gone through as much hardship as the chair. My large hand reaches over and grabs the last part of my uniform. It's a black hood. I didn't need it yet, but I would soon.

Almost time. It's almost my time

With pounding footsteps, I leave my small home. As usual, I need to bend my neck to fit under my doorway and my arms scrape against the sides. It's not that my door is too small; it's the same as everyone else's door. It's just I'm so big. It was part of the reason I was selected as the replacement. I didn't even know who I was replacing. I had seen him many times throughout my life. Hell, everyone had seen him. But now he was gone. Some suspect by his own methods, whether by the doing of another, or of his own. It is not known, because recently, he just stopped appearing and the unfortunate mayor had to fill in until a replacement was chosen. The left side of my mouth widens in a half-grin as I think of the mayor's small pudgy body doing what was meant for men.

I'm prepared. I've watched this happen countless times before. I'm perfect for this job

As I walk down the stone laid street, people look at me, but no one knows. They just see this giant of a man casting his dominating shadow upon them. If only I could tell them what my part was, but that was a secret. 3 men besides me knew. The Mayor was one. He chose me. And the other, was the priest. To everyone else, I was just me.

I continued down the street, watching the people go about their daily business, trying finish with their chores so they could watch my performance later in the day.

It wasn't long before I was walking beside the wooden platform that would be my stage. It stood 3 meters in the air, and was in the center of the town. A clearing was made specially for it. The wooden structure was so beautiful. It was made of a very fine oak, and my guess is that it will be standing for many years to come.

It won't be long before I am standing up there and all eyes will be on me.

Unfortunately, I must finish my preparations. I walk past the structure and onward down the street. Up ahead is the church. It isn't fancy by the standards of most churches, but it still had a certain style to it. It was not big, maybe enough to house 100 people uncomfortably. It stood like any other building with a long triangle frame roof. The one difference in the roof is that in the center of the building was a tower. The tower only rose up a couple meters above the rest of the church. There was a bell inside. It could also hold 3 people. 2, if one of those people happened to rather large.

The front of the church had a simple attempt at being colourful. The doors were stylized with flowers being incorporated into the design. Beside either side of the doors were painted windows. They each had an interpretation of what Jesus looked like. One of him as a child, and the other was of him on the cross. I could only imagine how marvelous the windows had once looked. Now they were faded and had lost some of their wonder.

Carefully, I grab the door handles and open both doors. The church had the only doorway in the village that I could walk through comfortably.

Inside, there was no one. Several rows of pews were lined up and faced a pedestal at the back of the church. A stone statue of a welcoming Jesus stood behind it. I walked past all of this. There was a door behind the statue that I squeezed through.

Behind it stood a white robed man. He was drinking from a goblet. I assumed it was wine. He looked at me and nodded. The priest opened another door that led up some stairs. I followed him.

When we reached the top, I could see out over the village. The first thing I looked for was the stage. I could see it down the road. Several spectators were already gathering.

I am so close. I am so close to everything I have dreamed of.

I look back at the priest. He is holding a bible. I kneel before him. My head still goes to his chest even when I am kneeling. I bow my head.

I can feel the priest put his cold hand in my head. He is speaking words that I care nothing about. Something about god, and helping me get through the following events. I did not need help. I was prepared. I was ready.

After a couple minutes of praying and the priest speaking words, he allowed me to lift my head. I looked at him. He nodded. He left. I stood to my full height again. The top of my head was inches from the roof. I looked down. On the floor was the hammer. I grabbed it. My hands encircled the grip entirely. With one swing, I hit the bell. The ringing was heard across the village. Again, I hit it. After one more time, I laid the hammer back in it's place.

My time is now.

Imitating my predecessor, I took off my shirt. This revealed a finely toned body with no hair covering it. It was completely dry. I was not nervous and I had no reason to sweat. As I made my way down the stairs, I put on the hood. It covered my entire head, concealing my identity. I peered through the eye holes and made my way out of the church.

People were flocking to the stage. My stage. There was a certain adrenaline rush as the realization finally hit me.

No more waiting. It happens now.

Confidently, I walk down the street. Villagers that see me clear a path, none wanting to get too close.

With a hidden grin, I walk up the steps to my stage. The wood stubbornly does not even creak under my weight. It was built well. I then look down at the area around me. Villagers were cheering. Many were yelling. Amongst all the voices, I could not recognize a full sentence. I just sood there and looked.

Soon, the priest joined me on stage. I looked at the steps. At the bottom was a line of nine people. I was dissapointed. Usually there were ten. Either way, all of them would be joining me up here soon enough for their brief moments of glory.

I took my post beside the latch. The priest called up the first person in the line. I did not pay attention to the name, nor did I listen to the reason he was joining me on stage. All I heard was the cheers.

Despite the adrenaline,I calmly watched as they marched the man to the center of the stage. I fitted the rope around his neck. The priest said approximately five words of prayer. It was then that the priest looked at me and nodded.

Three... Two... One...

My hand pulled on the latch. Quickly, the trap doors swung open. The man fell through and in a split second, the rope was tight. Due to the length of the rope, the head hovered right above the stage, while his body was below. He was already dead.

Quickly, the rope was loosened, and the body was left lying on the ground as an example.

The next man was ushered up. Then the next and the next. I did not know any of them. I didn't care too. They were going to be dead in moments anyways, why pay attention to names.

One more to go.

Thje last man walked up on to the stage. He stood tall, trying to act proud despite the yelling and several thrown objects. The rope was placed around his neck and then I pulled the latch one more time. Swiftly, the man fell to his death.

What!

I looked at the steps as one more figure was brought onto stage. My eyes widened though. I had missed this one. I had not seen him. Or maybe I had thought of him as not part of the line. I didn't know. All I know was that he was now on my stage.

A child was on my stage.

Air drained out of my lungs as I stared at this child. He couldn't have been more than 8 years old. He looked through my hood and into my eyes. His small brown eyes did not have understanding in them. He did not know why this was happening to him. I didn't either. My eyes pulled away from his as the priest began speaking.

Apparently, his father was a murderer. A murderer that had commited suicide. Thusly, someone in his family had to pay the price in front of the people. The child was the only one they saw fit.

I slowly put the rope around the boy's small neck. He just looked into my eyes. His mouth was hanging open, scared and unable to speak or cry.

I backed away from the trap door and it's small victim. My hand grasped the latch.

Three...

The boy looked upwards to the sky.

Two...

He was praying.

One...

As I pulled the latch I saw him look at me one more time, and then his body dropped.

There were cheers as the eventful day was now over. However, as I was ready to walk over and loosen the boy from the rope, they silenced. I looked down at him. I could hear a soft wheezing coming from him. The body turned towards me. The boy's eyes were open and looking at me.

He was still alive.

People didn't know what to do. No one had survived a hanging. Ofcourse, a child had never needed to be hung before. But I knew what was to be done. It was part of my job. It was my duty to over see the deaths of every convicted person. In the current situation, all I could do was watch him until he suffocated. No one was allowed to touch the body until it was dead.

Some villagers were disgusted by the hanging child and left. The rest waited for the inevitable.

But the boy hung on for life. He just hung there. The only sound that could be heard amongst the entire crowd was his wheezing.

Slowly, people began leaving. They couldn't stand to watch a young boy die so slowly.

Even the priest left. He said he had other matters to attend to, but I knew the truth.

Coward...

Eventually, it was just me and the child. I could not understand how he was still alive. His wheezing was getting worse, so I knew he didn't have long.

I was thankful that he had finally closed his eyes. All of his focus was now on breathing. I couldn't stand those eyes.

Slowly, the sun was falling below the roofs of buildings, and a shadow was creeping up on us. I watched the shadow slide effortlessly across the platform, nearing the child.

The closer the shadow got, the quicker the boy's wheezing became. I was afraid for the boy. This shouldn't be his fate. The real criminal was already dead. Who cares if he died before being convicted.

I didn't even notice the bead of sweat rolling down my forehead.

Then it happened.

The shadow covered the boy. At the same instant, the wheezing stopped.

All I could do was look at this poor boy hanging there.

With a deep breath, I assumed my duty and grabbed the rope. My large hands held the boy for a moment. Then I loosened the rope and his body fell to the ground with the rest of them.

I stared down into the trap door and looked at the pile. Did any of them deserve this?

I pulled up the wooden door and attached it again. I closed my eyes and stood on the platform. The sun was gone now and the village was covered in darkness. I could still hear his wheezing. His wheezing and his eyes looking into mine. They were clear. I suspected they'd be in my mind longer than this stage would be standing.

I looked down at the clearing. With an understanding sigh, I grabbed the rope.

It's my turn.

The rope slid over my neck. It was already tight. I made sure it would not fall off. With my long arm, I grabbed the latch.

Three... two... one...

I felt the floor beneath me disappear and I fell. My feet stopped inches from the bodies below.

My first and final performance was over.

[Era Vulgaris]

Wow...

[ecb327]

Lots of typos, great plot.

Fix the typos and it'll be good to go.

[Whoopy4]

Yeah, my keyboard isn't that good. It tends to not register some buttons at random. I'll see what I can do about fixing those typos up.

[Aphrodite]

I didn't like it...but I loved it. Does that make sense? I liked the way it was written and the imagery was amazing, but I wasn't so fond of the subject matter. I don't like sad stories.

~Jadis

[Whoopy4]

Yeah, I just felt like writing a sad story.

[Red Wings]

So very strange. I don't even have anything to say about this one...