by TW Brown
“Mr. Staley—” Jamie began.
“Oh c’mon, sugar tits, you of all the people here can call me Kevin.” The man gave a salacious wink just before Chief Potter punched him in the back of the head. Kevin made a slight grunt, but by the time he lifted his head again, he had a smile plastered on his face again.
“Let’s try this once more,” Jamie said firmly, although she could tell that her cheeks were probably red enough for people in the back row of the bleachers to see. “Why would you and your friends come here and do what you have done?”
“Not bothering with the word allegedly, huh?” Kevin sniped.
“You know,” Jamie came from behind her podium, “that was always something that bothered me about the old system. You could have a person on video committing terrible acts. Their face could be seen clear as day, yet they were somehow allowed to plead not guilty.”
“Guilty until proven innocent then,” Kevin said with a shrug.
“Are you actually claiming innocence?”
“I don’t even know what the charges are,” Kevin shot back. “Nobody has done so much as read off counts or anything. If it’s rape, I don’t recall you ever saying the word no, but then again…it would just be your word against mine so I doubt I’d get any love from the jury.” Kevin made an over-exaggerated look to the left and then the right. “Oh…wait. There ain’t no jury. I guess you are the judge and jury on this little show.”
“Do you want charges?” Jamie asked as she took a few steps closer to the man. “How about murder? Theft? Will those do?”
“So you and your little raiding party have receipts for those groceries?” Kevin shot back.
“The people of Liberty were bringing all the stock from the grocery store inside our safe zone for the use of all its citizens,” Jamie answered calmly, not allowing herself to be baited by the man who continued to look up at her with that same smile plastered across his face.
“So that’s a big no. And then there are all the cars and trucks you people are heisting to make your silly little wall.”
“The vehicles we are commandeering were abandoned.”
“So when you take shit that ain’t yours, its commandeering, but when me and my boys take stuff…well, then it’s theft? Seems to me there is a big double standard going on here.”
“We have operated within the limits of securing what is ours and only taking that which has been abandoned.”
“You can paint it any color you like, but your people are stealing shit just like you accuse us of doing. Correct me if I am wrong, but that Lowe’s you guys hit wasn’t part of this town. Y’all are thieves and bad guys just like you claim me and my boys are. The difference is that you think you can just claim you are doing it for your town and that makes it okay. Stealing for three or three thousand is still stealing.”
“Fine, let’s drop the theft charges and just talk about the murder.” Jamie shot a smile at Kevin as she locked eyes with him.
“They shot first,” Kevin said with a shrug.
“That is a lie and we have you and your men on video as they assaulted and killed the team at Ingles Market.” Jamie forced herself to remain calm. She did not want to come off as smug, but she knew she had the upper hand.
“You have any idea what happened inside that market?” Kevin growled. “Your people attacked us. We were just defending ourselves. I bet your video don’t show any of that, does it?”
Jamie opened her mouth, but then she paused. No, she thought, there is no footage of what happened inside the store. She shook those thoughts away and took another step towards the man. She was now close enough that she could have reached out and touched him if she chose to.
“You’re lying,” she said simply. “You and your people came here with the expressed intent of taking our supplies. You killed people in the process. On the charges of murder, how do you plead?”
“Does it matter?” Kevin’s voice still sounded flippant, but she thought that she detected just a hint of nervousness. Also, she was certain that bead of sweat trickling down from his temple had nothing to do with the heat. It was sunny, but far from being hot.
“I will ask you again,” Jamie replied, a sense of calm sinking into her as she prepared for what was next. “On the charges of murder, how do you plead?”
“Am I speaking for just me, or are you making me speak for them?” Kevin titled his head to indicate his three companions.
“How do you plead?”
“Innocent. Guilty by insanity?” The man laughed. It started as a chuckle and morphed into all out laughter, but there was a sinister quality to it.
“You might be insane,” Jamie agreed. “But that does not give you the right or the excuse to commit the horrific, callous, and evil acts that you and your friends have committed here.”
“Am I evil?” Another burst of sinister laughter exploded from his lips. “Yes I fucking am.”
“That’s enough,” Jamie said, nodding to Ivan.
The man actually looked relieved as he strapped the ball gag back into place. Jamie waited until the man was returned to the bench seat with his companions. Once he was secure, she stepped forward to address the crowd. Up to this point, only those closest to the stage had actually heard the events taking place. The steady hum of conversation throughout the proceedings indicated that things were being passed along to those unable to hear.
Now she picked up the bullhorn. As soon as she did, a hush fell over the audience. She could practically feel the weight of the citizens of Liberty as they all seemed to lean forward as one entity.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have four men who are accused of murder. Just a few months ago, they would have gone through a lengthy process where every loophole and twist of words might have been employed to set them free. The facts are that we have video evidence that show three of the four men in the actual act of killing the members of the salvage team they were sent with.”
Jamie waited a moment and surveyed the faces of the crowd. She saw their anger, and on a few faces, she saw the pain of loss. Her eyes paused on those of Sarah Gilstrap. The woman was a blank slate, her face expressionless. Sophie had mentioned prescribing something for some of the people who had lost friends or loved ones. She briefly wondered what they would do in a few months when the small supply of pills and ointments they currently possessed were all gone.
“While the one individual was not actually seen committing any of the murders, there were bodies found inside the store that might be attributed to him. That would not have been considered a strong argument before the events that have befallen our world, I think they are good enough now.
“We cannot deny that we are living in a different time that may call for a new way of doing things. Today is one of those moments. I am going to put it to all of you as a collective, and I ask for a show of hands.” Jamie paused when Kevin made a snorting sound. She glanced over to see his eyes dancing with glee as he shook his head in obvious amusement. “All who cast a vote for guilty, please raise your hand.”
She had not thought it might be an issue, so she was not concerned with actually counting. The fact that it looked like every person present had a hand in the air made things so much easier. Still, she would complete the process.
“Put your hands down now, please.” She paused a few seconds. “Now, for those wishing to cast a vote for these men being not guilty?”
She swept the crowd twice, but she did not see a single hand in the air. She hoped that they would never have a trial held in this manner again, and the Old World remnant of her mind was throwing out words like coercion, intimidation, and mob justice. She slammed the door on that part of her mind and nodded.
“And what should the penalty be?” She actually regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth as voices began to scream a variety of possible deaths.
“I say we drag them out of town and feed them to some of those monsters!”
“Burn ‘em!”
“Firing squad!”
The suggestions were varied, and a few were even a bit gruesome in their creativity. At last, she held up her hands. Much slower than when these proceedings had begun, the crowd eventually became quiet enough so that she could speak.
“We will hang these men tomorrow. I will ask a few of you with carpentry experience to please meet with Chief Potter afterwards to make the preparations. The gallows will be built here and those who wish to attend are welcome to do so. I would ask that children not be brought to this event.”
With that, she set the bullhorn down on the small stand beside her podium and walked over to Ivan Potter. He was in conversation with Bo Summers and Jonathan Patterson when she reached him. The three men turned to her, their talking ceasing immediately.
“Take the prisoners back to where we were holding them,” Jamie said.
“Any other instructions?” Ivan asked. “Do we keep them shackled or increase their guard. Do we do what it takes to ensure they don’t kill themselves?”
“Absolutely,” Jamie said after only a few seconds of thought.
“And last meals?” Bo piped up.
“No,” Jamie answered even faster than she had regarding the question about making sure they didn’t commit suicide. “We are not wasting any more resources on those four.”
“Damn,” Jonathan breathed, quickly blushing as if he just realized that he’d spoken that out loud.
“And I want the gallows to be equipped to drop them all at once.”
***
Bo Summers hammered in the last nail. Stepping up onto the actual platform, he jumped up and down. The first time was a bit tentative, but then he really gave it all he had.
“I think we can find you a bouncy house, Bo,” Ivan called up.
Bo pursed his lips for a moment and then shrugged. “Let me check my bucket list. I think jumping up and down in a bouncy house during the zombie apocalypse is number eighty-three.”
Ivan shook his head and climbed the stairs. Bo turned his attention to the four nooses that were hanging from the big cross beam. They looked nothing like the ones you saw in the movies. It was just a strand of hemp rope with a slipknot. A thirty pound sand bag was at each trap door to expedite snapping the necks of the four men. It would be tied to each man’s ankles. When the lever was pulled, the doors would open and the bag would drop.
“The end,” Bo whispered.
“What’s that?” Ivan asked.
The man glanced over at the new chief and shrugged. “Nothing…just thinking out loud.”
The sun had risen at his back. Already there was a small crowd gathering.
“Welcome to the Dark Ages.” Bo walked over to the lever. This was the last test. He gestured to Ivan. “Hook those sand bags to the nooses.
Chief Potter clipped each one as he’d been asked and then stepped clear. Bo looked up and saw that, in just that short amount of time, the crowd had practically doubled in size and more were filing in. He waited for another moment and then gripped the lever with both hands. He pressed his lips tight and pulled.
Four sand bags fell through the open trap doors and then bounced a little before gently swinging back and forth several feet above the ground. When he looked up, he noticed a few of the onlookers having a change of heart, turning around and heading against the crowds for the exits.
“Hard times ahead,” Bo whispered.
A few seconds later, there was a ripple of noise from up towards the school’s main building. Shielding his eyes, Bo could see the six man detail and Jamie Burns leading the four prisoners down the path towards where the gallows had been built.
A few bottles and rocks hurled through the air. One struck the largest man of the group. Bo thought his name might be Mark. He decided that, besides not really knowing for sure, he didn’t care. These people had come into the town of Liberty and done terrible things.
From the platform of the gallows, he could look out over the entire crowd. There were a few roped off aisles—one of which the condemned foursome were being led down—allowing some of the folks normally on roving security to patrol the throng. Bo glanced over at Ivan and saw that the man was frowning.
“Problem?” Bo sidled up to the newly appointed police chief; although he doubted the title meant much anymore.
“I would hate for one of them bastards to die from a head wound before we get them up here,” the man replied.
“Well then, tell the folks to knock it the hell off.”
Bo turned and walked away. It seemed like a simple enough solution to him. He watched Ivan scoop up the bullhorn and switch it on.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the chief called. For a moment, there seemed to be no reaction from the crowd as the catcalls and angry shouts continued to be hurled along with a few assorted projectiles. “HEY!” Ivan shouted, eliciting feedback from the bullhorn.
Bo smiled as he saw so many people jump in unison. Walking over to the stairs, he opened the gate to allow the approaching group to come up and join him on the platform. The foursome were all shackled and had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Additionally, there was a heavy chain connecting them to each other. Each man still had a gag of some sort in his mouth except for the one with the long hair hanging down in his face. Bo guessed that one didn’t need a gag since he did not seem inclined to speak.
“Folks, these men have been sentenced to death for the murder of several of our citizens. We will not bring ourselves down to their level by acting like uncivilized animals,” Ivan announced to the people gathered for the execution.
Bo unclipped the belly-chain on the first of the prisoners from the group—the one covered with tattoos all over his arms and chest—and led him to the farthest noose from the stairs. The man started to resist as the noose was slipped over his neck, but as soon as Bo cinched it a bit, the man froze like a deer in the headlights.
The next man was the muscular one. As Bo led him to his noose, he saw sweat beading on his forehead and running down his temples. This one was a little more difficult to get the noose on, and a pair of the escorts had to come up and help.
Next was the one with the long hair. Bo had barely gotten his belly chain off when the man just started to stroll over to his noose. He even ducked his head through it and then stood casually like he was waiting for a bus.
Last was the one with the reddish hair and the goatee. Similar to the one with the long hair, this one made no effort to resist and actually ducked his head through the noose for Bo.
After the escorts departed the platform, Jamie Burns came up and motioned to Ivan for the bullhorn. He handed it to her and the woman stepped to the very front of the platform.
“We will give these men a chance to speak their final words.” She turned to the four, dropping the bullhorn so that what she said was heard only by them and maybe a few of the closer onlookers. “If you just start spewing a bunch of threats or profanity, I will just nod to Mr. Summers behind you and he will pull the lever. Are we clear?”
The men all nodded. Jamie went to the tattooed man. She whispered something that Bo couldn’t hear, but the man nodded and Jamie indicated for the person standing behind him to remove his gag.
The man cleared his throat. When Jamie offered him the bullhorn, he shook his head and mumbled something once the device was away from his mouth.
“A priest or a pastor?” the man coughed.
Jamie turned to the group that had acted as escort and motioned with her hand. Pastor Johnson slipped through the group and climbed the stairs. Bo could tell that the man was uncomfortable coming up on a gallows.
“Can you pray with me?” the man asked once the pastor reached him.
Bo stepped back out of earshot. A man’s business with God was nothing he felt he should be eavesdropping in on. It was something personal and private, and while he believed that these four were brutal killers and deserved the fate in store, he also believed they deserved a shred of privacy if they wanted to try and throw a Hail Mary in God’s direction and hope
that the Big Guy caught it. At last the pair were finished and Jamie nodded for the pastor to step back over by the stairs and wait if he was needed again.
Next was the big guy. Jamie repeated her question to him about if he had any last words he wanted to offer. The man tried to yell something. Even with the gag in place, Bo recognized the words “Fuck you!” when he heard them.
Next came the long-haired fella. This one had Bo curious. He wasn’t wearing a gag and didn’t seem the least bit concerned about what was about to happen. His skin was dry, not a bead or droplet of sweat could be seen.
Jamie paused in front of him and made the same offer she had given the other two. The man cocked his head and seemed to consider her. For several seconds, the two were locked in some sort of stare down. Finally, Jamie stepped back. The man smiled and then his gaze just drifted away from her.
The last man was waiting with a smile that peeked around his ball gag. Bo fought the urge to walk up and smash the man in the back of the head. Jamie actually seemed to handle his lascivious looks much better.
“And you, Mr. Staley, anything to say? Keep in mind, all I do is nod and Mr. Summers over there pulls the lever.”
There was a pause, and then the man gave a single nod. Jamie reached up and unbuckled the gag, letting it fall to the ground. She stepped back and shrugged at the man who, Bo believed, realized for the first time just what his situation entailed.
“You people are all doomed.” Kevin Staley glanced briefly over at Jamie to see if she might be getting ready to nod. Her face remained stoic as she seemed content to let him speak. “We’ve been out there, and if you think we are the worst that humanity has to throw at you, then your bubble is gonna burst in a very painful way. We were simply doing what we felt needed to be done to ensure our survival. We found your little town by following a group of your citizens, led by that woman.” Kevin tilted his head towards Jamie. “They were out looting on the outskirts of Clemson. So before you pass judgment on us, you might want to look in the mirror.” Kevin paused and locked eyes with Jamie as soon as she turned his way. “What depths will you people go to in order to see to your own survival? I have a feeling we will be considered saints when we sit next to you. And when you reach that defining moment, remember the fate that you decided should be ours.”
