Hangman's Cold Dish

Hangman’s Cold Dish

            It was cold day, colder than any before, and most likely colder than any after this in this town of Immitigable. Of course, the town wouldn’t last for long after this day. The town would soon be a ghost town, in more ways than one; even the name, the strange name that nobody knows the history of, would soon be forgotten.

Everybody was wrapping themselves in their coats, bundled up as the wind blew around them. The noose was swaying in the breeze, with a drab grey background behind it. There were no buildings behind the hangman’s platform, so just the grey sky was the back drop. Behind the people were their wooden houses and buildings.

There was a freshly dug grave behind the platform, because all of the executed were buried there instead of on Skull Hill, and placed in unmarked graves. Nonetheless, nobody ever walked there, due to the fear of ghostly retribution. People always said there was something about that area of land that seemed to make the temperature drop five degrees.

“Mommy, I’m scared, I don’t want to watch this.” Little Adam said to his mother.

“I’m sorry baby, but you have to. Eight is the minimum age to have to watch the deaths, and your eighth birthday was two weeks ago. I didn’t make the laws but I do have to follow them.”

Adam moved closer to his mom, and put his arms around her, burying his face into her side. She put her arm around him, holding him close, and gripping him tightly. He started shivering even worse, and not entirely from the cold. His mom was upset, which was clearly shown on her face.

Everybody was staring at the noose, as it swayed back and forth in the breeze. It poised an ominous, though every day sight. They tried to keep their gaze away from either side of it, where one body was on each, as every one of the killed was for two weeks after their hanging.

A shattering coughing resonated throughout the crowd, breaking the silence as a hammer through glass. Everybody shifted uncomfortably, dreading the moment that it would start, but at the same time wishing that Cain would get it over with so they could leave. It seemed almost a daily occurrence now, and soon there would be none left in this town.

Assault plagued the streets to the point that leaving the house got the heart pounding in itself, theft left almost all of the store owners penniless, and there were even mini riots, destroying buildings, cars, and even leaving people dead in the gutters. The police simply couldn’t keep up with all the crime and keep it under control, so they simply punished all they suspected of being involved. And all punishments were the same.

The coughing came to a stop, and an apology came from somewhere in the midst of the crowd. There were murmurs of unrest spreading through the crowd, some talking of how unfair these hangings were, others of how good it was that these criminals were being punished. Some were simply talking of how their lives are, but in every conversation there was a tension hidden shallowly under the surface.

There was a banging noise, like that of a door slamming shut. A moment later, Cain came up the steps, his feet banging and making a noise that flew to everybody’s ears, until he came to the platform. He slowly walked over to the mini raised platform above the normal one, so he could announce who was to die today.

While not in the traditional garb, to the townspeople he was as close looking to the reaper as they had ever seen. He wore a black mask with a gold skull engraved on the front where his face would be, black reflective glass over where his eyes would be, and little slits for his mouth and nose. He wore a brown hood, which was attached to a long brown coat that passed his ankles and almost touched the ground, and was open in front so you could see his shirt and pants. His shirt was a black shirt, with a red noose on it. His pants were black jeans, and his shoes were black boots. He also wore black gloves, which had red lines where his veins were, and were thin and flexible so he could move his hand easily.

He stood up on the front of the raised platform, and cleared his throat. Everybody fell silent instantly, and looked up at him, some with contempt in their eyes, others with no feeling, and still others with sadness. He said in a deep voice, that though muffled by the mask rang across the yard. “Today we shall be executing eight people.”

A quiet grumbling spread across the crowd, with statements such as “Why do we need to kill so much?” And “Isn’t that a little high?” Everybody was clearly unhappy with what that many people dying, and it showed on their faces.

“Everybody quiet!” Cain yelled. “Now then, those executed shall be the following.” He listed off the first seven names, and they came up one by one. They all died bravely; with a stone cold face showing no fear. They were all swaying on either side when Cain said “And finally, the last one, Adam.”

That brought an uproar from everybody in the crowd. There were shouts from the crowd of “How could he be executed? He only just turned eight!” And from his mother, “No, no, please no, oh God no, how could you do this to us? Cain, you know Adam, you know he wouldn’t do anything like that.”

Cain said “I’m sorry, but the council has decreed that Adam is to die. I don’t sentence them; I simply carry out the order. This isn’t my fault.” But it was too late, everybody was already in unrest. The shouts got louder and louder, and people were even moving up towards the platform.

“Now, people, please settle down. I can’t do anything about it, I already tried to convince them not to sentence Adam, and this isn’t my fault. Please, stop.” People were climbing up on to the platform now, and everybody, even the police, were moving closer if not climbing up.

Cain pulled out his pistol, and yelled “If you don’t calm down, I will start to shoot.” The first person climbed up on to the platform and ran at him, and Cain shot him in the head right before he reached him. More people were climbing up and running at him, and every single one of them got shot.

Adams mom climbed up and ran at Cain, and he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. But the gun just clicked, he was out of bullets. She started clawing at him, aiming for the eyes and face, and even drew blood. He threw her away, but more people started running at him, he couldn’t hold them all off.

First it was his mask that came off, then his hooded cloak, then his shirt. All of those three things were symbols of what he was, and they wouldn’t allow him even that. They dragged him to the noose, and put his head through. He was screaming and pleading for mercy, but his screams fell on deaf ears. They took the rope meant for Adam’s wrists, and bound Cain’s hands behind his back.

Cain stopped struggling, and managed to say “My reason for doing this wasn’t to harm you. It was to protect you. There’s a threat among us, and the name to this threat is-“But he was cut short, because the platform was dropped and he was left hanging up, with a snapped neck.

His body was left up there for what started out as days, turned to months, to years. It always unnerved any visitors, but the townspeople left it up as a reminder to never turn into that again. Then, one day, when even his bones were almost entirely pecked away, he was gone. Nobody knew where he went, and he was never found.