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 Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:36 pm
"C'mon," Björn called to Crow, nodding his head back toward the road, "We gotta go." It may have sounded insensitive, but damnit, people were staring to notice them now.
Liam looked down and over to the group in the street. Using Crow as support, he stood on trembling legs and began slowly down the stairs, still swaying drunkenly.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:00 pm
Letting herself be used as a crutch, Crow stumbled for a moment on the steps and faltered, then descended with more care. Julian, who'd tensed and gone forward a step intent on catching them, turned away and stood by Len and Ethan, hands in his pockets.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:02 pm
When Liam reached the group, he substituted Crow's shoulder for the side of Björn's uniform (which he barely ever wore, thankyouverymuch) and held his other hand up.
"I'm okay," he said after a moment, breathing deep and letting his head fall back as he blinked away tears, "Let's go." He let go of the leather jacket and began off in the direction they'd come.
Björn sighed and followed, shaking his head sadly.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:04 pm
Sticking very close to Liam, Crow gestured unnecessarily for the others to follow. Julian trailed behind with Ethan, who tugged Lenore along insistently.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:06 pm
The group was forced to walk for hours. Eyes were constantly on them, questioning and jeering and suspicious. A few spit, some threw stones, and others shouted in Vavvian. It was dark before the forest appeared a short distance away, a row of trees preceeded by clumps of bushes preceeded by...what was that? It looked like some sort of bizarre relic, human forms splayed out as if crucified and strung up by rope from an odd rectangular arch.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:11 pm
It was Crow's sharp intake of breath that jarred Julian's attention. She'd been upset by the treatment they'd received at first, but old habits of thick-skinned indifference had kicked in, and her reaction now was a little worrisome. He followed her gaze and his blank expression cracked, and before he even knew it he'd put a hand over her eyes.
"Ethan," Len said, voice slightly strangled. "What are those."
Ethan looked, squinting over his glasses, and suddenly paled, finding he couldn't answer. His rosary swayed at his wrist like some horrible parody of the scene before them.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:17 pm
"Oh, God...that's not..."
"Only one way to find out," Björn replied quietly and placed the trunk on the ground, rolling his shoulders and grimacing before slowly beginning toward the structure. He expected the executed from years past.
He did not, however, expect the first body he saw to be that of his old buddy Mier, two and a half years dead and staring in horror at the pit below him, a bullet hole in the centre of his forehead.
"Oh, god..." he trailed off and clapped a hand over his mouth.
All things considered, the arch was not as greusome as it could have been. Vavvian bodies decayed slowly, and even then only turned to transparent ooze, which was beginning to fill the pit below the suspended bodies.
The principle of the thing, however...
"Jesus..."
Each body was clad in a Rebellion uniform, collecting dust and flies and the occasional spectator, as could be assumed by the few coins scattered about the base of the pit.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:22 pm
"Julian, get off, I-"
"What? Want to see?"
"...I..."
Julian's hand stayed firmly clamped over Crow's eyes as she trailed into silence. He looked. He wasn't precisely bothered by it, but he didn't want his sister to see. That was enough of a reason for him.
Recovering from her initial shock, Len looked at the bodies with wide eyes. They were all dressed the same. A mass execution, then? She looked at the expression on the first body's face, and felt a thrill of horror creep up her spine.
Beside her, Ethan gagged, and swallowed very hard as he averted his gaze upward and away from the pit.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:31 pm
"Rebels," Björn said awkwardly, feeling as if he had to explain, "All of us. We all died, just like the general said we would." He reached out as if to touch Mier, and then pulled back, afraid he might just fall apart.
Tears stood out in the man's eyes as he went down the line.
"Mier. Kairn. Me. Conan. Liam. Ezekiel..." and then he trailed off and stumbled back, hand clamped firmly over his mouth and tears beginning to fall.
"s**t," Liam hissed, "Don't look, DON'T LOOK." He didn't have to see to know who was hanging there. He shoved Björn back and attempted to turn him around, but the man refused to move.
And then he looked, subsequently gagging and running off to a nearby clump of bushes to vomit.
The corpse that had caused such violent reactions was fairly small compared to the rest, thin, and entire headless save a remaining curve of skull.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:36 pm
Writhing free of Julian's grip, Crow rubbed her eyes and shuddered at the sight of the bodies. Unaware of which body had caused the breakdown, she rushed to Liam and left the others behind. Julian, feeling a familiar sick feeling squirming in his stomach, guided Lenore stubbornly away from the scene. Ethan alone was left to look at the headless body, skin crawling as a fresher memory clued him in on who he was looking at.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:38 pm
Liam, sobbing convulsively, pulled back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Jesus Christ...that's...that's sick," he rambled, "God damnit, just a kid! All the...oh, God..." He clamped a hand over his mouth and turned, retching again.
Björn lost his balance entirely and fell to his knees, hands covering his mouth and nose, unable to remove his eyes from the gruesome scene. Honestly, he could have gone the rest of his life without the violent murder coming back full-force. Really, he could have.
So he screamed. An oddly loud, tortured sound.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:44 pm
Crow winced as Liam got sick again, hovering over him. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard the scream, going cold with shock as she saw who it had come from. Ethan, jerked back to reality, spun and darted to Björn, skidding across the ground and coming to a stop beside him.
Julian, ignoring Lenore's frantic protests, kept her firmly facing away.
"Get off! You're not the ********' boss of me!"
"Len, shut it."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:53 pm
Liam stayed stooped for a moment, in violent pain and afraid to stand for fear of antigravity once more taking its course. No, he felt empty.
He stood carefully and sighed, grimacing.
"It was his boyfriend," he said matter-of-factly, peering off toward Björn.
Björn barely noticed Ethan's presence. It was only when he forced himself to look away that his eyes briefly crossed the poor kid's form. He looked at Ethan, eyes wild and bloodshot and shimmering with tears. He wasn't all there, one could definitely see.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 6:57 pm
"Oh..."
Crow slung an arm 'round Liam's shoulders in case he decided to fall over, looking towards Björn in intense worry.
"Björn...come on, we should...we should go," Ethan said, voice taut in anxiety. He touched his arm tentatively at first, then held on more firmly. The first time he'd seen Björn upset, it had startled him senseless. Now it scared the hell out of him.
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:00 pm
"Yeah," Liam sighed, wrapping his arm around Crow's waist and suddenly speaking loudly, addressing the whole group, "We should find some place to stay! Continue in the morning!"
Björn's eyes searched Ethan for a moment. He didn't comprehend entirely, but stood nonetheless and lifted his chin, once more regaining his cool composure, safe the tears still running down his cheeks. His brain was very, very not-there.
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