Last Hope

~A Mystery and a Murder~

Weeks before:

"Seth!" I snapped out of a dream. Wait...was it a dream? It had felt real. My head felt heavy and a headache was starting to come around. I thought hard. It had been so lifelike. What had happened? There had been a man with a long grey beard yelling at me. His piercing blue eyes had had me pinned. I closed my eyes again and brought my hand to my face. Something was wrong. My hand felt warm...and sticky? 

~

"SETH!" My mother screamed at me. "Come outside to the streets! QUICK!" I heard an ear-piercing wail.  Scrambling out the door, I felt panic rising in my throat. Something was definitely wrong. Really, really wrong. Blood pounding in my ears, I rushed to my mother's side. she immediately clung to me, shielding my eyes.

"Don't look...just...please...it's A-" I flung my mothers arm from my face. What I beheld before me was something I was not prepared for. I chocked on my own saliva. My one and only friend was being flogged. Bright red gashes could be seen on his crooked back, while purple and black bruises prominently stood out on his jaw, face, arms, and shoulders. I could only stare. I started to form his name with my lips but couldn't. I couldn't speak. My throat felt parched and dry. My face felt drained of all color.

"A-Adrian...why....ADRIAN!" My voice echoed along the building walls. It was a desperate scream. My friend slowly turned his head to look at me. A small smile formed at the corners of his mouth when he saw me. A glimmer of hope came into his eyes. Suddenly, the whip cracked and I heard him screech. I couldn't bear it. Covering my ears, I bent down and buried my face into my mothers bony shoulder. Even though I was a man of nineteen, I cried harder then a newborn babe that night. My best friend had been accused of murdering the Duke of Arthenia. A crime that was only punishable by death.

Hope y'all like it! Just setting up a big cliffhanger for my first story. Please comment on anything I could do to make it better!