Blood Moon

Chapter 18 - Trial

Chapter 18

Trial

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Leira POV

"Unnatural!"

"Animal!"

"Monster!"

"Parasite!"

   The hatred in the room skyrocketed. Rotten cscoe fruit were pelted at her collapsed body, the hard pips in the center leaving a red mark on her exposed skin. The resulting smell is revolting.

   Guards grab Griffin holding him back when he tries to jump the divide and protect her.

  Sofi's unintelligible whimpers were drowned out by the noise.

  "Stop it!" Griffin yells at the crow, struggling against the restraining arms. "Councilor's make them stop!"

   But his cries fall on deaf ears. By allowing this attack to happen right before our eyes, can see if we will react, if we would betray ourselves to save our friend.

     ‘Sofi, Sofi I need you to listen to me.’ I call to her.

   She doesn't respond to me. Her thoughts are full of sorrow, self-pity and horror. She cannot believe what she did, how she did it. An ever spinning thought vortex of fear and condemnation.

   ‘Sofi, honey, you need to listen to me.’ I crooned.

   ‘Honey, this was not your fault. You didn’t cause the damage all by yourself.’

    ‘Sofi.’

    ‘Please listen.’ But she keeps on ignoring me.

    Ariel doesn't see her ever recovering from the Kassalik bite, that she will be this unreachable for the rest of her life.

    I don't agree with her. I won't let Sofi go without a fight. I just have to keep trying.

    "Silence!"

   "Sofi Trainer you are charged with being an unnatural, how do you plead?"

     "Filthy!"

     "Vulgar!"

    The crowd hollers, but I have are already began to tune them out. The thoughts here are unoriginal; fear, hate, vengeance and suspicion. Some are calculating looking at ways they can manipulate the proceedings to get revenge or more power, others have just been swept up in the hype and are too weak willed to try and put a stop to this.

   I search past the crowd, out this dark den of fevered hate, down the dim corridor out into the sunlight world beyond. Looking, I sift trough until I found the one I seek.

    It must be my lucky day; he is upset enough for me to get through. He was being punished.

     ‘Mummy's so meannnn!’

    ‘Rolon, Rolon I need help. Can you to come to the big council room?’

     ‘Who you?’

     ‘I'm Leira, you remember me. We played together last week.’

     ‘Where you?’

    ‘At the council rooms can you come here and help me?’

    ‘Don't know f Mummy let me, I gotta ask.’

     ‘No do-’

     "I said silence!" the thunderous sound of the hammer striking stone, jolts me back, breaking my connection.

The room stopped fell silent waiting what comes next on bated breath.

    "Sofi Marie Trainers, you have been found guilty of unnatural tendencies. You will be taken to the henge on the night of the Blood Moon and sacrificed to the Tyrii. " Father decreed.

   "Take her away!"

    "Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh!" the outraged scream from the doorway drowned out the last of Fertherstone's words.

   "Evil! Unnatural! Wench! She must be bitten and bitten now!" the woman demanded as she pushes her way through the crowd. On here hip cradled protectively was a small boy about four years old. His red haired head buried against the woman's shoulder.

     "She means to corrupt my son, bite her now!"

     With that she grabs a large dripping rotten cscoe and throws it at my head.