The Bone Cutter

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Good evening America!" The spokesman said into the microphone. The crowd cheered, and the cameras were all facing him. "Welcome back to the long-awaited June execution!" More cheering, and I felt my stomach curdle up in disgust. "Today Inanis Messor, along with his wife, our gorgeous Harvester, Mirea, will be announcing tomorrow's execution. So please, give all respect and admiration, to our favorite executioner, and his dear accomplice."   

The crowd was wild, as I expected. Inanis and I walked side-by-side out onto the stage.

Inanis bowed to the crowd, and I realized I had to do that too, so I quickly bent down in the most awkward bow ever filmed on national television.

When we arose, I stole a glance at my husband, who looked radiant under the stage lights. It was almost as if he was born to do just this.

I was pretty sure I didn't look even half as natural as he did. In fact, I was surer I looked like a fish out of water.

The spokesman turned back to the crowd after greeting Inanis and I and handing Inanis the card with the name of his next victim.

I stared at the card for a long moment, wonder who on earth could be unfortunate enough to be picked.

The spokesman's voice was so loud in the microphone, that it shocked me out of my trance, as I realized I had zoned off in the middle of being on national television.

To think Inanis does it so often, and yet nobody knows, he must be professional at masking his thoughts.

"Let us start the countdown!" The spokesman shouted, and the crowd did just that. Thousands of voices speaking at the top of their lungs.

"Twenty-nine!"

"Twenty-eight!"

"Twenty-seven!"

Yet again I found myself staring up at Inanis, who held the card so elegantly between his fingers. His posture was perfect, along with his eyes which were glued straight ahead. Nobody else would know it, but I could see just how badly the medication affected him.

Inanis isn't like this. He is not a statue.

I found myself wanting to reach out and touch him. And then immediately I remembered that he didn't deserve comfort, so I scowled, and turned away.

Each second felt like an hour. The faces in the crowd were all lit up with anticipation and joy and I wanted to scold them all for being so cruel and barbaric.

This is not how things should be. We should not normalize murder. Just because these politicians are corrupt, does not make them worthy of such a cruel punishment.

"Six!"

"Five!"

"Four!"

I took a deep breath to calm myself. My hands were betraying me by shaking voraciously. I tried to hide them behind my back and look collected, but I was terrified on the inside.

This is something I will never get used to.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

Inanis opened the card in his hands, and flipped it to the crowd, as he spoke into the microphone, for a split second he seemed to hesitate, which was something nobody else would have noticed but I did, because Inanis doesn't not make mistakes regarding his job.

And then he said the name, and I knew why.

"Clause Rodney!"

My head whipped to Inanis, he smiled gorgeously to the crowd, and they cheered and cheered, and I wanted to do nothing more than gut him on this stage and be done with it.