The Trial

Chapter 27 - Edited

Sleep didn't come easily last night with the torture room still planted firmly in my mind, and my eyes still burn a little as I try to make sense of something that's eluded me. There've been so many revolutions that've taken place and none seem to be able to escape the brutality that follows. Why do they keep going through the same thing without fail?

You're asking the right question and you'll get there. I wish I could point you in the right direction, but my captors demand I remain locked within and won't give me the freedom to point a single finger. Whatever it is you want from me, tell me and be done with it.

There has to be something from history to help the anti-revolutionaries do something different, but my eyes won't focus and my brain's foggy from lack of sleep. I'll have to take this up later, since I've other work that must be done. Rabbi Solomon's taken the brunt of the messages, but there are those for my eyes only and that's what I must wade through right now.

The Controller's persistent in his queries to get a list, but he can wait. He's already in my debt and I'll own him completely before long. I've no doubt he's going to try to weasel his way out, but there's nothing he can do. Let that foul excuse for a human sit in his own filth a little longer, since I can still smell a remnant of him hiding among the pine.

There's no messages from the Propagandist, and hope she's dead. Rabbi Solomon will confirm it soon enough, but the thought does bring a smile to my face. If she's gone, I hope it was a less than pleasant death considering the misery she helped to bring into the world.

The purge will never be forgotten and those responsible must pay with their lives. Their callous actions led to countless dead, and don't think any of them has lost an hour's sleep. They're too arrogant to believe they could be wrong about anything, which means they may very well use it again and I'll do everything within my power to stop it from happening.

If she's dead, which I do hope is the case, then that leaves seven. The remaining judges can never know what's coming. Nothing can be rushed. As much as I'd like to lead an army into their chambers to hold my own trial, it's quite impossible. There's no army to lead.

That's going to change in time, but for now there's a severe lack of people in any condition to fight. Those who would join us lack the strength to do so, and our supplies are limited. Supply depots are a start, but that's all it is. Time's needed to build the forces necessary, and I must remain hidden.

There's a knock on the door as it opens, and Rabbi Solomon's a much needed break for my tired eyes. His face is a firm mask, but there's something just beneath the surface telling me of good news. I wave him in as I keep my anticipation as well hidden as his, but it's no easy task when I'm this tired. The last of the three may already be dead and all I can do is wait for him to tell me.

He's frustratingly slow closing the door, or perhaps that's nothing more than my mind slowing things as has happened in the past. There's a soft click as the door closes, and his face retains the stern expression hiding his thoughts. His eyes betray him a little, but not enough to reveal anything other than confirming good news.

Rabbi Solomon retrieves two pieces of paper from some unknown pocket and sets them before me with a smile. Both contain names, but I've no idea which are the false traitors and which are meant to sneak in our people right under his nose. Other than the names, there's nothing written to determine anything, and he knows just how much I hate these games.