Vicious Memories

Chapter 58

That evening saw the clearing transformed into the most beautiful courtroom in history.

The tired sun slipped down the western sky. Green grass and brown cabins bore witness to a group of people pushed miles beyond the limit of what a human being should be capable of enduring.

All I wanted to do was sink into the dirt beneath my feet, to lay my head on my hands and sleep the rest of my life away, to wake up in a different place, a different time, a different body. That was life, though. No shortcuts, no reset button, no way to fast forward to a better part of the movie. The only way to get anywhere else was to move there yourself.

I had moved this far, hadn't I?

The village had prepared for a situation like this, agreed upon what to do should the need ever arise. Two tables faced the speaker's block where a judge would preside, one for the prosecution and one for the defense. Six chairs for judges sat like a neat line of children waiting for admittance to the amusement park.

It took less than a minute for the village to unanimously elect Gabriel as judge.

He drew five names on scraps of precious paper from a bowl. From among those names Bev was chosen to defend Felix, a role she accepted with a scowl and a grimace. Arun nominated himself and Neema to act as the prosecution. Arun, Finn, Cooper, Tana, Scott, and Barbara from the fishing detail were chosen from the bowl as jurors.

"Are you okay?" Neema asked me from behind the prosecutor's table. "You look awful."

"Yeah. Just let me know if you have questions or need my help."

Gabriel raised his hands for silence. The deflated football sat sadly on the block before him, its worn leather bleached from traditional chocolate to a tawny tan. The crowd behind the tables milled restlessly, tight as a toy rope between two energetic shepherds. Mouths became thin white lines, hands and fists trembled, eyes narrowed, creases materialized on foreheads.

"Everyone to order," Gabriel rumbled. "We're about to begin."

The back of my neck prickled, but when I looked over my shoulder nobody was there. All eyes were fixed on Gabriel. I couldn't remember feeling this disconcerted in my life - though that didn't count for very much. My nerves were frayed to the stem.

"This commences the trial of Felix Brighten for the murders of Jessica Canopy, Sirus Stargazer, and Shana Summer, as well as the kidnapping of Madeline Aliment-Sarriette."

In the golden-hour sunlight Gabriel's opening statements flitted from ear to ear, well-delivered. This was not how courts were run in any country around the world, but nobody had any latent memories that could tell us any differently. And who was to say that courts were run in the correct way as they were? This was a chance for us to make our own justice, one that was fair and tailored to work under our circumstances.

"Now," Gabriel called loudly, "if you would please bring out the defendant."

The entire group turned in unison. Gabriel's - No, I corrected myself, Arun's - cabin was the closest building to the clearing, a structure made entirely from the sweat of the man now being held under guard within its very walls. The irony was not lost on us.

Salvador brought Felix out and he blinked furiously under the sudden onslaught of light. The ropes restraining him had been replaced with the steel handcuffs from the first black briefcase. His eyes landed on the faces of the villagers facing him and he balked.

I watched as pure suffering crawled across his face. He tried to turn around but Salvador pulled him on, through an opening in the crowd that we reluctantly shuffled to make. He took small, tentative steps, and refused to meet anyone's gaze.

Pity reached out a cold hand, grabbing hold of my wrist, but I swatted it away quickly. Now was not the time. I steeled myself for what I thought was going to be a long, taxing, and drawn-out trial.

"The defendant has arrived. Will the judges please rise?"

The six of them stood from their chairs.

"Do you swear to be fair and impartial in your judgement, to take into account all testimony and evidence presented to you, to weigh your decisions with the utmost gravity, and to otherwise comport yourselves in your duty as jurors to the best of your abilities?"

One by one they answered in the affirmative, then sat.

Gabriel gestured to Arun and Neema next. "Do you promise to prosecute Felix Brighten as proxies for the victims to the best of your abilities, swearing to tell only the truth as you know it and to present only truthful evidence and testimony?"

"I do," they said simultaneously.

"And do you," Felix asked Bev, "swear to defend Felix Brighten as his elected counsel to the best of your abilities, setting aside previous bias and any pre-conceived notions you might hold regarding this case?"

"I do," Bev said, her mouth twisting even as her voice rang out clear and fresh.

"Very well." Gabriel looked down to where his hands rested on the speaker's block and one of them seemed to unconsciously reach for the deflated football. He pulled it back quickly. "Felix Brighten, you are charged with the murders of Jessica Canopy, Sirus Stargazer, and Shana Summer, as well as the kidnapping of Madeline Aliment-Sarriette. How do you plead?"

Felix didn't answer immediately. He stared up at Gabriel for several seconds, the time dragging on, moments warping and expanding all around us. I drew my breath in and held it. My hands found each other behind my back, my feet resolutely planted in the grass beneath me.

Felix turned to Bev, who was waiting for his answer expectantly. Then he looked at the rest of us. When his eyes met mine he smiled sadly.

He drew his shoulders back and straightened his spine.

"I plead guilty."