WEEK 3: April 15th - April 19th

[cartesio]

Third Week

The peaceful times are over. Moloch von Zinzer was murdered, and Nine was sentenced as his murderer. Everyone in Cartesio knows that.

Although life goes on, it seems the town of Cartesio isn't going to forget the tourists' transgressions. Not only they commited larceny in the cinema, they also murdered and executed in their town! It's no surprise their hospitality towards the visitors has cooled down considerably.

Not only they're maintaining a tense cordiality with them, they also have started talking behind the visitors' backs. All kinds of rumors are starting to sprout, yet nobody seems to be willing to say it to the tourists' faces. Talking directly to most passerby makes them distrustful, and nobody seems to want to be in close quarters alone with them.

It's only matter of time before the relationship between tourists and Cartesio starts degrading even further.

In the lobby of the motel there's a few more brochures, and the maps have been updated once again.

Links

IC Rules
Guestbook
Room Assignments
Events
Locations
NPCs
Activity Check

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday

[Welcome to the third week! If you want to contact the Sergeant, please post here!. Also please remember to submit your activity check!]

Comments

EXECUTION

[cartesio]

April 15th. Execution day. Just like the Sergeant said he would, at sunrise three people enter the execution room: the Sergeant himself, the culprit who performed the crime, being restrained by the Sergeant -- Nine -- and the executioner who volunteered -- Oda. Nobody says a word, the atmosphere is heavy. Anyone from the town who chooses to watch is forced to stay outside the execution room, looking inside from behind a transparent partition.

The electric chair is ignored. Instead, Nine is left in front of it, in the center of the room. The Sergeant steps backwards to the entrance, keeping Nine restrained with his power until he judges he's far away enough. As soon as Nine feels he can move freely again, he uses fire. His hand glows, it's his last desperate move! Underneath the Sergeant a circle of fire sprouts, enveloping him briefly in a column of flames, lasting just a moment, Nine watching and hoping to see the Sergeant knocked out, or simply injured enough to get away. To his side, Oda watches, impassive but ready to act if it turns out they'd be able to leave.

Any hopes Nine had of getting away are dashed when, after that brief moment, the Sergeant is seen, intact. He hasn't even shifted positions. All he does is shake his head, speechless, before closing the door to the execution room, and watches the procedure away from the rest of the spectators.

Resigned to his death, Nine's shoulders slump and he faces Oda. What can one say to the person that's executing you? Even though he's not in any position to make any requests, he puts his best brave face, smiles daringly, and says very clearly:

"Let's get this done quick, yo"

He wasn't going to let himself spend his last moments with fear, that simply wasn't Nine's way. Oda nods, raising his gun, and takes careful aim at Nine, right to the head. The sight of the gun is fearsome, once it aims Nine's resolve wavers for a moment, enough that, in an attempt to keep himself calm and accept his impending death, he starts humming . It feels like that moment extends forever, Nine humming to himself, taking a deep breath and just...standing there, ready to accept death.

Oda never hesitated in his role. The moment he entered the room he knew what he'd have to do, and he was willing to do it. Both as a sign of respect at Nine, and because he didn't intend to do it any other way, he was going to make it as quick as possible -- one bullet. For just a few short seconds, although for everyone watching and taking part of this seemed much longer, Oda lets Nine hum.

"...I hope you get to see your friends again"

The last words he'd hear weren't what he expected. Although he doesn't stop, he steels himself the moment Oda pulls the trigger, as if that was going to make the endeavor easier for him and for his executioner.

The humming stopped. Suddenly, time marched on. Nine slumped to the floor, lifeless after just one shot, just like both him and Oda hoped. Oda lowered the gun, looked at Nine's lifeless body as a farewell, and turned to the door of the execution room.

"It's done"

Maybe the Sergeant noticed how heavy the ambient was, because he doesn't reply. All he does is open the door, and lets Oda out of the execution room. Only once almost everyone leaves, he enters, takes Nine's body, and marches out, carrying it over his shoulder.

The first execution had been completed.