Days Since...: Xavier: Day 853

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Despite the noose closed around his neck, the young man fought, twisting his legs, begging for freedom through muffled cries—excited words from beneath the black hood.

“We’ll let you go soon enough.” The Guard smiled. “No need to hurry, kid.”

He continued to struggle, causing the scaffolding to jolt forward beneath their feet. One of the Guards stumbled, his elbow dropped, allowing the prisoner to take this moment to wiggle an arm free. He fell to the decking—the rope snatched his head backward. His body convulsed through a coughing fit, only relieved by the Guard scooping him back up and into position.

“Can’t wait, huh?”

They tightened their grip as dulled screams escaped from inside the hood.

“Xavier Finch!” The crowd turned toward a man that appeared behind them. “You have been sentenced to death for the crime of treason. The evidence presented was noted during a private trial. The witness statements presented alongside the physical evidence were overwhelmingly substantiated in your guilty finding. May your death prove as a warning to others who may stray from the cause. Our mission is strong and righteous, and those who wish it harm will perish as well.” The man nodded as he finished.

“So long, kid.” The Guards swung the boy forward.

A collective gasp let out from the deflated crowd as he swung forward. The length of the rope jerked him just above the ground. The taut recoil brought him back and forth as he flailed about trying to catch upon anything. He struggled, fought what little more that he could.

A few pushed through the crowd. Several pled to have him cut down, but it was too late. The air had escaped him, and his body came to rest, swaying slightly beneath the tiers of the scaffolding.

The crowd’s cries for true justice were silenced by the firing of a rifle. That single shot—the hushing of anger, hostility, and dissent. They lowered their eyes. For everyone that stood in the courtyard now knew that the agreement was broken. That their world was something different. Peace had come at a cost.

“Haverty, sir, we searched the entire school and the grounds.”

“And?”

“Nothing. We did another head count just to be sure.”

“And?”

“They’re all still missing—a Matthew Swanson, Jenny Fischer, and Marshall Grant. They were last seen at dinner, but nothing since dusk.”

“How’d they get out?”

“It appears they snuck out through the back. Guards found some footprints leading through the mud toward the river. We think they snuck under the wall.”

“How’d y’all let them get away with that?”

“It looks like they were digging for quite some time.”

“And nobody saw them?”

“I’ll figure out what went wrong.”

“At least tell me Thomas went after them.”

“His crew is on it.”

“I want them found. Don’t care if it’s alive or not!”

“Yes, sir.”