I was walking down the street listening to my favorite song. watching for cars as I cross the street, I make my way across to the courthouse for my hearing. then I saw a kid start running across the street towards me.
"Sir, would you listen to me for one moment?" I heard him say.
"what is it you want from me kid, don't you have anything better than to torment an old soldier?" I turned to walk away after asking him.
"Would you like to be a young man once again, Sir?" He continued.
"Why do you ask, child?" I replied after turning to look at the child
"Because sir if you go to that hearing you will die."
"that is fine young one if I die then I know where I'm heading."
"But sir are you not afraid of dying?"
"no child I am not afraid of dying."
"then I have nothing to say to you." and then the boy turned around and started to walk off. and I turned and kept walking. as I got to the other side of the street I heard tires and brakes squealing. I turned around just as the boy I had talked to had been smashed by a truck.
"well that almost didn't work," the man standing behind me said. But when I turn around I see No one standing there.
'Hmmm, I wonder who that was.' I wondered turning around to see the driver of the truck looking at the spot where everyone saw the kid go flying. "oh fuck I'm going to be late."
_____________________________________Later in the courtroom______________________________________
"Arthur Hindel, you are on trial today for the massacre of the smatian nation. for these transgressions, you are to be tried as guilty. how do you plead?"
"I shall plead innocence," I reply then I look towards the judge and he gives me a disapproving look but then his face changed to one of curiosity.
"could you further explain why you believe yourself innocent, Demon of the west?"
"I'm not the demon of the west, besides why am I being punished for following the orders of my commanding officer?" I turned towards the jury and said, "The order I was given from my commanding officer was that we were told to kill all of the smatians whether they were innocent or not. If my commanding officer actually received those orders from command or not. It was not my place to question him. at that time I had no personal grudge against the smatian people but, the same attack that killed my commander also took the lives of my only friends so in vengence I rose up the ranks to then see if the order was ever issued from command after realizing that the order was never issued I pulled the units under my command out of the region so that they could try to pick up and rebuild. I realize that if I had reported the misconduct to command then it would never have come to this but, because of the respect, I felt for third general Hawkings. I then took credit for forging the order. All of this for a couple of old war buddies who I will never see again. After pulling out my troops I put together a unit for advanced recon into smatia's neighbor altess but, my unit never made it past any of the smatians cities."
"Do you admit to killing all of the residents in catcia after you were told by command to pull out of your assigned region."
"I admit to pulling my units out of the region but, I was never told to abandon the position. So I remained behind and defended the position until I could no longer and I don't remember anything after that."
"Well, Mr. Hindel we have the only one of the smatian guards that survived your imprisonment. If you would Sir Anst," After the Judge said that a man was wheeled out with a drip in his arm. he was quite tan and would have been 190cm if he was able to stand but, his legs looked as if someone had crushed every bone under his kneecaps. He has quite a lean musculature and looks as if he works out regularly even with his crippled legs.
"Prisoner R1 it's good to see you again even after your escape the mark you left on my people will never be erased. As you should well know you are the first person to escape our jailing system and my country wishes to know how you escaped. I am here to testify against you and to receive that information."
"I'm sorry sir I do not know of which you speak. I don't remember ever going to prison in smatia, the last thing I remember is finishing all of my ammunition then I woke up sixteen months later on the border between Dragnalia and Artonia. I don't have the answers that you seek."
"that does not change the fact that you killed a fourth of the guards the day that you escaped from our prison that day then you carved your way through smatia's northern region hurting any civilian and killing military personnel anywhere you went. I watched you cut your bloody path as I recovered from the night of your escape. on the night of your escape, I was knocked out from behind and when I woke up I heard the screams of the guards and prisoners under the wreckage and after that it has haunted me for a while now
"We the court of Artonia judge you guilty of the genocide of the smatians. as such you are sentenced to death by the whip. two lashes for each person that you killed. Then if you survive you will be shot with a firing squad. Take him from this sacred place and prepare him for his punishment."
There was a sound behind me then I felt the guards grab me from behind. It was then that I realized there was no way to get out of this torture. They led me into a room that was grey with a wooden cross that they laid me down on then, they nailed me facing away from them so my face was against the cross. my feet were able to touch the ground so that I could breathe normally. At least that was what I thought they would do but then the cross was attached to wires to lift me off the ground. As the lashes were about to begin a man swaggered into my view and said to me, "How does my newest technique feel? Is it suitable for one of the only people that survived the mas de courtes shooting practices that terrorized this nation for so long? where are the skills that kept you alive huh?"
"Fuck you," I say to him.
"Mr. Shaw, if you could move things along? We're getting bored." I heard my judge say over the loudspeaker. Suddenly the unmistakable feeling of electricity coursing through my blood. Then the sound of screaming stopped and then the laughing began and It never stopped. They started chanting and I saw my body then it was black everywhere.
As the black dissipated I felt better, younger, Guess that is a side effect of death.