Wages of Sin
by A. Craig Newman
An excerpt from "Wages of Sin", available on Smashwords
Anne Marie shook when she stood before the Executer in the Sentencing Hall. She could feel the presence of the guards behind her, hovering like specters of death, cloaked in black uniforms of Law Enforcers. Wearing a hospital gown colored the bright orange of inmates, she waited, eyes down, for the Recounting. She could see a table covered in blue silk. On the table were a red pill, a syringe with clear pink liquid, and a glass of water.
She tried to be brave and strong, but a crime had been committed and punishment was due. Her courage failed her in the light of the implements of retribution. In that pill and syringe were the wages of a love gone wrong and her sin's discovery. She would be punished today and tomorrow and for days to follow. She had heard stories of what awaited her. Weeping openly, tears streamed down her cheeks.
The Judge, seated behind the Executer at a bench on a raised platform, wrote something down on the papers before him. Anne Marie wondered if he truly wrote anything important or if his delay was simply a tactic to elicit fear and tension. He could be writing a letter to his favorite aunt, just to make Anne Marie's blood pressure rise. She hated that this "tactic" was working marvelously.
The Judge straightened and organized his papers on the desk. Then, he stood and announced with great clarity, "It is time to mete Justice. Let those to be punished step forward."
Anne Marie froze in place. She wept and shook violently, but was unable to make her feet move forward.
The Judge frowned. "Come. Come. The time for your tears has passed. You must receive your sentence now. Step forward or your sentence will be doubled."
Anne Marie crumbled to the floor and crawled backwards. The guards behind her quickly hooked her arms and yanked her to her feet. They marched her forward until her thighs touched the table, almost pushing her onto it. As it was, she bent forward against her will, but was where the Judge wanted her to be.
The Judge picked up a paper and began to read. "Anne Marie Thomas. You have been found guilty of crimes against Nature and Law in the act of Homosexual Carnal Relations. This cannot go unpunished. Sentence is to be executed immediately. The sentence for your participation in the criminal acts is Perpetual Stimulation for one week. Will you submit to the punishment?"
Anne Marie briefly tried to relinquish herself from the guards' iron grip, but to no avail. She shook her head, sending tears from her cheeks flying left and right. "Please, please, no. Don't do this! I'm sorry!"
The Judge was unmoved. "Accept the punishment or duration will be extended to two weeks."
The guards grabbed her wrists and placed her hands on the table.
The Executer held up the pill in his right hand and the syringe in his left. "Take the pill, honey," he said, "while you still have a chance."
Anne Marie looked into the Executer's eyes. He had the warmth of a grandmother trying to advise a grandchild considering running from an irate parent. In spite of her continued reluctance, she opened her mouth. He placed the pill on her tongue and she swallowed with a gulp of water.
"Your sentence," the Judge said, "will begin tomorrow and will last for seven days. You are to report to your home. Your warden will arrive in the morning. May God be with you."
The guards released Anne Marie and the doors of the hall opened. She stepped back carefully, as if the whole process might start again if she dared to walk out of the room too boldly. The sound of weeping filled the hall as she left.
Anne Marie shook when she stood before the Executer in the Sentencing Hall. She could feel the presence of the guards behind her, hovering like specters of death, cloaked in black uniforms of Law Enforcers. Wearing a hospital gown colored the bright orange of inmates, she waited, eyes down, for the Recounting. She could see a table covered in blue silk. On the table were a red pill, a syringe with clear pink liquid, and a glass of water.
She tried to be brave and strong, but a crime had been committed and punishment was due. Her courage failed her in the light of the implements of retribution. In that pill and syringe were the wages of a love gone wrong and her sin's discovery. She would be punished today and tomorrow and for days to follow. She had heard stories of what awaited her. Weeping openly, tears streamed down her cheeks.
The Judge, seated behind the Executer at a bench on a raised platform, wrote something down on the papers before him. Anne Marie wondered if he truly wrote anything important or if his delay was simply a tactic to elicit fear and tension. He could be writing a letter to his favorite aunt, just to make Anne Marie's blood pressure rise. She hated that this "tactic" was working marvelously.
The Judge straightened and organized his papers on the desk. Then, he stood and announced with great clarity, "It is time to mete Justice. Let those to be punished step forward."
Anne Marie froze in place. She wept and shook violently, but was unable to make her feet move forward.
The Judge frowned. "Come. Come. The time for your tears has passed. You must receive your sentence now. Step forward or your sentence will be doubled."
Anne Marie crumbled to the floor and crawled backwards. The guards behind her quickly hooked her arms and yanked her to her feet. They marched her forward until her thighs touched the table, almost pushing her onto it. As it was, she bent forward against her will, but was where the Judge wanted her to be.
The Judge picked up a paper and began to read. "Anne Marie Thomas. You have been found guilty of crimes against Nature and Law in the act of Homosexual Carnal Relations. This cannot go unpunished. Sentence is to be executed immediately. The sentence for your participation in the criminal acts is Perpetual Stimulation for one week. Will you submit to the punishment?"
Anne Marie briefly tried to relinquish herself from the guards' iron grip, but to no avail. She shook her head, sending tears from her cheeks flying left and right. "Please, please, no. Don't do this! I'm sorry!"
The Judge was unmoved. "Accept the punishment or duration will be extended to two weeks."
The guards grabbed her wrists and placed her hands on the table.
The Executer held up the pill in his right hand and the syringe in his left. "Take the pill, honey," he said, "while you still have a chance."
Anne Marie looked into the Executer's eyes. He had the warmth of a grandmother trying to advise a grandchild considering running from an irate parent. In spite of her continued reluctance, she opened her mouth. He placed the pill on her tongue and she swallowed with a gulp of water.
"Your sentence," the Judge said, "will begin tomorrow and will last for seven days. You are to report to your home. Your warden will arrive in the morning. May God be with you."
The guards released Anne Marie and the doors of the hall opened. She stepped back carefully, as if the whole process might start again if she dared to walk out of the room too boldly. The sound of weeping filled the hall as she left.
