SWNOVELS Chapter The Weight of Her Crimes
I was given an urn, they said it was the baby… Everyone kept giving me that apologetic look… Why didn’t I feel anything, was it because I didn’t know? Isn’t a mother supposed to love their child? Why, what if I’m missing something?
The Pathfinder came in while I was lost in thought, he started speaking. “How are you feeling?” Owen had his hand on my shoulder, I was staring at the urn.
I didn’t know what to say. “I’m not sure how I feel.”
I noticed the Pathfinder had a wheelchair with him. “We’ll be going home soon… I believe our welcome has been overstayed.”
We’re leaving! “I want to see Jessica!”
He stepped back in shock. “Why would you want to do that?!”
She’s my sister… “She’s my sister! I want to see her!”
He was confused now. “But Red, she…”
I interrupted him. “Take me to her!”
Owen butted in. “You’re not going to be able to convince her otherwise… I’ve never seen her so stubborn, but I don’t blame her.”
The Pathfinder nodded. “Alright then, we don’t have much time so it should be done quickly.” They both helped me into the chair… I still had the urn with me.
Owen walked next to me, the Pathfinder was pushing the chair… We went outside? Why was Jessica outside? People were walking around slowly, they stared at us when we came by… They kept giving me that look! I hated that look! We walked for a while, eventually we got to an area that said authorized personnel only… The two guards let us through.
I heard someone talk over an intercom. “Hold on, she has a visitor.” Were they referring to Jessica?
We made our way to a hanger, I saw six guards holding rifles… Jessica was opposite to them, what were they doing? She wouldn’t look at us…
The Pathfinder spoke up. “She wanted to see you… You should be grateful.”
She looked up at us, when she saw me she looked back down. “Did you come to see what I deserve?” deserve?
I looked at the Pathfinder. “What’s going on? Why is she in here?”
He sighed. “Red… She’s killed an unborn child, your unborn child… She’s being executed.” What?!
I yelled. “No! You can’t do that!”
He was surprised. “I do not have a say in the matter, it was within the jurisdiction of her government… But why would you want to keep her alive?”
She’s my sister! Why would I want her to die!? “She’s my sister! I’ve spent the last three years working with you all for a chance to see her again!”
His tone was serious. “And look how she’s repaid your efforts.”
They tried moving me away from her, I grabbed her arm. “I’m not letting you kill her!”
Owen wasn’t saying anything, the guys at the other end were shuffling nervously… The Pathfinder spoke. “Why?” He put his hand on my arm, I tightened my grip.
Jessica was still looking down. “Red, I deserve this…”
I didn’t care. “I DON’T CARE! You’re my sister! I’ve been through too much to lose you! You all keep staring at me with apologetic eyes! I’ve lost a child! Don’t you dare take my sister to!” I was crying now…
They tried pulling me away from her, Owen grabbed the urn before it fell. I used my other arm to hold onto her. Jessica was crying to; the Pathfinder wasn’t putting his heart into what he was doing… Owen wasn’t getting involved…
I screamed. “I don’t want to lose you to!”
I didn’t want to lose her! It didn’t matter to me what she did! She’s the reason I found confidence, she’s the reason I found love, she’s the reason I’m alive…! If she hadn’t of taken me away, I would have died! If she hadn’t take me away I wouldn’t have loved Elizabeth! If she hadn’t taken me away… My life wouldn’t have any meaning…! If she hadn’t of taken me away, I wouldn’t have stopped accepting things for how they were…! I want something right now, and it’s to be with my sister!
She was crying but not saying anything. The Pathfinder stopped trying to pull me away, he’d given up. The guards, they walked away… But there was a man there, he was one of the people that talked with the Pathfinder…
He walked up to us. “What is this?” No one answered. “I came to see a routine execution and I find this…”
I yelled at him. “Please don’t kill her!”
He stared at me, he didn’t have that look, he was cold. “Why shouldn’t I? She’s a child murderer, she deserves nothing more than death.” She’s the reason I have purpose!
He made me angry. “Stop! If it wasn’t her for her I’d be dead! I’m alive because of her! I found love because of her! I found purpose because of her!”
He pulled out a cigar, he lit it and started smoking. “Is that so? I wonder how your baby would feel about that?”
Owen’s face twisted into anger. “Who the hell do you think you are!”
The Pathfinder put his hand up and silenced him. “This is an incredibly depressing affair… I’m sure you would know that picking at a fresh wound will not end well.”
The man arched his back and cracked it. “I’ll pick at as many wounds as I need to… I’m a soldier, not a caretaker. My goal is to protect and punish, right now someone deserves punishment.”
The Pathfinder started trying to reason with him. “She clearly doesn’t want to lose her sister. As much as I am against it, is there anything that can be done?”
The man thought for a minute… He walked up to me. “How about this. Give her what she took from your child, life. We’ll bring you to the gate. If you can stand up and carry her to your means of heading home, then she can go… If not, she’ll be shot on the spot.” The Pathfinder and Owen gasped.
Owen was about to do something stupid but the Pathfinder stopped him. “I feel this may be a bit extreme.”
The man replied. “No more extreme than what she did…If a mother will forgive, and even save her child’s murderer. Who am I to say no, to her request.” Jessica wasn’t saying anything. Why wouldn’t she say anything?
The man unlocked the cuffs on Jessica and escorted her to the gate, we were following close behind… I was going to have to stand up? On top of that, I have to carry her? We were all at the gate. Owen looked nervous, the Pathfinder seemed to be as well… The trucks were around five hundred feet away… people was staring, some of them whispered.
The man pulled out a pistol. “Alright, open the gate!” He hit her over the head with it and Jessica fell down, he knocked her out?!
I stared at him. “Why would you do that?!”
He shrugged. “You have to carry the weight of her crimes, if you want to save her… I’ll be watching” he walked to one of the towers…
Owen put his hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have to do this. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
The Pathfinder stayed calm. “I do not support this, if you want to save her that is up to you. I will stand by whatever you choose though. Her life is in your hands now.”
My hands… I won’t lose Jessica, regardless as much as she thinks she deserves it, I won’t let them kill her… I tried standing up. My stomach was on fire, but I got up… I couldn’t stand up straight, I hobbled over to Jessica. The Pathfinder and Owen were keeping close to me, they didn’t want me to fall. I tried picking her up, it hurt so much. I grabbed her arm and started dragging her. I was only able to pull her a few inches at a time, it took almost half an hour to get over there. Everything was hurting but it was worth it. We were at the truck, I felt like I was going puke and kept almost doubling over.
I saw that guy in the distance, he was walking over to us. It didn’t take him long to get here, he still had his cigar. “Now put her in the truck.”
I was confused. “What?”
The Pathfinder and Owen didn’t say anything, but he did. “You dragged her over here. Now lift her into the truck.”
Owen was giving me an expression not to do it, the Pathfinder didn’t do anything. I had to lift her… It hurt to drag her, how would I lift her… I was hesitating, I saw him pull out his pistol… Seeing it made me jump, I grabbed her… I lifted her up, screaming the entire time. It hurt, my entire body was on fire… I put her in the truck and fell… My legs felt wet, the stitches ripped open… I looked down and saw blood everywhere… Owen and the Pathfinder were rushing to help me.
Everything was fading but I heard him say something. “Congratulations, you saved the life of a child killer. She’s your problem now.” Is that all he saw?!