Prospero's Half-Life (25 page)

The crowd was
made to stand for longer, and the white robes seated at the table
did nothing. Brother Bentley stared out into the crowd without any
sort of expression; the others stared similarly but their
expressions were anything but neutral. They looked angry, nervous,
and strongly frightened. There was a rustle in the grass at the
other side of the park, and a murmur ran through the assembled
crowd. Five women were pulling a train of dining carts through the
rough path made by the trampled feet of the crowd. They brought
these dining carts to the table and began to unload their contents
onto the white robed men’s plates. The food steamed heavily into
the air and the smell wafted cruelly over the gathered men and
women; the smell of hunted game caused a wave of intense
salivation. The crowd watched awkwardly as the white robed men
tucked in with relish; many of the eaters seemed to be overtly
attempting to out-do their fellows in terms of the gusto with which
they were eating. The slurps and smacks as they devoured the meat
were the only real sound in the park; in the face of a line of
imposing men in thick black robes, none of the crowd wanted to make
a noise.

When the white
robed men finished eating, Brother Bentley stood; the line of black
robes went down to one knee so that the crowd was able to see the
table of white robes without obstruction. Bentley raised his hands
to the sky and began to pray loudly.

“
Our Father,” he began, his voice ringing like a thick bell in
the spring afternoon, “who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. We
gathered here thank thee for the feast we have so enjoyed today,
and for the bounty of the Earth that thou hast placed before us. In
one voice, we give thanks. Amen”.

“
AMEN” the crowd chanted at once, well practiced. Bentley
lowered his arms and turned his attention to the crowd before
him.

“
Brothers and sisters!” he exclaimed. “We are gathered here in
the youth of this new year to give thanks for the bounty we have
been given – our lives, that we have shepherded through the harsh
winter”. He leaned forward and placed his fists upon the table.
“Yet some among us refuse to give thanks. Some among us have turned
their eyes from the perfect contemplation of the glory of God, and
have taken up arms with that old tempter, Lucifer the Serpent.
There are some among us who plot to destroy all that we have worked
for”. He gestured towards the kneeling figure of James. “This is
one such corrupted being, a foolish human who has abandoned the
everlasting love of God for the sensual lies of the devil. He has
conspired with others to destroy our wonderful House of God, but he
has been ferreted out, by the good works and skill of our fellows,
and the grace of the Lord Above. He has not given up his fellow
hellspawn, but in time, all of you whom dwell in the Shadow will be
rooted out and brought before the white-hot justice of the vengeful
Lord.”.

Richard shifted uncomfortably, the muscles in his feet growing
hot and angry.
It’s only a matter of
time
he thought, frightened.

Bentley
straightened himself and his face took on a contemplative
expression. “Yet in this,” he continued, “I must shoulder my own
share of the blame. In the deep of the night, I must ask myself:
does God still wish me to lead His flock in their Holy mission?
Does the flock still have confidence in I, their shepherd? I submit
the question to a vote of my apostles, they whom speak for the
silent, worshipful majority. Do I still have the confidence of the
flock?” He gestured to his plate. “Underneath your plate is your
ballot, placed there to reflect your private, inner thoughts. On
that ballot is a symbol of your vote in this matter, placed with
you by the grace and mystery of the Lord God of Hosts. Before these
ballots are revealed, how do you, companions of the Lord,
vote?”

The other
white robes looked nervously to each other, fear writ large upon
their faces. They smiled awkwardly, and one of them rose
tentatively to their feet.

“
We, the gathered apostles, pledge our unanimous endorsement
for your continued shepherding of this flock,” he said. He was a
pudgy, middle-aged man with a banker’s smile. He spoke calmly and
confidentially, but was betrayed by the shake that his hand had
picked up at his side.

“
I thank you for your endorsement,” Bentley said gratefully.
“Let us see what God reveals your innermost thoughts to be”. He
gestured towards the man furthest to his left. “Reveal,
please”.

The man moved
his plate and flipped the piece of thick paper that was located
beneath it. He stared at it, obviously agitated, and then let out a
gigantic sigh of relief. Richard could not see what was written on
the paper, but he decided that it must be good news. This ritual
continued down the line of white robed men: Bentley called upon
them, and they flipped their ballot with shaking hands. Each of
them appeared to pass, one overfed face after another expressing
gross relief. Bentley’s attention turned to the man with the
banker’s smile, who had stood to speak for the rest.

“
Turn your card, Brother Wade,” Bentley said, his voice hard.
Brother Wade’s eyes widened slightly, and he turned his paper over;
it took him longer than the others, since his hands were shaking
nearly uncontrollably. He stared at the paper and his eyes went
even wider.

“
No!” he shouted, oblivious to the shocking crack of the volume
he used. Bentley’s face tightened and he clasped his hands behind
his back.

“
SO!” Bentley shouted. “Here is one whom speaks from both sides
of his wretched mouth! Here is one whom pledged their endorsement
and loyalty to me as their shepherd. Yet it is revealed by the Lord
Almighty that he pledges differently in his heart! He has given his
unswerving allegiance to That Which Dwells In The Pit, and his soul
is as black as the twisting catacombs that tunnel within the bowels
of Hell itself! God hath spoken with undeniable clarity today! Both
of these traitors shall hang before the setting of the
sun!”

Richard
glanced out of the corner of his eye to Chris; the thin, dour man
had his hand to his mouth. He whispered something into his hand
that Richard did not catch. Four of the black robes broke from
their kneeling position; two of them took the guide ropes of James,
and the other two approached Brother Wade, who was protesting
loudly.

“
No!” he screamed. “I am nothing if not faithful! I am the most
faithful of men! No one believes in the leadership of Brother
Bentley more than I!” The black robes did not seem to care what he
said, or even hear him. They grasped him by the elbows and hauled
him to the gallows, where he joined James at the base of the
stairs. Bentley watched as they climbed those stairs, and as they
were guided into the nooses by the black robed men he turned back
to address the gathered crowd.

“
As these traitors leave their earthly shells to face judgement
before Our Lord, we must fill the vacuum that has been created by
the black deeds of Brother Wade. God has chosen to reveal the
identity of the person that He hath chosen to take up the mission
that Brother Wade has chosen to sully. All, please kneel before the
Word of God”.

The assembled
crowd of grey robed people knelt in near-unison, their knees
popping loudly and their muscles creaking as they lowered
themselves into position. Richard noticed that many of the others
around him were bowing their heads to look at the ground. He
followed along with the crowd, noticing as he did that Chris was
staring at the scene unfolding before them with burning intensity.
There was a look of extreme concentration on his face that Richard
found disconcerting.

“
Let us offer up a silent prayer for the sanctity of whatever
souls these two unfortunates have remaining to them,” Bentley said,
and bowed his head. A deep silence settled across the assembled
individuals in the park. Richard felt a chill breeze sting on his
cheek and tousle his hair. After it died down he heard two
soft
thwumps
. He
looked up and both James and Brother Wade were swinging lazily back
and forth, their heads at that peculiar angle that indicated a dead
break in the neck. He felt a sick feeling begin burrowing into his
stomach. He looked to Chris, but the expression on the man’s thin
face had not changed. He was waiting for something, to the point
where he did not even seem to let the death of his friend effect
him.

“
Brothers and sisters!” Bentley proclaimed. “God in His
infinite wisdom has chosen the next man to take up His eternal
burden to bring salvation to Mankind!” He stretched his arms out to
the sky, his fingertips stretching as far into the air as they
could go. “Brother Jacob, God Himself has chosen you to fulfill his
work! Rise, so that the light of His sun may shine down upon
you”.

From the line of impassive black robed men, Richard saw the
familiar face of Jacob rise and stretch into the sky. A shock ran
through Richard’s nerves, and then his mind began to chatter
excitedly with itself.
This is the best
thing that could have happened
! he
exulted.
We finally have a man in the
white robes!
He turned to Chris to try to
share a secret, excited smile, and suddenly his good mood vanished
entirely.

Instead of
seeming pleased, Chris looked angry. The anger surprised Richard,
but the part that truly unsettled him wasn’t the rage crawling
across the man’s wide-eyed face, warring for supremacy. The part
that unsettled him was the naked fear.

NINE

Richard spent
most of the next two weeks preparing for his own death. Unable to
react strongly due to the constant watchfulness, he went about his
routine as though nothing were outwardly wrong. He went out for
three trips to destroy books and electronic devices; Chris was not
his squad mate on any of these expeditions. The others that he knew
to be a part of the conspiracy kept silent, avoiding conversing
with him unless it was absolutely necessary. He had not had
informative contact with any of them; he was completely in the dark
about what their chances for survival were.

The only thing that he knew was the Jacob had somehow betrayed
them. Chris had been expecting a completely different result than
the one that had occurred, and now Jacob was slowly whittling down
their numbers. Since he had joined the white robes, Richard had
watched members of the conspiracy disappear. He and Chris were
still active and circulating through the schedule that continued to
be posted daily, but he watched as other names he knew simply
stopped appearing. Whenever Richard saw Jacob, the man had a
shark’s grin on his face, topped with a shark’s eyes; there was no
mercy or pity in that look, and Richard felt small and humbled when
it turned to him.
Your time is soon
that look said, and Richard knew that the man
meant it.

In the entire
fortnight he only saw Carolyn once, and that from a distance. His
heart hurt to see her, and he noted with a chill that there was a
look of fear held fast to her face. She hadn’t been ‘rooted out’ by
Jacob yet, but Richard knew that it was only a matter of time. She
may have been the intimate confidant of the white robes, but she
was ultimately replaceable – especially when any number of secrets
might die with her. He longed to grab her and run; they could make
it out of the city without anyone finding them, he thought. They
could find their way somewhere else, where they could live in
peace.

These thoughts
were not entirely spun out of moonbeams and cobwebs; after the twin
hangings, a rumour had begun to grow. There were whispers among the
grey robes that another settlement of people, well to the west of
them, had banded together and become a strong force in the region.
They were pushing outward, it was said. Gathering up everyone they
found into their army, which was growing bigger all of the time.
There were not many details to these bits of gossip; they were
simply secretly whispered stories passed between people while they
watched for the black robed men’s attention. No one knew where the
gossip had come from, either. It seemed to appear fully formed from
the lips of everyone at once. Richard wondered blackly on a number
of occasions whether the white robes had simply started the rumour
to add more paranoia to an already potent mixture. He couldn’t
bring himself to believe the rumours, in the end, but it didn’t
stop him from fantasizing about them.

The community
was beset by fear from within and without; everyone was tense and
there were nervous tics beginning to form on the faces of some.
Richard found that he could not sleep more than a few hours each
night. After he drifted into sleep a slight noise would inevitably
awaken; they were the sorts of noises that would never have awoken
him before. He felt exhausted, drained to the core. He began to
peer into the faces of everyone that passed him, expecting at any
moment to see the face harden into action; arms would encircle him
and he would be dragged off into darkness.

In the end,
that very action occurred. One evening, about three weeks after the
hanging, he was returning to his bunk room from the herb gardens.
He was exhausted to the point of madness, stumbling in his steps
and watching everyone approach with a feeling of utter dread. He
saw a pair of black robes approaching. Their faces were cast down
at the ground, and Richard felt a heart-spasm of fear upon
realizing that he couldn’t see their faces. As they passed each
other Richard closed his eyes; the anticipation was so great that
he fancied that he could feel the hands grabbing him. Then he
realized that it was no fantasy: rough hands were grabbing him and
hauling him off of his path with brutal efficiency. He panicked and
opened his mouth to scream, but one of the hands closed over his
mouth before he could expel it.