A c t O n e ~ R e s u r r e c t i o n
C h a p t e r O n e
"Tell me, Lillian, why is it that humans reason?" The man asked.
Lillian slowly, purposefully, pushed thin strands of flaxen out of her face and methodically placed the bundle behind an ear. Her gaze had been fixated on a patch of white fabric situated in the collar of the man's formal top throughout the entirety of his spiel and her ears had only perked up at the pointless question he now posed. She pushed herself all the way onto the stone hard cot until her back met with the wall and her legs crossed themselves. Her arms folded as a smirk took residence on her defiant visage and arched brows furrowed ever so slightly. This kind of peculiarity was not exactly uncommon considering the circumstances, but that did not make the situation any less amusing. She took a moment to briefly look up at the spotty ceiling, feigning deep consideration, before promptly meeting the eyes of her illustrious visitor. The smirk grew wider.
"What kind of fucking ridiculous question is that?" Lillian retorted. The man sighed, but maintained his calm composure. Men of his profession were exposed to these kinds of people more often than most, after all.
"It is one that you do not seem to have an answer to, Lillian," He said. He adjusted his glasses.
"How should I know why humans reason and, more importantly, why should I care? You must have forgotten that I'm going to die in an hour."
"The question itself was mostly rhetorical, but your willingness to provide some kind of answer for it is both telling and intriguing. As a man of the devout however, I will provide you with the answer."
"Oh gee, how kind of you."
One of the two wardens posted on the other side of the bars behind the seated priest glanced over his shoulder. He gave Lillian a stern look before facing the front once more. He had wasted enough energy on the woman during her tenure on death row. He nodded to the guard next to him and the other man snickered. This was a day they had been waiting for for some time.
"It's quite simple, really," the priest began, "Humans reason because we are the only beings who can understand the difference between right and wrong. An animal is an animal because they simply act on instinct with no regard for how their actions may affect their own environment or other animals around them. They have an intrinsic desire to follow that instinct no matter what the consequences may be. In that way they're very predictable, but they're also very dangerous."
Lillian absentmindedly turned her gaze to the toilet on one of the walls in the cell. The priest sighed once more and rubbed his temple. He then placed his spiritual text on the ground.
"Simply put, Lillian, humans were given this ability for a reason. We have a responsibility to ensure that justice and what's right are the main focus of all. We have to show that those who insist on doing the wrong things are punished accordingly so that others may see it as an example and change their ways before they themselves suffer the same fate. An animal has no choice but to behave in the manner it was born to fulfill. Humans have a choice and we, as a society, must make sure that the right choice is made every time. While you earned the punishment you're going to receive today, you can still save your soul from eternal damnation and maybe even your daughter--!"
"Let me stop you right there," Lillian interjected, her light voice suddenly taking a serious tone. "Don't postulate to me, priest. I understand perfectly why I'm here and what's going to happen. I've even made peace with it. We don't need to debate if what I did was right or wrong because I honestly couldn't care less. However... " Lillian scooted herself back to the edge of the cot, her face leaning in towards the worrying older man. "Don't presume to know about my daughter. You don't know shit. The fact that you brought her up does mean one thing though," their eyes locked as the woman stopped right inside of his personal space, "you're just another fucking dog for the Consortium, right? I guess you were right that animals have no choice but to behave in the manner they were born to fulfill, huh?"
The priest furrowed his brow before a small, almost imperceptible grin took form. "Maybe I should ask your daughter that question, huh?" He replied, quietly. The words were barely more than a second old before an audible thud and crack preceded a shrill cry and a stumbling of both stool and feet. The posted guards whirled around to see the small stool they brought in toppled over and the priest stumbling back and falling into the bars.
"Shit! Open it up!" One of the guards yelled as an alarm began to sound in rhythm with a pulsating crimson light. The barred door slid open and the two guards rushed into the small cell, batons drawn. Lillian did not move from the edge of the cot, red patches coating her forehead, as she watched a baton raise into the air and come down onto her cheek with velocity and force. Her body lunged to the side, her head bouncing against a wall, and rolled over off the cot to the equally hard floor below. She laid there as blow after blow struck her ribs, shoulder, and back, but her mind was already removed from the incident. Dull eyes stared into deep thought as a blurry silhouette was conjured up in her mind's eye.
Lillian slowly came back to reality as the blurry silhouette shifted and transformed from the shape and contour of a little girl to that of a grown man. Fuzzy vision cleared just as slowly, but there was no mistaking who stood in front of her. The man wore an expensive looking two-piece business suit of black with a white button-down underneath the dark suit jacket. His hair was styled professionally and the blacked out glasses and earpiece confirmed the notion; this was a real, live Executive. Anger formed and pooled together deep within the woman and as she tried to charge forward, she was met with strong resistance. Her arms and legs were shackled the wall and it was then that she noticed her body was rigid against the same wall. This was the death they had chosen for her. Fierce, aqua eyes burned holes into the Executive across the room, but the man had no response to give. A voice suddenly sounded over a hidden intercom.
"Lillian Amaya Eldritch. You stand accused of various crimes ranging from kidnapping and extortion to assault, torture, and even murder. You were judged guilty only nine months ago and sentenced to death for these heinous injustices. As this city does not formally support capital punishment of such a degree, and considering the fact that your crimes were against our organization specifically, you were remanded to our jurisdiction and ultimate decision. The time has come for you to be formally executed for your various crimes against the Consortium, this city, and human society as a whole. Have you any last words before we carry out your sentence?"
Lillian slowed her heavy breathing. She had been staring at the floor as the unknown voice spoke, but something had also snapped in her mind just as it finished. She had come to a realization. "You bastards," she began, her head coming up to the face the Executive who stood perfectly still across the room. "You think you can just do whatever you want because you can manipulate some invisible fucking energy?! Don't make me laugh!"
The Executive remained still.
"I don't give a single shit what kind of power you control. And I don't care what kind of authority you think you've gained. The world may pant and beg at your feet, but I... I won't die groveling in fear of your fucking organization! Know this... Some how, some way, you bastards are eventually going to get what's coming to you! The world won't sit around and let you have your way forever, damnit--!"
Lillian suddenly choked and coughed up an indecent amount of blood. She felt different as soon as the last of her words left her mouth and as she slowly began to look down, her mind was already screaming the image she found herself faced with. A large hole now found itself in her torso. It was perfectly formed and exposed blood, bone, muscle tissue, and organs. With the last of her energy, she directed her fading vision back to the Executive whose outstretched arm and gloved palm pointed in her direction. "S-see... You i-in... Hell... " She stammered, mustering a final defiant grin before her sense of feeling disappeared and her consciousness finally failed.
Lillian Eldritch had been formally executed by the Executives Consortium.
S I X M O N T H S L A T E R
As she floated randomly in a void of complete and absolute darkness, the first sensation she felt was moisture. She ignored the feeling at first opting to continue her eternal journey to nowhere, but the feeling only grew stronger after she recognized that it was there at all. Invisible limbs swatted this way and that way desperately trying to shoo away the ever growing sensation until the darkness crumbled and blue eyes burst open. The area around her was still covered in a mild dark, but this was no void. Old and damaged boxes were oddly stacked on a grayish blue wall across from her and aged pillars admirably held up the high ceiling which seemed to have a skylight built in. Rays of moonlight punctured the glass, but only in thin, sporadic strands that were scattered across the entirety of the space. It was only then that Lillian realized she was laying on the ground, her cheek in a shallow puddle of what she hoped was water.
Slowly, she pushed herself up onto her knees and then feet one by one. She immediately stumbled, but caught herself on a sturdy box that was well placed just behind her weak body. She allowed gravity and her lack of strength to bring her down onto the makeshift seat before taking a look around. There were many odd stacks of old and damaged boxes on all the walls around what looked to be a much more massive space than she had anticipated. All the lights were off, but the cluster of moonlight rays provided just enough illumination to make things out. A forklift sat abandoned in a corner of the space and palettes filled with more boxes dotted seemingly random areas. A long sequence of windows lined each wall at the top near the high ceiling and looking directly up revealed a network of steel girders and pipes running from wall to wall and disappearing to who knows where. This was, without a doubt, some kind of old warehouse.
Lillian sighed, but almost jumped at the sound of her own voice. The memory of being killed rushed back to her and she immediately pulled up a fitting black blouse to check her abdomen. There was no sign of injury or even so much as a scratch. Confusion overwhelmed her mentality as she realized that not only was she not dead and not injured, she was also wearing street clothes--a black blouse, hooded jean jacket, dark denims, and ebony boots to be specific. Her hair was even pulled up in the high ponytail she was accustomed to wearing while still allowing the rest to fall down in front of her face and be tucked behind her ear. Surprise, shock, and confusion all hit at once. Just as these feelings took a stranglehold on her psyche, the final revelation made itself clear under the moonlight.
There were other bodies lying around as well.