Lies and Misdemeanours by Rebecca King

someone cried.
    “There is a killer on the loose. A killer is on the loose,” she screamed over and over again.
    “Catch that killer,” an old man beside her shouted.
    People screamed and panicked, and began to run in all directions. Men tried to help women and children out of the crowd, but were wrenched aside by blood soaked people who were splattered by the rest of the pouches Wally and Mabel carried and shook everywhere.
    Two of the jailers nearest to the scaffold were swept along by the veritable tide of people who surged toward them. A huge swathe of people suddenly pushed toward the scaffold. The hangman vanished within seconds, along with the rest of the jailers.
    Hetty screamed over and over, and wished now that she had brought more pig’s blood. The weight of the people around her was suffocating, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the condemned, who were completely unable to see what was happening. Everything within her was locked onto the sight of them.
    Inwardly, she was silently begging for the nooses not to be put around their necks. Thankfully, there was no sign of the jailers, or executioner but, to her growing horror; the prisoners were still standing on the trap doors – waiting.
    She glanced around frantically for someone she recognised.
    Why the hell nobody was getting them down?
    She was helpless to do anything except be carried along by the tide of panicked humanity that swarmed around her. For a brief moment she thought she caught sight of Mabel, but she was gone so swiftly that Hetty couldn’t be sure it had really been her friend.
    As she was carried down the road, her gaze locked on the sight of Charlie still waiting for death to call, and began to pray.
    Charlie could see nothing because of the hood that covered his head. He was blind to everything other than panicked screams, and wondered if the first of the convicts had been dropped. He swallowed and began to pray aloud as he waited for the inevitable tightening around his neck. He could only hope that Wally would be true to his word, and had actually arranged for someone to hang off his ankles like he had requested.
    The quicker the next few moments were over now the better as far as he was concerned.
    He began to recite the Lord’s Prayer, and could hear Simon also praying quietly beside him.
    When hands suddenly grabbed him around the waist, he jerked and gasped but, to his shock, he was yanked backward, clean off his feet. He couldn’t kick his legs out because they had been tied together and was helpless to do anything except be carried away – somewhere. He tried not to panic, but it was difficult as he was pummelled in all directions and completely helpless to the unseen hands that carried him.
    Was he being taken through the crowd, or back to jail?
    “What the hell is going on?” He growled as he tried to quell his own panic.
    If only someone would take the hood off so he could see, he would feel considerably better. The noise of the people around him was incredible. He suspected that the men carrying him couldn’t hear him because nobody bothered to answer. They held him so tightly that he couldn’t move.
    Had Sir Hugo arrived in time after all? Had his colleagues been waiting in the crowd to rescue him?
    He opened his mouth to call out to tell them about Simon, but then closed it again with a snap when a heavy weight was draped over him and stifled everything but the shallowest of breath.
    Doubts, worry, confusion and fear flooded through him, but he couldn’t think of one particular thing because of the chaos that surrounded him.
    “What’s going on?” he croaked, as sweat popped out on his brow.
    “Shut up,” someone replied, but his voice was not familiar to Charlie.
    With little ability to do anything else, Charlie lapsed into silence and waited.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    It felt as though he had been carried for hours when in reality it was more likely just a few minutes.
    Eventually, the noise of the busy town