The Last Herald

Concrete walls slick with the dark stench of mold encase the small prison where I wait. Always waiting, I am. Be it for a new era, the forgotten promise, or for my own death, it is the waiting that defines my destiny. I am sure my enemies would call my execution the apex of my short existence, but it is not. For the harbinger of eternal rest must come for all heralds eventually and most certainly shall claim me too beyond this hole. No...my fate has been and always will be to hope.

I shift my weary body, gritting against the needles that prick down my legs and into my stiff soles. I take solace knowing that the limbs will soon enough sigh and settle back to their sleep, and I might sleep with them.

It has been two days, maybe more, judging by the faint dimming and brightening of light in my cell. I have not eaten, and my only company is the labored rasps of the respirator strapped over my cracked lips. Occasionally, the soft tink, tink, tink of some ancient, unseen pipe echoes between my ghostly breaths like a clock ticking evermore towards my final day. They are foreign sounds, invading my dreams like fairy-tale monsters lurking at the end of the world.

And this is the end. I have made my peace with it.

I breathe slowly to ward off the rise of nausea caused by the thick heat, the knife of pain in my belly, and the claustrophobia that I never did manage to tame.

In truth, I await my eclipse eagerly. This world has never belonged to me, and I sure as hell have never belonged to it. I was a freeman, if ever a man had been. That, at least, I could hold to as the noose tightened around my neck.

But I did belong to you…

The images come unbidden and for a brief moment in time, I indulge. I can almost take hold of her scent, feel the smooth skin of her jawline as it catches slightly beneath my calloused thumb. Her hair dances once again in my mind's eye, weaved in strands of sunlight, framing features of light and love.

My hand folds over the well-worn pendant hanging from a chain about my neck. So often my fingers have traveled its surface that the clasp is worn to nothing but a slight imperfection on the otherwise smooth edge. Rene's likeness will be tattered and yellowed inside the small, metal heart, the paper weathered almost beyond recognition. If I had but a little light, I might open it and search the eyes for one last glint of laughter.

Still, it is a small mercy. I suppose my captors have no use for the earthly belongings of a condemned man.

I am sorry, my love. I would not choose to leave you alone. I can only hope we will meet again...in the After.

The agony is too great. I close my eyes, willing myself to feverish sleep.

A clang and the terrifying screech of rust on metal startles me awake. My mind struggles, starting sluggishly like the old locomotives might have done in some distant age. For certain, any remnants of the steel beasts would lie rusted now beneath a tomb of sand, existing only in picture books that caution against hazardic machines and their pollution.

A cacophony of boots is drawing closer now, the deafening creak of my own cell door slicing the stagnant still.

"Wakey wakey." The man mocks from behind his own mask. "You hangday ready?"

He pulls me from the hole and I stumble, bashing my forehead into some shadowed, immovable object. The explosion of pain damn near claims my conscious mind, and warm liquid spills quickly into my left eye.

“Watch it, Creeton.” The guard titters viciously. “Boss wants’n you look spiffy for ya big day.”

I grit my teeth, forcing my breath to slow. I’d like to think only the most vile creatures might crave pleasure from another man’s suffering, but in this moment, I am as guilty as sin. I scowl darkly as the hulking form turns away, shambling on without ceremony.

And then I, Jeremiah Keller, follow to my death.

The guard isn’t much for conversating, save for the occasional crude mumbles of bottom dweller speech, and we trudge our way through twists of pipe, rust, and concrete in near silence.

Somewhere above, I can make out a circular grated window, its metal frame bright with unmistakable pinpricks of sunlight.

So that's it, then. This place must also lie beyond the dome.

For the first moment since my capture, I feel the old flame. That damned, relentless hope.

I size up the lead-footed giant, wondering if I might even have the strength to best him. A concussion and days with no food or drink would weigh poorly in my favor. But if the man had come alone, and escape was possible, the time to attempt it would be now before entering the city. Surely, my execution would take place inside the dome where the supreme rulers could make a fine spectacle.

I watch carefully as we continue on, our masks crackling loudly as we climb through stairwells leading skywards. Soon enough, we emerge into a large room with low ceilings and walls open to the outside world. In the center of the structure, a road spirals upwards, its length stretched with rusted autos parked haphazardly across the overgrown asphalt.

My heart pounds faster as I see fields of grass, and beyond those, a large structure that could only be the dome.

Truly, it was a wonder that the ancient barrier still functioned. I was told once as a child that the dome was built to protect the land from human contamination. After the great collapse, I watched it become a prison, used to propagate rumors of the so-called desolate lands beyond the barrier. Either of these facts could be why my captors had seen fit to provide me with my own breathing machine.

I chuckle, the sound carrying further than I thought possible behind the mask.

The monstrosity before me stops, turning halfway to cast a fierce grin, eyes stirring with crazed eagerness.

"Ya think funny?” He sneers. “Sure, much funny when neck snapping. But not so funny when lady neck snap."

I jerk my eyes upwards at the words, swiftly rewarded with deep throbbing in my temples.

"What words do you speak, foul one?" I growl through gritted teeth. "Make yourself plain, or move on."

The grin widens to show a row of cratered gums and the guard cackles wildly, undeterred by my sudden aggression.

"Boss find Creeton's lady." He sneers. "Lady neck crack byside Creeton at 12-time."

The words hang in the drifting sun-particles then slam into my chest with concrete clarity. Rene had not escaped as I believed. And another realization.

I cannot let her die alone.

The foul man giggles at my suffering, and I can hardly restrain my hands from finding his flesh.

“You lie.” I seeth.

The man holds up his palms, indignant. “No, no. Not lie. Lady soft hair. Smell likey…redberry.” He grins wickedly, and I lunge forward with a roar.

Cold.

I awake to find my body racked with shakes, dripping with liquid...freezing. The ringing in my skull soon gives way to a rushing, undulating roar. The ocean? No, that couldn’t be right.

I become vaguely aware that two men are pulling me to my feet, and suddenly a sea of gaunt, ghastly faces come into view. Rows upon rows ascend upward into blackness, people restless and packed tight, chanting something I can’t quite make out. I was here once...as a child maybe.

I take in the scene, noting the weathered scaffolding bolted center stage, and the dim, artificial light, undoubtedly conjured by the innumerable solar panels fixed to the dome’s outer shell. The words of the crowd become clearer as they continue in uproar.

Cancel him! Cancel him! Cancel him!

It was the old stadium at city-center, and the stench was worse than I remembered. My last visit would have been before my family escaped the dome, finding their way to a new life in the desolate lands. My home...now forever lost; the sweet paradise where Rene and I had joined our passion to bring the same hope to any soul who would listen.

I do not see a rope, let alone two. Perhaps the big man had lied.

Suddenly, the crowd rises in ecstasy as a richly dressed man steps onto the stage. His cold eyes glitter, contempt unbridled as he struts towards me.

“Stand, you murder-coward.” He says loudly.

I stand, setting the stadium ablaze with frenzy. I immediately hold an equal contempt for this pompous imbecile, clearly living in wealth as his people starve. I hold his gaze firmly, eliciting a sly sneer.

He whirls towards the crowd, and booms, “Today, we will have our justice! This man comes to steal our truth, destroy our livelihood, and kill our people. He and those like him spread lies like poison, lies about the desolate lands, and lies about our good big brother who takes care of all of us equally!”

It is all untruth, of course. The hatred in the man’s eyes betrays his true nature. It is not my evil actions that he hates. It is the threat I pose to his power, the wound I inflict to his pride, and ultimately, the color of my skin.

I spit at his feet and the crowd gasps in horror. The man snarls wickedly, whirling to face them once more.

“Now tell me, faithful ones. What do we do with unrepentant souls? Do we send them back into the world to spread hate and ignorance?”

No!

“Do we roll over and relent, hand our children and our city over without a fight?”

NO!

I close my eyes wearily. Will they never see? No culture, belief, or past pain can divide a people. It is and always will be the evil that lurks just beyond every hateful choice. And yes, the poison begins with a man who seeks power, but it can always be vanquished by a heart of love.

Cancel him! Cancel him!

The roar of the people pulls me present and I realize the vile man is speaking to me.

“You, Mr. Keller, seem to have forgotten your place in this world. Who made you so high and mighty that you feel entitled to break the rules?” His voice grows steadily. “I think we need to bring you back down to your beginnings, Mr. Keller...with a two for one special!”

My blood grows cold as his meaning grows clear.

And then, I see her there, perched on the scaffolding in a simple robe of white. The woman I cherish stands serene, her dusky eyelashes thick with tears. The panic rises in my throat and I rush towards her, the room fading away in madness.

The blow comes from nowhere, forcing me to my knees. I stagger back to my feet, watching helplessly as twin nooses descend from shadows above.

The Supreme One turns again to me, all teeth and pomp. “Any last words, Mr. Keller?”

Rene lifts her dark eyes to meet mine. Never have I felt such love, seen such conviction. My hand grasps the necklace and she nods as tears stream over her cheeks and pool around the soft corners of her mouth.

I summon the last vestiges of my remaining strength and bellow the words of the first herald towards the heavens. “I have a dream…”

Another blow, and I am pulled towards the platform. Rene takes up the charge, screaming now. “That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed...”

The noose begins to tighten and I hold her gaze. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

Then light.