In the depths of a prison, three boys crowd around each other, eyes red, voices shuddering. There is a fourth boy. He had not moved since they arrived, two weeks ago. The three surviving boys discreetly stare at the corpse, a constant reminder of what is to come. They are to be executed in the morning, by firing squad, a public affair, for a crime they did not commit.

Please. Don't try and look away.

*****

"W-What I want to know is why make it public? Why do people have to see us die?"

"Because the King is a jerk, and he wants our last moments to be ones of humiliation."

"We didn't rape that girl!"

"Of course we didn't, Gavin, you idiot. We were all at the pawn shop, selling stolen goods. We're not exactly saints."

"Yeah, but we're not stupid! Even I'm not that dumb, Tyson! We know it was the guards!"

"Look, the government needs some more public executions, or the people will think the police are losing their edge."

"...But why us?"

A third voice finally speaks up. "Because the King wants the people to know he's not afraid to kill kids."

Tyson and Gavin stare at Zach, with wide eyes. Zach shrugs, almost casually, a quivering sigh escaping. His crossed arms and bowed head have not moved a muscled since the announcement of their deaths a mere three hours ago. The other two boys simply though he was praying.

To who, they didn't know.

"But killing kids gets on people's bad sides." Gavins says softly.

"It certainly lets them know what happens if you commit a crime in this town. " Zach retorts.

"But why us?"

"Wrong time, Wrong place." Tyson says.

"We were inside! We didn't know what was going on outside the pawn shop!"

"Yeah, but who is the King more likely to kill? Some punk kids, or his own guards?"

"But the guards-"

"Just look at him, Gavin!" Zach shouts, his voice scratching up his throat. He points at the corpse. "Just look! The King did that! He may not have looked him in the eyes when he killed him, but he's just as dead.The King does whatever he wants! No one can stop him! What are you going to do? What is anyone, everyone, going to do about it? No one's coming, Gavin. We're alone. We're done for. We're going to end up like him in a few hours, and nobody in this bloody world cares!"

The boys remain silent. Nobody moves. A slow, shuddering gasp turns into unintentional sobs. Tears of anguish stream down young faces. The crying starts again. But it doesn't fix anything. No escape. No way out. Only the corpse seems at peace.

How ironic.

*****

The next morning, at exactly nine o'clock, the town gathered in the Scarlet Orchards. Three boys were marched out of the dungeons. About thirty-seven shots were fired.

Three new graves were dug outside of the dungeons.

Nobody bothered to mark them.