Mortal End: A Simmering Pit of Jiggery Pokery

The oak paneled courtroom was teeming with ferocious citizens seeking ugly justice.  Row upon row of worn timbered pews housed more bodies than ever before or that they were ever intended to. The atmosphere was fiery and the air was opaque and acrid all the way up to the discoloured ceiling.  To make matters worse, the County was suffering a life threatening heat wave and the solitary ceiling fan whined pitifully as it turned, bestowing only a woefully inadequate stirring of sticky stale air.

As people tried to make themselves more comfortable, lifting a buttock at a time to alleviate the squashed numbness, the fitful creaking of the old wooden benches created a requiem together with the whining of the fan and the hum and hue of ugly raised voices.  The noises were as desperate as the assembled's hearts.

Suddenly, all light was sucked out of the room as the jury rose and made a lead-footed exit to consider their verdict.  Mildew smelling heavy black drapes fell from ceiling to floor, masking the tall windows and bringing an immediate and overwhelming claustrophia that caught shallowly in each and every person's throat. 

The overly ornate, copper faced chroniker tick-tocked.

Minutes passed seemingly without end.  Only four and a half of them to be exact, as the resolute jury swiftly reappeared, having come to a quick and damning decision.

"Guilty, your Honour."

© 2003 Toula Mavridou-Messer All rights reserved.

 ***Mortal End, Too is the second novel in the Mortal End series. There is an excerpt available on Wattpad to give you a taste of the storyline. 

 I will post chapters regularly, but there are as yet unknown chapters, so this may take a while. 

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 Toula Xx