The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

The Defense 
by K.R. Morrison 

Angela checked her reflection in the glass as she swept into the Judiciary Building.

She looked like a model straight out of a Christian Dior ad. It was exactly the image she was trying to project. She was wearing the latest in the Hellevuur line, and it had to work for her today.

The information on her assignment had only been given to her a few hours beforehand, and she wasn’t sure how she would present it. The accusations had been very strong, and she knew that this was going to be a tough fight.

It didn’t help that her Mercedes was in the shop and she had had to ride the bus to get here. But as she checked her reflection for the hundredth time, she felt a bit better. Having someone sit next to her on a public conveyance always made her feel dirty.

“Angela! I’m glad I caught you before you went in.” The mousy little justice department employee—she could never remember his name or position—rushed up to her as she crossed over to the courtroom.

“Yes?” What is it?” She gave him a stare that let him know without a doubt that his presence was a great irritation.

“Been a change in the case. The defendants decided to be their own counsel.”

“What?”

The little paperpusher shrugged and dashed away, onto destroying someone else’s career, she supposed.

Angela sighed and continued on to the courtroom. So much for the power suit. Well, maybe with a flash of bosom and her practiced smile, she could glean something from this day.

The judge was waiting in his seat. A more timid-looking man Angela had never seen. She couldn’t read his nameplate, so she had no idea who she was going to have to confront.

Her four would-be accused were sitting together in the front row, and she was ready to give them each her most bounteous smile. But the glowering faces on most of the audience told her that this was not a time for it.

They knew what these men stood accused of, and they were ready to hang them on sight.

The judge banged his gavel, and the four men rose. The first one approached the bench, turned, and started speaking.

What he said made perfect sense, and it sounded as if he was as innocent as a newborn babe. The audience looked like they believed it too. Some of the baleful stares went away. But if anyone had asked Angela later what the man had said, she would not have recalled any of it.

Each man came up in turn to explain their points of view, and by the end of the last speech, the audience was almost all on their side. Some, however, melted out of the room in quiet haste, following the group that had accused the men in the first place.

Finally the judge stood up.

And up.

And up.

He filled the courtroom with his presence, along with a horrid stench that came from under the floorboards. He stared around at the audience, now frozen in fear.

“If these men are guilty,” he intoned, “so are all on this planet. You invited them in, with the behavior you exhibit day after day. Now prepare to face what you yourselves have done!”

The four men strode out of the room, and Angela quickly left through a side door.

And as the sky turned red and the screams began, she watched as they rode away on their horses—Death, Famine, War, and Pestilence.

She turned and started back to her apartment on foot. It wasn’t her fault that these guys got off, she told herself. After all, the world had it coming. .

.

Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from K.R. Morrison:

Enoch’s Return: Pride’s Downfall Book 4

All hell broke loose, as demon fought saint, and undead fought mortal. Fangs and swords, fire and light, mingled in a cacophony of noise that would have awakened the dead — if they hadn’t already been in the pitch of battle.

Toby was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends. However, the day is shattered by the arrival of his sister, Erica, fresh out of the juvenile detention center, where she has lived in isolation most of her life. There is something very wrong with her still; witness her biting the ear of her taxi driver and licking the blood from her lips, and the way she antagonizes everyone around her. The other thing that is very off-putting about the day is a gift he receives – a musty tent and a few iron spikes that have been lying in the ground for years. Toby faints at the sight of the “treasure,” while Erica reacts violently and runs off to who-knows-where.
While he is unconscious, Toby learns who he truly is, and of his mission.

Available on Amazon!