Into The Abyss

In the black of the darkness.
In the shadows of the night.
I hear your cry.
A faint smile plays on my face as you scream
Begging for mercy.
I lean down, my face appearing
My sinister smile in view
Illuminated by the full moon.
You scream for help
Begging for release
Pleading with me to tell you what you had done
To deserve such fate.
My face contorts as my smile widens.
With a signal of my hand
The guard pulls a rope.
Your eyes grow wider with fear
As they trace the lineage of the rope.
When your gaze falls upon the pendulum
You begin your horrid screams for mercy again.

The pendulum begins to swing.
With each passing of the blade
It gets lower.
You know your fate is coming.
And despite knowing that Death is on its way
You still cry out
Hoping that a miracle will happen
To release you from your binds
And free you from the abyss.

The whooshing sound can be heard
As your screams die out.
Your voice is hoarse
And your attention has turned to the chains
That bind you to the abyss floor.
Grunting as you tug at them
You don't notice that the pendulum is lowering
Faster and faster.
Each swing of its metallic blade
Inches closer to your flesh.

You look up at me
Our eyes lock.
I can read your face like it were a book.
You think I have betrayed you
Sold you out
To those that you feared.
But when you met me 
You knew that I were the executioner
That I would be the one
To signal the end of life as we know it.

My lip twitches as it curls into a snarl.
Your eyes close.
Your head turns.
You lick your lips.
There is nothing you can do now
Except wait in turn for your fate.

You can hear scurrying
And upon opening your eyes
You let out a startled cry.
A rat.
A rat the size of a cat
Is staring back at you from the abyss.
It's eyes gleam
As you pull against your restraints.
Being struck by a blade doesn't seem so bad
As being eaten by a rat.
It approaches you
Unsure.
You move your hands
In an attempt to scare it away.
You succeed.
Smiling you look up at me again.
Your smile doesn't last long.
As the pendulum strikes with force
The last thing I hear is your screams of terror
Rising up at out of the abyss.

I glance around the room from my perch.
Many faces line the walls.
Some seemed shocked
Others appalled by what they had witnessed.
But then, one by one
They applaud.

The lights come up.
Our viewers leave.
I discard my royal robe
And climb into the abyss.
The pendulum has stopped
Just above your flesh.
You flash me a relived smile
As I free you from your binds.

"Not bad for our first attempt,"
You say as our guard raises the pendulum.
You slide out, stretching
Checking your ensemble
For any signs of damage.
"Was it scary?" I ask
Fingering the chains.
You nod
And our guard gives us the signal.
I reach up out of the abyss
Feeling for the robe.
I hand it to you.
"Time to trade places," I say
As you take the robe from me.

I get into position
And you lock me down.
My head turns and I see the rat.
Its red eyes stare back at me.
I lick my lips.
I catch your eye as you climb
Out of the abyss.
"Hey," I call.
You turn to look at me
A sinister gleam in your eye.
"Yes?" you enquire
As the lights are dimmed.
I tug against my chains
As I prepare to scream.
"Happy Halloween."