The Executioner

Historical Note: Ellis Island used to be called Gibbet Island. Gibbet meant gallows, and the island was named such because they used it to hang pirates in the 18th century. Ok, I'm done being a nerd now. On with the story!


"This dastardly lot shall be hanged by the flag under which they sailed forth!" With great enthusiasm, John ripped the pirates' flag into long strips and formed them into five nooses: one for each of the captured criminals.

That self-important arse, Thomas thought as he watched the proceedings from the water's edge. He'd never been much enamoured with John, though John seemed to be enamoured enough with himself for the both of them. John was not a hateful person, just much too dramatic for Thomas' liking. But here they were, paired together by the Constable to execute his orders, which most often involved executing various brigands such as those currently bound with rope and laying pitifully in the bottom of his boat. English was unknown to them, but the poor bastards clearly understood what fate had in store. One in particular kept his eyes closed and his chin tucked into his chest while he chanted softly. Some sort of prayer, no doubt.

In Thomas' opinion, executions were wholly unnecessary. Exile should serve adequately to rid the region of any scourge. John, however, seemed to derive immense satisfaction from the ceremony of these hangings, and Thomas did not possess enough interest to question his motivations. He simply knotted the rope to secure his vessel to the shore and ambled over to the gibbet to await further instruction. John, however, did not require his assistance, and Thomas' eyes scanned the crest of the island for some minor distraction or other.

At first glance, his search seemed utterly without merit, but upon second look, Thomas noticed some slight movement in an alcove to the south and east. He stared at the area for a time, waiting for the movement to recur, but was left unappeased. Thomas turned his attention back to John who was presently standing on the platform to check the function of the trapdoor.

"All in good order, Thomas," he called, and Thomas nodded his approval. John then began affixing the flag nooses to the ropes already in place. He could have simply used the ropes to create the nooses, but Thomas supposed John wanted to add a bit more flair to the whole event. It was his nature.

Once John appeared satisfied with the sturdiness of the ropes and nooses, he turned to look down at Thomas and grinned. "Take a look here, lad. Craftsmanship at its finest." He ran his left hand down one of the ropes in a manner akin to a caress, and Thomas looked away to hide his wince.

He saw the thing, then. A creature, similar to a man, but hunched slightly and wearing little more than loose breeches. Not even a waistcoat - how vulgar! The man held some kind of wooden baton in one hand and was running across the treeline toward the platform rather quickly.

"John, jump down," Thomas shouted, already halfway to the boat by the time he thought to warn his compatriot. John had apparently been ignorant of the vagabond's approach and was at that very moment using his own head as a guide to tighten one of the nooses. Thomas heard a loud crack, then a squeal and looked back to see John swinging from the gibbet as his feet frantically tried to find purchase on the edges of the platform.

The strange man-beast had stopped to stare at the spectacle of John's hanging, seemingly unaware of how it came to be. Thomas had no interest in explaining the mechanics of the gallows to this ruffian and seized the opportunity to free his vessel from its port and shove off into the bay. As Thomas rowed toward the safety of New Amsterdam, He glimpsed the man-beast cutting John's body from its hoist and carrying his limp form into the trees.

Thomas turned to his prisoners and spoke, knowing they could not understand his words, but hoping they could sense his intentions. "I suppose you are to be spared now. My time is precious, and I would rather not spend it explaining to the Constable what has just occurred. If you find yourselves in need of a new crewman, I am known to be quite skilled at sea travel and would be honoured to join your company of men."


Word Count: 750 (with note)