Chapter 1 – Separated from Earthly Consequences
When someone knows they did wrong, they usually try to hide it or make excuses. They will rarely confess what they did and make up for it since that requires a great deal of strength. Vito is a man who has committed deeds that he’d rather not talk about. He’s on the run from his hometown and he’s never felt freer. When he was employed, he made enough money to live on the run especially since his parents were famous. He’s been out on the road for months now looking for an unknown crack in the country to live peacefully in and he just might’ve found it after driving through the mountains of the country.
It’s a small town that’s not on any of the maps he has on paper or on his GPS. The streets of the town are relatively empty, which makes it a great place to lay low with few eyes watching him. There’s a statue in the middle of town that has a broken statue of the blind lady of justice. Not only are her eyes covered, but her mouth is covered as well, her sword is through her ears, and the top part of her scale is put through her chin and comes out her head. The inscription on the bottom says, “Iustitia enim est Iustum”.
Curious about what it means, Vito parks his car on the side of the road and admires the statue until someone comes along. He asks them, “Excuse me, but what does the inscription on the bottom of the statue mean?”
“You’re a newcomer, aren’t you?”
“I am. Is there a problem with that?”
“No, not at all. In fact, since you’ve found this place, you’re in good company. Most people here are on the run from the law because they have a clearer sense of justice. Speaking about justice, that’s what this statue is about. ‘Justice for the just’ is what the inscription means or at least that’s what some people say. I don’t know many people here who can translate Latin correctly but we all agree with what this statue says.”
“What does it mean?”
“It means that we get the justice that we are owed. The world screwed us over and now we have our justice through this meager town.”
“When did this town even appear? I haven’t seen it on any of the maps I have.”
“No one has any clue, but does it really matter? It’s a fresh start for people like us.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter. What’s the town’s name?”
“We call it Ramoth-Gilead, which is the name of a town in Israel in the good book. A place where those who accidentally shed innocent blood can live in peace away from the judgments of men.”
“Nice. I think I’ll like this place.”
Vito then drives off to a diner to have dinner. In the diner, he overhears people confess what they did before coming to this town. Once they do this, more people come forward to confess their crimes and become fast friends with one another. People talk about; murder, theft, rape, cannibalism, torturing, and various other horrible deeds. Other people would be horrified by hearing this, but Vito is comforted. He is in the company of people like him. Since he’s been on the road for a while, he decides to get a place to rest in. When a waitress comes to collect the check, he asks her where’s a good place to stay around here.
She tells him, “You can honestly stay in whatever house you want as long as it isn’t occupied. This community sustains itself, so you don’t need to worry about paying for it upfront or paying for the heating and air condition.”
“You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”
“Not at all. You can even live with someone if they allow it.” She says with a wink.
“I’ll consider that, but I want to take a look around first. See what options I have.”
“All men say that.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. Here. Take this as a tip.”
Vito hands the waitress a fifty-dollar bill.
“Uh, I’m sorry but I’d rather not take this big of a tip. You could’ve paid for two and a half meals with this.”
“It’s fine. I got plenty of money with me.”
“Did you steal it?”
“Nope. Everything I have, I earned.”
“Are you sure you belong in this town? Guilty men aren’t so quick to make up for even the smallest of sins especially in this manner.”
“I’m sure I do. If you won’t take this fifty, then here, take this twenty.”
“Ok, fine.”
The waitress takes his payment and large tip. Vito leaves the diner and drives around the small town looking for a good house to stay in. It is obvious to tell which houses are occupied since they are decorated outside while most of the unoccupied houses look dirty and in need of work. Luckily enough, he manages to find an unoccupied house in decent condition not too far from a lake. The inside already has everything he needs which includes; a working bathroom, dryer, washer, heater, air conditioner, and a clean bed. He jumps in it and instantly falls asleep since he hasn’t been in a real bed in months.
The dreams he has are of his guilts since this place reminds him why he’s on the run. He sees his parents, siblings, wife, child, and the dozens of other people he’s hurt. They call out to him with their arms out as he hangs from a ceiling. He tries to cling to it as he slowly slips off. His hands eventually do slip, and he falls into the crowd and onto the floor of his room. Vito looks around in a cold sweat before calming himself down. It is now the next day, seven-thirty to be exact or at least that’s what it says on his phone. The phone’s battery is on one-percent battery as it appears that the building doesn’t have any electricity flowing through it to charge it, however, he isn’t too worried about the phone. He’s finally able to settle down and start a new life without having to worry about the consequences of the past.
When he heads outside, he notices that the town is covered in a fog. Ash slowly falls down from the sky and blackens the ground around him. The once sparsely filled streets are now home to the shadows of people with no bodies to originate from.
“What’s going on around here?” he asks himself as he looks around the town.
Vito tries to start his car, but the battery is drained all of the sudden, so he walks through the town. Shadowy figures watch him from some of the buildings in the town some of which appear to be humanoid while others don’t. Seeing these weird figures makes him hurry his walking until he reaches the edge of town. He finds a surprise there as the roads are now completely gone and are replaced with an endless chasm separating the town from the nearest piece of land. A faint light can be seen at the bottom of the chasm. Heat also comes from it, which seems to suggest that whatever is at the bottom is responsible for the ash in the air. In the far away hills, he can see figures that have parts of their body floating in place. They appear to have broken crosses for faces and appear to guard the town. The fog itself looks to be thicker on the other side and almost solid as if it were a wall. As he looks over to the far side of the road, Vito can see a light that flickers on and on. There appear to be figures walking through the light.
“Hey! I need help over here,” he screams to get their attention.
A few seconds pass before he sees one of the figures approaching him. It then screams as it catches on fire and falls into the chasm. Vito backs away and bumps into a large figure cloaked in black. Multiple hands reach out from under the cloak and grab Vito. It takes him and throws him into the fire. As he falls Vito tries to grab something on the side of the cliffs to slow his fall, but the side of the cliffs move further away when he tries to grab them. Before he hits the bottom, he sees an uncountable amount of people burning in a fire.
He then awakens in a cold sweat back in his room as he falls to the floor. Not sure about what’s happening, he gets up and looks out the window to see that it is foggy with ash falling from the sky.
“I deserve this, don't I?” he asks himself.
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