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Description
               Delicately swollen petals of plumb flesh fingered the rope around its neck.

               "Help me, Molly," he panted quietly, his fingernails scraping the dead skin as he fought to untie the noose. She brought over a stool. Her beautiful artist fingers deftly loosened the knot and the dead woman fell, landing jointless at Isaac's feet.

               They stared at the empty human.

               "Having doubts, Isaac?" she said, in a voice of undulating silk.
               He stared down at the corpse.
               "Why did she die?" Molly continued.
               Isaac breathed deeply. "She broke the law."
               "Like your brother. Your city is cruel in its punishments." She turned the woman over with her foot. "Quite cruel. Inhumanly so."
               "They say she brought it upon herself," said Isaac.
               "They say that for everyone, don't they? Grab the rope, let's go."

               She took his hand; the dim torch illuminated their way through the dead, ashen streets until they reached the cold outer wall. "I told you there would be no guards here." She threw one end of a hooked rope up into the ramparts of the ancient stone.
               Isaac hesitated. "We'd die in vain if we're caught out there."
               "You want to leave your brother in their hands?"
               He frowned. "What escapes me is how you know so much about Zachary."
               "I'm not from here, Isaac. I live outside these walls, outside this city, outside this cage, and I see things and know things that only your Leader's sight could match. I'm not a prisoner like you! I saw Zachary with mine own eyes. Your brother is on the other side of this wall. Your brother wanted his freedom and he climbed the stone, and now they're hunting him down. They'll throw him back in here and condemn him and he'll become a hanging, bloated feast for the crows before your very eyes. Do you want that to happen to you, Isaac?"
               He massaged the bridge of his nose as the torchlight bathed the stone in fetid orange light.
               "I'm here to help you," she offered softly. "You have to trust me."
               He stared up at the great stone wall.
               Molly whispered in his ear, "Great things await those who help themselves, Isaac. Be free from the evil of this place! They have no right over you and no right to keep you from the freedom outside!"

               He handed her his bag as he took hold of the rope and began to scale.
               She followed, never breaking pace, hurrying him along as if she had done this a thousand times.
               "How many other wretches have you saved from this hell, Molly?" he chuckled incredulously as she easily went through the motions of dropping over the other side.
               "A few," she said, arching an eyebrow and smiling mischievously. "Okay, maybe more than a few." She slid her way down the serpentine rope as Isaac clumsily followed.

               As the climb burned his fingers raw, he heard Molly land on the patted earth.
               The starry sky blinked at him as he stared in her infinite soul.
               The rope began to fray when he looked away and before he knew it, the cord that kept him connected to the city was severed and he was lying flat on his back, look up the side of the great stone wall behind which he had been trapped since tojours.
               Molly's laughter rang from the brush. "Come on, Isaac, let's go find Zachary."
               "Zachary," Isaac laughed, relieved and surprised. "Zachary! Zachary!" he proclaimed joyously, falling to the ground again in absorption of his freedom.

               "Who's there?" A light with a gruff voice and the click of a gun approached.
               Molly grabbed Isaac's arm and pulled him into the brush beside her. "Isaac, see what you've done! Idiot!" she hissed angrily.
               The guard strode closer. "Who's out there?"
               Molly shivered against Isaac. "The things they'll do to us if we're caught. Isaac."
               He felt metal being pressed into his hand. "No, Molly, no way I'm killing him."
               "You wanna be hung?" she demanded.
               Isaac swallowed as he thought of his freedom and his brother. He slowly stood and came out of the bushes.

               The guard saw him and quickly leveled a shotgun towards him. "Stay put. We're here to help. If you cooperate, you won't be hurt."
               "He's lying, Isaac." Molly stepped out onto the path beside him and put her hand over Isaac's on the trigger of the pistol. "You know you'll be killed."
               The guard shook his head. "Just come with me. Come with me and you'll be sa– "
               The shot charged the air with an unseen current. Isaac began to shake uncontrollably as the guard fell at his feet like the dead woman, except this man still had the colour of life upon his face. "I killed him," Isaac stuttered, falling to his knees. "I fucking killed him."
               Molly sat down delicately beside him. "It's all right, dear. You...." She hesitated. "You did the right thing. You really did." Isaac shook his head as he rocked back and forth in silent sobs. She pulled him into an embrace. "Isaac. No one's life is worth more than your own. He would have killed you. You acted in self-defense, and that's perfectly all right."
               He took a shuddering breath. "You're right. You're right. Self-defense."
               "Now, let's move and maybe we'll find – "
               "Scott! Scott!" came a distant, panicked yell.
               The two sat up violently. "Fuck," muttered Isaac. "Fuck, they're gonna come and find him and find us."
               Molly picked up the gun and pressed it against his hand. "They probably have your brother back where they've made camp. You deal with the guard. I'll go around and bring Zachary and then we can get out away from this hellhole. Remember, Isaac... it's for the good of everyone." She gazed at him resolutely before running back into the woods.
               "Hey! You!"
               Isaac leveled the pistol and without a moment's hesitation pulled the trigger. And this time, when the body fell like an overripe fruit, there was no shock wave.
               "Isaac?"
               He looked up from the surrounding carnage. "Zachary. Brother," Isaac grinned, stepping over the inert guards to embrace his brother, to wipe that expression of fear off his face and –
               "No."
               Isaac stopped, as if he'd been physically hit. "What?"
               "What've you done, Isaac?" Zachary looked down at the guards in horror. "They're dead."
               "They would have killed us first, brother."
               "They were here to help. They're not out to kill us, Isaac, they were trying to help us get back. Beyond the wall is an awful place to be."
               "Zachary, you're too young to understand, but our freedom is worth anything –"
               The boy looked up, his eyes overflowing with terror. "Who are you?"
               Molly came up behind him and placed her slim, comforting arm around his shoulders. "Zachary. Isaac's still your brother, but he's just become smarter. With my help. And now the three of us can go and live the way we want, away from these people."
               He flung her arm away. "And I don't even need to ask you who you are, Satan."

Description
               Delicately swollen petals of plumb flesh fingered the rope around its neck.

               "Help me, Molly," he panted quietly, his fingernails scraping the dead skin as he fought to untie the noose. She brought over a stool. Her beautiful artist fingers deftly loosened the knot and the dead woman fell, landing jointless at Isaac's feet.

               They stared at the empty human.

               "Having doubts, Isaac?" she said, in a voice of undulating silk.
               He stared down at the corpse.
               "Why did she die?" Molly continued.
               Isaac breathed deeply. "She broke the law."
               "Like your brother. Your city is cruel in its punishments." She turned the woman over with her foot. "Quite cruel. Inhumanly so."
               "They say she brought it upon herself," said Isaac.
               "They say that for everyone, don't they? Grab the rope, let's go."

               She took his hand; the dim torch illuminated their way through the dead, ashen streets until they reached the cold outer wall. "I told you there would be no guards here." She threw one end of a hooked rope up into the ramparts of the ancient stone.
               Isaac hesitated. "We'd die in vain if we're caught out there."
               "You want to leave your brother in their hands?"
               He frowned. "What escapes me is how you know so much about Zachary."
               "I'm not from here, Isaac. I live outside these walls, outside this city, outside this cage, and I see things and know things that only your Leader's sight could match. I'm not a prisoner like you! I saw Zachary with mine own eyes. Your brother is on the other side of this wall. Your brother wanted his freedom and he climbed the stone, and now they're hunting him down. They'll throw him back in here and condemn him and he'll become a hanging, bloated feast for the crows before your very eyes. Do you want that to happen to you, Isaac?"
               He massaged the bridge of his nose as the torchlight bathed the stone in fetid orange light.
               "I'm here to help you," she offered softly. "You have to trust me."
               He stared up at the great stone wall.
               Molly whispered in his ear, "Great things await those who help themselves, Isaac. Be free from the evil of this place! They have no right over you and no right to keep you from the freedom outside!"

               He handed her his bag as he took hold of the rope and began to scale.
               She followed, never breaking pace, hurrying him along as if she had done this a thousand times.
               "How many other wretches have you saved from this hell, Molly?" he chuckled incredulously as she easily went through the motions of dropping over the other side.
               "A few," she said, arching an eyebrow and smiling mischievously. "Okay, maybe more than a few." She slid her way down the serpentine rope as Isaac clumsily followed.

               As the climb burned his fingers raw, he heard Molly land on the patted earth.
               The starry sky blinked at him as he stared in her infinite soul.
               The rope began to fray when he looked away and before he knew it, the cord that kept him connected to the city was severed and he was lying flat on his back, look up the side of the great stone wall behind which he had been trapped since tojours.
               Molly's laughter rang from the brush. "Come on, Isaac, let's go find Zachary."
               "Zachary," Isaac laughed, relieved and surprised. "Zachary! Zachary!" he proclaimed joyously, falling to the ground again in absorption of his freedom.

               "Who's there?" A light with a gruff voice and the click of a gun approached.
               Molly grabbed Isaac's arm and pulled him into the brush beside her. "Isaac, see what you've done! Idiot!" she hissed angrily.
               The guard strode closer. "Who's out there?"
               Molly shivered against Isaac. "The things they'll do to us if we're caught. Isaac."
               He felt metal being pressed into his hand. "No, Molly, no way I'm killing him."
               "You wanna be hung?" she demanded.
               Isaac swallowed as he thought of his freedom and his brother. He slowly stood and came out of the bushes.

               The guard saw him and quickly leveled a shotgun towards him. "Stay put. We're here to help. If you cooperate, you won't be hurt."
               "He's lying, Isaac." Molly stepped out onto the path beside him and put her hand over Isaac's on the trigger of the pistol. "You know you'll be killed."
               The guard shook his head. "Just come with me. Come with me and you'll be sa– "
               The shot charged the air with an unseen current. Isaac began to shake uncontrollably as the guard fell at his feet like the dead woman, except this man still had the colour of life upon his face. "I killed him," Isaac stuttered, falling to his knees. "I fucking killed him."
               Molly sat down delicately beside him. "It's all right, dear. You...." She hesitated. "You did the right thing. You really did." Isaac shook his head as he rocked back and forth in silent sobs. She pulled him into an embrace. "Isaac. No one's life is worth more than your own. He would have killed you. You acted in self-defense, and that's perfectly all right."
               He took a shuddering breath. "You're right. You're right. Self-defense."
               "Now, let's move and maybe we'll find – "
               "Scott! Scott!" came a distant, panicked yell.
               The two sat up violently. "Fuck," muttered Isaac. "Fuck, they're gonna come and find him and find us."
               Molly picked up the gun and pressed it against his hand. "They probably have your brother back where they've made camp. You deal with the guard. I'll go around and bring Zachary and then we can get out away from this hellhole. Remember, Isaac... it's for the good of everyone." She gazed at him resolutely before running back into the woods.
               "Hey! You!"
               Isaac leveled the pistol and without a moment's hesitation pulled the trigger. And this time, when the body fell like an overripe fruit, there was no shock wave.
               "Isaac?"
               He looked up from the surrounding carnage. "Zachary. Brother," Isaac grinned, stepping over the inert guards to embrace his brother, to wipe that expression of fear off his face and –
               "No."
               Isaac stopped, as if he'd been physically hit. "What?"
               "What've you done, Isaac?" Zachary looked down at the guards in horror. "They're dead."
               "They would have killed us first, brother."
               "They were here to help. They're not out to kill us, Isaac, they were trying to help us get back. Beyond the wall is an awful place to be."
               "Zachary, you're too young to understand, but our freedom is worth anything –"
               The boy looked up, his eyes overflowing with terror. "Who are you?"
               Molly came up behind him and placed her slim, comforting arm around his shoulders. "Zachary. Isaac's still your brother, but he's just become smarter. With my help. And now the three of us can go and live the way we want, away from these people."
               He flung her arm away. "And I don't even need to ask you who you are, Satan."