Renae Mavis

They came in the middle of the night. Voices harsh, threatening. This wasn't supposed to happen. They had the wrong person. The weight of being an outcast, of being unwanted weighed down my tired and sore body. The horror of what they were doing numbed my brain, leaving a black space where thoughts of fight or flight should be but ceased to exist. Fear and terror eclipsed my heart, seizing my body, pulling me down further. Too bad the Cougars were out patrolling that morning... They don't care for Howlers like me.

Standing on the platform I watched as the feverish sheriff paced back forth in front of me, enticing the bloodthirsty crowd to come to a decision. The hangman shifted on his feet by my shoulder, the threat of a noose tightening around my neck sending me in a cold sweat. Disgust at my former gang churned my stomach. It was supposed to be an easy job, go in, take, ride out to the safe house... only I'd been left behind, my gender revealed and the sheriff just demanded I either hang . . . or wed.