"Have you heard of the news?"

Tina, a gardener to the Long family for several years now, was busy plucking away at weeds in the front yard when Cynthia Long's voice shot through the air much like an arrow, piercing through her ear drums and causing her to cringe slightly. It wasn't that Cynthia's voice was enough to shatter glass, really, it was just that when she was excited...the pitch was taken up a notch.

"No, atleast I don't think so. What's going on?" Tina asked casually, eyeing an annoying little weed in front of her that refused to budge. She gave it a tug and it persisted to stay put, and as Tina pulled harder, it seemed to laugh at her efforts.

"They're setting up that Dominic fellow for slaughter!" she called out, eyes wide as she grinned. In that instant, the weed's decapitation took place as the roots shot forth from the Earth, causing Tina to fall back into a stunned sitting position, her head turning towards Mrs. Long in shock.

"S..slaughter?"

"Yes! Isn't it wonderful!" she said smiling, clapping her hands lightly. Recently, Dominic had been convicted of betraying his people and was given an unfair trial, sparking forth a mental and emotional breakdown within him. Inside, Tina wanted to scream at Cynthia, inside she wanted to berate her for her ignorance...but to do so would be to break a longtime friendship between the two.

"Yes...it's wonderful.." she replied quietly, placing the dying weed in the bag beside her.

Within her mind however, a storm was raging fiercely. Cynthia was excitedly running to the neighbors to talk of the news, as Tina slowly stood with her bag and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked to the sky, sighing softly.

"They're gonna kill an innocent man...just because they can't understand him. I wonder how these people can even sleep at night sometimes..."

Strangeville...a land of people who were constantly at peace and at war with one another. Poor Dominic had came here with his eyes set on a Despairican dream...and it all crumpled down into one big nightmare for him by the time he was done. Tina was there the first day he came in, people welcomed him warmly, accepted him as one of their own. Slowly he gained more power in Strangeville, and unlike those who'd done it before he actually hadn't been corrupted by it.

Maybe that's why they hated him...he was breaking the cycle, and the people of Strangeville would rather he be killed then change the way things were run.

Tina knew who had probably set it up, too. The mayor, Chester Monsoon, had been known for having troubles with Dominic. She also knew who his executioners would probably be...Chester knew of the two men who'd caused the most havoc in Dominic's life. Matthew Linden and Simon Turner were both men who'd Dominic was forced into confrontations with...both men who'd Dominic overcame in the past.

Sad, really...he probably wouldn't be able to overcome them this time.

Dropping the bag of weeds and removing her gloves, Tina made her way towards the Long household for a glass of water. Mr. Long, sitting on the front porch reading his paper, regarded her with a nod and a smile. Tina tried to smile in return as she passed by, but she knew that what she gave him was scarcely even half of one.

The television was on, and the news anchor was all smiles as he went about his job, reading the teleprompter in front of him to the people watching at home. Beside his head, an image of Dominic being arrested was shown. Tina shook her head sadly, picking up the remote and turning the television off. She wasn't interested in what was to be said, because she knew the whole story--she had experienced it first hand.

Looking back on that first day he'd came, she could have never imagined that such a nice man could be forced into insanity by the people he'd trusted. She could have never forseen the people of Strangeville one day turning their back on him...leaving him in an endless, downward spiral that he could never escape from.

It was August 20th, just around two years ago that Dominic had became a part of the Strangeville community. Aside from having a few problems starting off with a hoodlum and some woman by the name of Maggie Nite, he had actually came into Strangeville on good terms. Over time, he'd managed to help take down a street punk by the name of Jonathan Jettson, who'd continuously escape from prison to come back after him.

There was something about Dominic that attracted people to attack him, to cause him trouble...but he'd never break under that pressure. It was a trait of his that Tina truly admired, his determination was unmatched by all in Strangeville...not even their chief of police, Steven Schultz, could be held over him in that department.

Breaking away from her thoughts for a short while, Tina made her way on into the kitchen. Pictures adorned the refrigerator in magnet form, portraying Long family portraits and pets, happy times for them over the many years the family was together. Mr. and Mrs. Long's children had long since moved out, but the two would never forget the times they'd spent as their children grew up.

Tina smiled in remembrance of the day that Jack Long, their oldest son, had finally moved out of the house. It was such an emotional day...he had finally became a man and was prepared to go out and live life on his own. His bags, packed tight in a beat up old Chevy, contained what he'd need for his adventure into the world. He was filled with this desire for success, his eyes were practically glowing in what little light dusk was providing them.

It was like a scene out of a movie, really...he'd even driven off into the sunset on that day. The skies were painted warm with reds and oranges, and there was a slight breeze. He had a fiery determination in his eyes as he set off from the driveway, making his way down the road to leave Strangeville for another land.

If only Dominic had escaped like Jack had, maybe he wouldn't be condemned as he is now.

Dominic...had never really intended to bring harm to anyone in Strangeville, he was always just out there to make his dreams come true. He was like anyone else in the United States of Despairica, he was following his dreams. Recently however, conflict had arisen between Dominic and the chief of police's wife, prompting Steven to step into action.

Despite Dominic professing his innocence in the matter, and despite the fact that in reality, had people just looked at the scars he'd gotten from the conflict they'd know the truth...he was put away. On the night of the attack it was Suzy Schultz who had delivered the punishing blows, and Dominic who had tried to fight back. Yet she was the police chief's wife...of course they would put her above him.

The water was cold as it poured into her glass from the freezer's water-maker, making a piddle-esque sound as it hit the empty glass and began to fill it. Tina pulled back the glass as the water filled it halfway, bringing it to her lips for a sip. Her eyes were closed as she did so, recollections of the past flowing across the insides of her eyelids like a cinema reel.

As she brought the glass down and placed it on the counter she looked out the kitchen window, observing two squirrel's chasing each another across a branch. She smiled and shook her head, gently leaning against the countertop and resting her arms against it on either side of her.

"With all of it's flaws...atleast Strangeville still has it's good points." she said with a smile, trying to atleast find something she could be happy for in this God-forsaken place. She had always tried to convince herself that this really was a good area, but the fact of the matter was that it was, unfortunately, falling apart.

Her smile faltered as her realization came to her as it did many times in the past, denying her any salvation from the sad aura that seemed to surround Strangeville.

"It's happening!" cried forth Cynthia's voice from the living room, causing Tina to turn her head. With eyes wide in shock, Tina realized just how long the trial had been going on. Of course Chester would wish for the execution to occur post-haste...it was the way he handled such things. No wonder that damn reporter had such a huge grin on his face!

Tina found herself hurrying into the living room, a sense of dread filling her as she looked towards the freshly turned on television, portraying none other then Dominic with his head lowered on screen. On either side of him stood Matthew and Simon, pistols firm in hand. He was to be killed via two bullets to the head, an unorthodox method of execution used in Strangeville.

Tears burned at Tina's eyes as Dominic was asked for his last words, a look of sadness on betrayal in his eyes as he turned towards the priest before him.

"I...haven't changed..." he choked out, closing his eyes, "But it seems...the people of Strangeville have."

The words repeated on in Tina's head, shutting out all other sounds including the continuation of his final address to the public. The single statement he'd made to start things off was what got to Tina the most...because in more ways then one, it held all the truth in the world.

The sounds of gunfire broke through Tina's thoughts, and she simply turned her head in shame. Throughout her being she could feel it, a sense of shame towards her friends, to her community...to Strangeville itself. It was on this day that an innocent man died because he dared to dream...and though Strangeville would carry on without him, it remained a message to all who could see it.

A message who those who also dared to dream should forever keep in mind...