Standing in the control room with his hands behind his back, a poker-faced Captain Scarlet listened apprehensively to his commander-in-chief’s verdict over his charges of misconduct.
“You leave me no alternative: Captain Scarlet, I sentence you...to death.”
“I understand, sir.”
“However; as you are indestructible, there’d be little point in standing you up before a firing squad. Dismissed.”
Feeling both relieved and bemused all at once, Scarlet thought better of saying another word and promptly turned to ride the conveyor belt back to the exit.
“And you can wipe that grin off your face, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, sir, Colonel, sir.”
“And get me those reports! And where’s Captain Blue? He should have debriefed me on arrival.”
“Captain Blue is down in the lecture theatre, Colonel.”
“What’s he doing down there? Send him up–after you get me those reports.”
Captain Scarlet heard the exchange on his way out and considered it with welcome distraction. Finding it out of place for Blue to delay debriefing the colonel, he went to find his friend. As acting commander of Cloudbase, Blue had given his blessing for Scarlet to leave the base to go after the threatened Colonel White. However, Blue had not been privy to the exact nature of Scarlet’s unofficial protection detail; nor had Scarlet, initially, having come up with the plan on the fly. If Blue was concerned that he was going to be hauled over the coals, regardless of the accuracy of that assumption, Scarlet felt it was only just if he was to prepare Blue before he saw the colonel. The man had always supported him, after all.
The sight he encountered when he entered the lecture theatre made his eyes widen. A group of silent figures in monks’ robes were ferrying kindling into a growing mound at the base of a metal pillar, which had been erected on the low-lying platform near the lectern. Bound to the pole was none other than Captain Blue, dressed in his full uniform, minus his radio cap. After a few moments, Scarlet recognised the hooded figures as his other fellow captains and the off-duty Angels.
“Adam? What in the Hell is going on?”
“Oh. Hi. The Angels asked me to help them rehearse a play about the witch trials. Mind you, these ropes are pretty tight.” Blue gave a slightly-nervous chuckle. “I can barely move my fingers.”
“It’s just for realism,” Melody Angel reassured him distractedly, without looking up. “Captain Blue is going to be a star.”
“A true star,” the group intoned in unison.
“Isn’t this a little inaccurate?” Scarlet asked, his gaze remaining fixated on Blue’s clearly-troubled one. “It was mainly women who were executed during the witch trials.”
“But he is from Massachusetts,” Destiny Angel answered without blinking.
“So-called ‘witches’ were never burned to death in Salem, Destiny,” Scarlet pointed out.
“Swedish witches were, Paul,” Captain Magenta said, shooting a side glance at Scarlet. “Some English witches, too.”
“And I can testify that it’s a horrible way to die. Seriously, is this some kind of punishment initiated by Colonel White? He just handed me a suspended death sentence, with the strangest smile on his face.”
“Is that what you believe?” Destiny asked. “Well, then... oui, that’s it exactly.”
“But Captain Blue had nothing to do with my, uh, little scheme,” Scarlet protested, turning to look up at Blue again.
“Then we are putting on a play, yes.” Destiny clarified unhurriedly.
“The devil you are,” Scarlet muttered sarcastically. “Fine. Have fun with your little ‘play’ later, but right now I need to speak with Captain Blue. Look at him, his hands have gone positively purple.”
Scarlet began to move to his friend, but quickly found himself intercepted by Captains Ochre and Grey. “Don’t worry, Paul, we’ll take care of him,” they droned together.
“Good care,” came the monotonous global reply.
“Are you freaks Mysterons, or something?” Scarlet cried, shaking the captains off of him.
“Of course we aren’t,” Melody said dismissively, getting to her feet to pat Blue’s shoulder. “I’ll untie him right now. He’ll be with you... very soon.”
Scarlet looked back at Blue, who forced a smile and nodded his head in assent. Seeing Melody’s intention to keep her promise, Scarlet reluctantly agreed. “Okay... well... I’ll see you in the lounge, Adam.”
Twisting his head around a final time in dubiousness, Scarlet left the lecture theatre. Looking out from the corner of her eye as she busied her hands, Melody tracked Scarlet’s exit. Almost as soon as he was gone, she moved away. Also watching his friend disappear, it took Captain Blue a few seconds to realise that Melody had not touched his binds at all.
“Uh, Melody. My hands...?”
“Good care, Adam,” Melody echoed, as she neatly positioned a final log. “Just like you did for us when the colonel was gone. There, all finished. Do you have those matches, Rick?”
“You’re not seriously...”
“Right here, Mags.”
“Where did you get those?!”
“From my last family barbecue,” Melody answered. She lighted a match, eyes glowing. “Time for another one…”
“Uh, oh...”
“Lieutenant Green!”
Quickly swivelling his head up from the random keypads he had been staring at, Lieutenant Green looked across at the figure of Colonel White, leaning forward in his seat at the control desk. The impatient glower painted on his face left the lieutenant feeling like he’d been blasted with a flamethrower.
The involuntary comparison made Green pale and shudder slightly.
“I’m sorry, sir. I think I–blanked out for a moment.”
Hearing the lieutenant’s tone of genuine distraction, the colonel settled back with a heavy sigh. “Alright. Get me Spectrum London, then go get yourself a coffee.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Green answered gratefully, but White was already back to studying the reports that seemed to be the chief focus of his present attention.
Putting White through to London headquarters, Green slid out of his chair and went down to the officers’ lounge. Rolling his shoulders forward as he made a beeline to the percolator, Green gave a double take when he saw Captain Blue perched on the lower of the two couches. The blond captain was the only other occupant in the room and was currently engrossed in a black-bound book.
Sensing that he was being watched, Blue raised his head up. “Hi, Lieutenant,” he said cordially. Seeing Green continue to stare in silence, Blue lowered his book open onto his lap. “Something wrong?”
Green pointed at the book. “What is that?” he asked.
“This? It’s just a book my mom sent me from Boston,” Blue answered. “What of it?”
“But, the title – it’s about the Salem witch trials?”
“Yeah,” Blue said slowly, wondering why Green was so rocked by his choice of literature. “Mom found a reference to a Svenson family ancestor in it. She thought I might be interested. It’s a little morbid, but – hey!”
Inexplicably, Green hurried up to him and snatched the book from his lap. Slamming it shut, Green shook his head. “Sorry, Captain, but this is one story you can do without.”
“Lieutenant! What is this? Colonel White has my report.”
“Yes, but he will require a verbal debrief,” Lieutenant Green replied swiftly, jumping on the captain’s assumption to save face over his irrational outburst. “He has finished with Captain Scarlet, so he should be ready to see you shortly. In the meantime, I will hold on to this for safekeeping.”
Captain Blue watched in disbelief as the lieutenant purposely marched out, with the manuscript tucked firmly under one arm, his quest for coffee apparently forgotten.
“What is going on with everybody today?” he wondered aloud.
You can blame this on my haunted memories of the 2005 edition of the wonderful Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, and the schools highlighting the dangerous clash of ignorance, fear and the green-eyed monster. No matter the motives, we have never needed aliens from outer space to tear us apart and we, unfortunately, probably never will cease to do so. I can jest now, but I won’t forget the performance or what I’ve since read in a hurry.
Please note that this story is not an accurate description of any real-life witch trials. If you are interested in learning about the Salem trials (or any others), please refer to the internet, your library or someone knowledgeable on the subject.
Thanks to Chris for reviewing the story and including this on her fabulous site. I also want to thank her for her suggestions and additions to improve the story. As always, I hold no copyright over any aspect of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. I only enjoy it.
Happy belated Halloween and happy reading for this year’s Halloween Challenge stories!