False Witness

Former Mayor (nervous, whispered):

Isaiah… it’s worse than the news says.

He’s out.

⸻

I didn’t sleep, I didn’t run,

Came straight here when I heard what’s done,

Bars went quiet, cameras blinked,

The villain slipped through every link.

I know I failed, I know my name,

But I’m trying now to make it right again,

He’s moving slow, leaving signs,

Meet me where the river bends at nine.

Isaiah (spoken):

If this is a lie—

Former Mayor:

I swear on the city.

⸻

Truth don’t shake when you ask it twice,

I’ll follow the trail—

I won’t roll dice.

⸻

If the dark comes back, I won’t hide,

I walk the streets, I read the signs,

Hope don’t scare me, fear don’t rule,

I’ve bled for less—I’ll see this through.

If he’s out there, I’ll find the thread,

Bring daylight where the rumors led.

⸻

Footprints lie but patterns don’t,

Broken locks where shadows won’t,

Old routes, cold hands, staged alarms,

Someone guiding me through the dark.

Mayor’s stories don’t quite align,

Every “fact” a beat off time,

I feel it now—my pulse goes thin,

This hunt ain’t for the villain…

It’s pulling me in.

Isaiah (low):

You’re not telling me everything.

⸻

Former Mayor (flat):

I told you enough.

(A sudden strike—no gore)

Isaiah (strained):

That—

That’s my weakness…

⸻

Cold burns where the light runs dry,

Knees hit stone, the skyline tilts sideways,

Mayor’s hands shaking, eyes afraid,

Says “I had no choice—they made me obey.”

I reach for power—nothing answers back,

City goes quiet, the world goes black.

Former Mayor (breaking):

I just wanted it to stop!

⸻

So this is how fear learns to speak,

Through borrowed knives and trembling feet,

If I fall here, hear me say—

I chose the city anyway.

Even dimmed, my vow won’t bend,

Light remembers how to end.

⸻

(A phone buzzes. A low laugh.)

Villain (amused, sharp):

You used the weakness?

…Good.

But you moved too soon.

Isaiah isn’t finished—

And neither am I.

Villain (cold):

Clean this up.

I want him alive.

⸻

Isaiah (fading but firm):

You should’ve known…

I don’t quit in the dark.