Lyvia
was haning upside down, her body pulling her
down, her ankles nailed to the wood preventing
her from falling.
The two men began
lashing her with the lead tipped whips. They
hit her ass, her legs, her back and her crotch,
making her moan with each lash, her head shaking
violently.
Some in the crowd
were vomiting, no longer capable of holding
on to their composure. Rachel was crying in
terror, the old man was holding her tight, trying
to avert her eyes from the gruesome escene,
but she didn't let him. She wanted to witness
it all. She had to. She was dying for her so
it was the least she could to, witness her martyrdom.
Lyvia fainted again,
the men lashing her notices she was not responding
to the whip, but didn't stop. They were also
hoping she was dead. Lyvias executioner had
only once before put a woman to death and not
in the manner. The last time someone was cruficied
for the murder of a Roman legionaire was a few
years before. Most people that were crucified
were slaves, but they didn't suffer three executions
at once.
Lyvia was the first
to suffer like this in a long, very long time,
no one was prepared for the extreme cruelty
that befall the young woman.
The men continued
lashing the uncousciouss Lyvia and the whipping
brought her back when one lash made her react.
She was alive, that
much was clear and it was a sad truth for many,
if not most of the people watching her execution.
After the 50th lash
fell on her belly, the two men stopped. She
was left hangin, swinging for a moment, her
body twisting from side to side as the force
of the whipping that kept her swinging and twisting
for a long time stopped.
Before her body stopped
twisting, the order went to lower her down.
Two soldiers held the rope to lower the naked
woman as slowly as they could. When she reached
the ground they spread her facing the sky, she
was not reacting to anything, she was still.
"Is she dead?"
Rachel asked the old man. "I hope she is"
the old man responded.
is taken out of city,
hanging from the cross bars |
