Lisa's execution

During the course of the day, Caitlyn’s injuries became worse and worse. Around noon she lost all feeling in her legs, and the town decided it was time to take her to the big hospital in Pierre, South Dakota’s capital.

While in transit, the townspeople continued their meeting. Even with all the previous murders, the townspeople still had a difficult time deciding who to execute that evening. Will thought Danny was a possibility, while Troy and Lisa voted for Will, but at the end of the day Lisa received the most votes—it was she who would fall. Danny and Troy tied her up and sat with her in the car, while Mayor Whipple, Will and Jason escorted Caitlyn, still on the stretcher, into the hospital.

Her prognosis? Bad, really really bad. What appeared to be merely a decapitation at first, had actually also battered her brain stem. Caitlyn didn’t have long to live, and Will sat next to her, weeping.

Outside, there was an execution to carry out. Tired of waiting for the others, Danny and Troy took Lisa out of the car, and into the alley behind the hospital. Not really knowing how they would kill her (Troy was known for having a weak stomach) they stalled, talking in circles, trying to decide what to do. Lisa sat trembling, claiming her innocence and shouting about how someone in The Finer Things Club could not possibly do something so un-fine.

Will eventually came outside to break the news about Caitlyn. He found them in the alley, and after much blubbering and manly hugs from Danny and Troy, he saw Lisa and came up with a terrific idea. “Dan, Troy, while in India I learned how to perform brain stem transplants! I can use Lisa’s brain stem and give Caitlyn a chance at life!” At this, Lisa broke down in tears. After all her years of crime in the mafia, she thought that if she could do this one, last thing to help someone she nearly murdered, maybe her friends would forgive her after her death.

And that is how it happened. Caitlyn was saved, Will received much acclaim throughout South Dakota for his amazing new surgical procedures, the mafia was uprooted and Mayor Whipple got a huge raise. Salto Ancora was safe once again.
Good work, citizens!

DAY 3: the doctor makes an appearance

Mayor Whipple woke up with a migraine and decided to stop by the only grocery store in town for some ibuprofen. When she got there, the front door was wide open and the store was a huge mess. It appeared the store had been robbed! With the only law enforcement in the town dead, there wasn’t anyone around to stop the hooligan looters. Mayor Whipple was about to leave, when she noticed a trail of blood leading into the public restroom.

Opening the door an inch at a time, slowly, slowly, she feared the worst. The mafia had killed someone each night this week, and the mayor predicted the worst. There, on the floor underneath the bathroom sink, lay Caitlyn. Her clothes were drenched in blood, her chesnut hair in tangles. The mayor started crying over the latest loss and then noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Caitlyn’s chest silently moving up and down, up and down. She was alive! Rushing towards her, the mayor saw duct tape wrapped around her neck and an icky gooey salve squishing out from underneath the makeshift mending job of the tape. Her head had been attached back to her body with duct tape!

Caitlyn, using hand signals because she was no longer able to speak, told the mayor someone burst into the store as she was closing up last night, came at her with a machete, and chopped off her head. That was all she could remember, until she awoke under the sink minutes before the mayor arrived. It appeared as if the doctor’s unconventional techniques might help save the town after all.

The mayor called an emergency meeting with the rest of the town. Caitlyn, attending the meeting on a stretcher, held a large sign that read, “Thank you, Doctor, whoever you are.” The mayor asked the town to carefully consider the events leading up to this last, nearly fatal, attempt and to convict the correct person today. The town wouldn’t last long if the remaining mafia member was allowed to strike again.

It is now DAY until Thursday at 10am. As there are now six members left in town, four votes are needed to execute. Please place your votes like this—VOTE: George. Good luck!

the long debate ends in death

It had been a long, hard day. With Gemarie dead, nobody could be certain of the identity of the mafia members, though several townspeople had very strong opinions on the matter. Stacey and Jason had been going at it most of the day, neither one giving an inch, one trying to save her life, the other trying to end it. Regardless of how hard or how long they fought, regardless of how weak or how strong their evidence was, neither one conceded. Ultimately, however, it was not only Jason that doomed her, there were three others who voted for her demise as well. All four agreed: Stacey must go.

Mayor Whipple went ahead with the execution. The townspeople carried her to the corn field outside of town, blindfolded her, and gave each townsperson a gun with a single shot. Everyone aimed their weapon, closed their eyes, and steadied their trembling hands. “One, two, THREE!” Stacey dropped to the ground. Quickly, and without much gore as requested, she was dead.

After a thorough investigation of her cottage by the duck pond, there was no evidence that Stacey supported Wal-mart, had ever used marijuana, or even owned a weapon. Stacey was a regular townie, and the town mourned for their mistake. Mayor Whipple, upset by this discovery but relieved that the town could be counted on to make tough decisions, sent out this statement:

“Citizens of Salto Ancora,
This is a hard time we live in. Some who are innocent will die, in order to bring justice to those who plague our streets. There will be differences of opinions, there will be debate, there will be tears, but there cannot be verbal attacks. We cannot call each other “foolish” or make senseless references to the “clue phone.” We may not agree with each others’ ideas, in fact the mere fact that we don’t always agree makes this process more intriguing, and yet we CAN get along and we SHOULD NOT give up on each other or ourselves.
We have one left to find. Now be quick about it.
-Mayor W. Whipple”

It is now NIGHT. There is to be no communication during this time, on the blog or otherwise. Those with night roles need to respond to me by 10am on Tuesday.

want to avoid reading all the comments?

For those wanting to play, but NOT wanting to read through all 267 comments on DAY 2, comment 268 is a tally of the votes. This will get you going. You, of course, will miss out on the logic and arguments said before this comment, but at least you won't have to spend hours reading through it all. The stat tally, written by the mayor, was put down on February 17 at 9:32am. You can scroll through the comments until you come to that date and time. I hope this helps.

DAY 2: a new statue in town

Mayor Whipple woke up that morning full of hope. As she walked the few easy blocks to her office she reflected on what occurred at sunset the evening before. Her faith in the town was somewhat restored, Jacob’s death had made Salto Ancora a safer place to be.

Once in her office, she noticed the light on her answering machine blinking. Who would have called her at such an early hour? She sat down and pressed the button. “You have seven new messages,” the monotone voice said. Seven messages?! Each townsperson, save one, had called that morning saying a strange, new statue has been erected in the middle of town and wondered who had commissioned such a thing and would she please come down to see it. What the heck?

Slipping her Nerf gun into her purse (she hoped this wasn’t a set up) she bolted out the door. Up ahead, another block or so, she saw a large, bronze something standing on a wooden platform. She couldn’t make out the shape of the statue, it seemed to have been hastily formed. Upon arriving, still panting from her sprint, the townspeople bombarded her with questions. Brushing their questions aside, she strode closer to the statue wanting a good look. It wasn’t a very good likeness of Gemarie, the bronze seemed to have been splashed around a bit, but you could tell it was her by the long hair. Wondering why Gem would have made a statue in her honor, she turned around to ask her…but Gemarie wasn’t there. Every other person in town had come, but not the creator of this interesting and somewhat horrifying piece of art. Mayor Whipple sent several people to Gem’s home, but they came back empty-handed. It then occurred to the mayor that Gem was, infact, there. She was inside the bronze, she had been cast in bronze and placed in the center of town as a reminder by the remaining mafia member that they were not happy with Jake’s death and would continue to fight.

Stunned by this revelation, the mayor shook her head. Now the town’s best chance of success had been murdered, the town’s detective was dead.

It is now DAY until Monday at 10am. There are seven people left, and you need four votes to execute. Gem, as you are now dead, you may not communicate with anyone, on the blog or otherwise.

NIGHT: Jacob is "corned"

As dusk set in, the townspeople of Salto Ancora were still having a difficult time choosing who to execute. The meeting went on nearly all day, with some citizens coming quite late in the evening. They each had an excuse—a traffic jam, homework, cleaning—but eventually all checked in and had their say. Some pointed towards “the brothers,” others thought the mafia was comprised of those less familiar in the town. Some withheld voting until others had, choosing instead to follow the crowd. One thing was certain, they were not going to allow that long day wasted, regardless of who they killed. Finally, towards the end of the day, Jacob’s name was seriously discussed and nearly everyone in town agreed—Jacob must die.

While the townspeople wrapped his legs together with duct tape, Jacob declared his innocence. While the townspeople strung him upside down from the tallest tree in the center of town, Jacob declared his innocence. While the townspeople pelted him with rotten ears of corn, hard as rocks, Jacob continued declaring his innocence. As the last tear fell from his bruised and broken body, the townspeople heard Jacob whisper, “How could you play me like this on Valentine’s Day?” The townspeople, paralyzed by the reality that they had done such a thing, stood still, each one wondering if he really was a member of the mafia, or just an innocent victim. Was their logic off? Did they just murder one of their own? After several moments, a slight breeze swept through town, dislodging a wad of paper from a pocket on Jake’s upturned corpse. It fluttered to the ground below, the movement releasing the citizens of Salto Ancora from their trance-like state. Mayor Whipple picked up the papers from the dusty ground, uncrumpled them slowly, and let out an audible gasp. She held up the papers for all to see—blueprints for a Wal-mart!

The townspeople cheered, grateful there was one less mafia member in town, however a definite sadness hung in the air. Upon walking back to their homes, each citizen shed a single tear for Jacob.

It is now NIGHT. Those with night roles need to email me with their responses by 10am tomorrow. There is to be no communication during the night, via the blog or otherwise.

DAY 1: A gruesome dawn

The sun started peeping over the magnificent Black Hills and its beautiful orange and pink rays filled Mayor Whipple’s office with a cheerful glow. She lifted her head, rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. It was already morning! With all that was happening in the town, she had been staying late at work trying to figure out how to bring all the townspeople harmoniously together, but as yet had had no success. She decided to dash home for a quick shower, before her meeting with the townspeople scheduled for later that day.

Taking the shortcut home from the office, she ran by the abandoned Toothpaste Factory and noticed a light on in the first floor. The factory had been empty for years, so Mayor Whipple decided she ought to check it out. She pulled out the Nerf gun from her purse (her weapon of choice during these uncertain times) and opened the door. There, in a huge vat used for mixing paste, was Eric, or what was left of him. The mafia has submerged him in water up to his neck, poured sulfuric acid into the water and watched while it slowly ate away at his flesh. Only Eric’s head was recognizable. It appears the South Dakota Mafia left behind their two most gruesome members.

Disgusted by the latest display of torture, Mayor Whipple left the scene, saddened and nauseous. With help from the undercover detective and doctor, she hoped the town would execute one of the right people today. While she didn’t necessarily believe in townspeople murdering their own, after seeing Eric’s glazed-over eyes, she knew that something must be done.

It is now DAY for the next 48 hours (until 10am Central Time on Friday). Everyone, using the comments on this blog, must discuss and vote for whom the town would like to execute. We need a majority to carry out the execution. Since there are nine left, we will need at least five votes for the same person to carry out the execution. Eric, as you are now dead, you may not post. Good luck townspeople!