The Women with their Beautiful Headdresses.

American Bedtime Horror

This story contains sensitive content

Written in response to: "Write about someone whose time is running out." as part of The Big Break with London Writers Centre.

TRIGGER WARNING- The following short story contains Strong Violence, and what could be considered Hate Crimes, as well as some Sexual Content.

The Women with their Beautiful Headdresses.

Part 1- The Board’s Great Round Table.

As Chappell Roan’s, “Good Luck, Babe!” came on the speaker- the members of the Board all took to their seats at the round table.

“The sin of lust. The sin of touch! You’re convicted.” And with that, Claudia slammed her gavel, and in came the crane. Lesbianism was forbidden, and Claudette had been caught in the act with her lover who was next in line to be tried.

The song glitched, and this pissed off Claudia. She needed her perfect playlist. So, now, with great anger, she said-

“Hang her now!”

And they did.

Part 2- Death.

As the crane came in- Claudette threw up. It was so big. Scary big. She could hardly see the top of it as the sun blinded her sensitive eyes. She saw a flag at the top, but could not make out what it said. The evil ones placed the noose around her neck right over her perfect, green headdress, and she grew more nauseous as it choked her up good. Then they bagged her head. She could not see a thing. Then the crane took her up, and she asphyxiated on the spot. Her last thought was that Claudia was totally not hot. Not hot at all.

Part 3- Good Luck, Babe!

Claudia had a sexually explicit love affair with Marion. Twas a secret. Claudia knew that it was wrong, but she could not help it. She played, “Good Luck, Babe!” as she made sweet love to Marion in the shower. She loved her playlist! She loved her lovemaking. She was good. In the shower. On the washing machine. She was Heaven on Earth, but, no, she was not hot.

Marion had beautiful red hair, and a green headdress that had rhinestones and rubies, and she sang so amazingly. This made Claudia love her even more. As Marion sang along with the song, Claudia went at her harder, and Marion loved every second. She sang harder and harder. Louder and louder! She finished at the climax of the song, and the Board rushed in.

Part 4- The Trial.

The new Board leader had caught the hypocrite, Claudia, in the act of illegal lesbian sex. Uh-oh! And there would be no sparing sweet Marion. It was the end. It was their end.

Part 5- The Nightmare.

Every night, Claudia, dreamed of falling to her death. Night sweats, and cramps accompanied the dreams. She would rather hang than be thrown off a building for her sins, but the Board could have cared less about her personal death desires. It was the ground that she would meet. Death! She would hit that ground hard, and that would be that. Out like a light with one quick splat! There was no hesitation. SPLAT! And that was that.

Part 6- The Roof.

Good luck, babe! Claudia whispered to Marion in her ear from the beyond. I did love you. You were worth it, and Hell is not as bad as you may think!

The rooftop was so high! Marion lost count of the steps they made her climb. Her breathing became labored, and she begged for the Board to bag up her head, but they wanted her to see everything, so they removed her beautiful, green headdress as they reached the high rooftop. They laughed as it fell to the ground, and, upon its impact, one cried out,

“Soon, you shall splat like that, too!”

So, they dosed Marion with adrenaline to make her go visibly crazy. Completely unrestrained, Marion cried, and then she stood on the edge and stepped off on her own without any assistance. The adrenaline made her want to die, and when she hit the pavement, she died instantly with a smile on her face. As the blood splattered the sidewalk- the clean-up crew was ready to tend to the mess. It was not their first rodeo, but they had always wished it would be their last.

Part 7- Neighborhood Watch.

There must be a lesbian epidemic. The Board went on patrol, and they caught two more in the act. The two most beautiful women in the county. With Claudia gone- the Board had a new, and fun way to dispose of the criminals. Tar and feathers would consume their bodies, and they would be run out of the county on a rail to their destination of humiliation and death.

Clara and Simone were right in the middle of it. They were having the time of their lives. Toys were fun! But had they known they were going to be caught then they would never have gotten into it, but everything felt so good. The touch. The mouth action. Was it true love? Thought Clara. Or is it just simply a sexual love affair! What’s wrong with that?

“Can I put my hand here? My fingers there? Can I, please, take down your underwear?” Were Clara’s last words to Simone.

Part 8- Burnt Skin! Feathers! Tar!

“Tar and feather!” Demanded the new Board leader. No one made a move. “Tar and feather!” She demanded again, and the visceral reaction of the crowd was so overwhelming that the new Board leader felt fear herself.

Simone was ready to go, but Clara was not.

The touch. The feeling of Clara against Simone’s skin was worth every second. Now, she would feel the hot tar and breathe the hot air that would leave her feeling breathless. The feathers were just the icing on the cake- something the spectators enjoyed tossing onto victims as if they were tossing bird seed onto a bride and groom at their wedding ceremony. The rail was ready for the both of them, and the Board was excited to carry out their non-lesbian agenda. Once these two broads were done with- it would be onto the next.

“Clara!” Shouted Simone.

“Yeah!” Replied Clara.

“This hurts. It hurts!”

As the two were exiled on the rail, the cleaning crew all sighed as they followed dragging small trailers behind them that carried coffins, and cleaning supplies. They knew it was going to be a very long day.

Posted Jun 27, 2026
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5 likes 1 comment

Martha John
18:07 Jul 02, 2026

This piece moves like a dream fluid, surprising, and impossible to look away from. Its most haunting moments would translate beautifully into comic form. Discord: whyyymartha Let me know if you'd like me to create a short comic version I'd be excited to discuss the concept with you. Really well done.

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