The Upfall.

Everywhere.

The chatter escalated, from a low grumble to an uproar. Dawkins was still up there grinding the witness and the gallery didn't like any part of it.

The unbelievable probability of her innocence was floating in the air but no one was willing to breathe it in.

Amidst the grumble, Maryanne recalled the morning before the trial. On her way to the courthouse.

She wished she could drive herself there but her car had been taken in as part of the evidence so, standing outside her house, she waited for a taxi.

One showed up from the corner up the street. She lifted her hand and waved into the road to flag the driver down. A pale white lady with blonde hair just like hers.

It slowed down toward the curb, about to pull up next to her, but when it was close enough, suddenly, the car jolted and spun around its wheels away. Its wake sent her cardigan fluttering like a cape.

She had managed to see the look on the driver's face - mortified.

Then, after half an hour, another popped up from the corner. It drove her way, slowing down and eventually coming to a stop a few steps away. The door behind the driver's side seat popped open and a woman jumped out to her feet, then turned and pushed the door back lightly to close it.

Maryanne ignored the look etched into her face. The way her eyebrow furrowed as if the bright sunlight was falling uncomfortably on her eyes. And the way her head c****d quickly back in some sort of realization of who she had seen.

She focused on the taxi. Her eyebrows also knit over her eyes against the sun's reflection off the windshield. She struggled to see the driver who was rolling slowly toward her.

The thought of getting to the courthouse gave her a constant chill. Having to walk into the swarm of journalists outside, having to eventually walk into the courtroom, where her fate would be decided, made her shiver under the warm morning sun.

Even the thought of meeting with her attorneys, knowing that they also had a hand in her fate - sent dread through her.

"Hey!" the driver said through a slightly lowered window. "Are you that woman that's all over the news?" he asked. She didn't have an answer. Her mind stuttered at the question, leaving a brief air of silence. "Get in," he said.

She entered the taxi hesitantly to the seat behind the driver then scooted over to the one behind the passenger.

"I'm going to the courthouse," she said, looking at the side of his head where the shadow of his green cap spread.

"I gotchu, ma'am." He reached up to the rearview mirror then adjusted it slightly as he peeked at her in it. Then he turned the key in the ignition. The car growled, and they were on their way. "You know, I understand." He started with his eyes on the road but peeking up at her. "I really do, I mean... it be like that sometimes y'know."

She turned her aimless gaze from the window and looked at his chin which remained motionless, even as he spoke. "Sometimes things don't go well between two people, then they get to bickering," his stubble stayed in place.

"Then one of them says something wrong, and boom!" he bellowed and shook the air inside the cab, startling her. Then he turned around, taking his gaze from the road, and whispered: "She goes straight to her maker."

He turned back to the road and steered it from halfway between two lanes. Maryanne looked at him, confused. She wasn't sure if she was safe or if he genuinely didn't care. His tone had sounded slightly reminiscent, maybe even regretful. She wasn't sure.

Silence grew as he set his eyes on the road and she had hers outside her window, mindlessly watching the road whiz by underneath the car. She snuck a few glances to the mirror in front of them, to his empty eyes, and felt the need to clarify.

"You know I didn't really do it," she said reluctantly.

"Yeah sure, that's what they all say." He replied shortly in his jarring, gruff voice then leaned forward and squinted toward the display beneath the steering wheel.

"Hey I gotta make a stop, just a quick one." He gabbled, pivoting his head slightly around. "I gotta fill up real quick. Hope you don't mind."

"No I don't. Take your time."

He exited the freeway and pulled into a gas station some feet into the turn then halted abruptly next to a free gas pump and hopped out.

Maryanne turned back to her window as she reached into her purse for her phone, so that she could see how late she had gotten.

A white RV pulled up next to the gas pump opposite theirs. All its windows were rolled down fully and inside was a family.

A girl, a boy and an older woman-their mother-sat around the small dinette table laughing and playing some card game.

One of the girls, the youngest, saw her staring at them. Innocence was in her eyes, and in her sister's who also turned.

Their mother, intrigued by what had stolen their attention, walked to the window and met Maryanne's eyes lingering on them with a faraway look.Her head c****d back just like the woman back in front of her house. Her nose wrinkled, and she reached above the window and drew the curtain over it. Like a plague, harsh on the pupils was the sight of her.

The man, probably their father, returned and jumped up onto the driver's seat. Then away they went.

She remained there looking at the empty gas station, wondering what took her driver so long. The dread she had for the courthouse had spread and was now in the world.

"Okay," he popped up around the cab, "let's go." He said as he fell heavily onto his seat. Then again, he twisted his hand at the ignition and after a brief growl, they were back on the freeway.

They sat there, in awkward silence. Even the driver noticed. He reached to the middle of the dashboard and switched on the radio. Then he turned a knob around and a voice in it announced:

"In the day's main news, Maryanne O'Neill, a former news anchor on The Great Nation, is set to be arraigned in court," the lady said in a calm PR voice that Maryanne was familiar with. "After weeks of investigation, the State has reportedly built up a solid case against her. Porthaven's District Attorney stated in an interview, and I quote: 'We have everything we need and we are certain that when we provide the jury with evidence we acquired, they will hand Maryanne O'Neill exactly what she deserves.'" She slowed her tone on the DA's statement, and Maryanne sensed intention in it.

But things weren't always that way. Only a few weeks prior, Maryanne was at the height of her career, beloved by most and envied by some. She was the city's most renowned news anchor, whom people of all ages tuned in to see and hear from on The Great Nation's 9 p.m. news.

A tear formed in her eye as she remembered the lady's voice on the radio. As she reminisced on past days, before her life turned on its head and was flying south-and fast.

"Order in the court!" the judge shouted. The chatter broke off and Maryanne's mind snapped back.

"Your Honor! That is all," Dawkins said and walked back to his seat.