Executioner (444 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.91 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by TimetoDance (View user info) at 2006-11-16 01:34:33 EST
The only thing left to do was push the button. The prison staff had strapped the other man on the table comfortably, and hooked up the IV. John stood with a stony look chiseled into his face. His fingers were like ice and he could not bring himself to smile, even if he had wanted to. He had difficulty moving and could barely speak to the rest of the staff. John looked at the man that was secured to the table and saw a man less afraid than him.
One push of the button and seven minutes would be all that was needed. First, unconsciousness would rapidly descend. Then the man's muscles would stop moving. Finally, the heart would stop beating upon which he would be declared officially dead.
****
John placed a wager on Free Wind, a horse that was 4-1 against. His buddy had given him a tip. "A lock" was all John needed to hear.
Every Sunday John went to the races to blow his cash. He knew he had a problem but he couldn't resist the rush of the gamble. Every time he went, it was a roller coaster of emotion. The adrenaline of winning was amazing. He even loved the crash of losing. He knew one day that he would crash too far, but that didn't matter. It was a part of his life where he would have fun, in contrast to the normally depressing workday. When you interact with people who are on death row, it is sure to leave a lasting impression on your psyche in a bad way. John was no exception.
The race this particular Sunday started and as promised, Free Wind got out to an exceptional start. The horse was killing the others by at least eight lengths. John screamed his lungs out and had a smile on his face that couldn't be destroyed even if he had gotten a phone call from his father that his mother had died. Jumping up and down in jubilation as the horse began the final one hundred meters, John watched with growing anticipation. Then it happened. The powerful horse took a stumble and struggled to remain upright, but at its terrible speed, it crashed to earth. The horse let out a shriek that silenced the crowd. The other horses passed Free Wind.
John sat with his head in his hands. A small tear slithered its way past his cheekbone as the announcer blared out of a speaker the winners. Seventeen thousand dollars gone.
****
John was head of staff for the guards at the prison. As much as he climbed the ladder, he never expected one day he would be in the position that he was. Strapped for cash he took the job that no one else wanted. Executioner. The last one had had been fired for dealing weed to the prisoners. In the state of California, it is illegal for a licensed physician to kill someone. So the duties fell onto the prison staff. When no one wanted the job at the prison, the suits had offered an extra incentive. Five thousand dollars for pushing the button. You could sell your conscience for five grand and kill a man.
It was never an easy choice and John always felt there was something inherently wrong with killing a living creature. When John was six he and his older brother Stan had caught three large Monarch butterflies. Upon securing them in a glass jar, his older brother proceeded to take one of the butterflies and rip off its wings. John immediately began crying and hit his older brother. Stan was stronger and pushed John away, and in retribution, put the struggling wingless butterfly on the ground and stepped on it.
The men that John would be executing would be convicted murderers, some of the most evil men in the world. Men who had killed their wives and children or raped and killed women. This made it easier, but it never sat right with John that he had sold out for five thousand dollars per execution.
****
John stared at the man on the other side of the glass. He was tall, about six foot two and was a convicted rapist and murderer of seven different people. After ten years of appeals, the state had finally gotten their wish. Oddly, the man stared back at John. The man had gray eyes and gray hair from being in prison so long. His eyes were sunken into his head and he looked exhausted. He had the look of a man who had accepted his fate.
At 12:01 the execution was scheduled to take place. The man had been set up early and now there was a half an hour to kill. Twisting a string of beads in his hand, John stood surveying the room. The man sat strapped to a white table. The room was barren except for an IV that extended into the man's arm. Five feet away stood a glass window. Just beyond the window was where John stood, next to a machine that once activated would send the fatal mixture of sodium thiopental, tubocurarine, and potassium chloride. There were two rows of chairs a couple feet away from the window where the victims' families sat and watching the murderer. They were all dressed in black.
John stood and flexed the muscles in his legs until he had a cramp in his calf. At five minutes to twelve, the man was allowed to say some final words.
"I am not sorry for what I did."
Some of the victims' families started crying.
"It is time," someone said. John lifted his hand and hovered over the button and finally pushed it. The man became unconscious a minute later.
****
John strolled down a street downtown. In one hand, he held a half smoked cigarette and in the other a string of beads that his fingers constantly twisted and turned. At each window he would stop briefly to see inside, but more importantly take long drags from his cigarette from his trembling hand. John wasn't a smoker, but he decided that he needed the nicotine to calm his nerves. He continued walking aimlessly for another hour and then decided to stop at a coffee shop for some rest.
Tomorrow is Sunday. John pulled out his ticket to the races and looked at it. A five thousand dollar wager on a 2-1 favorite. Another lock supposedly, but that doesn't matter anymore. There is another execution next week.
User Reviews
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-11-16 16:25:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by homer42 (user info) at 2006-11-16 15:29:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-11-16 15:28:21 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
5000 BONUS DOLLARS? WHERE DO I SIGN UP?
Submitted by livEvil (user info) at 2006-11-16 14:41:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I like, I like
Submitted by Allyson (user info) at 2006-11-16 14:21:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-11-16 14:02:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2006-11-16 13:13:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Really good.
Looking forward to reading more from you.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-11-16 13:09:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-11-16 12:54:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
from a noob even
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-11-16 12:54:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by hour_man (user info) at 2006-11-16 06:16:02 (#)
Ranking: 2
It's good.
It's not great though. I'm gona 1.5 it simply because there were a few times when it seemed...stale. However more people should look at this, as it's actually real fiction, and not 'tits'. Fuck it, +1.5 for good work, +0.5 for actually contributing something of value.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2006-11-16 07:41:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No comment.
Submitted by hour_man (user info) at 2006-11-16 06:16:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
It's good.
It's not great though. I'm gona 1.5 it simply because there were a few times when it seemed...stale. However more people should look at this, as it's actually real fiction, and not 'tits'. Fuck it, +1.5 for good work, +0.5 for actually contributing something of value.
Submitted by ParlorTrick (user info) at 2006-11-16 02:17:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'd off a murdering rapist for $20 bucks but I wouldn't pull the wings off of a butterfly.
(Everyone knows FreeWind is a slacker, fakes injuries on the track all the time.)