Chapter Ten: The Sadistic Guard
Jacob Standler opened his eyes. He was entering the fourth month in prison and it had been as terrifying and depressing as he had anticipated. It was morning. 8:01am to be precise and already the tax inspector could hear a baton being rattled against iron bars. It was a sign that Prison Officer Dickinson was coming. Dickinson had two batons in his possession. One was a normal baton that all Prison Officers had. The second was electric. At the press of a button. Dickinson could administer a jolt to any convict he took a dislike to. Most days this was Jacob. In fact the prisoner could not think of a day he wasn’t the victim of several electric shocks.
“Rise and shine sunshine,” Dickinson said aloud as he unlocked Jacob’s cell. The prisoner climbed to his feet and stood to attention. This was normally what the Prison Officer wanted, although most of the time, nothing would please him.
Dickinson entered the cell and approached the convict.
“Do you think you’re worthy to stand in front of me, boy?” he asked before administering an electric shock. “Kneel. On your knees now.”
After recovering sufficiently from the pain of the first jolt, the prisoner kneeled before his tormentor. “Not quick enough,” Dickinson said before administering another electric shock.
“You’ve been here three months Standler and in that time you have been one of the most irresponsible, ill-disciplined convicts I have come across in my entire life. The good news is that you are going to be executed. I am going to bring you along with my colleagues Discro and Hubbins to the execution room.” At this point two other prison officers entered the cell.
This was unexpected news for Jacob. He expected the day to come soon but this was something of a surprise. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The last three months had been a miserable experience. The news that it was coming to an end was therefore both happy and sad. Deep down, he had hoped against hope that someone would rescue him from his current predicament. In truth, he probably had a better chance of winning the lottery.
“Now boy, you are going to get what you richly deserve. Don’t cry too hard,” Dickinson continued as he gave the prisoner, several belts with his baton. “It’s on days like this that I have faith in God, a just god that is sending you straight to hell.”
The sadistic guard kept rattling his baton against the bars of every prison cell they passed by. Every now and then he would administer a shock to the dead man walking. Thankfully it was a short walk to the execution room.
Jacob wondered how his parents would feel if they were alive. He wondered if he should have been more assertive with the women he failed to ask out. He wondered if things could have been different if his choices had been different. The prisoner didn’t regret rescuing Charlie Morrison. It was after all the right thing to do. He just wished that his life was a little easier.
As the middle aged convict approached the execution room, he resigned himself to his fate but prayed that the God he believed in would be merciful to him and forgive him for all the mistakes he made in his life. He was about to find out one way or another if there was an afterlife and how lenient or strict the Lord above was. He would find out soon enough.