Chapter 61: The Execution
Melanie awoke to the familiar sound of Prison Officer Dickinson rattling the bar of nearby prison cells. He was accompanied by two of his colleagues.
“Today is the big day,” he declared aloud as one of the other prison officers opened the gate to her cell. “And the best thing is that one of you gets to watch the other die.”
Charming, Melanie thought to herself as she climbed to her feet. In truth, she just wanted the whole thing over with. The best thing about her impending execution was that she wouldn’t have to see the sadistic jailer ever again.
Even if Melanie struggled psychologically over the past number of weeks, she always reassured herself that she had tried to do the right thing even if she had failed miserably. She didn’t know if there was an afterlife, but if there was she looked forward to meeting her biological father and her Aunt Frida and a number of the other people who inspired her to be who she was.
One of the other prison guards who wore a long beard handcuffed Melanie.
“We’re running out of changelings to fry,” Prison Officer Dickinson declared. “It’s becoming a case of what’s seldom is wonderful.”
Not for the first time the sadistic guard, administered an electric jolt to Melanie’s thigh. It hurt like hell, just like the other two hundred times he had done so.
Melanie was led out of her cell towards the male section of the prison facility. There was virtually nobody to berate her as she did so. Those that remained in their cells were somewhat subdued.
The sadistic guard would jolt her every now and again as he whistled in a slightly upbeat manner.
Eventually, they reached Todd’s cell. He looked as though he hadn’t had a good nights sleep in a while. He was quite thin and what had been thick stubble had now grown into a full beard with a hint of grey.
“Isn’t this sweet,” Dickinson stated sarcastically.
Melanie wanted to reach out and say something to Todd that would comfort him but she was afraid that whatever she said would be used by Dickinson against her. The female prisoner hoped that Todd would understand that.
The walk to the execution room was a long one, particularly with Dickinson mocking them and applying electric shock’s to different part of their bodies. Melanie hoped that his special baton would eventually run out of electricity.
Before the prisoners reached the execution room they were informed that it was out of action and that a prison van was ready to transport them to a second facility across the city.
There were two police officers already inside the van, so Dickinson decided that he would join them in their journey while the two other prisoner guards remained behind. Melanie and Todd slumped down on either side of the prison van. Todd was despondent and refused to make eye contact. Instead, he looked down at the floor.
“What’s the matter with you?” Dickinson asked as he stood over Todd with a smile on his face as he administered yet another jolt. “You’d swear you were going to die or something.”
Now Dickinson was smiling to himself. One of the police officers stood up. “Hey,” he said, “that’s very cool. Can I have a go?” The officer was smaller than Dickson by several inches and quite slim with a relatively gaunt complexion. He had dark hair and light blue eyes and had left his cap on the floor of the van.
Reluctantly Dickinson handed the electric baton to the police officer. Slowly and calmly the slim police officer approached Todd, before swiftly turning and jolting Dickinson in the stomach. In rapid succession Dickinson was jolted six times, before he was handcuffed and left lying on the floor of the prison van.
Dickinson was blubbering and calling out “stop, stop” after each jolt. The handcuff’s were removed from Melanie and Todd. The gaunt police officer offered Melanie the opportunity to exact retribution but she turned it down.
She didn’t know who her rescuers were but she now had a smile on her face and felt a thousand times better than she did a few minutes previously. For the moment at least, she had a taste of freedom.
Elliot Tomkins was seated in the passenger seat of the prisoner van with a cap down over his head and sunglasses to cover his eyes. He was sporting a red beard and red hair. Beside him was Sylvia whose driving skills were superior to his. She had a smile on her face and was looking rather more beautiful than she had several days before. Even if she wasn’t inclined to humour him by transforming into Marilyn Monroe he had to admit his life was looking up.