The Gallows

                                                    The gallows

         Johnny sat on the cold hard cement bench in his cell, contemplating his imminent demise. He was only  forty three years old, and he was already going to lose his life to a noose. The same noose that had taken many lives in the past. He pictured all the potential things he could have had. A wife. Kids. A job. Johnny ‘s breathing got heavier and heavier as he pondered the fact that no one would know, or rather, no one would care that he was gone. The warden of the prison approached Johnny slowly and consciously , as he had with all the inmates he had lead to the gallows before.
         “John Andrews?” the warden asked.
         “yes sir.” Johnny replied.
         Johnny stood up, and walked to the warden. The warden pulled out hand cuffs that were chained to ankle cuffs. He bent down, and attached them to Johnny’s ankles, and did the same with the handcuffs to his hands. The warden started walking, which prompted Johnny to as well. They walked through the east wing of the prison to where the rope awaited him. What was normally a loud part of the building, was quiet, for Johnny’s fellow prisoners knew exactly where he was going.
         Two guards stood in front of a double door entrance to a dirty warehouse. Stadium lighting guided Johnny’s eyes to a wooden structure. There it was, the place where people deliberated for months on end to send him to: The gallows. He was lead up 6 wooden steps to the main platform. A priest and a doctor watched as the warden guided him on top of a trap door. The noose was fitted around his neck. The priest read an excerpt from the bible that Johnny, who was not a religious man,  did not recognize.
         “ Any last words?” Asked the warden.
         “I got nothin’ to say”
         An unknown guard grasped a lever. The only thing Johnny could make out on his face was his eyes. A deep shade of brown shot out of the darkness engulfing his head. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. The warden walked back where the guard was standing, and gave a signal to the him. The executioner pulled the lever, which released the trap door. Johnny fell until the rope tightened, killing him. The doctor stepped up to the body, and confirmed the death.
         “Time of death,” The doctor glanced at his watch, “3:41 A.M.”