Excerpt#1

“How do you cope?” the judge asks you.

Looking into the judge’s eyes you speak, “Do you have any regrets?”

“No” he replies.

“Yeah me either,” you say with a bitter laugh.

The Judge looks at you with distaste. With his gavel raised his voice rings out in the silent courtroom. “I hereby sentence you to death by hanging, for the murder of 64 innocent people.” His cold eyes never leaving yours.

“Thank you.” You tell the judge with a hint of a smile.

“For what?” He grits out. He seemed frustrated by your reaction.

“For giving me something of my own. I’ve never had anything, so I took and took. But you have given me something, even if it’s death.” You chuckle a bit. “When that rope is around my neck, I’ll be jumping on my own, not pulling at the rope. And no one will stop me, you want to know why?”

You could practically see steam pouring from the judge’s ears as he spoke, “Why?”

“Because I’m rotten to the bone,” you say, your smile growing just a bit bigger.

“Death is too good for you.” The judge spits out.

A bittersweet taste fills your mouth as you look down, a full-blown smile on your face, “Death is my friend.”