FAMILY BOND

Execution

    Joyce jumped when the door bell rang. She had been waiting for a visit and it appeared to have come. Now she would know at last. When she opened the door her attorney was standing there with three other men. All had grim looks on their faces and Joyce’s heart fell. The news had to be bad. She went through the motions but within seconds she knew. Fred Buckley was a good lawyer and had been in this situation before more often than he liked but he never had found a good way to say it so he fell back on the blunt truth. 
    “ Joyce the court had made its ruling and its not good, in fact its about as bad as it can get. You were found guilty and the judge imposed the maximum. You are to be executed. As I warned you the case was overwhelming and I just couldn’t mount any real defense. There’s nothing to base either an appeal or a plea for mercy on. I’m afraid its all over except the execution. The only good thing is that the judge extended your family bond so you can spend your last little time at home with your family. These men are here to make sure you understand what will happen and to tattoo you. I’m sorry Joyce that things didn’t work out better. I thought we had a chance at saving your life at least but all we can do now is try to get it over with as painlessly as possible.”
     The older of the two men spoke. “Mrs. Gunther. My name is George Wells and I’m here in the capacity of the representing the state in general and the department of corrections in particular. Since you have opted to continue your family bond and have expressed an interest in a delayed surprise execution I must explain your options and make sure everything is both understood and provided for. Right now you have four basic choices to choose from. You may choose to surrender for immediate execution. This will release both you and your family from the bond provided you do so before the end of the day today. I thing that we can stretch the end of the day to about nine this evening. The second choice is to continue the bond and commit public suicide by hanging no later than nightfall the day after tomorrow. The third choice is to pay the fees, continue your bond and be killed by one of our roving executioners at a time and place unknown but public. The last choice and one that I truly hope you do not even think about is for you to break your bond and run. You must understand that your having placed your family up as your bond places then in the situation of being personally responsible  for your actions. If you were to break your bond and run your husband and both of your girls would become hunted escapees along with you. Any citizen that finds you would be free to do anything they wish with any of you as long as you are killed when he is done. Your girls are what, twelve and fourteen are they not? Would you risk exposing them to the kind of treatment that they would receive from some of the hunters out there. Trust me there are those who make a hobby out of hunting down bond breakers and their families and what they do to those they catch is not pretty with rape being perhaps the lesser of their evils. The delayed execution option is expensive since you must pay for all expenses but it does allow you more time with your family. The other drawback is that you must spend at least eight hours a day in public places and you must do so nude and tattooed. How much this bothers you is of course something I cannot judge but you will be both nude and tattooed no matter what choice you make. The only real difference is the public exposure. I assume you have discussed it with your family. I will need your choice before I leave but since Mr. Paul here has to tattoo you and do a few other things you have a little time for last minute thought. Is everything clear?”
    Joyce was unable to answer him but there was no need anyway. She had already made her choice. Even an extra day of life to share with those she loved was worth any price and they could afford the cost. Fred had already explained how the whole thing worked. Most likely she would be shot at some point from ambush by the executioner. The usual practice was to observe her for a few days before killing her. There was an implied gift of at least a week extra in the deal and for the most part it was allowed. As long as she played her part life would continue. Since she had minor children there would be an effort to carry out her execution when they were not around as long as she did not try to hide behind them. The idea of going out in public with the big red Cs tattooed on both cheeks. Between her breasts and on her back was kind of scary but other than look and make comments as long as the kill by date under the C had not passed nobody was allowed to harm her.
    “Mr. Gunther, I need you to disrobe please” the younger man requested as he laid out his equipment. “ I need to measure you, tattoo you and take pictures of you once you are prepared” 
    Within a few minutes she was stripped and suffered the pain of several large tattoos. The red Cs each had a date under them. A date two weeks from now. By then she would have to be dead. There was also a number that was her own identifier so the executioner would be sure he had the right one. A last indignity was the injection of a locator beacon into the muscles of her ass. A series of full body pictures taken from all sides finished the preparations. It was time for her to decide when and how she would die. 
    Within a few minutes her fate was sealed. A scribbled name on a line or two of  forms and her future was settled. At some time within the next two week she would feel the impact of a bullet and she would die. Fred had offered what support he could but other that a few useful suggestions all hat was left were well meaning but empty words. 
    The first week flew by. Knowing that her time was short she tried to cram in everything but of course nothing worked. Everybody tried to act normal but it was just a poorly carried out fake. The girls really did not understand the whole thing and were apt to break down in tears at any time. Her husband tried to love her in an effort to make some kind of last memories but she was left cold and unable to respond. Finally they decided it was best if he took the girls away for the week. Tearful goodbyes were better than seeing mom dead in a pool of blood or wondering if today was the day mom would not be there when they got off the bus. It was heart wrenching but at last she watched her family drive away to leave her to face death alone. 
    Following good advice she had been given she had already picked out the place where se would be killed. There was a small park within walking distance of her home. A small meadow with trees around two sides it was nestled in front of a small hill where kids would sled in the winter. Across the grass from the hill was one of the wooded sides. Allowed to grow wild it would make a prefect place for her executioner to hide until he fired the fatal shot. The hill behind made it safe for others since the slug would end up burying itself in the dirt instead of traveling on to be a danger. During the week there was almost nobody there until after school. Joyce spent her days sitting or laying in the soft grass reading and listening to music. 
    She had gotten so used to the sounds of birds and small animals in the woods that when they stopped she noticed right away. Laying her book down she studied the brushy area. Was that something rustling the leaves of just the breeze. No, it was not the wind. Something told her it was time. She stood and turned to face her death.  Something inside of her demanded that she meet death standing and facing it head on. What was her unseen killer seeing? Was he enjoying the sight of her nude body? Watching her still firm breasts rise and fall with what would soon be her last breaths. Was he excited by looking through his fine scope and seeing every part of her body up close as if he were her lover? Or was he just checking her numbers and getting just the perfect shot lined up? She never knew.
    The shot rang out. She saw the flash but by the time she realized what it was the bullet had already struck her. A hammer blow landed between her tits and drove the air from her lungs.  
The hollow point bullet exploded through her breastbone and sent a shower of bone fragments spinning away into her chest cavity. The slug tore the right side of her heart open before exiting her back in a red spray of blood, bone, and flesh. As it exited it cut her spine in two. The breastbone fragments added to the carnage. The soft lung tissue offered no resistance to their flights. Her lungs were shredded. 
   She found herself on the ground. How had she gotten there? Why did her chest hurt so bad? Why couldn’t she catch her breath. Was it really that late? It was getting dark, she had to get home and make supper. Everybody would be hungry. So tired, I’ll just rest a second before I get up. 
    By the time her executioner rode the recoil and got back on target she was down and breathing her last. There was bright red lung blood running from her mouth as she coughed weakly. There would be no need for a second shot. Each breath was slower and weaker that the one before it. She was running down. There, the final soft shudder and the sudden limpness. It was over. 
    The small park was busy with people for a while. Her body was checked for any signs of life and when none were found she was declared dead. The corpse was removed for the post mortem.  The blood and flesh was cleaned up and the fatal bullet recovered. When the last of them left there was no sign that a life had ended there except for a wet spot in the grass. 
    Her killer was the last to leave. As he stood where she had died he realized she had known where he had been and had acted to make his job easy. She had picked a perfect place to both of them and faced her death bravely. Too bad others often failed to make the same choices. He would send flowers.