United We Stand_A Post-Apocalyptic Novel of America's Coming Civil War by Mark Goodwin

Author:Mark Goodwin [Goodwin, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-10T16:00:00+00:00

Ava awoke on Wednesday morning to the sound of the cell door buzzing. Soon after, she heard the guard’s voice. “Maggie Sloan, it’s time.”

Ava’s heart sank for the woman she’d known only a few hours.

Maggie crawled down from the top bunk. Her lip quivered, and she looked at Ava. “Thank you.”

Ava forced a smile. “See you soon.”

Maggie bit her lip. “Yeah, see you soon.”

The guard slammed the cell door and escorted Maggie away.

Ava prayed for Maggie and her children. She prayed for Ulysses and for Foley. She wanted to see her father and her husband once more before departing this world. She missed them both so badly it made her sick.

Wednesday afternoon, Ava was served lunch in her cell by another inmate at the prison. “Thank you,” she said to the trustee.

The woman wore a prison uniform like Ava’s, but it was blue. She did not reply to Ava’s expression of gratitude but looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

Ava dissected the meal on the plastic tray. She had a fistful of shredded iceberg lettuce, two pieces of stale white bread, and a square-shaped item that smelled remotely like fish. Ava broke it in half. Inside the square, it was grainy, more like cornbread than fish. But, it was all she had, so she ate it anyway.

The meal acted as a temporary distraction, but it was soon over and Ava’s mind returned to contemplating what her death would be like. Lethal injection was designed to not be painful, but how would she feel in the moments before, while she watched the needle being inserted into her vein? Would she panic? She felt afraid at this particular moment, just thinking about it.

Ava called out, “God! I’m so frightened! I know I’m coming home to you, but this is the scariest thing I’ve ever faced in my life. Please, God, send me an angel to comfort me or take away my fear. Please, Lord.” Ava cried out for several minutes longer.

Soon, the terror of death faded and she felt peace welling up inside. It was slow at first, but her sense that everything was going to be okay grew and grew.

“Thank you, God. Thank you for your peace and for your Holy Spirit.” Ava lay down on her bunk and fell fast asleep.

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