1 The Final Shock by Issy Gee

I will never be able to forget that night.
Even now, five years later, the memory is still fresh in my mind.

But, if I’m going to do this right, I’ll need to start from the beginning.

I was working for a prison at the time. The hours were good, and the pay was decent.
I was content.
I should’ve known it wouldn’t last.

Jonathan Walker was one tall man.
He had been convicted with murder three years before, and the electric chair was finally ready for him. He didn’t resist. But after I had finished tightening the straps to hold him down, and moved to tie the flap over his eyes, he turned to look at me.

“You ain’t gonna be able to get rid of me.”
He was smirking, as if he wasn’t about to be electrocuted.

My eyes widened.
“We’ll try our best.”

I quickly finished tying the flap over his eyes and backed away, nodding at the executioner.

He smirked and slammed down the lever.

An hour and six thousand volts of energy later he was dead.
It was a wonder I had been able to survive it without vomiting.
Halfway through, his eyeballs had begun to dribble down his face, and I had a feeling the other was about to fall out.
I don’t know why I hung around after the physician declared him dead, and everyone had left.
Maybe it was guilt. Or maybe it was just curiosity.

I just stood there, staring at him, as if I expected him to start talking.
You can imagine my surprise when he began to unstrap himself.

I watched, frozen, as he slowly raised his arm to remove the flap covering his eyes, and his eyeball fell to the floor.
He began to walk towards me, his footsteps making heavy echoes that bounced around the room.

I winced as the fallen eyeball squelched repellently loudly underfoot.
And, with my back against the wall, he set his cold hands on my shoulders.
His sockets were black and empty, and I repressed the urge to gag when what was left of his right eyeball dribbled onto my shirt.
He began to shake me, his mouth forming words that couldn’t be heard.

By then I was trembling, and my thoughts were coming and going so fast they were blurring together.

I flinched as his raspy voice reached my ears.
“I told them. I told them that it wasn’t my fault. But they didn’t listen. It was because of her.”
His voice was so set and determined, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was telling the truth.
He gave me another shake before saying one last thing.
“It wasn’t my fault. It was hers. And I’ll make her pay for it.”

And, in the blink of an eye, he was strapped back in the chair, the flap back over his empty eye sockets.

I took a deep breath and began to walk towards the door.
But, I couldn’t resist looking back.
And when I did, he was smiling right at me.