THE EDGE OF DARKNESS

CHAPTER 4

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The next day dawned overcast and chilly. Runny oatmeal along with cold toast was the only choice Stone had for his breakfast. At least the coffee was hot. But it wouldn't have mattered what he ate, nothing would have tasted the way it should have. He was surprised that he was so nervous. He just wanted so badly to get the day moving along. He had not slept all night because he kept going over the plan in his head. He knew that special arrangements had been made for Joe to be the only guard taking him to the maximum security prison.

Even though the prison was just 20 miles away, standard protocol dictated that prisoners be transported in the prison bus with no less than 2 guards per inmate.

But unusal circumstances had worked in Stone's favor. Stone was to be the only inmate transferred. No other criminals had been sentenced in time to make the trip. It was important to the city officials that he be made an example so they insisted that he be transported without delay. Over the past month, there seemed to be only one guard who had any control over Stone's aggressive behavior. When Stone first arrived at the prison he was quiet and kept to himself. But it seemed the longer he remained in prison and the longer the trial itself was, Stone grew progressively more arrogant and stubborn. The only guard who had any success with restraining or keeping him in line was Joe Glover.

So it was Joe's responsibility to discipline the prisoner according to prison regulations. What officials didn't know was that Joe had succumbed to bribes and was now actually working with Stone.

Stone was lost in his musings and didn't see Joe come up behind him. He let out a grunt as he felt the club jab him in the back. The guard had not used the club in over a week but now, Joe wanted this day to be impressive and he dreamed of his own promotion. He'd pull out all the stops and make it a good show, right down to being abusive and rough.

"C'mon you stupid jerk! Move it quickly now. First stop, ya get the once over by the prison doc!"

It was the first regulation that all prisoners being moved to another prison be examined. All wounds, scars, birth marks, missing teeth and all other medical history was verified and paper work completed so that the new penitentiary would have all current records. It was merely a formality and took only about 15 minutes. Everyone knew that once the inmate reached their new facility, then that prison doctor would do his own cursory examination.

Once that was completed, Stone had about 1/2 an hour to get back to his cell and gather any of his belongings. The only thing Stone had was a new comic book and a Bible. He tossed the Bible on the bed and stuffed the comic book into his duffle bag. He would receive a new prison uniform, shoes, underclothes and bedding at the new prison. He would be taken directly to solitary confinement. He would stay there for 1 week while being processed and he would slowly be let out into the general population.

But Stone knew that none of this would ever happen. In just a few short hours, his life was going to change forever. As if prison hadn't changed his life already, his plan would bring him to the end that he craved. Soon, everyone in the whole city, hell in the whole damn state, would know Stone Crawford. The voice promised that he would live on forever.

Eventually Joe arrived and grabbed the duffle bag from Stone. The inmate was lead to each processing station. Identity was checked, records cataloged and the obligatory strip search carried out. The shower Stone endured wasn't the leasurley, private kind. Stone was forced to use a special antibacterial soap, use a wire brush and a smelly shampoo that left his skin raw and red. His head itched from the product and before he even had his clothes back on, his skin felt raw and inflamed.

Joe had no leverage in getting this procedure waved. This was mandatory due to the fact that no prison wanted any new skin diseases or contagious infections brought into their population.

Finally allowed to dress, Stone was pushed through the halls until they reached the final holding area.

By this time, Stone was chained, handcuffed and even his shoes had been removed in order to make escape that much harder. His hands were cuffed behind his back. His ankles were chained also and another link of chain connected his ankle chains to his hand cuffs and looped around his waist and connected with a lock, all backed with a heavy leather belt like device. At best he was able to take small steps very slowly but would be forced to quicken his pace. This was done more for the prison guard's amusement than for any actual time necessity. Joe complied easily with this bit of tradition. He still thought he was playing his role quite convincingly although it just served to be more fuel to Stone's plan. It was one more reason he couldn't wait to be rid of Joe.

Within an hour, Stone was loaded into the car. He sat in the back seat, the chain looped and connected to the bars that separated the front seat from the back seat. There were no windows in the back seat and the door handles had been removed.

Joe got in the driver's side and set the big car in motion. Once they were a block away from the prison, he turned into a side road and took the back way around all the traffic. Weaving in between the alleys, he finally stopped when he figured they were far enough from the prison but still within the city limits. No words had been exchanged between the two men. Joe concentrated on finding the right place to release Stone and Stone kept hearing the instructions inside his head.

The car stopped and Joe got out to unlock the back door. He reached in and unlocked the chain that shackled Stone to the divider. The bound man moved slowly and heavily out of the back seat and stretched his back once he was able to stand up.

"Okay, now you remember what we gotta do don't ya?" Stone spoke quickly and kept looking behind Joe.

"Yeah, yeah. No big deal. Here I'll unhook you from all this crap. Now, my money's waiting for me at the Brown Hotel under your name right?" Joe set about unlocking and unraveling the locks and chains that had kept his prisoner so docile. At least in Joe's mind, that's what Stone had been. Somewhere along the line, Jo never noticed how the balance of things had changed.

"Would I double cross you? You've helped me this far. Now here, give me your gun. Remember we agreed that you'd need to be found wounded in order to lead everyone to believe that you had nothing to do with this. So get the rest of this stuff off me and we better get moving." Stone kept an eye out for any unwelcome visitors.

"Right, but you gotta make it believable so don't worry about me. Just do it!" Joe closed his eyes, anticipating the pain of being hit over the head. But he never got the chance to open them again. Stone took the gun, backed up a few feet and fired directly into Joe's face. The guard's face exploded into pieces but it took a few more seconds for the body to fall to the ground. Stone fired another shot into the chest and one to the gut for good measure. By this time, Joe only made a few gurgling noises and his body twitched in the last throws of death.

Stone worried at first that the noise would alert nosey onlookers but in this part of town, he realized that gun shots, screams and squealing tires were a pretty common occurance. He kicked the dead body once before he bolted to the driver's side of the car and slid behind the wheel. The keys were still in the ignition so he turned the key and headed out of the alley. Actually he was in his old neighborhood. He'd killed his last victim a few blocks away so he knew where he was and where he was headed.