So...in a stroke of brilliance *insert sarcasm here!* I completely forgot about Mr. Jangles' resurrection until...ummm...right before posting this chapter. So I had to put it off while I incorporated the scene. I felt it was just too important to omit! But anyway, that's why this one wasn't cranked out as quickly as the last couple of chapters...that and the one shot that totally engulfed my writing world Saturday night. Lol. Hope all is well and thank you for the wonderful reviews and all the alerts and what not, both for this stories and the others! Feel free to leave questions, comments, concerns, and complaints in a review for me! As a author on here says, "Leave a review and save a unicorn! So if you don't review...you kill a unicorn!" Lol. Hope you enjoy this new chapter and, also, I don't own certain parts of this story (you know, the characters from the movie (DUH!) and the quotes from the script (Double DUH!) and the general plot line (Triple DUH!)) Those belong to people far more brilliant than I. This goes for the whole story, just so you know. ;)
"It still amazes me that he goes after it every single time." Mollie said, carrying trays of food down to Del and John's cells. She was, of course, referring to Mr. Jangles and his obsessive chasing of the spool. "You'd think he'd get tired of it after a while."
"Uh-uh. Mr. Jangles loves chasin' his spool. Dat's why he's gonna be a circus mouse at Mouseville down in Florida." Del said proudly. Sliding John his food, she came over and watched as the mouse rolled the wood across the floor tirelessly.
"He'll be the best in the show." She said, swallowing the bitter taste the lie left in her throat.
"Dat's right." The Cajun replied, grinning as he flung the spool. Catching a bump in the floor, it went careening through the bars and out into the corridor. True to his reputation, Mr. Jangles took off, scampering after the object of his obsession. "Der he goes!" he said, leaning forward on his cot to keep an eye on his companion.
Watching the creature, Mollie didn't notice Percy's presence until his foot was crushing the mouse, the sickening sound of fragile bones cracking assaulting her ears.
"NO!" Del shrieked, plastering himself against the bars and clawing at the air separating him and Percy. Hearing the shout, Paul, Brutal, Dean, and Harry came running out. Percy looked at Mollie, his face smug.
"I knew I'd get him. It was only a matter of time really." Mollie reared her arm back, ready to deck Percy in the chops. He deserved to have some sense beat into him and she was more than happy to take the job. If Paul hadn't stepped between them and given Percy the chance to strut down the Mile, she would have been unemployed by the end of the week. As he rounded the corner, the deep voice of John Coffey made them turn.
"Give him to me." He said urgently, stretching his arm out. With his size, it looked as if he could reach half way across the corridor. "There might still be time." A look of understanding crossed Paul's face as he glanced between the dead mouse and John.
"What're you doing?" Brutal asked as Paul leaned down and cupped the mouse carcass in his hands. Without a word, he walked over to John's outstretched arm and placed the animal in his hubcap sized hands.
"Dad, what are you doing?" He ignored her as they all watched John. Cupping his own hands, he brought them to his mouth. Like taking a deep drag off a cigarette, his eyes fluttered closed.
Suddenly, it looked as if a spotlight was placed in his hands instead of a mouse carcass; a brilliant light was coming from his cupped hands. It was bright enough to make them all squint, yet they all refused to look away. They stood silently, rooted to the spot by the supernatural act happening in front of them.
And as suddenly as the light appeared, it was extinguished. Pulling his head back, John started hacking like a chicken bone was caught in his throat; deep, throaty coughs billowed out of him like his life depended on it. After a few moments, what looked like a swarm of gnats flew out of his mouth, forming a sickly gray cloud above their heads. Mollie didn't know if it were the creatures or the air itself that was humming softly around them. After a few moments of flight, the black specks disintegrated, blazing white before disappearing completely.
The group of guards and the inmate just stared, their gapes even deeper when John bent over. Opening his hands, Mr. Jangles came running out of his cell. Besides a slight hitch in his step, he was as good as the Mr. Jangles that appeared on the Mile all those weeks ago. Sprinting across the corridor, he leapt through the bars of Del's cell and into the waiting hand of the Cajun.
"What did yah do?" Dean asked breathlessly, staring at John.
"I done helped Del's mouse. He gonna be a circus mouse down in…" John trailed off, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to recall the conversation that had happened minutes before.
"Florida." Mollie said softly, staring in disbelief at Mr. Jangles as Del cried tears of joy. A steady stream of teary French filled the air as a few English thanks were sent across the cell block.
"Boss Percy bad. He mean. He stepped on Del's mouse. I took it back though." He continued, his tone matter-of-fact as he spoke. With the exception of Paul, they were all gaping at each other. How on earth had that just happened? How had John Coffey resurrected a dead mouse?
"Brutal, come with me. Dean, Harry; you boys go back to your cribbage game. Mollie, it's time for you to clock out. Head on home." Paul said, his tone adopting a sort of dreamy tone as he continued down the Mile and through the office.
Mollie pulled her truck into the prison's parking lot, listening as it gave a pitiful cough before she turned the beast off. Looking in the rearview mirror, she adjusted the pin in her hair, capturing a few stray strands of dark brown hair behind the silver and turquoise trinket she had picked up on an Indian reservation in Arizona.
Her eyes looked glassy, but otherwise, she was holding up well. With a sigh, she opened her truck door and made her way to the entrance of the prison. Clicking down the hallways, she stopped just outside of E Block's doors a few minutes later.
Seeing her hand shake as she reached for the door handle, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. If she could stay strong, this would help Del; if she broke down, who knew how bad it would hurt him. Squaring her shoulders, she pushed the door open and quickly made her way down the hallway and through the office.
"Well I'll be…" Brutal said, catching sight of her from the office desk. She stopped and smiled at him. "Got so used to seeing you in the prison blues that I forgot what you looked like in anything else!" he laughed out. It was true; it felt like it had been ages since she had dressed up. The teal dress accented her tanned skin well; her mother always said it made her eyes pop.
"You ain't the only one." She chuckled out, heading out onto the Mile. The duty desk was empty, which was surprising. They must have been finishing up last minute preparations or something. Picking up a stool, she quietly made her way down the Mile.
"Well hello there sweetheart! Need help takin' that off?" Wild Bill catcalled after her, jerking on the bars as she passed. Ignoring him, she stopped in front of Del's cell, smiling softly as she saw him throwing the spool for Mr. Jangles. Setting the stool down, she perched herself on top of it and watched.
"I thought you didn' work tonight Ms. Edgecomb." Del commented, reaching out and plucking the spool off the floor.
"I don't. I just came to…to talk to you if you want." She said quietly. He turned and smiled sadly at her.
"I always enjoy your company, especially when you look très beau." He tossed the spool again before he spoke. "I still don' know why I did it." He shook his head as Mr. Jangles pushed the spool. "It was like, one minute I be walkin' down the street, n' the next I be doin' such horrible thin's."
Mr. Jangles stared up at Del with bright, oil drop eyes. It was as if the mouse knew what he was talking about; as if he were listening to Del reveal his dark deeds. "I deserve what I gettin', I know dat. But I still afraid of what's comin'." Mollie gazed at Del. She couldn't see how the man sitting in this cell and the man accused of murdering somebody were the same person.
Before she could respond, he looked at her with damp eyes. "If I ever had a daughter, I would have wanted her to be like you Ms. Edgecomb. Your heart is so kind and you be so nice to people who don' deserve it." Mollie rested her hands against the bars.
"Everybody deserves kindness until they prove to me otherwise." Del let out a sour chuckle.
"I be on the Green Mile Ms. Edgecomb. How is dat not proof?" She sighed softly.
"I never met the Del that lived outside this prison. I only met the Del that sits in this cell block. And the man sitting before me deserves all the kindness I can give." He looked up at her, clearly surprised by her answer. Reaching out, he clasped her hand in his; both hands were rough and calloused.
"Vous devez être un ange." He said softly, his eyes swimming in tears. Releasing her hand, he reached down and scooped the spool up to throw again.
"She sho' is." A deep voice rumbled across the Mile. John was watching them from the bars of his cell, his face pressed against them.
"I'm what?" She asked, confused. She rarely understood Del's French phrases that he laced his sentences with; how could John?
"An angel." He said, smiling at her. Before she could ask him how he knew, she was cut off by Wild Bill.
"I think she's a devil; nobody wants an angel in the sack!"
Mollie had never been tempted to kill anybody during her life. Sure, she had the urge to beat Vince senseless the evening she found him with the other woman, though killing him had never crossed her mind. The more time Wharton spent in this blasted cell block, however, the more she wished his D.O.E would be delivered to Cold Mountain Prison. After reading his file and finding out everything he had been caught doing, she would be willing to strap him to Ol' Sparky and say 'Roll on two!' herself if it got him off the Mile and off this earth.
"Mollie?" Looking down the Mile, she saw Dean rounding the corner and heading down the corridor. Sliding off the stool, she picked it up, only to have him take it out of her hands. They walked back down the Mile in silence. Setting the stool behind the duty desk, he led her into the now-empty office. "You alright?" he asked, looking at her face for a hint of the answer.
Swallowing, she nodded. Closing her eyes, she fought off tears that were threatening to spill onto her cheeks. Two strong arms wrapped around her gently, pulling her closer until her cheek rested against the scratchy material of Dean's jacket.
"You know what he did." He said simply.
"I know what he did." She responded. "But we both know that crime was the only bit of bad in Del. It just came out at the wrong moment." Dean released her after a few moments, cupping her chin to get her to look at him.
"Are you staying for the execution?" She wiped at her eyes before nodding. His mouth tugged down at the corner. "I don't know if that's such a—"
"Nothin' you say is going to change my mind Dean Stanton." She said, her voice stubborn as she looked up at him. He softly smiled back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I know that. I'm just worried about you."
"I'll be fine." She said, taking a steadying breath as she smoothed wrinkles out of the front of her dress. I'll be just fine.
"If you're staying, why don't you go ahead and go sit down? We'll be startin' pretty soon." Looking in the mirror and brushing her fingers through hair, she nodded. It was nearly time.
A little fun fact! The guy who plays Toot, the old trustee, has an awesome middle and last name! You'll never guess what it is! Never ever never! It's...*drum roll please!*...Dean Stanton. Coolest coincidence ever? I think so. Hahaha. Also, he's from my home state and performed at MY college! (Of course, that was many moons ago, sometime after WWII, but still!) Ran across that as I looked up some quotes on Imdb. It's bizarre, the things you find on the internet. :)
