June 27, 1939

"Angela, Angela..." a voice called from far away.

Angela slowly became aware of her surroundings as she floated back to consciousness. She was on her bunk in her cell. Her head was spinning, not to mention pounding, and when she opened her eyes, she was forced to quickly squeeze them shut again.

"Angela" the voice said again, much clearer this time "Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes again, much slower this time and after her vision cleared she saw Brutal leaning over her, a concerned frown on his face.

"Hey" he said softly, with a smile, relief evident in his voice.

Angela tried to smile back but only managed to grimace as the pain in her head intensified.

"Try not to be moving too much" Edgecomb called from behind Brutal "You took a nasty fall there"

Brutal nodded grimly before smiling again. Angela tried once more to smile and this time managed, though just barely. Their eyes met and time seemed to stop. Angela felt her headache fade to the background, all that she could see was Brutal's soft blue eyes.

Brutal was having a similar experience, he vaguely heard Edgecomb say something but couldn't make out what it was. All that mattered was the young girl in front of him.

A fierce stab on white-hot pain making its way through Angela's skull and her agonized cry ended the moment and Angela squeezed her eyes shut. Brutal looked on worriedly as she clutched her head. He was about to turn around to call for Stanton to get her some aspirin when Stanton appeared with just that.

After taking the aspirin and being left alone to rest, Angela started feeling a little better, until the memories of the bugs that came from John Coffey's mouth came back. She slowly got up and looked in the direction of John Coffey's cell.

Coffey was laid out on his bunk, probably asleep. Angela sighed in disappointment at not being able to ask him what had happened but decided to let him sleep, she needed sleep herself anyway.

June 28, 1939

Angela shifted uncomfortably for the umpteenth time. She had a frown on her face, her hands were trembling and her stomach was twisted into a knot. The inconvenience she was experiencing had nothing to do with where she was, or even what she was facing in just nine days from then.

Her impending execution was weighing down on her mind to be sure but she was able to find distraction from it. Del's mouse mr Jingles, her books and her occasional talks with the wardens helped her with that. The chat she had with Brutal every morning was sacred to her, she wouldn't have missed it for the world. She would have to be half-dead not to get up and talk to him, and even then she imagined she'd drag herself to the bars.

Her cheeks burned a little at that thought but the tingling sensation in her body was quickly replaced by a much less pleasant sensation, the sensation of being watched. Which brought her back to why she was shifting in such an uncomfortable way. It had to do with the man who was currently in the cell across from hers. Wild Bill Wharton.

The man, or monster as Angela preferred to think of him as, had been brought in the previous day in a very dramatic way. He had choked Dean Stanton, and assaulted Paul Edgecomb and Harry Terwilliger until Brutal had knocked him out. He had been dragged into his cell and left to sleep off the effects of two massive blows to the head.

Angela hadn't known what to expect when he'd awaken but she had known it wouldn't be anything good. As it turned out, she had been right. The second Wharton had spotted her, he had taken to hooting at her, yelling obscenities at her and more embarassingly, making obscene gestures at her.

Angela had turned away and managed to block out the gestures that way, but his hollering was everywhere. She had sat on her bunk with her hands over her ears, praying that he would stop soon. It had taken the 'gentle' persuasion of Brutal and Edgecomb to actually shut him up.

That's when the staring started, the incessant ogling and gawking of the man was driving her up the wall. No matter which way she turned, she could feel his eyes roaming her body. She wished they would turn off the lights so that he could no longer see her but she knew they wouldn't. The wardens had to be able to see the prisoners at all times. Besides, John Coffey was afraid of the dark and she didn't want to be selfish. Angela turned her back to the bars and tried to read her book but it was useless.

"Can't you look at someone else?" she blurted out, turning to Wharton.

Wharton gasped mockingly and said "Pretty lady talks. Whas the matter, lil' girl?. Do I make ya nervous?"

"You're making my skin crawl" Angela retorted, feeling brave because of the bars and distance seperating them.

"What a pretty lil' skin 'tis" Wharton drawled "I wonder what it'd be like to cut you..."

Angela's mouth dropped open with shock.

"...peel that skin right off them bones..." Wharton said alot louder.

Angela covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut but Wharton went on.

"...make ya scream like a lil' bitch" he hollered.

"Ey" Del called "Don' be saying that to her"

Wharton ignored Del and continued to spout sick and obscene things until Edgecomb came out of the office and scowled at Wharton.

"Wharton, shut up" Edgecomb yelled "Don't make us warn you again"

Wharton, surprisingly, immediately kept quiet but Angela had a feeling it wasn't because he was scared. The frightening smirk on his face only served to strengthen that belief. If I ever meet him without bars between us, I am in so much trouble, Angela thought as she resolutely turned her back on him again.