Death Row

The Walk To Death

Despite my readiness to comply, or my self-proclaimed readiness to comply, I still felt obligated to offer some resistance; "What does that even mean? In what way could I have possibly violated those guidelines?" I responded, doing my best to remain calm. Although I don't feel as if I could've violated those guidelines, it's true that I haven't studied them fully, or even read them all the way through; how could I be punished for something I didn't know was even wrong? The man sighed again, loudly, as if to show to me that he is tired of me speaking and wishes for this to be over with quickly, before stating tiredly; "You may be informed of your offense, or offenses, at a future date. Now, as I have stated, you are advised to comply immediately, by both the government and myself. It'd be such a hassle if you didn't comply..." The last sentence was muttered under his breath, as if to himself, but I heard it still. I don't like how often this man uses the word "may" to refer to such important matters. I may be told of my crime, or crimes? How could I not be told?!

My breathing quickens and I can feel my face flushing red and heating up, but despite my anger and worry I remain calm in my thoughts and decide that compliance, at least for now, is the best course of action. The thought of running was expelled from my mind earlier the moment it popped into my head. The man in front of me could likely easily catch up to me and force me to go with him; I don't remember the last time I ran, and have never fought nor felt compelled to fight. So, I utter these words as calmly as I can, forcing myself to make direct eye contact with the man; "Let us," I cast my eyes down noticing a nasty look in his, "Let us go on then." I stand up, feeling slightly satisfied with myself and my slight ability to almost take control in a way by being the one to initiate the transfer to the new location. Though, of course, I have the same lack of control as before in reality. 

I cannot tell if the man is pleased at all as nothing about him changes. He simply walks off towards the nearest exit of the building without even compelling me to follow him; I do follow him, however, of course. Exiting the building, I'm blinded by the sun. It's not often I see it this high and this bright, for I enter work so early and leave so late. My eyes readjust quickly as they have been trained to do, and I run slightly to catch up with the man, already slightly hot and out of breath due to the suit and temperature. This temperature is new as well; the office is air conditioned as are the houses, and it's unusual to be outside at this time. Nonetheless, I continue to follow the man, taking 2 steps for every massive stride he takes. We walk all the way down the stone-square-tiled path, past my own house, and eventually arrive at the office on the other end. I'd never been to this office and never felt a reason to do so; after all, it's impossible to enter from this side and functions more as a wall. I assume it's identical to my own office, only that just the backside is visible to me. The other walls that serve to wall off our neighborhood do not belong to any office, and are instead large, fairly thin, brightly colored walls. 

I cannot see any reason we should be at this impassable wall. That is, until the man next to me uses some sort of radio or phone and utters some strange phrase followed by some numbers. Only a few seconds after finishing this transmission, he looks to his right at one of the 2 tall walls blocking in our neighborhood. I turn to face it as well, and notice a small outline in the corner of the wall adjacent to the office; an outline that would be impossible to see in daily life, as no one has reason to come to this end. Suddenly, yet slowly, the door opens silently, revealing a concrete wall behind it.