I don't want to go to heaven. I just don't. I don't know what it is. It's not like heaven has wronged me or anything, I just don't want to have to worry about if I am going or not.
I go to church every Sunday and I never lie or cheat. I obey the preacher's every command and I try my best not to upset the church. I have a feeling that I will go to heaven whether I like it or not, unless I do something bad…
"Boys, get dressed for church," my mother screamed down the stairs at me and my little brother, Eldin.
Like every Sunday, I did not want to go to church. Maybe today would be the day I finally tell my mother that. No, I will wait one more week so that I have time to mentally prepare myself for her reaction.
I pull out a nice Polo shirt that is the color of a clear summer sky and a pair of khaki shorts the color of the maple planks in my father's carpentry shop. My dress shoes are as dark as a clear night sky, and the only thing they match is my charcoal hair. Eldin comes out of his room with his shorts on backwards, his shoes on the wrong feet, and his shirt is what my mother calls "beer buttoned". I tell him that he looks great and lead him upstairs to my mother so she can fix him.
Upstairs there were two, small, steaming bowls of grits awaiting Eldin and me. Grits aren't my favorite, but because my mother migrated here to England from the south it is one of our most eaten foods.
We finish up our breakfast and headed to church in our horse and carriage. Our carriage wasn't very fancy, but it was enough to get us where we needed to go. Our horse, Vinnie, was an old, dark bay gelding. He was slow and I don't think he was gonna last us much longer, but he's all we have for now and God knows we won't be able to afford another any time soon.
Once we arrived at the church we take Vinnie and the carriage to the carriage house and unhook. When we walk inside we are greeted by our minister, Preacher Rick. Service was as usual. We sat down in our usual bench which was the bench closest to the preacher. My parents drank the “blood” of Christ and ate the stale pieces of bread. I was thankful when it was finally over.
The next day was Monday. My mother woke my brother and I up for school. We got dressed and ran upstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual grits. I was really sick of them but I knew if I told my mother she would beat me with the belt. We hooked up Vinnie to the old raggedy carriage and drove to school.
The school house was much smaller than others when compared. It was wooden and vines were starting to grow on it. The roof was tin and flat. On the inside of the shack were two separate rooms, one for the little kids and one for the older. There were metal buckets on the floors to catch leaks coming from the ceiling.
Our mother dropped us off and I walked Eldin to his classroom. When I walked into my room my best friend Mary was waiting for me. Everybody was jittery and I suddenly remembered why. Today was our field trip to the town’s park. We were going to see the execution of the murderer John Carter. He murdered two people including a pregnant woman and her husband. I heard that the woman was his ex-wife and he had gotten extremely jealous. I was really excited to see my first execution, but Mary was a little nervous. The small kids were not allowed to come along, for they are much too young.
We started walking about 5 minutes later. It was only a five minute walk, so it didn't take long. Once we arrived the execution had not yet started, so me and Mary walked around and looked at some of the torture devices. Mary and I were looking at a device that had three pieces of metal that related to fingers with pointy tips. It was usually used to punish woman carrying miscarriages. It was stuck into one of the prisoner’s orifices and twisted open so that the points dug into the inner wall. I picked up the device and started examining it. They call it the Pear of Anguish. All of a sudden I felt a small tug on my shirt. I got scared and swung around really quickly with the device still in my hand. I heard a loud yelp and a bunch of gasps and screams. I saw Eldin on the ground, a red line on his throat. He was dead.
Large hands grabbed me by the under arm before I could even understand
what was happening. I was pulled up onto the stage where the Head Crusher was located. Before I knew it I was in the place of John Carter. Large men dressed in body armour were standing on either side of me. They pushed my head into the horrifying device. I began to hear the sound of squeaking metal. I felt great pain and pressure starting to form on my jaw. When i looked up I saw Mary trying to fight against the guards. She was screaming and crying, tears just rushing down her face. The next thing I knew was excruciating pain. I could no longer see. The last thing I could remember was the sound of my own voice screaming “Hell be good to me!” before everything was dark and silent.