LIFE AFTER DEATH... THE NOVEL
By
Cliff White, III
Chapter 1
"Mr. Combs. You are free to leave. Bailiff, please remove the ankle chains from him and release him immediately. This court is adjourned."
I heard no movement behind me as the judge quickly exited the courtroom. I knew that the people seated behind were in a state of shock that not only was I no longer a death row inmate, but I was now a free man. I had been praying to God for this day to happen, and I had also prayed that the people who sent me to prison, or at least the ones that had supported my death penalty sentence, would display compassion and remorse for falsely accusing me.
Sitting somewhere behind me was Calista McBeal, who, for the previous fifteen years had testified unwaveringly that she was a hundred and fifty percent sure that I was the one who had raped her, and also raped and killed her best friend. Now that the DNA tests, as well as a confession from the real perpetrator, finally proved my innocence, all I needed to move forward was for her to display remorse for forcing me to miss both of my parents’ funerals while I rotted away on death row.
After the shackles and handcuffs were removed, I slowly turned around and searched all the faces of all the people who wanted to see the State of Maryland kill me. After searching for her, my eyes finally locked onto her eyes. It seemed like time stood still as she slowly stood up. My blood went ice cold as she flicked me the bird, rolled her eyes, and left with an indignant strut. Then, all of her supporters flicked me the bird and left with their own indignant struts as well. Right then and there, I made my mind up that I would kill as many people as I could who had had anything to do with my fifteen years of being on death row as an innocent man.
Chapter 2
The year was now 2013, and the world had dramatically changed since I was last on the streets in 1999. For one thing, both of my parents were dead, and my oldest brother was now a crack fiend. My little brother had sent me a big money order two years ago, but I hadn't heard from him since, so I knew I was in for a difficult transition back into the society that I'd missed more than any words could express.
Taking some of the worry away from my racing thoughts was the six hundred dollars in my pocket, as well as the forty thousand dollar check that my parents had left me when they died. My first mission was to find my brother and see how he was living.
I took a cab from the Baltimore County circuit court in Towson, Maryland, to the last address that my brother had written me from, which was in Essex, right next to Baltimore City. We had grown up in Tall Trees, right next to Kingly Park. They were two of the worst apartment complexes in B-More County. I wasn’t even worried about anybody being able to recognize me, because I looked totally different from how I had when I first got locked up. I was two hundred and seventy pounds of good eating back then. Right now at this point in time, I was a very solid one hundred and ninety pounds due to the extreme amount of stress relieving exercising, coupled with the bad prison food. I went into prison with shoulder length dreads, but now I had a rock shiny ass bald head because stress snatched my hair away.
The condition of the neighborhood was a bit surprising because there was no longer a difference between this 'hood and one in the city. I walked past crack heads searching the ground for imaginary lost crack rocks. I had to turn away little kids who tried to sell me drugs. I bought an iPhone 5 for two hundred dollars. I turned down females who were selling their bodies, and who were built like they had AIDS. I was happy to finally
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