THE WISH Jim Haning blinked back tears as he looked out the window of the rickety bus. He rubbed his eyes and then pushed back a long strand of blond hair that was sticking to his sweaty face. Why had he let those guys talk him into going with them? The pain and the memories rushed back to him. Jim had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to be as simple as they had told him. “Just hold this gun and watch for anyone coming,” his friend had said. “Yell, if you see anyone.” Jim had no idea that someone would come and that they would have a gun. In a split second, fear had overtaken him. The 9mm in his face caused him to pull the trigger of the little 22 he was holding. In that frozen moment in time, Jim’s life changed forever. The vibration of the bus and the heat of the day was giving Jim a migraine headache. So, was the thought of his friends who had concocted the lame plan. They had ran out a back door and Jim never saw their faces again. Not that he wanted them to go to prison, but somehow it just didn’t seem fair. The prosecutor had offered Jim a deal if he would give up the names of those with him that fateful night. Maybe he should have, but, hell, they were his friends and they would never snitch him out. The bus slowed as it reached its destination. The barb wire shined in the bright summer sun. A guard holding a shotgun waved the bus into a sallyport from his perch in a tall tower. The bus slowly entered.

        

 

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