Forever Numb

by Salena Casha

I've always wondered what convicted serial killers and murderers think of as they're walking down death row. Do we consider them animals, easily euthanized and later forgotten? I twine my fingers into the lab's fur, my dog’s body inflating and deflating with each of his labored breaths. "I’m doing this because I love you," I whisper, trying to convince myself it will end his pain. The needle descends with precision, the instrument held tightly between the vet’s fingers. Innocence, such as this, has been lost before in search of self-justification.

6S

Salena Casha, author of Mind Tricks, is a freshman at Middlebury College intent on majoring in English. Her work has also appeared in Niteblade Magazine.