MATED TO MY BULLIES
It was too little, too late, but at least I'd managed to crack their certainty.
Elder Morrison had heard enough. "The condemned has spoken her final words. The execution will proceed at dawn as scheduled."
As they turned to leave, I called out one last time. "I love you," I said, my voice carrying clearly down the corridor. "All of you. And I always will."
They paused but didn't turn back. Then their footsteps faded away, leaving me alone with the silver bars and the certainty of dawn."