The Green Mile and The Reporter

John Coffey

As Brutal unlocked the cell the shouts finally became clear. "Dead man! We got a dead man walking here!"

A shorter man stepped into E block tugging on something behind him. I felt my mouth drop open and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

An gigantic man stepped onto the block. He was a full head taller than Brutal and by the way Brutal looked up at him he knew it too. The dark skinned man had to be close to seven feet tall and just as wide. My first thought was Please don't step on me! My second one was that the shorter man shouldn't bother pulling on him, because if he doesn't want to move then he is not going to.

"Dead man. We gotta a Dead man walking here!"

The Chief seemed impassive as ever and Del had his face pressed against the bars as he looked up like a man whose not exactly sure if he's dreaming or not.

"We got ourselves a dead man walking here!"

"Percy." Paul's sharp voice cut in. "That's enough."

The shorter man gave him an annoyed look, and I was sure he was going to ignore Paul and keep on yelling. Instead he continued tugging the inmate along.

Unsure of where I was supposed to be, I followed Brutal as he and Dean trailed after the inmate. Once we stopped in front of Paul, Brutal peered around the muscled bicep to give a wide eyed stare to the giants face. I stepped to the side so I could look at Paul's stunned face. Glancing over I realized that I was just about level with the giant's chained hands.

"Am I gonna have in trouble with you big boy?" Paul asked. When no response was forth coming he leaned his head a little forward. "Can you talk?"

Minding Del's cell, I backed up and pushed the top of my body back so I was leaning. At that angle I could just see his face. It was scared and lost, yet serene. It was one the oddest expressions I'd ever seen on a man.

Despite Brutal's earlier warning, Paul stepped into the cell and waited for the prisoner to follow. When he didn't Percy gave him a knock on the chest with his baton. "Move your ass." Then, "Come on, let's go."

The cell was darker, and it became harder for me to see either of them as they disappeared into it. I stepped up behind Brutal to get a closer look. Paul's voice came from just by the cell opening. "Percy. They're moving house over at the infirmary. Why don't you go see if they need some help?"

Percy tapped his baton against, as if he was itching to use it. The same way I tap my pen against my paper when I'm thinking of what to write. He gave a slight head shake. "They got all the men they need."

"Why don't you just make sure?" His voice was tight with thinly covered irritation. Percy began to shake his head, but Paul interrupted him. "I don't care where you go, Percy, as long as it's not here at this very moment."

Percy scoffed and turned to leave just to bump right into Brutal. Percy flared up at him before going to step around him. I scrambled out of the way before he walked into me to. He glanced at me and then did a double take. I stiffened as he stared at me in surprise, neither of us quite sure how to react to the other. Brutal cleared his throat and Percy turned away, but not without throwing one last look at me.

I stepped a little closer to the cell so I could hear better when there was a loud crack and a howl of pain behind me. We all turned to look as Del crumpled to the ground, holding his hand. "HE BUS' MY FINGERS!"

For a second I thought Percy might spit on poor Del, or maybe rap his baton against the bars again. "Wiped that grin off your shitpoke face, now didn't I?"

Paul seemed to simmer over slightly. "Goddamn it Percy! Get the hell off my block!"

Percy shot us all a glare over his shoulder before stomping out of E block. Del was muttering profanities under his breath and groaning. "We'll get that looked at Del, now just keep quiet like I said." Paul turned back to the original matter of the huge man in the cell behind me.

Keeping an ear out as Paul addressed the now named John Coffey, I walked over to Del and kneeled on the tile close by. "Are you okay?"

His face was contorted in pain and he was holding his hand at an odd angle. "I be alright Miss Argonne. That's mighty nice of you to ask. I thank you."

I gave him a small smile before getting to my feet. I made it back to hear "Do you leave a light on after bedtime?" It sounded strange coming from such a large man's deep voice. By the way Paul blinked and how the other guys were glancing at each other, they were all as surprised and uncomfortable as me.

John seemed embarrassed by his question and gave a small self conscious smile. "Because I get scared of the dark sometimes. If it's a strange place...."

Paul cleared his throat. "It stays pretty bright in here all night long. We keep half the lights burning in the corridor."

"Cor'der?" He said it like he'd never heard the concept before.

"Right out there." Paul gestured towards the hanging lights.

John Coffey nodded, seeming relieved, then held out his hand. Everyone kind of froze. I don't think John really thought about what he was doing, I think he just did it. I was certain Paul wasn't going to shake his hand, but then he surprised us all even more. John's hand nearly swallowed Paul's, and I felt a smile I couldn't explain creep over my face.

Paul closed the cell door and I followed the boys into the office. Thinking about Percy, I turned to Brutal "I see what you meant about keeping the peace."