SnotGoblin

My name is Chester Charles Compton. CC to my friends. I am 27 years old. I am prisoner 4453478 at King’s Mountain Detention Center. My crime is Murder.

He was always a loner. Time was nothing to him. People came and went but he never changed. The darkness overwhelmed him at times but never to the point of completely taking over. I always thought he would be normal one day. I was wrong. He is my best friend.



It was clear day in Tazewell, VA. Odd for Autumn. Usually the winds came from the Northwest bringing their harsh cold from the Artic. The harvest was bountiful and downtown was teeming with open markets. Local farmers selling their surplus to other locals who somehow never found the time to sow. Autumn is always a beautiful time. Someone once said that for something that symbolized death, it was so pretty.

Today was a special day. Today was the start of something new. He was sitting at Hardee’s watching the traffic signal got through it’s rotation. Sipping his coffee and having his bacon biscuit. Extra butter. As he watched the signal, staring past it to the farmer’s market, he saw her.


Johnson was born Johnson Harriet Dempsey on March 12, 1980. His parents were good, hard working people. His father worked at the local coal mines as a long wall operator. His mother was a cook at the hospital. He had no siblings but the house was filled with love. I’ve always wondered what went wrong. When Johnson was 8 he killed his dog. Well, not just killed. He tortured it and then after he gave the death blow with his first “real” hammer he proceeded to skin it and hang it’s corpse from the neighbors mailbox. “Special Delivery” he said. He made me watch him do it. I cried the entire time.

When we got to High School we did what most boys done. Drink whatever type of alcohol we could get our hands on. Smoke any type of cigarette we could bum. And chase skirts as much as they would allow. I met Susan then. She was your typical small town girl. Sundresses. Shoulder length brown hair. Brown eyes. Sandals. We dated all through high school till….

While I was doing pretty good for myself with Susan. Johnson however, was not very good with the ladies. Not that he didn’t try. Try he did. But, he just never had the knack for talking to a female. He just couldn’t relate. I tried to help him but he would have none of it. He said that they were all just whores and that they didn’t need to be treated special. Why?? I have no idea. Just what he said. So, needless to say, he never really dated through school. Granted he did lose his virginity at age 14. Two years before Susan and I went down that path. So I can’t say that he never succeeded.

We graduated school in the middle of the class. I was 45th and he was 46th out of 118 total. Not bad I say. We had two choices for a career after school. Armed forces or Mining. We both chose mining since it paid very good, and had the night shift which we both like to work. Johnson followed in his father’s footsteps and became a long wall operator. My father left when I was 3 so I tried to think of a job he might of done. So I became a pinner. The most dangerous job in a coal mine. I liked the challenge.


Long hours and even longer weeks working in the mines. I mean, we were lucky since we worked nights. I always felt sorry for the day shift. They never got to see the sun except for the drive to and from work. Underground all day in artificial light. I figured it might be like working in an office building or something. At least they can look out a window. These guys can’t. You are 2000 feet below ground with nothing but the bolts I have drilled into the top of the shaft holding the entire mountain up. Think about it. 2000 feet. That’s over 6 football fields underground with nothing but ½ inch bolts that are 3 to 5 feet long and spaced out in a 4 foot square pattern all through the top of the shaft. Water is an ever present enemy. You are far below the water table and so the constant hum of sump pumps are your only music. Fresh air is another obstacle. They got to pump it in. Also, the ever present thoughts of cave ins and Methane Gas exploding. Other than all that, it’s not a bad place to work. Like I said, pay very well.

Me being a pinner, I was fortunate to see other workers throughout the day. Johnson was not so lucky. Being up on the long wall or the “face” was a different animal indeed. He had the whole day to himself. Occasionally the scoop man would come up and say Hi to him. He used to answer him. Finally the scoop man stopped going up there. 12 hours a day 6 days a week all alone with your thoughts. No wonder he bean to shun away. First it was his family. They tried to talk to him. It only pushed him away more.

But never me. He never pushed me away. We were best friends since 2nd grade. It's hard to break a bond like that.