Let The Midnight Special — Chuck Barrett

Let The Midnight Special is a collection of related short stories about prisoners who escape their confines only to confront the harsh realities of conscience and consequences.In Spider a genius leads six escapees right up to the prison gate—but why does he then refuse to leave with them?In Spin Cycle the most gifted escapee of a pair is blind. Will his run end in betrayal by his feckless partner?The lead escapee in Marching to Canaan Land fulfills a vow by taking charge of his mentally challenged companion. When the cops close in just shy of freedom in Canada are his only options murder and suicide by cop?Principles challenges the murderous eye-for-an-eye of the convict code as two men, one bent on escape, do a dance of revenge versus redemption. Which one calls the tune?Read a victim's statement that shames a governor towards empathy. Experience the courtroom drama that proves one man's innocence only to have it smothered by the deadly robe of indifferent law. Finally, watch a dying prisoner framed for murder wait on vindication from a vacillating judge.What matters in these stories of men on the run is that they struggle with freedom versus accountability, seesawing between damnation and moral redemption aboard The Midnight Special.