Betas/practices

INsane Beta

Benedikt had finally had enough...he snapped, screamed, "Who is he Alexei?!". He lunged forward in his anger and planted his hands firmly on the desk in front of him, his glasses fell from his head and the lenses smashed on the ground. The professor paid no attention, only continued, "Who is it that torments me?! That watches me as you say he does?!"

Only silence...

Benedikt stood hunched over his desk for a moment, panting with rage. His unwashed, messy hair hung over his eyes in greasy strands and, unnoticed, beads of warm, salted sweat formed on his brow. Scratching at his stubble in frustration, he stood there and waited for a response, his wide, blue eyes stared intently at the blood-stained glass - as if to see through to the other side. When it became apparent there was going to be no response, Benedikt let out one final roar, "WHO IS HE, ALEXEI?! WHO ARE YOU?!"

Once again, silence. Benedikt thought about storming over to the door to charge into the Alexei's cell, ultimately to take his life, but was stopped just before he could reach for the handle.  A dry rasp of a chuckle came from the cell... "You ask who we are, professor." Alexei's voice sounded weak and frail but the words he spoke held the same prominence as when he was first confined to the cell, he sounded almost...sane. Another chuckle, this one was clearer and more menacing than the first, "We are everything, we are everywhere, we are the fuel of change, we carry the seeds of hatred, rule corruption...we are what haunt your children's nightmares, we are the shadows in the corner of your eyes when you just can't see us, we are the screams in the night, we are the whispers in the dark...".

The professor was frozen to the spot; the sudden flurry of words from the man who had refused to speak for over a week stunned him. Alexei had paused to let Benedikt reflect on the words...

"We are madness, professor, the madness that resides in every human being... and if you don't believe me, please… feel free to come see for yourself..."

Silence returned... 

Benedikt could imagine the sinister grin spread across the mad man’s face, cheek to cheek, like a Cheshire cat as the invitation rang through hid head over and over...

*

Benedikt was stood in the same hunched position; his hands were sweating on the desk he leant on, his eyes were still fixed on the crimson-stained glass. The words still played out inside his head. He looked at the clock; it had been half an hour after he spoke to the prisoner. As his legs started to quiver and shake beneath him, threatening to give way, the professor finally fell into his chair and pulled it up to the desk. He put his hands together and crossed all but two of his fingers, resting his index fingers against his lips and his thumbs just below his chin as if he was aiming a gun to his mouth. Benedikt thought to himself; Alexei couldn’t possibly do him harm, he had been refusing food for weeks, he'll be weak, withered, he must be half dead already… His eyes cast themselves upon the middle cabinet drawer, to the gun the sergeant gave him, “for protection…” is what he was told; maybe he might need it after all…    

  

In a quick, thoughtless decision, Benedikt ran for the draw and threw it open. He lifted the pistol out and grasped it tight in his hands so that it wouldn't slip out of them. The cold steel of the barrel made his reflection twist and distort as he stared into it.

The now sweating, trembling, terrified but empowered professor slowly walked towards the cell door… His funders from the military had already told him to never open the door, “It would risk national security.” But Benedikt pushed that thought aside, fueled by rage and his intense desire for answers...