1201

Day 298084

Benjamin stared up at the dark night sky. His body ached all over, and his left side stung as if he had been pierced with a sword. His head pounded and his mind wandered to keep his mind from focussing on the pain. He shifted across the uneven wooden planks beneath him. His makeshift pillow was a cotton sheet that was almost worn to the ground. It was better than what others had, though. He sat on the bottom bunk the Commander had assigned him. Rows of sleeping bodies were laid across the wooden planks, Benjamin should have been one of them, sprawled and snoring under the dim lamp light. Except Benjamin could not sleep. Not after what he had endured and witnessed over the past few days. I could tell by the way his searching eyes stared up, hopeful. He knew I was near. Lots of the restlessly sleeping men knew. I was lurking under a wooden beam, where the light did not reach me. It was not my time to shine just yet. Benjamin shifted restlessly, trying to avoid the splinters that would scratch him during the night. He was never comfortable here. He missed his feather mattress and warm fireplace. Instead, they were replaced by stiff, wooden benches and a small kitchen stove to keep them warm in the night. Benjamin gently moved across the wooden planks of his bunk, trying to find a slightly more comfortable position than he was in. That was, until he heard muffled whispers in a dark corner of the room. He moved further, away from me, straining his ears to listen. I could just hear the whispers.

'Scarab has not lost control yet. But he has still got it, I can tell.' A deep voice could barely be heard.
'Did you see how he stared down the débutant today? I would not want to be them.' More whispers followed.
'Ha. Oui, I am lucky I am placed with Hook. The débutants are not going to survive the next few days, let me tell you.' A quiet laugh was audible among them.
Their French accents were thick, and they spoke a mangled version of English and French combined, to avoid detection. But Benjamin didn't pay them any heed, he could do that later. He preferred to let his mind wander and drift, attempting to forget the horrors he had witnessed recently.
Benjamin was gazing up through a hole in the roof, and out at the stars beyond. I wondered what he was thinking about. My guess was that it was not about the lovely young lady in the café near his house, but about all of those who had suffered, perhaps including this lovely young lady in the café. His mother, I assume, came to mind. He was very concerned about her, as was his father, since her undiagnosed anxiety must be making her heart pump a thousand times a minute. Benjamin didn't want to lose her just yet, but he supposed she had lost him. Winter was coming and he had not heard of the outside world since he had been shoved into a detention camp. No one knew he was there, and when her son had not come home, Benjamin's mother thought he had passed. I know Benjamin couldn't bear this thought. He held onto the hope that she knew what had happened and that he was okay. I knew the truth. An ugly truth. Just days before, his mother's heart stood still and I gently led her away. I pitied Benjamin. I wish I could have at least told him before moving onto another of my victims. Which, sadly on the waiting list, was his father.

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