The Script of Evil

33 - The shocking revelation

A voice over the intercom up in the corner of the wall and ceiling awakes him. It is the voice of a woman with a strong German accent.

"Johan, rise and prepare yourself for your interview! They will come and fetch you soon!"

Slowly he rises and walks drunkenly to the bathroom. The sun shines brightly through the tinted windows of his room and also in the adjacent bathroom both barricaded by sturdy metal meshes so that he would not even be able to put his finger through and touch the glass and he can't see anything outside. There is only an entrance to the bathroom and even there is no privacy. High up in the corner he sees a camera that watches him and an intercom. There is no shower, only a bath; so he doesn't even have privacy when he bathes or uses the toilet.

He concluded that the cameras watch him because they are afraid he would do something to himself. The cupboard and mirror in the bathroom underscore his suspicion. The mirror is attached to the wall covered with thick safety glass so that he could not break the mirror and cut an artery with a shard. There is no toothbrush; only toothpaste in a soft plastic tube. The shower gel is the only soap and also in soft plastic. He smiles wryly. They must be afraid he would smother himself with real soap. The cupboard in his room has no hangers but only clothes upon racks, folded neatly with no strings or belts. There are only sandals and no shoes with shoelaces. There is even no attachment on which he could hang himself but it looks as if they are making extra sure. The only way in which he can think of injuring himself is to break the ceramic washing basin in one way or another and then use the sharpest shard to cut an artery or to try and drown himself. But they are watching him and he is sure they are ready to react immediately should he try to do something.

Johan presses a little toothpaste out of the tube, rubs with his finger over his teeth and opens the tap to rinse his mouth. He looks in the mirror and wonders how he will look by the end of the week. He simply hates a moustache or a beard and any shaving utensil is simply absent. His face already shows signs of stubbles. He must remember to ask the person he is about to see for a razor or something. They won't give him a blade, but they can supply him with an electric razor. But then he realizes that there are no electric plugs in this cell. It is only the lights high up which they brighten and dim; thus he will have to ask for a fully charged electric razor. He suddenly feels hungry and hopes he will be fed this morning. They locked him up yesterday afternoon and he had not eaten or drunk anything since then.

It is Monday. His first day in this jail! Yesterday the voice of the woman tried to pacify him over the intercom. She told him that he and Martie are very important new members of their family and the small room in which they were keeping him was only temporary to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid as he did in India. It is for his and Martie's safety alone.

Johan feels dirty and wishes to bath but the camera in the corner is too high to try and cover it. It is an old building with high ceilings and even if he would be able to turn his bed in a vertical position, and stretches to his utmost, he would not be able to reach it. He uses the toilet and then decides to make himself accustomed to doing everything in front of the camera. He takes off his clothes and opens the tap. At least he wants to do the interview with a fresh body and head and try to solve one of his many challenges.

He has quite a few challenges to overcome before Sunday. He wonders where they are keeping him and how he will be able to identify his position. He will have to convince them that he needs some fresh air and it should be in the evening so that he can use the stars to work out his position against North. From the park to the garage in this building, he had to travel in the back of a van and couldn't see anything but he has a good idea of time and speed and they are not far away from the park. They are definitely in the vicinity of Port Elizabeth. This gives him hope. How is he going to get his hands on a booklet and pencil and make them accustomed to his habit of writing down Sanskrit so that he can hide a secret message for Nico? Maybe they will be afraid to give him a pencil. How is he going to convince them to meet Martie in the park? At least he has sunlight that would keep him up to date with which day it is and how much time is left before he and Martie will be meeting in the park.