"I can't ask questions, I can't escape the torture, and I'm still trapped here without being able to go out and explore the terrain." For the first time, Verak felt that he had no idea what to do. In the past, no matter how difficult the problem was, at least there was an alternative path.
Like now, I can't move at all and can only passively accept everything.
"Do you feel hopeless?" Keating raised the corner of his mouth, waiting for Verak to become crazy and become like other prisoners, doing whatever it takes for a little bit of hope.
Verak didn't speak. He stopped and looked out the door.
He had only been locked up for half a day, and he had already lost count of how many times he had gone to the door and looked outside through the crack.
Seeing that Verak's thoughts were drifting to nowhere, Keating stopped talking and continued reading.
Verak thought of his friend Nord.
When he was dealing with the Thomas family and the Equality Society, Nord, who did not betray him because of the coercion and inducement of the butler Fletcher, was also imprisoned for more than a month.
He remembered very clearly that after he finally managed to find a way to meet with Nod, Nod looked greedily outside through the cracks in the blocked window. He had an indescribable look that he could not relate to until today.
"call……"
More than twenty days have passed since Verac arranged for Nord and Diaz to flee to the Monlego Empire with 550,000 gold grams. He guessed that the two of them had used the money to live in that distant country.
A new life.
That was the life he once dreamed of, and now, he has given it to Nord and Diaz.
When they learn that they have been arrested, they will probably be very upset.
Verak sincerely hoped that the two of them could be more selfish and not do stupid things for him, like him, giving up the wealth that was easily available to them.
"Do you have a pen and paper?"
"Yes." Keating pointed to the foot of his bed, "What are you going to do?"
"Write something." Verak walked to the bed and squatted down, rummaging through some manuscript paper and a worn-out pen.
"What to write?"
“Write whatever comes to mind.”
Verak has no hobby of writing, but at the moment his only thought is to write.
Write a diary, write a jailbreak plan, write about equality, there are so many things to write about.
The body can be imprisoned, but the human mind cannot be restrained.
As usual, Verak put his prison uniform on the ground, sat down against the wall, used the "Crues" manuscript paper that Keating had given him, and filled his pen with ink.
[I don’t know what is waiting for me tomorrow, nor do I know how many tests there are in my life. I don’t know whether I will die in prison with scars, or whether I will be able to see the light again one day. I only know that I should not
Give up, as long as you live, the future will be worthy of expectations...]
The first diary entry he wrote in prison was Verak's encouragement to himself.
[...I have done a lot. I have changed others and been changed by others in the past two months. Now there is only one thing left, which is to maintain a rock-solid belief and live.]
[1433, September 12, Tuesday, night.]
After finishing writing a page of manuscript paper, Verak read it from beginning to end, put it away solemnly, and put it under his pillow.
"Will I be tortured for the first time tomorrow?" After expressing some emotions through his diary, Verak calmed down a lot and was mentally prepared to be tortured in the days with no end in sight.
"After breakfast tomorrow, the prison guards will take you to the interrogation room. Judging from how much Elect values you, you will definitely suffer enough tomorrow." Keating was already very familiar with the corresponding process, and he warned again.
He said, "Don't compromise."
Verak said "hmm" and handed "Crudes" to Keating: "This book doesn't mean much to me. If the world is really so vast and wonderful, I will go and see it myself."
Keating took back the book: "You can ask me for it at any time."
Verak smiled and said nothing.
Next door, Ross had finished taking a shower, and Verak heard him arguing with his roommate about who would own the bed today. Before long, the strong Ross gained the upper hand and drove the other prisoners to the floor to rest.
The noises from other cells were almost the same, with people shouting about taking a shower and fighting for beds with their roommates.
As the night went deeper, the only thing left in the huge space with hundreds of cells was the noisy sound of snoring one after another.
"I'm going to bed first. If you need anything, you can call me anytime."
At half past ten, the lights in the cell were turned off, and things could only be seen vaguely through the light in the corridor. Verak decided to recharge his batteries.
Keating also lay down: "Have a good rest."
"Good night."
"Good night."
——
September 13th, early morning.
A loud whistle sounded, awakening Verak from his sleep. When he got out of bed and got dressed, he found that Keating had already woken up and was reading a book by the light.
"You got up so early?" Verak changed into his prison uniform and waited to get his meal.
"I only woke up about half an hour earlier than you." Keating said.
Verak moved his body and joked, trying to relax himself: "I'm going to be beaten soon, so eat more."
"Don't be so nervous. No one will be killed for a while anyway. Lecter will definitely torture you slowly." Keating didn't know whether he was trying to comfort or put pressure on Verak.
"Well..." Verak's face became even more ugly to the naked eye.
Not long after, the prison guard came over and brought breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of brown bread and cabbage soup. Although it was not much better than mashed potatoes, at least it was a change and it would not make you vomit after eating the same food.
Verak thoughtfully opened the lunch box for Keating and prepared a spoon. The two of them finished eating together. While taking away the lunch box, the prison guard pulled Verak out and took him to the interrogation room.
The interrogation room in Demans Prison is located at the very edge of the underground floor. Compared with the heavenly interrogation room in the Lezein Security Department Building, the environment here is more in line with Verak's imagination. There is a dim chandelier hanging inside, and a picture
A table and a chair were placed in the center of the deserted interrogation room, and many instruments of torture were displayed on three walls like exhibits.
I don't know if it was a psychological effect, but Verak felt that it was extremely cold here, which made him want to shiver.
There was a faint smell of blood in the air that made him frown.
Deputy Warden Lecter had not yet arrived. After two prison guards filled with a chilling air brought Verak in, they ordered him to sit on the only chair and put him in multiple shackles.
Verak, who was trapped in the seat and couldn't move, didn't know what to say. A torture was inevitable, and he seemed to have no choice but to silently let it be dealt with.
"Where's Lecter?"
The atmosphere was too depressing, so Verak couldn't help but ask.
The prison guard said nothing and left the cell after fixing the shackles.
Verak was left alone in the interrogation room, and he had a bad feeling.
"Dong dong dong." After a while, someone knocked on the door of the interrogation room, and then Deputy Warden Lecter pushed the door open and entered, "Why didn't you say please come in? It seems very impolite for me to come in."
Verak stared at Lecter without saying a word, while Lecter walked straight to the torture device with ease: "I forgot to tell you that living with Keating has a mission...but it doesn't matter, anyway, you will do it later.