The Named

Chapter 2: One man's mistake, another's advantage

For giving me an honest opinion on all of my writing.

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                The day my life truly began started like all the others.

                I opened my eyes after a sleepless night to the sounds of the guards beginning their rounds. The screams would begin from the far end of the tunnel and finish with me.  They always took longer in my cell.  With everyone else’s beatings finished they wouldn’t shorten my time to make sure there was time for another.  Oddly enough, today seemed different, less ferocious.  Sniffing the air I caught the scent of a clean uniform. 

                The devil had hired a new recruit.

                As the two demons made their way down the row of cells I heard the superior informing the newbie of what they had in each captive’s file.  For most it was nothing more than their entry date while others had family information and birthdays.

                Our hall never had a new overseer trained here.   Usually they were taken down a hall that held the nearly dead so they could understand the routine before attempting to handle the younger and supposedly more robust prisoners.  This would be interesting.

                Inevitably the two came to my cell.  Curiosity overcame me and I sat as near the door I dared to hear what they had in my file.

                “This one’s been here since birth.  His mother spawned the little creature after her capture.  He’ll be thirteen on the second of March.”

                “Hm, seems like you haven’t discovered his name yet either . . . .”

                CRACK!

                I jumped, startled by the sudden sound of a beating stick contacting flesh.

                “You idiot! Don’t you know you can’t be throwing out that kind of information?!  What if he heard you? What would you do then? Try to beat the fight out of him then?”

                “I’m sorry! I wasn’t thinking.  I – I won’t make that mistake again, I swear!”

                “Damn right you won’t! You’re going to be stuck supervising machinery while I promote someone else after that little stunt.  Go down to the mechanics office and make yourself useful.  I’m gonna finish with this runt then I’ll come find you a new post.”

                Quickly, I shuffled back to the darkest corner of my cell.  If I wasn’t supposed to have heard what I just did then I damn well wasn’t going to sit there and advertise I had heard it.  I moved just in time too.

                The door slammed open just as I was pressing my back against the rear wall.  A man with a plastic face shield stepped toward me with a wooden rod in one hand and iron shackles in the other.

                “Come here scum, I’ve got a present for you.”