“Bend,” spoke the interrogator, “or break?”

 

The fettered man stared back blankly.

 

“Break it is, then?” the interrogator continued, “Wonderful. I was hoping you’d make this interesting, rather than easy.”

 

With a nod to the accompanying grunts, the interrogator walked down the hall, followed by the grunts dragged the captive with them.

 

“You see, my friend, you and I are about to get to know each other very, *very* well,” the inspector breathed in a deep breath. “In fact, I’m probably going to be the person that knows you far more than anyone else. I really believe that a man’s true nature comes to light when their will is broken – wouldn’t you agree?”

 

The man’s eyes darted about, looking at where he was being dragged to.

 

“Ah, well, this is a prison of course. A makeshift one. And prisons, by design, are built to be places you cannot escape from. I think you’d enjoy the accomodations here.”

 

They turned a corner.

 

“But allow me to profess, I believe that the best prison is the one we carry with ourselves our whole lives. Allow me to demonstrate.”

 

Without warning, the interrogator spun around, grabbed the man by his head and plunged a pen into the man’s eye. The grunts shifted to the side as the blood poured out and ignored the muffled cries echoing through the hall.

 

“The body. An ultimate prison. When evolution works against you. We evolved the ability to feel pain to avoid dangerous situations, you see.” The interrogator leaned in close and gently patted the groaning man’s forehead, whispering into his ear, “But it’s such a terrible perk to have when you cannot escape danger.”

 

Twisting the pen out of the man’s eye, the interrogator hummed as he placed it back in his breast pocket.

 

 

 

“Ah, we’re here. We just sanitized it from the last occupant too. You and I will get to know each other very well here.”

 

The grunts dragged the man through the door into the brightly lit room full of instruments and devices.

 

“Over there. Against the wall. Perfect. Thank you, you may leave now. I’d like you to stand near the door and see that the… ah, questioning, is not disturbed.”

 

 

—–

The grunt closed the door behind him., standing on the other side of the door way with his partner. He stood for a few minutes, shifting his weight, and then decided to break the silence.

 

“I’m glad I’m not the one in there,” he whispered to his partner. “Did you see the size of that saw? And the other thing…”

 

“Shut up and do as you’re told, or you’ll be in there.”

 

And then the screaming started. Both men shivered.

 

It started, and it never ended. The younger grunt finally retched against the wall.

 

He wiped his mouth, then tried to whisper to his partner, then spoke loudly, “I’ll clean that up. Be right back.”

 

But as he walked away, wincing at another scream, all he could think of was how far he wanted to be from that room.