Brodie had to give it to the government official. This punishment was certainly a unique one, although he wasn’t sure that it was packing the punch they intended.
He and Nathaniel had built that bomb together, yes, and they had hidden it in the undercarriage of the governor’s car, and they had detonated it from afar. But the target was intended to be the governor himself, not the man’s twelve year old daughter. A small change of plans, a school cancellation due to weather, and a little girl with fatal shrapnel injuries had derailed all of their plans. They had been so sure that the public would welcome them as heroes after killing the man who had revoked so many civic rights after taking power. But even in the face of so many disappeared journalists, students, and intellectuals, the murder of a child did not win them public favor.
Brodie had expected execution by firing squad. But it turned out that the governor had been reading Satre when his daughter died and here they were.
Hell is other people.
Now he and Nathaniel were housed in a single room together. No amenities except a lamp, the most basic of facilities, and the occasional food delivery. No company except one another. No books, no beds, no sunlight. No distractions. They had taken the man’s beloved child from his life forever and in return, he had doomed them to a lifetime of never escaping one another.
Frankly, Brodie believed that the man had made a mistake. He and Nathaniel were like brothers. They had met in the revolutionary fervor of an underground student organization and connected right away. Their minds were of one and with time, their plans had grown far beyond the scope of the secret pamphlets and newspapers and protests on which the other students dedicated their time. No, they would make real change.
It hadn’t gone so well. But if Brodie was to be stuck with anyone, it should be Nathaniel, with whom this entire journey had begun. They had done nothing wrong and they could both rest with that knowledge.
~
Nathaniel had made a horrifying mistake. Caught up in all the rhetoric and enthusiasm, he had taken the life of a child. How was he any better than the soldiers who beat people in the streets? What had he become?
At the beginning of this crusade, he had been so sure of himself. Of course, they were on the right path. Of course, blood should be spilt in return for blood. But now, with nothing but the room and Brodie to remind him of his errors, this no longer rang true. Even if that little girl had not been the one in the car, Nathaniel would still have been responsible for the death of a human being. Even if that man were abominable, he was still a person. Nathaniel had lost sight of that. How many days had he agonized over the disappearance of his older sister? Wondered how the soldiers who had reportedly dragged her away in the night had failed to look her humanity in the face? And now, he had become what he so despised.
But what he despised more was Brodie.
“Why are you weeping, huh? I hope it’s for yourself and not that girl. She would have only grown up to be like her father. We did the country a favor even if we missed our original target. Maybe it will inspire others to action.”
“She was a child, Brodie! Don’t you recognize what we’ve done?”
“I know exactly what we’ve done and I defend it.”
Every waking moment, Nathaniel was forced to stare his sins in the face. And that face belonged to Brodie. Hatred grew like a creeping vine.
~
Brodie paced the room while Nathaniel stared at the wall in silence. After hours of arguing until their voices had gone hoarse, Nathaniel had stopped answering Brodie’s provocations.
How could Nathaniel betray him like this? Brodie had thought that they were ideological equals. Brothers. And now, Nathaniel thought him a murderer? Blamed him for everything that went wrong as though the other man had no agency of his own. Pathetic.
Brodie strode up to the lamp and turned it off, yanking hard on the cord. It swayed from the force, making a ringing sound against the floor. They were immersed in darkness.
“Turn the light on!” Nathaniel shouted.
“Why should I? I don’t want to see you, moping in that corner!”
Nathaniel stood up and returned the light to the room. They stared at each other. Nathaniel’s eyes were bloodshot.
“Of all the people to be stuck with! I would rather have faced the firing squad!” Nathaniel shrieked, face turning puce with rage, “Every time I look at you, it makes me want to claw my eyes out!”
Brodie laughed bitterly.
“Well, you haven’t a knife to do it with! You ensured that by failing to follow the car’s driver like I told you to!”
“I was only a pawn to you, wasn’t I? Just an impressionable little lackey!”
Brodie had never so desperately wished for solitude. Nathaniel returned to the white wall on his half of the room and began to scratch at the surface. The count of days on the wall continued to increase.
~
After three weeks of spats, the occasional fist fight, and an aching, desperation-inducing need to rid themselves of the other, an unusual food delivery arrived. Nathaniel glanced back at Brodie who was eating as usual. He discreetly opened the note that had been hidden in his tray.
‘Dear comrade,
During the trial, I could see that you felt genuine remorse for what happened to my little girl. As such, I would like to offer you a pardon. If you remain the only man living in the room, I will open the door and return your freedom.
Signed,
This mourning father and dedicated governor’
Nathaniel slipped the note into his mouth and ate it. Was it really possible? Escape from this place? From Brodie? But what if he wasn’t the only one who had received the note? If that was the case, time was ticking. His self-serving former friend would surely act sooner rather than later.
Could he really kill Brodie? He had spent weeks agonizing over his choices, convinced that taking any life was wrong. But it was Brodie who had led him to that choice in the first place. Maybe this act would finally balance the scales.
~
Brodie was positive that Nathaniel had received a similar note in his meal. The man was acting too suspicious to believe otherwise.
‘Dear comrade,
Due to occupancy limits, we will be downsizing to solitary cells. Since we cannot fit both of you, please decide as you see fit who should receive such a cell. The other will be sent as a dissection specimen to the nearby medical school in service to the country’s students as a gesture of my benevolence.
Signed,
This mourning father and dedicated governor’
Could he really kill Nathaniel? They had been like brothers once. But now his presence made Brodie’s skin crawl. He wanted nothing more than that solitary cell to himself. Nathaniel wanted atonement, yes? Maybe death was the answer that Brodie could provide.
~
The governor had lied. No one ever came to retrieve Nathaniel. Nor had they come to retrieve Brodie’s body. Now he was finally alone. And he would never be free of Brodie, stuck in the same room, forever...
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