Redemption of Winston
There was an outburst of squeals from the cage. It seemed to reach Winston from far away. The rats were fighting; they were trying to get to each other through the partition. He heard also a deep groan of despair. That, too, seemed to come from outside himself.
O'Brien picked up the cage and fiddled with it, eventually it produced a loud click. The click signified Winston's doom. He struggled to free himself, but it was hopeless. The chair restrained every part of him. He couldn't even manage to turn his eyes away from the oncoming menace.
"I just opened the first door," O'Brien stated, "Now the rats will have be able to devour your face. This cage is constructed like a mask for a reason. Once this is fitted over your head there will be no escape. It is a terrible way to die, being devoured by rats. Sometimes they chew on the ears first, other times they burrow through the cheeks. Sometimes they even are merciful, and tear out the throat first."
While he was speaking, O'Brien was bringing the cage closer, and closer to Winston's head. As the rats were squabbling with each other, Winston felt his fear closing in on him. It was cornering him, attempting to make him submit. The claws of the rats were scrapping on the metal walls of the cage, and they were gnashing their long yellow teeth. They were trying and failing to reach him, and tear apart his flesh. He began to whimper, and scream as the cage came down over his head.
"All I have to do is unlatch this last lever, and the rats will come pouring out," O'Brien informed him. "Soon their fur will be brushing against your skin. Can you feel their breath yet?"
Winston could. Their warm breath on his skin felt sickening; it stank of rancid meat, obviously their prior meal. He couldn't help but wonder if that was human flesh. Suddenly he remembered his dream, that terrible nightmare that haunted him for years. The one where he was stuck in darkness, with the ravenous rats nearly upon him, and there was no escape.
For one moment, for only one moment, he thought of a way out. There was only one person who could take his place as a sacrifice to the rats. He almost said it. He almost said that precious name. He almost betrayed her, but he didn't. He couldn't. He finally understood why his mother starved herself so that he could eat. He finally understood the feeling of unconditional love. He understood, and he couldn't betray her. He couldn't sacrifice Julia to take his place. Regardless of what happened.
He stopped screaming, stifled his sobs, and closed his eyes in acceptance. Silent tears ran down his cheeks, and small tremors of fear shook his frame. Despite that, he stayed firm in his decision, he opened his eyes, tensed his shoulders, and braced himself to say it. To say the words that would seal his fate.
"Don't hurt Julia." Winston said, "Let me suffer in her place. Even if it means being devoured by rats, I will go to my death knowing that I didn't betray her. I love her, I can't betray her, even if she betrayed me, I can't let her suffer my fate."
O'Brien said nothing, but the second lever was pulled. The second door snapped open, and the rats swarmed out of the cage and onto his face. White hot pain assaulted his nerves, and then everything went black. He couldn't see anything anymore, and the pain faded away. Winston Smith was dead.
