Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Pitch Black, the Boogeyman and Nightmare King. William Joyce does, and Dreamworks borrows him on occasion.

Author's Note: A quick thanks to my lovely reviewers IThinkInPoetry, CelestialTomatoMonkey, authorwnacount, and weapons (By the way weapons, Guardian interactions shall occur in a later chapter). Thanks so much for reviewing! I apologize that my pace is super slow.


#4

Auschwitz I Concentration Camp, Nazi Germany 1942

Fabian curled up with a small whimper in his dark cell. Usually, such a torturous abyss of a box wasn't used on a child, but Fabian had shouted some rather colorful German words at an SS guard. The man's infuriated bright blue eyes haunted the boy. The thirteen year old tried to breathe in and out evenly through his fear. The SS guard that shoved him into this hole beneath the earth told him with suck sickening glee, "Not much air down there, ya little Jewish bastard! And the only company you get is the böggel-mann. You deserve it for being a such a rotten little bitch and talkin' shit."

It hurt to breath, both from his mouth and nose. Every inhale made something pop in his chest. Fabian felt his clammy skin. Something poked out of place along his emaciated rib cage. Fabian choked on a sob of pain.

Strangely, even though the skin and bones prisoner knew he should worry about his imminent death, Fabian's heart beat wildly at the thought of meeting the terrifying bida. Even though war stripped him of country, home, and family, Fabian retained the heart of a child.

"Poor boy," a gentle voice echoed in the claustrophobic chamber, "all alone in the dark. So frightened, so lost, and left to rot."

Fabian let out a hysterical cry, "Pierdol sie!" Clawing at the metal, Fabian tore off one of his fingernails in his frantic attempt to escape.

"Stop that now." A grey hand wrapped around Fabian's wrist, pulling it away. "There's no need for that."

"Leave me alone!" Fabian's chest burned from hyperventilating. "Go away!"

An arm wrapped itself carefully around the boy's waist, pulling him close to an unwelcome, yet blessedly warm, body. "Fabian, forgotten child of Poland, listen to me."

The lips breathed hot air against his ear. Fabian couldn't help but shudder in disgust. It reminded him too much of other unkind nights. "Why should I? You're a monster."

"Indeed, but so are they. At least I come offering a choice." The hands absently interlocked with Fabian's. "Time is short." The Boogeyman knew it wasn't long at all until the guard came back with a candle to kill what precious life was left in this cell. "I offer you a chance to escape."

"Escape?" Fabian's voice cracked as his whole broken form tensed from shock. "Why would you offer me an escape?"

"Because you believe. After everything that's happened, you still believe." Fabian felt clawed hands squeeze his own. "I admire such strength, and I want it for my own."

"Your own?" Fabian let out a slightly panicked laugh. "So you mean I trade one prison for another?"

"Would you rather trade one prison for death?" The Boogeyman snapped, drawing the shadows in closer.

Fabian cried out in terror. He thought the gloom before was bad enough, now with the taint of malevolence Fabian trembled with such stomach-turning fear that he thought he might throw up. The Boogeyman's sharp claws pierced his skin, drawing blood. The Boogeyman sucked a deep breath, savoring his victim's horror.

Fabian shouted, "I don't want to die!"

For an instant, the shadows stilled. Fabian only heard the sound of his harsh breathing and the pounding of his own heart. Then, an awful cackle echoed in the small space.

"Very well. Death shall not have you, but I will." Fabian didn't even have enough time to gasp before his hands felt like they were being infected by tiny ants, crawling up through his arms, over his chest, spreading, destroying, remaking, feasting, changing!

The Boogeyman's golden eyes glowed. "Don't fret. You are not the first to accept, my dear boy. Nor, I suspect, will you be the last."

Slowly, the shadows shifted. Fabian's new eyes saw the ghoulishly familiar faces of other children from the camp. Many he thought dead grinned at him with razor sharp teeth. Their spindly black arms opened for him. Fabian slowly felt his mind go first, memories shattering into tiny scattered fragments. His own name vanished, leaving only the thrumming of a strong, iron will, and a desperate need for fear.

The Boogeyman petted his latest creation with affection. "Good, very good. Ah, but you must be starving." A row of gleaming shark's teeth cut through the darkness. "Let's remedy that, shall we?"

When the SS guard returned to the basement, candle in hand, Pitch Black allowed his children to snuff out the light and feed.


Historical Notes:

Auschwitz is one of the most infamous concentration camps from Nazi Germany. It served as a labor camp and extermination camp. The dark cell Fabian is tossed into is usually reserved for the military prisoners, but I decided to use some artistic license. Dark cells were cramped and often poorly constructed box-like structures in the basements. The cells had a very tiny window and a solid door and that's it. Prisoners placed in these cells would gradually suffocate as they used up all of the oxygen in the cell; sometimes the SS would light a candle in the cell to use up the oxygen more quickly.

German and Polish:

In Germany, the Boogeyman is called the böggel-mann. In Poland, he's called the bida.

Pierdol sie- F #$ you!