8- sleep deprivation (isolation chamber / forced to stay awake / leaves the lights on)
Carlos and the farmers couldn't sleep, whether it was because of the white lights that remained on, the cold in their dressing room, the screams that reached them or the soldiers who passed by and grabbed one of them. Some had tried to protest when the guards had first entered and seized a bear-like man in his fifties. The shots to the head had effectively silenced the protesters, and the rifle pointed at the man had made him obey without a word. They left the room filled with groans, pain and fear. They returned three times, each time taking the strongest men.
With the first rays of sunlight, an alarm sounded and everyone was ushered back into the stands. Two carts were waiting for them at the entrance to their section, one with bread, the other with bottles of water. They had to take one of each and sit down. All were silent, drowsily eating their meager meals. They were exhausted and frightened. Carlos was dreading what would happen next, running through in his mind what he knew about coups d'état or raids in history, and there was nothing to suggest a happy outcome.
Adam helped him change his bandage again. The wound didn't seem to be getting infected, but it wasn't pretty. The two men whispered a few words about their concerns, but soon fell silent. Like the other prisoners around them, they began to doze.
As the hours wore on, Carlos let his gaze wander over his fellow inmates. It took him a long time to notice a major change from the day before.
"There are no more children," he whispered in astonishment.
"What's the matter?" Adam asked.
"Yesterday, there were children in the stands. Now I don't see any."
The farmer swept his gaze over the crowd, but could only come to the same conclusion. A look of horror came over his face. None of them commented, what could they have said? Carlos prayed that the little ones had been sent to suitable centers with adults to take care of them.
From mid-morning onwards, new arrivals were pushed into the stands. Carlos' heart raced as the idea that TK might be among them formed in his mind. He scanned everyone he could for his husband, but the stadium was too big for him to see every section. A lump formed in his stomach; TK had to be safe somewhere, not in the stadium where their survival seemed to be played out like Russian roulette.
His thoughts focused on the man he loved and the last moments they had spent together, as his gaze wandered over the crowd. He began to doze, without actually falling asleep, the uncomfortable position and the pain in his leg preventing him from doing so. He snapped back to reality when a sandwich each and another bottle of water were handed out. The policeman was starving, but he forced himself to eat as slowly as possible and chew as much as possible to convince his stomach that he'd had enough. He knew this strategy wouldn't work for long, but he had no choice.
The afternoon went on like the morning until the sun set. As on the previous day, the spotlights came on as a group of around fifty police officers were led into the center of the stadium. Carlos looked away as the terrorists shouted "Glory to the leader", and was dismayed at how few people remained in the section of the stands dedicated to the forces of law and order. He swallowed hard at the detonations and was saddened, but not surprised, not to hear any protests. The prisoners present since the previous day had learned their lesson and passed it on to the new arrivals.
The bodies were removed, but the bleachers were not evacuated. A second group was brought in. As Carlos tried to guess what their profession was, he lost his color and had to hold back a retching.
"Policemen again?" wondered Adam in a whisper.
"No, lawyers."
Carlos couldn't take his eyes off the group, one man in particular. He didn't hear the masked men's words, nor the bangs. He prayed, he prayed for Enzo until he saw his body collapse, then for Jonah to be safe somewhere. His eyes misted over with tears he didn't let fall.
The guards came for them. It was time to return to the dressing room.