Oscar Read Online Free PDF Page A

occupied hut number three. It depended entirely on her. On first impressions, the answer they collectively came up with was no. She looked far too weak to withstand the doctor’s wicked brand of torture.
    Over four hours had passed, but there was still no sign of Janna. Forty eager faces stared at the solid oak door that held them in, waiting for something to happen, and then it did! The door swung open with force and two guards dragged a partially-conscious Janna inside, her hands still cuffed. A collective look of relief covered the faces of the other women.
    ‘Her bunk is over there.’ The top dog pointed to the far left corner.
    The guards had the decency to place her on her bunk, stomach down, before removing the cuffs. She slowly moved her hands to her neck and felt the rope burns that she had as a result of the doctor’s vicious game. The guards left the hut, leaving the women to tend to Janna’s wounds.
    She could no longer remain stoic. Everything that she had been through over the past week had caught up with her emotionally. She let out an ear-piercing scream purely out of frustration, and nobody dared to go near her.
    After a good few minutes, she finally exhausted herself to sleep as the others watched on helplessly. The one known only as ‘top dog’ had warned the others to let her be and go about their business as if nothing had happened, leaving her to sleep until morning. It would prove to be an uneasy rest, as she tossed and turned for the most part.
    The one thing she wanted most of all was to meet her maker. She would have to endure another day of uncertainty and beyond under the camp’s brutal regime before she got what she wanted.
    #
    Janna woke up with a start and sat bolt upright after being jostled about.
    ‘What the hell–―’ she started.
    ‘You need to get up.’ the top dog barked, glancing at the number embossed on the top left of Janna’s overalls. ‘Move, prisoner 15712.’
    She swung herself round and stood up uneasily, rubbing her sore, tender neck.
    ‘You survived this game,’ said the top dog, ‘but rest assured, the games will get worse’
    Janna wasn’t sure how to respond to the top dog. She wasn’t even sure if she was allowed to speak to her! But the experiences of the last few days had left her with a thick skin, and she threw caution to the wind.
    ‘Worse? What do you mean, worse?’ she asked. ‘It can’t get any worse than hanging, can it?’
    ‘Oh, my dear. Don’t be so naïve.’ the top dog scolded. ‘He will think of something a lot worse than hanging next time. He won’t stop until you are dead, or close to it. You are now his new conquest.’
    Janna’s face dropped, and her defiant streak suddenly turned to a feeling of dread.
    ‘Were any of you put through the first stage of the game?’ she enquired.
    ‘No, my dear, the sadistic wanker only targets the pretty ones.’ the top dog replied. ‘How many times did you lose balance and fall?’
    ‘Only once—then the guards made sure I didn’t fall again.’ she answered abruptly.
    ‘Once?’ the top dog blurted ‘What do you mean, they made sure you didn’t fall again?’
    ‘I tried to kill myself, so they made it so I couldn’t jump again.’ She snapped.
    The top dog grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall.
    ‘Don’t ever speak to me like that again.’ she spat as she choked her.
    The top dog released Janna, and pulled her away from the wall before walking away.
    ‘You didn’t answer my question.’ she shouted hoarsely after her. But there was no response. She hadn’t expected one, anyway.
    Another inmate approached her, introducing herself only as mouse.
    ‘Don’t talk, just listen.’ mouse said in a seemingly menacing tone. ‘I can tell you why top dog knows so much – oh, and by the way, her real name is Sandra Jones. Used to be a big deal on the outside before the witch hunts singled her out for being of non-pure blood.’
    She waited for mouse’s