might surprise you, but neither of us were big fans. Then there wasn’t much to say. I told him I was sorry that I’d got him into this. He waved it off. “We’ve always done stuff together. Might as well do this too.” He looked like the time in hospital hadn’t just fixed his body. He was calm. Not happy, but calm. J, on the other hand, was bleeding all over the floor. The Governor might have taken a shine to him but to the guards he was just another one of us – and they’d been having fun. I felt sorry for him. The first beatings are the worst. It’s funny how you can get used to almost anything. Well, not get used to, but at least be prepared for. He was hurting. D took his own shirt off, ripped it up and bandaged him as well as he could. I just watched. Didn’t seem much point bandaging a man who was about to be nailed to tree. But that’s D for you. Best mate you could ever had. I only just realised that then. Bit late, but there you go. Then D and J started talking, all low and quiet. Intense. I moved closer so I could hear but still pretend I wasn’t. Don’t think I fooled anyone. D was asking him stuff about God. Forgiveness. Love. Death. Stuff I’d never heard him talk about before. And J was answering. I reckon I saw him spit a tooth out once, but he was talking. D was telling him how one of the nurses in the hospital had told him about what J had been doing, what he’d been teaching, how he’d been living. One of the invader nurses! She was one of his followers. A secret follower. She’d be killed if they knew. People are crazy. Says me. Who was about to be killed because I hadn’t had the guts to say no to a psychopath. People – including me – are crazy. J too. When he heard about the nurse he laughed. At least I think it was a laugh. Then he just put his hand on D’s shoulder and said something softly that I couldn’t catch. Then he looked at me. So did D. And they shared this strange look, as if they knew something I didn’t. I was too scared to be proud though. It was nice to have someone else with me that day. Then the lock rattled. All three of us got dragged out. We knew what was coming. They’d make us carry the ladders they’d use to get us up into the trees. We’d have to 102
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