Norilsk, Russia - September 7th 1916
Черный кальмар - Black Squid http://www.qhatlas.com.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/Medium/Picture3.jpg
It was 5 a.m. Everyone inside knew it was 5 a.m. by the awful shriek of the sirens. Every day started exactly the same. When 5 a.m. came everyone got out of their bunks, they stood barefoot and the guards came by and counted. There were no personal quarters. The layout of the building was simple: a pie cut into four slices. Test Bay 1, Subject Bunks, Military Bunks and Test Bay 2. The showers were located in the center and every day the subjects awoke at 5 a.m., showered at 5:30 a.m. and went back to their bunks for "breakfast". Today was like any other.
There were sixty subjects in this round of trials and only a third of the bunks were occupied. The women showered first and were allocated fifteen minutes, the men were second and had the same time allotted. The first day they had been together it struck them as odd that the showers could easily fit twice as many, yet they were still segregated from the other half. Guards were posted above for security reasons, so both the women and the men were left guessing as to why the precautions had been set.
"I would kill for some hot water one of these days." Taisia spoke out boldly.
"Careful talking like that, if they hear you you'll lose your meal privileges." The wiser and elder Darya chimed.
The fifteen minutes always went too quickly and when the water was cut it was often met with groans and hurried, muttered curses. The rules were the rules. As the women vacated the showers the men were allowed in. One thing always remained the same. Yana was the last one out: a young beauty often called by the guards as ангел. No older than twenty, with her long dark hair and blue eyes it was no mystery why the others chastised her and envied her. Every day it took threats before she would step out and follow the others.
The men were as lively if not more, often playing games with the guards, taunting them but in the form of wagers, ones that obviously could not ever be fulfilled.
"I would clean all of you in a game of poker. Tell you what, deal me in against five of you and if I win you'll let me go." Danil, middle-aged with nothing to lose was always the gambling type. It didn't matter if it was over "breakfast" or sleeping on the top bunk, he'd wager it if he had it.
"When are you ever going to take him up on it?" Anatoly laughed, just short of the age to enlist, he'd had his fun in poking as Danil did, but was never caught getting an extra handful of "breakfast" come serving.
Among the men and the boys there was one who always stood out. Yuri. Sixteen years of age, he wasn't big or small, he wasn't shy or outgoing, he had a mop of brown hair on his head and hazel eyes- he was just Yuri. What he was known for was being the last one into the showers every morning. It often took a boot or a rifle but to get him inside.
Those fifteen minutes seemed to go a bit faster, much to the chagrin of anyone not named Danil or Anatoly. It was a price those two were apparently willing to pay on behalf of all the rest. Come "breakfast", all of the subjects were to stand in front of their bunks in an orderly line. Guards made the rounds and poured an abomination of gruel and wheat mixed with some type of liquid. The only options were eat it or starve, so most made sure not to leave any behind.
Most days were spent in the bunks. The subjects were free to converse with one another, occasionally the guards would take Danil up on his talk and would bring cards in, but they never let him go. Even rarer, Dr. Pavlov would leave his gramophone for the guards to listen to, and the music would echo to the Subject quarters. Today the subjects simply had to rely on each other for amusement.
"Yana." Danil called out to her as she was heading back to her bunk.
"Yes?" Yana replied as she took a seat and looked to the older man.
Danil took a seat on the end of her bunk close enough that no one might overhear but still not within range that either could touch. From this distance she could see the fatigue setting in. He had crow's eyes, his face was more gaunt than when he had first arrived and his clothes no longer fit snug, but hung and dangled.
"There's something I need to talk about with you." The happy-go-lucky jester wasn't wearing a smile. There was a heightened pace to his phrasing and his inflection was off. Yana was capable of seeing most things normal people didn't bother to check. The way Danil occasionally checked over his left shoulder and not his right- he had spent plenty of time learning the guards' patrols. He picked this time specifically to talk to her and it was for that reason that she leaned in some, attentive.
"What is it?" Her voice was softer.
"I've been eavesdropping on the guards when I play poker with them. It's about Dr. Pavlov." There was a sense about him now that sent a chill down her spine.
"Aleksei and Vasily aren't doing well." The brothers weren't the most popular among the subjects as they often bullied more "breakfast" from the weakest, but they weren't as awful as the guards or Dr. Pavlov.
"I don't think they're going to make it." He looked in the same direction once more.
"That's not possible. They said siblings are supposed to be capable of withstanding the tests." Yana clenched the sheet on her mattress. "They lied to us."
"I heard the same", Danil turned back to her and shook his head, "I'm not sure what the difference is but for whatever reason it's not working. You know what this means, don't you?" His eyes said it all.
Yana looked away momentarily before releasing her grip on the sheets.
"I know, I know." She recited and closed her eyes.
"They cannot know about you and Yuri. If they find out they'll put you both through those horrors. You understand that don't you? Tell me you understand it." He coughed some and as a few other subjects glanced he shooed them off.
"Are you sick Danil?" She came in a little closer but he held her at a distance with his hands out.
"Yana there's something else. It's about Yuri." He opened his mouth but closed it shortly after.
"What is it' You can tell me Danil." The concern in her eyes was greater than anything he'd ever seen and he swallowed hard before continuing.
"He watches you shower, Yana. It's not right- he's not right." He looked to the side once more, this time in the opposite direction he had, towards Yuri's bunk.
Yana sat in silence and looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "I know." She said solemnly.
"What are you going to do about it' If you want I could have a talk with him." Danil didn't like the idea any more than she must have, but when he looked back to her she was smiling. Not of glee, not of joy; a smile laced with forlorn and trepidation.
"What can I do about it' How often did we see people coming in here Danil" How often did we see them leaving" Do you know why I'm the last one out, Danil?" She paused, but she didn't need to finish. She could see it in his eyes, he knew that she knew all along.
"I know it isn't right Danil but who could possibly be right in here" If that's what will get him through this..." She shook her head and as she took a breath to say more Danil cut her off.
"I'm sorry. I can't begin to understand what this is like for either of you. You have to stay together Yana. No matter what. There's going to come a time when-" Before he could finish his train of thought the lights flickered through the structure and what followed would haunt them all until they died. Screams. Horrific, mind-breaking screams. It was Aleksei and Vasily.
Черный кальмар - Black Squid http://www.qhatlas.com.au/sites/default/files/imagecache/Medium/Picture3.jpg
It was 5 a.m. Everyone inside knew it was 5 a.m. by the awful shriek of the sirens. Every day started exactly the same. When 5 a.m. came everyone got out of their bunks, they stood barefoot and the guards came by and counted. There were no personal quarters. The layout of the building was simple: a pie cut into four slices. Test Bay 1, Subject Bunks, Military Bunks and Test Bay 2. The showers were located in the center and every day the subjects awoke at 5 a.m., showered at 5:30 a.m. and went back to their bunks for "breakfast". Today was like any other.
There were sixty subjects in this round of trials and only a third of the bunks were occupied. The women showered first and were allocated fifteen minutes, the men were second and had the same time allotted. The first day they had been together it struck them as odd that the showers could easily fit twice as many, yet they were still segregated from the other half. Guards were posted above for security reasons, so both the women and the men were left guessing as to why the precautions had been set.
"I would kill for some hot water one of these days." Taisia spoke out boldly.
"Careful talking like that, if they hear you you'll lose your meal privileges." The wiser and elder Darya chimed.
The fifteen minutes always went too quickly and when the water was cut it was often met with groans and hurried, muttered curses. The rules were the rules. As the women vacated the showers the men were allowed in. One thing always remained the same. Yana was the last one out: a young beauty often called by the guards as ангел. No older than twenty, with her long dark hair and blue eyes it was no mystery why the others chastised her and envied her. Every day it took threats before she would step out and follow the others.
The men were as lively if not more, often playing games with the guards, taunting them but in the form of wagers, ones that obviously could not ever be fulfilled.
"I would clean all of you in a game of poker. Tell you what, deal me in against five of you and if I win you'll let me go." Danil, middle-aged with nothing to lose was always the gambling type. It didn't matter if it was over "breakfast" or sleeping on the top bunk, he'd wager it if he had it.
"When are you ever going to take him up on it?" Anatoly laughed, just short of the age to enlist, he'd had his fun in poking as Danil did, but was never caught getting an extra handful of "breakfast" come serving.
Among the men and the boys there was one who always stood out. Yuri. Sixteen years of age, he wasn't big or small, he wasn't shy or outgoing, he had a mop of brown hair on his head and hazel eyes- he was just Yuri. What he was known for was being the last one into the showers every morning. It often took a boot or a rifle but to get him inside.
Those fifteen minutes seemed to go a bit faster, much to the chagrin of anyone not named Danil or Anatoly. It was a price those two were apparently willing to pay on behalf of all the rest. Come "breakfast", all of the subjects were to stand in front of their bunks in an orderly line. Guards made the rounds and poured an abomination of gruel and wheat mixed with some type of liquid. The only options were eat it or starve, so most made sure not to leave any behind.
Most days were spent in the bunks. The subjects were free to converse with one another, occasionally the guards would take Danil up on his talk and would bring cards in, but they never let him go. Even rarer, Dr. Pavlov would leave his gramophone for the guards to listen to, and the music would echo to the Subject quarters. Today the subjects simply had to rely on each other for amusement.
"Yana." Danil called out to her as she was heading back to her bunk.
"Yes?" Yana replied as she took a seat and looked to the older man.
Danil took a seat on the end of her bunk close enough that no one might overhear but still not within range that either could touch. From this distance she could see the fatigue setting in. He had crow's eyes, his face was more gaunt than when he had first arrived and his clothes no longer fit snug, but hung and dangled.
"There's something I need to talk about with you." The happy-go-lucky jester wasn't wearing a smile. There was a heightened pace to his phrasing and his inflection was off. Yana was capable of seeing most things normal people didn't bother to check. The way Danil occasionally checked over his left shoulder and not his right- he had spent plenty of time learning the guards' patrols. He picked this time specifically to talk to her and it was for that reason that she leaned in some, attentive.
"What is it?" Her voice was softer.
"I've been eavesdropping on the guards when I play poker with them. It's about Dr. Pavlov." There was a sense about him now that sent a chill down her spine.
"Aleksei and Vasily aren't doing well." The brothers weren't the most popular among the subjects as they often bullied more "breakfast" from the weakest, but they weren't as awful as the guards or Dr. Pavlov.
"I don't think they're going to make it." He looked in the same direction once more.
"That's not possible. They said siblings are supposed to be capable of withstanding the tests." Yana clenched the sheet on her mattress. "They lied to us."
"I heard the same", Danil turned back to her and shook his head, "I'm not sure what the difference is but for whatever reason it's not working. You know what this means, don't you?" His eyes said it all.
Yana looked away momentarily before releasing her grip on the sheets.
"I know, I know." She recited and closed her eyes.
"They cannot know about you and Yuri. If they find out they'll put you both through those horrors. You understand that don't you? Tell me you understand it." He coughed some and as a few other subjects glanced he shooed them off.
"Are you sick Danil?" She came in a little closer but he held her at a distance with his hands out.
"Yana there's something else. It's about Yuri." He opened his mouth but closed it shortly after.
"What is it' You can tell me Danil." The concern in her eyes was greater than anything he'd ever seen and he swallowed hard before continuing.
"He watches you shower, Yana. It's not right- he's not right." He looked to the side once more, this time in the opposite direction he had, towards Yuri's bunk.
Yana sat in silence and looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "I know." She said solemnly.
"What are you going to do about it' If you want I could have a talk with him." Danil didn't like the idea any more than she must have, but when he looked back to her she was smiling. Not of glee, not of joy; a smile laced with forlorn and trepidation.
"What can I do about it' How often did we see people coming in here Danil" How often did we see them leaving" Do you know why I'm the last one out, Danil?" She paused, but she didn't need to finish. She could see it in his eyes, he knew that she knew all along.
"I know it isn't right Danil but who could possibly be right in here" If that's what will get him through this..." She shook her head and as she took a breath to say more Danil cut her off.
"I'm sorry. I can't begin to understand what this is like for either of you. You have to stay together Yana. No matter what. There's going to come a time when-" Before he could finish his train of thought the lights flickered through the structure and what followed would haunt them all until they died. Screams. Horrific, mind-breaking screams. It was Aleksei and Vasily.