Chapter 107
In the end Filip slips into a kind of torpor, and the room disappears. He is slumped on the chair with his eyes closed. His thirst is increasing as the hope of rescue fades.
He is vaguely aware of an agitated voice speaking loudly in the background. He opens his eyes and looks up—has his kidnapper returned?
Is this when he is going to die, just like his mom?
Images of her dead body drift through his mind. He didn’t get to see her, but the little he has heard is enough. Her throat was cut, she choked on her own blood.
His heart is racing, and he fights to remain conscious. He wants to scream and shout, even though he knows it is pointless. Instead he forces himself to listen to whoever is talking on the phone.
Filip can hear the answers, but not the questions.
The man sounds angry and bitter, switching between feeling sorry for himself and cursing the people who have done him harm. He makes excuses for his actions and blames others, says he was forced to do what he did.
Slowly Filip begins to make sense of it all. The truth is horrific and more terrifying than he could have imagined.
It makes him tug at the ropes binding his arms and legs. Nothing happens this time either, however hard he tries. He is in significant pain from the wounds caused by the chafing.
Then his strength runs out and he gives up.
I haven’t done anything, he wants to yell to the lunatic behind him.
The man seems to have moved farther away, his voice is fainter now. Then it disappears completely, and Filip is alone again.
“I haven’t done anything,” he whispers into the emptiness.