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your own head? Don't you wish your own suffering could end?"
    I looked over at him. For all the world, he did look like a soldier, hollow-eyed and gaunt, still wearing a filthy uniform. "Do not try to pick at my thoughts. I know what you are."
    It chuckled. "I won't tell you where the nest is. You should kill me now. Mercy is yours to offer."
    "Mercy is not part of this."
    It stood up abruptly and pressed its muzzled face to the bars. "We will remember all your sins," it spat. "We will remember your face. We will learn your name. We do not forget."
    I did not speak to it again after that, but something about the promise in its eyes chilled me to my bones.
    Day 723
    We prepared Hink the Mazikin for escort to the Station. His hands are concealed in leather mittens and he is muzzled. His eyes fix on me like I'm the weak spot, the breach point, so I do not look away when he stares. We have placed a collar around his neck and attached it to the ends of our staffs, so that we can keep him a safe distance from us as we make our way to the northeast. A platoon of Guards will go with us to prevent ambush. Takeshi treats the Mazikin with calm neutrality. He's not cruel, but there is a tension in his posture that reminds me that I have never seen what happens to a Mazikin prisoner.
    Day 726
    Hink was right, as it turns out. I am the weak spot. When we got back to the Station, Takeshi had the prisoner brought to the interrogation room. He called me to him and told me I would observe him questioning the Mazikin. I agreed eagerly, which only shows how stupid I am. As soon as I saw the cold glint in Takeshi's eye, I knew he had changed, had shed anything soft or kind. Hink was screaming and bleeding and I had to leave. I had to leave right then. I did not make it to the washroom before I got sick, right there in the corridor. Lutfi came by, but he did not ridicule me as I expected. He simply took me by the arm and led me to the washroom, then told me he would clean up the mess. And so I sat, on the cold stone floor next to an enormous toilet, and listened to Hink's shriek's echoing through the halls.
    Day 727
    We are done with Hink, but he is not dead yet. He is feral and senseless but very much alive. He lunges for the bars every time I enter the holding cell area. It's almost as if he blames me for all of it, and I have no idea why. Takeshi looks less alive, but he says Hink gave him information that will help us find the nest. I keep expecting him to ask me why I left the interrogation room, or to make fun of me for doing so, but he's done neither. Tonight we leave for the dark tower. I've never been there, but this is where we dispose of the Mazikin, where we give them a forever-death, though I'm not yet sure how that happens. Unfortunately, the dark tower is at the center of downtown, the thought of being there again leaves me covered in a cold sweat. I'm determined not to be the weak point again, though. This time, I will remain strong, no matter what happens.
    Day 728
    It was easy. We traveled deep into the downtown area, but Takeshi knew exactly where he was going. Hink struggled more frantically the closer we got. I wanted to ask why he was so terrified but didn't want to give away how little I know. And then we reached a building that blocked our path. Takeshi's smile was fleeting.
    "Go around to the other side and wait," he said to me. So I tried to obey. But the further I walked, the more confused I became. There are no corners to this building, no way to get around it. When I returned, Takeshi and the other Guards were laughing as they unbuckled Hink's muzzle.
    "Last words?" they asked him. He stared at Takeshi.
    "Someday," Hink said. "You will know what hell is really like."
    "You won't have to wait that long," said Takeshi. Then one of the Guards yanked open the main door of the building, and they threw Hink in. He screamed, once, and that was it.
    "We're done here," Takeshi said, and then he turned to me. "But tomorrow we'll