The old man's body lay stretched out on the narrow prison bed, wrapped in rough canvas like a discarded piece of furniture. The pale moonlight streaming through the barred window made everything look ghostly and unreal. Edmond stared at his friend's corpse, the only person who had kept him sane during these hellish years of imprisonment.
'I'm alone again.'
The thought hit him like a physical blow. No more late-night conversations through the tunnel they'd dug between their cells. No more shared dreams of freedom. No more hope.
Edmond slumped onto the edge of the bed, his mind spiraling into darkness. Maybe death wasn't so bad after all. Maybe his friend had found peace while he was still trapped in this nightmare.
"What if I just..." he whispered to himself, "what if I attacked the next guard who walked in? They'd execute me for sure, but at least it would be over."
But the moment passed. Something deep inside him rebelled against the idea of dying like a common criminal.
