Chapter 5December was here again. So much darkness. And more cold. Another Christmas in the Icebox. Joe’s third.
Yesterday had been his twenty-first birthday. His mother had probably sent something, but it hadn’t gotten to him.
Pushing through a foot of fresh snow, Joe walked a little faster, eager to be inside again. He was starving. His bones ached. They’d been working longer days, the guards getting antsy about production and having enough wood to burn through the winter. Everything in Joe hurt.
“How long can we do this?” Novak asked, his voice thin from the bitter cold. They hurried through the snow, while at their sides, the guards yelled out their useless orders. But the guards didn’t need to yell for the inmates to hurry, because the threat of frostbite was their real motivation.
