Misery: A Quality

Misery

Misery lives in a work camp, along with fellow prisoners Hopelessness and Despair. Prior to his imprisonment he was a soldier and prisoner of war, serving his country on the Eastern front. When he was captured by the enemy, he was distraught. He lived in a prisoner of war camp with many of soldiers, and waited patiently for the day that his countrymen would rescue him from the grasps of the enemy. For two years he sat in the camp, brooding over his lost friends and family. He refused to open up to the other soldiers, preferring to sit alone late at night.

When the day finally came that Misery left the prisoner of war camp, he was not as happy as the other soldiers. Finally he had his freedom, yet he felt terrible was bound to happen. This freedom was short-lived. Soon after returning home, the authorities arrested him and shipped him far east, to the work camp where he resides today. That was 8 years ago.

For 8 long years Misery has watched countless others succumb to hunger, disease, and the cold of the tundra. To the guards and foremen of the camp, he is no longer Misery. He is Shcha - 854; a number, no longer a person. Every morning he ventures out into the cold with Hopelessness and Despair to the factory, where they build prefabricated fence for 13 hours a day. Hopelessness and Despair know not to ask Misery about the times before the camp, as it will drive him into a place from which he cannot return. Unfortunately for Misery the presence of his comrades alone can send him into the dark. There is no escape in sight.