When he could no longer see straight, he stumbled to the 2001st officers’ barracks, selected the first bunk he came to, and fell asleep. Thankfully, he did not dream… He woke up the next day cold and sore. His stomach felt like it was turned inside out. He looked around the barracks—it was a long Quonset hut containing at least 200 beds—and found that it was indeed very empty. He located a coffee machine, made a pot, and drank half of it. Looking through the empty barracks, he saw each bed was made, corners tight. Each had a pilot’s cap placed squarely on the pillow and a pair of boots down at the foot. Hunter laid his hand on the bunk next to his. It was ice cold. Then he turned around to the bunk he’d slept in and saw a pilot’s cap on the floor and a pair of boots under the bed—just where he’d drunkenly thrown them the night before. A shiver went through him. He’d slept in the bed of a dead man. Thus began his second day in Hell. He found the shower, and stood underneath the spigot for 20 long minutes, waiting for warm water that never came.
