“Fear? If I have gained anything by damning myself, it is that I no longer have anything to fear."
“Fear? If I have gained anything by damning myself, it is that I no longer have anything to fear.”
Damning myself… that was rich.
Will could almost feel his lips twitching, ready to produce a weak excuse for a smile that never happened. There was nothing to smile about in these walls, tainted with all the nightmares and dreams of terrible people residing in there. At night, Will would be forcing his eyelids shut and thinking of all those who had been here before him… and will be after. Whose former cell was he occupying? Whose insanity was he breathing in?
“You are just being dramatic, Frederick, that’s all. I may give you the time for your performance if that is what you’d prefer… Or we could just skip the first part and move on to the subject of fear.”
In fact, Frederick wasn’t all that wrong (though, still too pompous). He was damned in a way everybody unfortunate enough to meet and cause the interest of Hannibal Lecter was. Will sincerely doubted that Hannibal was interested in this man whose eyes now were restlessly searching for anything to rest upon in the same way he was undoubtedly interested in Will. Kids under a certain age may use a magnifying glass to focus light and burn ants. They do it for two reasons: they still lack empathy, which develops later, and they are curious to see what happens. Hannibal used the magnifying glass of his own mind to burn Will for no other reason than amusement. It was fun breaking complex things.
Nevertheless, doctor Lecter was surely amused by Frederick… and that was one of the main reasons Frederick still lived. Will wasn’t heartless enough to think about other possible reasons.
Frederick did not damn himself, it was the wrong way to put it - he was damned. An action was done to him, not performed willingly by him… just like with one of his kidneys. For a couple of seconds, Will was toying with the idea of asking Frederick what had happened to it - to the meat - but decided against it.
With all his flaws and weaknesses, Frederick still had one unquestionable advantage… he listened.
“Everybody has something to fear. You, me, him…”
As if even saying the name would be considered not rude but… obscene.
“You still have a lot to lose, Frederick. Don’t you fear that? Because you should… you are messing with the emotions of a dangerous lunatic, after all.”
He wasn’t smiling, though he might as well at this point. It would have been hilarious to find out who Frederick thought Will was referring to - Hannibal Lecter or himself.
He didn’t feel like himself anymore. Not all the time, at least. He felt… well… unstable, yes. But dangerous as well.
