The Sleep Project

January 4th, 1953

They say we are the last stand between injustice and justice for those who are against the motherland and Comrade Stalin.

Our superiors at the MGB push us till our bones ache and our muscles stiffen. Most days they have us run two and a half kilometers, but today they had us run nearly thirty kilometers in -10°C.

The cold hit us hard as we ran through the chilling breeze. My face felt like a layer of ice was forming on my cheeks and nose, my lungs felt like they were drowning in the cold, and my legs screamed in pain, unbalanced by the snow forcing my ankles to twist and turn as I ran.

I was talking to my fellow comrade and friend Sergey Babin. He wasn’t always the strongest of the group, but damn was he funny while we were running.

Sergey said in deep gasps, “If we didn’t have our asses kicked afterwards, I would’ve taken a shit in front of everyone.” The officers trailing behind us yelled furiously, “Shut the fuck up or I will have your ass in.” Some of the group let out a little chuckle but were too desperate for air to give more of a reaction.

Further into the run, someone else from the group, Angeloff, I think his name was, fainted from exhaustion. Our commanding officer ordered him to get back up before they started kicking and dragging him. Angeloff yelled in pain, trying not to cry, and got back up and started running again, trying to catch up with the rest of us, snow covering the right side of his face, not bothering to wipe it away.

After the run, we were told to gather near the front. There was Colonel Vladimir Komarov, who announced the committee has instilled a new Spisok to be dispatched. We will meet in Bolshoy Dom at 03:00, where we will head to Kommunalkas. The colonel asked if we understood, and unanimously we all yelled understood.

When we were dispersed, we all headed back to the barracks. Babin and I leaned on each other, our legs barely able to support us, as we struggled to stay upright and avoid collapsing into the snow. Walking to the barracks, I felt my knees spasm every step and felt Babin shake vigorously, my clothes sticking to my body, trying to freeze me to death like a clingy child begging for food. Until I finally made it to my bunk.

When I finally lay down, I could feel every wire in the bed digging deep into my skin as I sank lower every day into the bunk, making it feel more like a hammock than a bed more and more. It was not as bad as standing on legs that were screaming in pain and punishing me with every step. None of that mattered now. I was too drowsy to even care, for the repose of sleep overtook me.