As soon as Ismene has left, Creon enters through another door, with his page. ✎
CREON ✎ —A guard, you say? One of the ones guarding the body? Tell him to come in. 🔊✎
The guard enters. ✎ He is a thug. ✎ Right now, he is green with fear. ✎
THE GUARD ✎ faces Creon, salutes. ✎ — Guard Jonas, second company. ✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Right boss. We drew lots to see who would come. And I got the short straw. 🔊✎ So, it's like this boss. I came on my own because we thought it was better if just one person explained, and then we couldn't all three of us leave our post. There's three of us on the patrol boss, round the body. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —What do you have to tell me? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —There's three of us, boss. Like, not just me. The others, that's Durand and the guardsman first class, Boudousse. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —Why didn't the first class come? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Isn't that right, boss? Just what I said too. 🔊✎ It's the first class who should have come. When you don't have an officer present, it's the first class who's responsible. 🔊✎ But the others said no, they wanted to draw lots. Shall I go back and get the first class, boss? 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —No. Talk, since you're the one here. 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —I got seventeen years of service. I volunteered, medal, two citations. Never been in any trouble. "Army service", that's me. 🔊✎ I just do what I'm told. My commanding officers, they always say, "With Jonas, you can relax." 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —Good. Talk. Why are you scared? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Really it should have been the first class. They told me I'm moving up to first class, but I haven't got the promotion yet. I should've been promoted in June. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —Get to the point. If something has happened, you are all responsible. Stop telling me who is supposed to be here. 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Uh, sure, okay boss. The body... 🔊✎ So we were on watch. We had the two a.m. shift, the worst one. You know what it's like, just when the night's almost up. 🔊✎ Your eyes are like lead, your neck hurts, there's all these little shadows moving around and the morning fog's coming... 🔊✎ Ah, they knew when to strike! ... 🔊✎ We were there, shooting the breeze, walking up and down... We weren't asleep boss, we can promise you all three of us, no one was asleep! 🔊✎ Like we could have, it was so cold... And then suddenly, I look at the body... It was just right next to us, but all the same I was looking at it now and then... 🔊✎ I'm like that boss, I want to do it right. That's why my commanding officers say, "With Jonas..." 🔊✎ (Creon makes a gesture. He stops and cries suddenly.) ✎ I saw it first, boss! The others'll tell you, I was the one what gave the alarm first. 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —The body, boss. Someone had covered it up. 🔊✎ Oh, not much. They didn't have time, like with us right there. 🔊✎ Just a bit of earth... but all the same, enough to keep the vultures away. 🔊✎
CREON, ✎ approaches him. ✎ — You are quite sure it wasn't just some animal? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —No boss. That's what we hoped first. But the earth was thrown over him. Like you're supposed to. It was someone who knew what they was doing. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —Who has dared? Who has been foolish enough to defy my law? Did you find any traces? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Nothing, boss. Nothing except one footstep lighter than a bird. 🔊✎ Afterwards, when we looked around better, guardsman Durand found a spade further away, a little kid's spade, all old and rusty. 🔊✎ We thought it couldn't be a kid what done it. The first class kept it all the same for the inquest. 🔊✎
CREON, ✎ dreams a moment. ✎ — A child... The broken opposition that's already back, growing and undermining us everywhere. 🔊✎ The friends of Polynices with their gold blocked in Thebes, the tribunes of the people, stinking of garlic, suddenly in cahoots with the princes, and the priests fishing around to see what they can get out of it... 🔊✎ A child! They must have thought that would be more touching. 🔊✎ I can see him, their child, with his killer's face and the little spade neatly wrapped in paper under his coat. 🔊✎ That is, if they didn't train up a real child, teach him what to say... 🔊✎ A convenient piece of innocence to help the party. A pale little boy who will spit at the firing squad. How useful to smear that innocent blood on my hands, a double win. 🔊✎ (He moves towards the guard.) ✎ But they have accomplices, and maybe some of them are in my guard. So listen carefully, you... 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —Boss, we did everything we was supposed to! Durand, he sat down for half an hour cause his feet hurt, but me boss, I was up the whole time. The first class will tell you. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —Who have you talked to about this? 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ —No one, boss. We drew lots right away and then I came here. 🔊✎
CREON ✎ —So listen carefully. Your shift is continued. Send back the relief. 🔊✎ Those are your orders. I want no one but you near the body. 🔊✎ And not a word. You are all guilty of gross negligence, you will be punished whatever happens, but if you talk, if people start saying in town that someone covered up Polynices's body, then all three of you are dead. 🔊✎
THE GUARD ✎ yelling. ✎ — We haven't talked boss, I promise! But I was here, and maybe the others, maybe they already said to the relief... 🔊✎ (He is dripping with sweat, he's stammering.) ✎ Boss, I got two kids, one of them's just a baby. 🔊✎ You'll witness for me I was here, boss, I was here with you! I've got a witness! 🔊✎ If someone's talked, it's the others, it's not me! I've got a witness! 🔊✎