Unbroken Chapter 18 Summary

How It All Goes Down

A Dead Body Breathing

  • Louie has to survive on hardtack (Bisquick's evil twin) and small cups of tea.
  • Even though his track achievements make him kind of a celebrity (some of the natives know his name), Louie receives no special treatment.
  • His cell is infested with mosquitoes, lice, and rats—oh my.
  • The guards humiliate Phil and Louie, forcing them to whistle and sing while having rocks chucked at them. They're stripped of their dignity.
  • One day Louie is pulled from his cell and he assumes he's going to be executed.
  • Luckily though, he's only interrogated. Louie lies to them, but Phil tells them about how a B-24D works. However, Phil believes that the Japanese are desperate for information because they're losing the war.
  • Later, a guard named Kawamura shows up a Louie's door. He's nice, and he teaches Louie some Japanese.
  • When one of the cruel guards pokes Louie in the face with a stick, Kawamura beats the man up.
  • Three weeks later, Louie and Phil are injected with a mysterious substance. The Japanese are testing chemicals to be used in biological warfare. Good thing they're not very good at it, so Phil and Louie both survive.
  • Unfortunately, Louie comes down with dengue fever. Just like being sick doesn't get you out of dodge ball in middle school though, his illness doesn't exempt him from continued stonings.
  • One day, Louie caves to interrogation and shows the Japanese where American bases are. However, the "bases" he shows them are fake airfields.
  • On August 24, Louie and Phil are finally shipped off Execution Island to a POW camp in Yokohama.