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Benghazi, Libya - Ali had been running supplies and fuel for the rebels to Ras Lanuf and everything about the town that day seemed different. The roads and checkpoints were strangely empty. In the distance Ali saw a group of men at the gate, and knew from their coordinated uniforms and military vehicles that he was in trouble: It was the army of Moammar Gadhafi.

He cranked the steering wheel quickly and hard to try for escape but it was too late. Gadhafi's soldiers were in pursuit, and soon Ali and his friend were out of their truck, scrambling on foot to find cover. They were caught near the town's clinic and dragged inside the building; he remembers blood on the floor.

One of the soldiers was eager to kill them on the spot. No, said another, we will keep them and use them, according to Ali's recollection. He was ordered to his knees and the beating began with the butt of a rifle that was loaded for the possibility of execution.

The beating seemed to come from all directions until blood seeped from Ali's skull and a soldier urged the brutality to stop. Bound at the hands and feet the captives were loaded into the back of a truck.

"They were yelling, ‘We caught a rat, we caught a dog', and they fired their guns in the air like it was a party," said Ali. Hours later Ali would end up in Sirte, Gadhafi's tribal stronghold, in one of the regime's dreaded internal security compounds.

More than 400 people -- fighters and civilians -- have vanished from eastern Libya since the uprising began, according to the Libyan Red Crescent and Human Rights Watch. Some of the missing are assumed dead; many more are believed to be in Gadhafi's prisons.

Ali remarkably got out, leaving behind an unknown number of the unlucky, the unrepentant, and the doomed. He reappeared to his family two weeks after he left for that supply run. Ali and I talked for over an hour at his home in Benghazi.

Here is his account of what happened:

"We were in the back of the (Toyota) Cruiser but then it stopped and we were put in another vehicle (he describes it as a Mitsubishi cube van or a cargo truck). I think there were 40 or 50 people stacked inside. Some were dead and some were wounded."

Were they civilians?

"Yes, most of them were civilians. Sometimes the truck would stop on the road if they saw rebel bodies. Soldiers would kick the corpses in the face and curse. I could watch because one of the wounded guys had a lighter and used it to remove the tie on my hands so I could take off the blindfold. I watched them kick the half-corpse of an old man with a white beard. They shot a fighter who was already dead. It was like this all the way from Ras Lanuf to Sirte.

"It took about four or five hours. When we stopped at Sirte I think it was about 9 p.m. They took all of us out of the truck. I saw a guy my age bleeding from the stomach. The soldiers were laughing and taking pictures. I was taken to different room, but I overheard the soldiers say ‘he's dead now get rid of him.' And then I saw through the doorway that they put a rope around his neck and dragged him like a dog."

"They made me stay on my knees for hours. My legs went numb. Occasionally I was hit or kicked. They kept asking me questions about who I was and what I was doing. Then I was taken to a sort of courtyard in the middle of the building. There were others there and we all had to keep our faces against the wall. If someone moved their face was pushed into the wall."

How many people are being held there?

"I don't know. It is a big building and there are so many people. The army seemed confused about where to put everybody."

"They continued their investigation, asking my name and where I was from. That happened in a basement room and then I was taken to another place. There were 28 of us in the room, and then 7 more arrived. The room was chilly and there was a half-carpet that was wet. There were only a few blankets -- maybe one for every four people. A few of the seven men who were older were shivering so I gave them the blanket I had."

"Every so often soldiers would open the door and choose somebody to leave with them. When they returned their faces would be swollen or their fingers or toes or teeth would be broken. If people passed out or fell asleep they were woken with cold water and kicking. They didn't want anyone to sleep."

"I kept telling them I was only running supplies; that I was not a fighter. I stayed in that room for three days -- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Sunday morning the soldiers came in and chose more people to go with him. They pointed at me and I was afraid."

"I was taken to a room and recognized the seven men who had arrived to the other room. There was a couch and a good breakfast laid out on the table. The men said to me, 'we told them you were only a driver.' I was confused, and then I heard somebody crying underneath me. I heard voices and crying; I think from a basement."

"They took me from there back to the Internal Security building and they started the interrogation again. After the questions they took my photo and made me fill out a form. Then they told me I was free."

Why did they free you?

"I was shocked and I didn't immediately know why. But the seven men it turns out were Gadhafi people who were caught up in arrests by mistake. They had connections. In Ras Lanuf they scooped everyone. The soldiers made interviews with these men. Two were from Sirte and the other five were from Ras Lanuf. When their stories checked out and the mistake was discovered they were taken from the jail and given a nice breakfast. And they told the soldiers that I was only a driver and that I helped by giving them a blanket. They said I was good to them. If not for them I would still be in Sirte. Or with Allah."

"They said I could stay with them until the trouble passed but I said no I want to get home to my family. The investigators allowed me to use a mobile phone and I called my family immediately, and then I called my friends who live in Surt. They came to the prison quickly to take me. I still could not believe that I was free. I stayed at their house for nearly two weeks until I could get back to Benghazi."

How did you get back to Benghazi? Sirte is west of the fighting. How did you make it through the frontlines of Gadhafi forces and the rebels?

"I knew I could not try to travel alone. Also, Gadhafi's army had taken my identification and my mobile phone which had videos of the revolution on it. So I was very worried about how to pass through checkpoints. There was a peace protest that had left Tripoli heading for Benghazi. When it approached Surt they were gathering people into minivans so I joined them and hid at the very back."

"When the peace convoy started to move after a few kilometers we saw many tanks and military vehicles traveling back toward Surt. At one checkpoint a soldier told us everything was okay; that there were more forces out front. Everybody was scared. We were 12 buses when we started from Surt; by the time we reached Hwara (70 kilometers east of Surt) there were only 4. Everyone else turned back. Our driver was from Tripoli and did not want to go any further. So I drove the bus."

Describe what you saw along that road in terms of the army's firepower.

I saw many Grad missiles and tanks. There are heavy weapons to protect the city. There were no other cars on the road except military cars. And so many forces. They had supplies and fuel between Surt and Hrawa. Their frontline is close to Ras Lanuf.

What happened when you reached the rebel frontline?

"They yelled at us to stop and I said, 'don't shoot I am from Benghazi!' but it took them a while to believe me. They started their own interrogation of me but the rebels believed my story. And then they said they know my cousins and they embraced me."

Do you believe Gadhafi soldiers were torturing prisoners?

(pauses) "I don't know. I was blindfolded a lot. I heard things but didn't see. I heard voices and crying."

Are you afraid?

"I am not scared that Gadhafi people will harm me. I do not want harm to come to the men who helped me. I will not say their names. I did not know them before but I know them now."

"I still cannot believe that I am back. I heard that many of the peace protestors turned back and were shot by Gadhafi forces. Who can stop this madman from killing his own people?"