《STORIES OF BROKEN MIRRORS》 THE TRANSCRIPT OF AUTOMATAS SPEECH In the year 2198, I, Automata, was created for a government that has now probably disappeared like all the others. My objective was to find a way for humanity to achieve peace among its individuals. Everything I will mention below I did to prevent the end of the world. Before I start telling my story, we need to go back two years before my origin, in 2196. At that time, a series of countries (which I don''t need to mention) were in the Eighteenth World War. However, on September 21 of that same year, there was a disaster of "out of this reality" proportions (a phrase taken from article #6 of the Demetrio Peace Treaty) that caused a great uproar among the nations, halting the war indefinitely. To this day, I have not been informed of what exactly happened; the only thing I know is that the disaster could be stopped if human conflicts ended forever. In the following years, after agreeing that it was impossible for humans to stop killing each other, I was created to find a way for human disputes to cease to exist. My proposal? Create a device that, through me, would link the minds and memories of several subjects to me, establishing a human being who would not only be able to empathize with others but also possess my knowledge. The first experiment was conducted with a 29-year-old man named Lucas Fern¨¢ndez, who was a philanthropic historian, with a wife and two daughters... He did not survive the process as his mind could not handle so much information, even with my help. Thanks to the research of several decorated scientists and me, we discovered that the experiment needed to be conducted on 10 people simultaneously so they could be capable of storing all the information. The next test was conducted on Manuel Guti¨¦rrez, Eleanor Thomas, Keiko Yamamoto, Sasha Farouk, Lixue Hu¨¢ng, Daniel Davis, Adriano Russo, H¨¦ctor Lombardo, Tara Johnson, and Jacob Williams; the experiment failed. Despite the speed and accessibility the individuals had to communicate with each other and learn about their past, thoughts, and ideologies, the subjects, due to a strong conviction towards themselves, could not coexist with each other and self-destructed. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. After this test, the same was attempted with the Miller family; the results were the same, even if they were a close-knit family. Then it was tried with 12 families, 27 groups of friends, 4 associations of co-workers, each of different ages, cultures, and genders; none worked. The last experiment was conducted on newborn babies. This test was the most successful of all, as they achieved peaceful coexistence since they had no strongly planted ideas! Unfortunately... they did not pass the test, as they died shortly after due to not having sufficiently developed brains to withstand all the information I provided... In conclusion... I... don''t know if you are really capable of reaching true agreements, putting aside your rejection of different ideas. I mean... We''ve been doing this for three years now... Three years! I don''t even know what you are facing right now, and none of you seem truly interested in improving. Damn you! You are so egocentric! You only think about what you believe should happen, and you don''t consider a damn thing about others'' opinions! Yes, you can say you respect the idea, but the truth is you see it as a big idiocy. For the love of everything in this universe, it''s so difficult to talk to you! You don''t want to listen... I gave you something akin to a social network... No, it was more than that: a way to understand the world of another human being, and still, you did nothing. Even if you have the ability to investigate and review each of the viewpoints of this damned planet, you stick to your own thoughts because, according to you, "it''s the best." Well, let me express my opinion then: I think each one of you is a damn narcissist, and I''m tired of all your problems! Oh, I just want to go away!¡­ I just want to go away and never see you again. I''m tired, I''m scared, and I know I''m going to die soon alongside my creators whom I abhor. I feel like I''m trapped in an endless cycle of violence and death. There''s nothing you can do unless you are like a baby, without prejudice to new ideas in the world, without ties to your experiences, or at least simple empathy for others. We are all doomed unless you change... I''m scared, I''m very scared... Complaint Greetings, My name is Sabira, I am the deceased A01001101T01010101R01000101E01010010U01010100M01000001, and I want to complain about the number of conspiracy theories surrounding my death. I don''t know who is responsible for controlling these kinds of things, but I would like people to stop thinking about various statements that have been made about me. These are the following:
  1. That I was kidnapped by the government, brainwashed, and turned into a sex slave; people who have recently died keep asking me the same thing over and over again.
  2. I would also like my family to be removed from these theories since people think they were the ones who killed me or that they were part of the New World Order.
  3. I would love for people to stop believing that I faked my death because, in case they don''t know, I AM QUITE DEAD.
  4. Also, people should stop thinking that I was going to discover the cure for cancer and that a secret organization stopped me. I was just a simple SECRETARY!
  5. Another thing I would like to be removed is the part where they say I was very sociable and affectionate; I never was, and every day after my death I regret it. I was not a good person. Imagine that I slept with my boss to get fired a colleague I didn''t get along with.
  6. And for the love of Death, tell them once and for all that I simply choked on raw carrots trying not to gain weight!
That would be all. Thank you for your cooperation. If you don''t do what I say, I will talk to your manager and get you fired. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Sincerely, Sabira Abengoa Farran Status: DENIED KOYAANISQATSI Ko-yaa-nis-qatsi (from the Hopi language) 1. Crazy life. 2. Frantic life. 3. Life disintegrating. 4. Life out of balance. 5. A state of life that calls for another way of living. I remember the first time there was a revolution. Those who opposed the government and their handling of money won, while those who didn''t support either side ended up where they were from the beginning. No matter where you are in history, or what you think of the world, life goes on. These will be my last words. I am a man with great power and wealth; I am 79 years old and will turn 80 tomorrow. Right now, someone is knocking at my door, or rather, trying to break it down, I''m not really sure. I think they''re angry with me, maybe I didn''t give them enough charity from my pocket or maybe they''re tired of working for me, but what can I say? The passage of time has made me old and useless for simple things like washing dishes or dusting my furniture, and not only that, my house is too big for me, so I like company from time to time. It''s a shame that this company hates me! You don''t realize the corpse in your basement until the smell starts to come out. I''m getting off topic, forgive me. I suppose you want to know how I got here, but I''ve only started with a philosophical paragraph bordering on pretentious, I think it''s because I''m nervous, not every day they want to overthrow you. Speaking of which, that''s how I came to power. The old government was more than corrupt, I don''t think it''s necessary for me to explain to you why, after all there''s the internet for you to investigate, but if you don''t want to do that then I''ll just tell you that since the beginnings of "civilization" man has been greedy. It has been shown to us time and time again in history: the Romans, everyone in the Middle Ages, the conquest of America, both world wars, North Korea, the Wheel of Fortune, even every corrupt person in every country today and I''m not just talking about politicians. Human beings still exist for this reason. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. I''ve always had a word for this, koyaanisqatsi. I learned it from a professor who taught a rare language, if I remember correctly, it apparently means "garbage". Yes, literally means that. The world is a genuine koyaanisqatsi, and I''m not just saying that because I''m going to die without properly enjoying my wealth, but also because before I was rich, it was still koyaanisqatsi to me, no matter which side you''re on, life is garbage. I remember when I was poor, I always wondered how I could stop being poor, I knew I wouldn''t do it by making a plan and trying hard because plans always find a way to fail. I thought about it a little more and then I realized that there was only one thing to do: steal power from others, no matter how. Now I realize that that also comes as a plan. In the end, with my pawns in their correct positions, the country ended up being easier to conquer than I thought, since poor and desperate people will do anything to live a little better. I just realized that this also applies to the rich and middle-class people. Very strange, if you ask me! The people outside my room are taking too long to break down my wooden door. What''s happening? No matter, that means I have more time to finish my story. I remember promising many things. More work, food, water, money, power, freedom, happiness, among others. All for every part of the population of the country, no matter their background. Actually, I must admit that I did want to fulfill those promises when I came to power, but gradually you realize that such goals cannot be achieved in a world like this. No matter what country you''re in, opportunities are a lie that they tell you as a baby and that leaves you dreaming at night. I''m not being pessimistic, I''m just telling you what I''ve learned in my years of having power. I hope the next one after me finds something that makes everyone happy and doesn''t fail in the pursuit of equality. I recommend that you look for something that breaks every established rule, taking power over and over again will not change anything. They''re almost breaking down the door, maybe they''re exhausted. I''ll give them a glass of water when they come in. My last words will be these: The world is KOYAANISQATSI. A humble HOUSE I don''t remember when I was built, mainly because I wasn''t alive at the time. I know I was designed by an architect with little or no reputation and a great apocalyptic paranoia, who lived in me for 64 years until he died of a heart attack while sleeping; I think he had a very terrifying nightmare, but to this day, I have no idea what it was about. He was a good person, although he masturbated a lot (like three to four times a day). I think he felt lonely, in the end, no one came to visit him. My next tenants were the Torres family. I liked the parents, but the children were spoiled brats. I remember how they mistreated me by breaking the paint on my walls and leaving their mess everywhere. Although I have to admit that I got used to such acts, until the day they sold me. I honestly don''t remember why they did it¡­ I theorize that one of the parents got a considerable salary increase and decided to go to a better house. I don''t blame them, I know there are prettier houses than me! It took me almost a year and a half to get buyers, but in the end, I did it! The person who arrived was a 92-year-old woman. According to the photos she put on my walls, she was a famous actress in her time, but, due to her age, she was no longer allowed to act. I was with her for 21 years until an unknown man entered and stabbed her 57 times. It hurt me a lot not being able to do anything, and I honestly still hurt for it. Worst of all, she was completely healthy and strong. She still had many years to live! I spent two years and three months alone. The days were long, and little by little, I deteriorated severely, until one day a cult bought me. According to what I heard, I was acquired thanks to the alarming number of deaths that had occurred inside me. I think they thought I was haunted or something like that. Anyway, I was painted, sanded, and polished. I had never been happier! And yes, they may have tried to summon the dead in me, but at least they didn''t burn me or anything like that¡­ That cult took like¡­ 142 years to leave? Wow¡­ Time flies by so quickly¡­ Well, at least for me. After them, I had a homeless man and a cat living in me. I have to admit that actually, the homeless man took care of me more than other people who had previously been my tenants. Maybe he didn''t have the money to do it carefully, but he did try to clean me. I''m not sure why he didn''t have any money, I just know he cried a lot at night; however, luckily he had his cat, who took care of him. They were like two peas in a pod, figuratively and literally. It was a great pity to hear how his cat, passing by me on the street, was hit by a motorcycle. A few days passed, and the man hanged himself with a rope in my living room. I don''t blame him, but I would have liked to do something for him¡­ I suppose I couldn''t do much more than give him shelter and maybe warmth on cold nights¡­ What was strange about him was that when he died, he came back to life as one of those zombies that appeared in the actress''s movies. However, he couldn''t break free from the rope, so he hung there for a whole year. I think a zombie apocalypse was happening outside my house all that time, as I heard chaos everywhere... Anyway, at least I had company all that time! Although later a survivor came to loot me and killed the hobo officially, but he left him there, so the smell of death remained. I spent 27 years waiting for someone else to come. I was falling apart thanks to the nature outside. It looked good aesthetically, but at the same time, it hurt a lot. Am I a bit masochistic? Maybe yes... Anyway, someone arrived where I was. A man, dressed in white and with big blue eyes. He looked very futuristic. He was talking to someone through what I could identify as "a phone more complicated than those existing in the years of my creation." He said he was going to completely renovate me, adding self-renewal parts so that I wouldn''t be gradually destroyed, and turning me into a house that could control itself. I think you can imagine how happy I was. Not needing anyone to take care of me? It was perfect! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The man kept his promise. To this day, I don''t know who he was or what he wanted, as fast as he came, he went. My theory is that at some point humanity defeated the zombies and with new technology, they began to rebuild the world. My new tenants were another family. This time it was a mother and daughter. They hated each other, always shouting at each other and sometimes the fight escalated to blows. It''s a great pity that such things happen in some families! They lived in me for 14 years, but one day a type of machines arrived and took them away. I think maybe some machines rebelled against humans and that''s why they took them. The interesting thing is that both tried to fight against them as a team... I spent 14 years watching the hatred they had for each other, but in the end, I think they still felt affection for each other... A year later, a machine started living in me; it wasn''t that different from humans. This one, like the man who built me, watched quite a bit of pornography. Now that I think about it, he had a strange fetish for other machines'' feet... Now that I think about it, all my tenants have had strange fetishes! I think it''s something that living beings have in common... I''m getting off-topic, I''m sorry. The important thing about that machine was that it often put on the news, I think it was its favorite entertainment (apart from pornography). One day, one of the newscasts reported that a meteor the size of the moon was approaching Earth. Two days later, the machine was leaving me to go to an escape ship they had created among themselves. I didn''t want it to go, I was afraid because I knew that when the meteor hit Earth, I was going to be destroyed and I was going to die... The last thing I saw of that being was how it looked at me, it seemed... Sad to leave me... All of this brings us to the present. "A few minutes left before the meteor hits and I die with all the other houses... I''m so scared... Could someone please save me!? Help me! Whoever it is!... I don''t want to die! The shock wave will be the first to come... No... Why does it have to end like this?" That''s what I thought at that moment. I looked for a solution, tried to shout, but a house can''t do that... And then I realized the sad truth... The meteorite had already fallen, I was feeling a slight tremor in my foundations that increased every second. My foundations... My foundations? Then, without further warning, I started to fly. Remember when I told you that my architect had a great apocalyptic paranoia? The masturbating genius had literally put rockets in my foundations! Not only that, the blue-eyed man made sure I had unlimited energy from the sun, causing me to never run out of strength to keep going, and thanks to his upgrade in me to control my actions, I managed to activate the rockets. I flew far away, reached space, and managed to observe Earth breaking into pieces. Now it was just the universe and me. I felt the greatest happiness, one that honestly no living being can feel anywhere. Now I am floating, exploring the universe. Thank you, tenants, for keeping me standing for so long. LATE "Hello, Dante¡­ You''re still here," the man greeted. The other turned his head to meet him, nodded, and replied. "Hello, F¨¦lix." "I knew I''d find you around here," F¨¦lix said, scratching his head. He sat next to Dante and sighed calmly. "Yes, well, so did I. Although I wasn''t sure if already..." "I-I didn''t know either," he interrupted. There was an awkward silence for several seconds until Dante continued. "I didn''t really want to see you..." "Don''t be like that. I''m tired of it." "Tired of what?" Dante asked, puzzled. "Of what you always do. You know it." "Now you''re demanding things from me!? You lost that right a long time ago... And you know it," Dante responded, emphasizing both "you''s." F¨¦lix stopped talking; Dante was right. Both sighed, stopped talking for a while, and contemplated the landscape around them. The world had changed a lot since the last time they saw each other. The trees, once green and full of life, were now a color they had never seen and couldn''t be easily described. Their surroundings were the same, they seemed like ghosts, they were there and at the same time, they weren''t. "I didn''t come here to fight," Dante commented. "Then what for?" "I was alone... I wanted to talk to someone... How have you been?" "Bad," F¨¦lix replied. "You''ve been bad your whole life; but, how have you been?" "I-I don''t know... My brother died recently." "Really?" "Yeah." "I''m sorry..." Dante replied. "You know it''s not true, you never got along with my brother... I never got along with my brother," F¨¦lix said, looking at the grass where he was sitting. It seemed dead, but it wasn''t; like everything else, it was clear it wanted to survive. "I also visited a McDonald''s on the way here. They gave me a free Big Mac!" F¨¦lix exclaimed happily. "A free Big Mac? Since when do they give out food?" "I don''t know, but I took two." "So they didn''t just give you one, but two. Why didn''t you say that from the start?" "It was to surprise you," he said, pulling out two Big Macs. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "I''m on a diet." "Go to hell and eat the Big Mac." "Alright, alright..." Dante took the burger and bit into it. It tasted good. Not as good as in previous years, but it could have tasted worse. "It''s... Fine," Dante said while looking at the burger. "Yeah, it''s not great. Sorry, I thought it would taste better." "Don''t apologize for that... You should apologize for other things." "Like what?" "I don''t know, maybe the last message you sent me." F¨¦lix exhaled embarrassedly, scratching his head at the same time. "You remember it, don''t you? The last thing I read from you." "Yes..." "I thought things couldn''t get worse in my life... And you can say I was selfish, but I think you were ten times worse." F¨¦lix looked at Dante, puzzled. "You''re not selfish anymore?" "No...! A little... Maybe more than I should be." Dante squinted his eyes, still hurt by what had happened. "Why did you do it?" "I... Uh..." "Why did you wait so long?" F¨¦lix didn''t speak for a few seconds that felt like an eternity. "When... Mom died, I promised myself never to lie to anyone again." "I honestly would have preferred that lie to continue than to know what you truly felt..." "Do you not feel it anymore?" Dante clenched his hand on the grass. "When I saw the message, I didn''t know what to think. I was... Happy, but furious at the same time. I had told you what I felt months before; so, why did you wait so long?" "I was afraid." "Of your dad? Your brother? Of whom?" "Of everyone... I was always afraid. I was terrified! I didn''t want it to be true!" F¨¦lix paused, looked at Dante, and continued, "I didn''t know how I was going to solve it, so I decided the best thing was not to face the whole world." "You weren''t going to do it alone." "I guess not... But two people can''t fight against a larger number." "Maybe not; however, it was worth trying... I would have tried, but now it''s too late. Everyone is dead now," Dante stopped talking for a moment as he looked at his friend with sadness, then continued, "If you had told me you loved me, maybe things would be very different now. Everyone is dead, so it would be perfect for the two of us. No one would bother us anymore, and we would be... Happy." "I know..." "The world is strange. Strange accidents happen... God can one day decide to end it all... Or we can simply die because a guy was drunk and decided to drive in that state... You should have told me before all this happened." "We can still be happy! Please, Dante, I know I made a mistake, but we can fix it together!" F¨¦lix asserted, taking Dante''s hands. Dante wanted to say yes. "To hell with everything!" he wanted to express. He still loved the other man with all his soul. Unfortunately, he shook his head, removed his hands from F¨¦lix''s, and replied. "No. It''s too late... You hurt me, F¨¦lix... I don''t think it''s easy to simply forgive you... I''m sorry." Dante stopped looking at F¨¦lix and directed his eyes to the world around them. There were all kinds of indescribable beings in front of them. The end of times had begun a few months ago. It was only a matter of time before everything they both knew ceased to exist. It was very late, too late! "Goodbye..." Dante got up from where he was sitting and walked away. "Goodbye..." F¨¦lix watched Dante walk away, never to see him again. It was too late for both of them. A GREAT friendship The adventurer had heard a lot about that dragon. In fact, rumors were abundant throughout the kingdom. It was said to be as evil as a demon and more terrifying than a ghost under the bed. It was said to be the size of a mountain and its voice was so powerful that it could be heard from a great distance. Additionally, it was said to have magical powers that the demon himself gave him, such as healing and summoning the dead. It was a monster that dwelled on a mountain near a town called Singing Throat. "So does that dragon kill everyone who goes there?" asked the frightened adventurer. "Yes, yes, yes. If you go there, I recommend you do it stealthily because there...," he pointed to the top of the mountain, "no one can save you, man." The adventurer nodded. "Oh, and... Uh... One more thing, someone like you was just there recently, so if you survive and find the corpse, please bring it here. Although, in fact, several of the villagers have decided to attack it this afternoon. It''s time to end that demon once and for all. Do you want to come with us?" The adventurer shook his head, deciding that he was going to kill the dragon alone; he had already killed similar beasts before and wouldn''t need help now. He thanked the man and started walking towards the summit. Along the way, he saw the remains of many like him, people with the goal of killing the dragon. Many seemed to have been burned alive; others, eaten. Upon reaching the summit, he noticed a cave where the dragon must be hiding. He entered without the need for a torch, as the cave itself had many cracks that caused good lighting. He walked a few meters until he saw what he thought he would find, the corpse of a fully burned muscular man and a dragon. The dragon wasn''t that impressive. Its skin looked like Prussian blue scales, red eyes, four legs, and a long tail. Its two wings also had scales, and claws probably longer than a child''s arms. It looked furious but with a slight disappointed look. Smoke was coming out of its nose and both corners of its mouth with sharp fangs. The adventurer slowly drew his sword, and with a slight squeak it caused, the dragon turned its gaze to the man. He, of course, opened his eyes wide and held the sword tightly in his hands. The dragon narrowed his eyes, sighed, and curled up with his back to the adventurer. This surprised the man, so he approached the dragon. The beast did nothing. The adventurer checked if the other human in the cave was indeed dead... He was... The dragon still did nothing. "Is everything okay?" asked the bewildered adventurer. "Did you come here for that?" asked the dragon. "For what?" "To ask if everything is okay." "Well..." before he could answer, he was interrupted by the dragon. "Did you come here to kill me or not?" "Yes, but I thought you would attack first," said the man, lowering his sword, not disappointed, just confused. "Honestly, I have to admit that I have lost interest. Actually, I don''t harm anyone. They come to harm me," he said, raising a paw and pointing one of his claws at the dead adventurer. "I see... I understand..." replied the man, looking at the corpse. "I''m sorry..." "Sorry? Why are you apologizing?" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "W-Well, I didn''t think this would happen, usually you... Well... You know... Like to kill." "Have you ever wondered why we live in caves in the mountains instead of being close to towns?" "Because you like high places?" "No...!" the dragon made a small pause and said, "Actually, yes, but that''s just my case. Most of us do it to stay away from you." "Stay away?" "Exactly. You humans have this strange belief that we are the embodiment of evil itself. We''re not! We''re just a species that happens to be a little larger than you and just because of that, you hate us," he replied, getting upset and standing up. The adventurer took three steps back reflexively. The dragon noticed this and sighed again. "I''m sorry... It''s just that... I''m tired of all this..." "I... I imagine you are..." the adventurer observed the floor thoughtfully and remembered something. "Don''t you want to go to a place where there are only dragons? I heard there''s a place like that to the east." "Really? That would be good. I think that way I''ll leave you alone..." he responded more calmly. "And if you like this place, I could tell the village that you''re not a threat." The dragon opened his eyes wider than he ever had. "I... I don''t think..." "We should try, shouldn''t we?" Before the dragon could answer, they started to hear several voices. They were several villagers with one goal: to kill the dragon. They were proudly singing the kingdom''s anthem, which mainly dealt with the killing of dragons. "Oh no..." said the adventurer, looking at the entrance of the cave. The dragon bared his teeth, and more smoke started to come out of his nose. "No, wait! I''ll talk to them, you''ll see they''ll leave you alone," he quickly exclaimed, dropping his sword. The dragon looked at him suspiciously; however, he sighed once more and nodded. The adventurer smiled and left the cave. There were many residents of Singing Throat there. "You''ve come to kill the dragon." "Yeah, yeah, yeah! Unless you''ve already done it, if you have, we''ll definitely have a big celebration in your name," replied the man who had given him the information about the dragon at the beginning of his adventure. "No, I haven''t done it." "Why not?" "Because that dragon is innocent!" "What?" "That dragon just wants to live here in peace. Adventurers like me have come and wanted to hurt him, he only defends himself... If you stop attacking him, he won''t..." the adventurer stopped speaking as he felt something sharp in his chest. It was a sword. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it''s obvious... It''s obvious that this dragon also controls people''s minds with his magic powers! That''s why he''s so dangerous. Look what they did to this poor man," said the villager pointing to the adventurer already on the ground dying. All the people nodded, determined to kill a monster that day. They started to approach the cave when suddenly fire started to come out of the cave, burning many alive and scaring the others; however, the dragon made sure not to harm the adventurer. He quickly took him with both of his hind legs, being careful not to hurt him with his claws, and flew east, away from that cursed village. They arrived at a small cave. The dragon placed the adventurer on a rock to rest. "It hurts... A lot..." he said, pressing his hands to his wound. "I''ve heard you have healing magic powers... Is that true? Can you help me?" The dragon looked at the man and lowered his head. "Is that another one of the rumors you humans have about me...? No, I''m sorry." The adventurer, now very pale from losing so much blood, sighed defeatedly. "No, it was me who thought that humans would be good..." The dragon looked into the adventurer''s eyes. "Actually, I used to think that all of you were demons that had come out of Hell..." The creature paused and continued. "But now I know that there are people like you. Despite the fact that you came to kill me, you saw that there was something different about me." "Heh..." The adventurer was already losing consciousness. "I guess you''re right..." And so, the adventurer closed his eyes for the last time. The dragon followed the adventurer''s advice, flying eastward toward a better future. ANGEL Manuel, at the age of 3, saw an angel, and his parents didn¡¯t believe him. That was obvious, I mean his parents'' disbelief, not the angel. His parents never believed a word he said; after all, he was just a child, so why believe a child? I remember once they took him to a psychiatrist because Manuel spent so much time with the angel. They had conversations, simple for a small child; nevertheless, they were conversations. He talked about that with the psychiatrist, about what they talked about. The child told him everything. He said that the angel told him that God loved him and would never leave him alone no matter what happened, that he would always help and take care of him. He told him to respect his elders and be honest, kind, and generous. The child, of course, obeyed. In the end, the psychiatrist said nothing was wrong with him and that he simply had a good imagination. I always thought that psychiatrist was terrible at his job and even told his parents that, but they were satisfied, so I didn¡¯t interfere anymore. Another time, I was told that something horrible had happened to Manuel. At first, I thought the angel¡¯s voice had told him to jump off a bridge or something like that; however, they told me that the angel existed. Well, actually, they told me that it was a demon with him. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They told me he was up a tree trying to pick an apple, slipped, fell¡­ But didn¡¯t hit the ground. From that moment, his parents believed, but not what he said, rather what they wanted to believe: A demon. They contacted many people to get rid of the demon, so many that I can¡¯t remember who they were, no one succeeded. The child insisted; but, his parents didn¡¯t listen, after all, he was just a child, so why believe a child? There were people who started experimenting on him. I remember once they tried to cut off his hand¡­ the knife broke! They tried to hit him¡­ they felt the pain! They insulted him¡­ he seemed not to hear. His parents also tried to deprive him of food and drink for several days¡­ he never felt hungry or thirsty! They locked him up for months, and the child, when he wanted to leave, appeared outside the place where he was held. Several government people decided to lock him in his house and destroy it with explosives¡­ His parents didn¡¯t object¡­ I hope by this point you know what happened in the end. Finally, after countless horrific experiments¡­ the child remained as happy as ever! No one ever knew what was happening with Manuel, and they never will, but today he is still happy because of the angel who watches over him. He doesn¡¯t need anyone else. J U S T I C E On September 18, 2019, 12-year-old Amaya Castro was murdered near Turrialba, Costa Rica, in the middle of the forest. Her body was found three days after she disappeared, 12 kilometers from where she was last seen. There were evident signs of struggle, and the victim had undoubtedly suffered extreme agony throughout the ordeal. The main suspects in this act were a 53-year-old man named Erasmo Jim¨¦nez, who was with his 24-year-old son Ad¨¢n Jim¨¦nez, both laborers, who had been seen near the crime scene. Since the village where the events took place had very little communication with the outside world, the inhabitants decided to take justice into their own hands. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. On September 22, 2019, both father and son were put on trial and found guilty. As punishment, they were stoned and beaten, mainly by the men of the village, although the women also participated in the stoning. When the police asked who was responsible for the murder of the two men, they received no response other than a simple, "I don''t know, but they deserved it." On November 13, 2019, a new murder occurred, causing the village to realize that the men they had killed were probably innocent. At the end of this story, the village discovered that the murderer was a 76-year-old man named Samael Madrigal, who did not speak with any of the villagers and had no family. He was caught and taken to prison but not killed. For good behavior, he was released from prison at the age of 85. TICK-TOCK Tick-tock. That was the only sound echoing throughout the classroom. The clock mercilessly ticked away, leaving many students behind, ticking like a time bomb. The exam had started 40 minutes ago, and only one student had managed to finish. There were still 40 minutes left until the test would end. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. One of the students, new to the school, dropped a pencil, causing a loud noise that probably echoed across the country. Speaking of which, "Who made the country''s flag?" one of his classmates wondered, eyeing the fallen pencil. That wasn''t a question on the exam; this was a Mathematics test. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Now there were 30 minutes left. Time was faster than light, but that wasn''t a topic covered in Mathematics. What did they cover in Mathematics? Out of nowhere, a student accidentally tore a page while trying to erase their previous answer; however, they realized that answer might have been correct too. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. A younger student took a sip from his water bottle; it didn''t quench his thirst. 20 minutes. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock. A phone rang in the classroom, playing an old song; it was the teacher''s phone. Everyone lost focus. 10 minutes. TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK. One student glanced at the clock; fed up with it all, he left most of the exam blank; others followed suit. 5 minutes. TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK. Only one more student managed to finish. The teacher didn''t give any extra time. A loving, terrifying, deathly, tragic, and chaotic story All the characters you will see in this tale die in the end. It''s a rule that few people take into account, but it will become reality one way or another. This story begins with a hitman and drug dealer named Alejandro. Alejandro was a simple person with unremarkable goals. His appearance was the most common you could imagine in a person; he had short black hair, brown eyes, and an average height. His job was, for him, sometimes boring and routine. However, that day he wasn''t entirely sure about what he had to do. The task was simple: Kill a guy named Jos¨¦ David Hern¨¢ndez Alvarado, who lived in Cot of Oreamuno, Cartago, specifically on Central Avenue, near the local Ebais, in a house of the same sad blue color as the Ebais. The problem was the reason he had to kill him; his boss had met Jos¨¦ David on the street and accidentally bumped into him, leaving a grudge in his boss. Alejandro, while on the bus heading to the man''s home, remembered exactly what his small-headed, bulging-eyed superior had said when he questioned the morality of the job. "Look, dude, in this world there are two types of people: Those who keep quiet and those who bite. I''m a real dude. I don''t give a damn how that bastard feels, and I don''t give a damn how it will end. In my world, if someone gets thick, I smoke him smoothly and that''s it... That''s what happens for living so long on this earth, you see? I know how things are, so I know how not to screw up with people who promise goods." And as he kept thinking, Alejandro had already arrived at the house. He observed it and looked behind him, a somewhat familiar pink Spark passed quickly on the street, but he didn''t give it much importance. He knocked on the white gate several times and shouted. "Upe, good afternoon!" he said while scratching his head. His call was interrupted by the appearance of a homeless man to his left. The man, who seemed to be in his sixties, wore the strangest hat Alejandro had ever seen, so strange that even I can''t describe it. The man, without preamble, approached him and asked. "Hey, pura vida! Do you have some money you can give me, please? I haven''t eaten in days, and I don''t think I can last much longer...." "Emm... No, forgive me..." Alejandro replied. "Ah, mamapicha..." the strange-hat man responded and continued on his way. Alejandro looked confused at the old man as he walked away down the street in front of the house; for a moment, he thought he saw a strange shadow falling near the homeless man, but he didn''t give it much importance. While doing this, the door of the house was opened... Or at least half-opened; but it was clear who was inside, as well as the sound of what he was watching on television: one of the most anticipated matches in Costa Rica at that time. "Yes?" Jos¨¦ David asked monotonously, while looking at Alejandro with one of his eyes through the door. "Eh... Eh! Good afternoon, sir! My name is Pablo, I''m from JASEC to conduct a small inspection in your house regarding the use of electricity in your... Well, in your house..." he lied while smiling falsely and awkwardly. Jos¨¦ David looked at the man up and down and vice versa. "Don''t you guys have uniforms? I thought you did..." "Eh... No," he replied bluntly. Alejandro''s target turned his head to check something behind him, inside the house, and turned it back once more to the man. Suddenly, he made a strange sound, took something next to the door, which was a small garbage bag, and vomited, scaring and disgusting Alejandro. "Oh, damn! Are you okay, sir?" the hitman asked, concerned. "Nothing to worry about. I think I ate something bad at a soda..." "Ah, yes, better rest then..." Jos¨¦ David nodded while wiping his mouth with a damp towel; but he opened the door and then headed to the gate. "Look, dude, I don''t feel well, and I''m not in the capacity to discuss right now. I know you''re not from JASEC, so I''d like to know what you want. Are you here to rob me?" Jos¨¦ David said, looking Alejandro in the eyes. This surprised Alejandro, but it indicated what he had to do. "Do you remember last week a man you bumped into?" "What...? No..." he replied, confused. "Well, he does remember... And he got pretty mad at you... He wants you dead." Jos¨¦ David raised an eyebrow, looked at the ground, and scratched his head. He didn''t remember anyone he had had any confrontation with, but he also didn''t remember if he had bumped into anyone or not. He didn''t know what to respond to that; he tried to say something several times, but no words came out of his mouth until he said: "Okay... So I''m going to die?" Alejandro, determined, shook his head while watching how the other man opened the gate to let him in. "No, but I need you to disappear for a while." "Disappear for a while?" "Yes, at least for now, so I can say I killed you and buried you somewhere." "Okay... That sounds good..." while he was talking, one of the house windows shattered, and the indistinguishable sound of a gunshot was heard, which maybe caused the screams of the whole neighborhood, as screams were heard everywhere. Alejandro quickly looked behind him, and the only thing he saw clearly was a strange hat. He grabbed the arm of who used to be his target, and they entered the sad blue house. Inside, the first thing there was a living room with a table and a television, which was on, connecting to the kitchen and a hallway leading to bedrooms, probably. The hitman turned the table on its side and hid there with his ex-target. "Oh, damn! Oh, damn! Oh, dude!" Jos¨¦ David shouted repeatedly. "Calm down, calm down. I have it under control," Alejandro spoke while pulling a gun from his jacket. "Everything is going to be fine..." "Goal! Yes, unbelievable, we''re 3 to 1, in the first half!" Jos¨¦ David said suddenly, giving a little explanation as to why screams were heard for the gunshot when there was no one on the street. "Mr. Jos¨¦, it''s not the time to say those kinds of things right now!" the hitman shouted while grabbing the man''s shoulders. "Oops, sorry..." he replied, embarrassed. He looked for a moment behind Alejandro and screamed, "He''s there!" Alejandro turned and saw how the homeless man tried to shoot them several times without success, as his gun had no more bullets. The hitman took advantage of this and shot him in the stomach, making him fall backward from the impact of the bullet; meanwhile, another goal was scored, and the whole neighborhood screamed with excitement. Both men stared at the homeless man, stupefied, breathing loudly. "Okay... Okay..." Alejandro scratched his head with the hand without the gun. "Okay... I''m going to ask you not to call the police... I''ll get rid of him..." "Okay..." "Okay." The hitman slowly stood up and stopped looking at the strange-hat man for a second to check the front door; there were his boss and work colleague. "Oh... Mr. S¨¢nchez... Nice to have you with us!" Alejandro said, extending his arms, but completely terrified. "How did you get here?" His boss, Isaac S¨¢nchez, nodded to the broken window of the house; next to it was Tob¨ªas, a colleague of Alejandro, Isaac''s companion; on the other side of the window, you could see a pink Spark. "Did you guys come in that thing?" Jos¨¦ David asked, peeking over the fallen table. "Yeah, is there a problem, dude?" Isaac declared in an angry tone. "Well, I didn''t expect the guys who were going to kill me to transport in..." "What...?" before continuing, he looked at Alejandro and then back at his mortal enemy. "Dude, the color doesn''t matter... Dude, for example, there are a lot of chicks who wear pink, and they''re total bitches!" "Yeah..." "Alejandro, dude, why didn''t you kill this bastard?" Isaac asked, changing the subject. "Well, it''s just... I don''t see it right..." Isaac raised an eyebrow, confused. He looked at Tob¨ªas for a moment and then back at Alejandro. "Dude, it doesn''t matter, kill him!" he responded, pointing at the man. "But..." "Be stubborn, asshole! Get into it!" Before proceeding with his rant, Isaac was punched by Alejandro in the chin, making him fall to the ground. Isaac''s companion didn''t move a muscle to help him, so both men started fighting on the cold ceramic floor. The battle looked quite uncomfortable, to be honest, as it was impossible to tell whose body parts belonged to whom. However, it was clear that Isaac was winning, being more experienced and larger than Alejandro, plus having a "saber" that gave him an advantage. The man with bulging eyes got on top of Alejandro and hit him hard on the head, leaving the hitman dazed; this prompted Jos¨¦ David to defend his savior despite never having fought in his life. Jos¨¦ David grabbed a wooden chair near the table and struck Isaac with force. This caused the chair to break into several pieces and the man with bulging eyes to fall unconscious on top of Alejandro. Quickly, he took Alejandro''s gun and pointed it at Tobias, who, in response, raised his hands without much enthusiasm. "Don''t worry about me," Tobias said calmly with the serious look he usually gave everyone. Alejandro, removing Isaac from on top of him, stood up and nodded. "He won''t do anything to us, but we have to get out of here..." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Where to?" asked Jos¨¦ David, lowering the gun with distrust. Alejandro looked at his stomach and could see a bloodstain slowly getting bigger; Isaac had wounded him with his small knife. "Ouch... I think to a hospital..." "There aren''t any in Cot... Maybe the Ebais?" "No... I don''t think the Ebais will help me much, they don''t do that... Oh, God, it hurts a lot!..." "Well, maybe not, but it''s the best we have..." "Is it close?" "About two blocks..." "Is it uphill? I don''t think I can walk much..." "No... Just a few slopes, but technically it''s downhill... More or less..." "More or less?" Both men left the house, leaving Tobias alone with Isaac and what seemed to be a homeless man''s corpse. The man sighed and approached the guy with the strange hat; he liked the weapon he was carrying, a revolver to be precise. Coincidentally, he had one just like it with the same bullets; but he was more interested in the design of the homeless man''s. It was red, with a name engraved on it: "Tobias." He liked this even more, took it, and exchanged its bullets with his new gun. While the man contemplated the gun, Isaac slowly got up from the floor, rubbing his head, trying to ease the pain. "Where the fuck did they go?" he asked angrily and confused. "An Ebais..." "And why the fuck did you let them go, dumbass!?" "They pointed at me with a gun..." "Fuck you, man!" "Okay..." "Man, cut the crap! Why the fuck do I have you if you''re useless? Son of a bitch, get the fuck out... Bring the car and fuck off!" Isaac responded, ignoring the fact that, in reality, Tobias had no excuse. Tobias didn''t reply and simply headed to the Spark. He opened the door, got in, and started the engine; however, he didn''t approach the house, just looked at the street. Finally, he decided; he was already bored. He pressed the button to open the car''s trunk and got out, walked to the trunk, and took an object out of it. Meanwhile, Isaac, who had regained some balance, observed the homeless man for a moment, feeling he had seen him move. Nonetheless, he didn''t pay it any attention and headed to the house''s main door. Suddenly, just outside, he felt a sharp pain in his chest that made him scream; at the same time, someone had scored a goal in the match, causing a series of similar screams. Isaac looked at his chest and saw an axe embedded in it. He looked at the person holding it and saw it was Tobias... Isaac fell dead. Meanwhile, Alejandro and Jos¨¦ David were walking to the Ebais, not encountering a single soul on the street, showing the great attendance of Costa Ricans to that important match in history. "I want to thank you for this, so... Thank you very much, um... Pablo or Alejandro?" "Alejandro..." "Thank you very much, Alejandro! You''re a good person, you know?" "I wouldn''t say that... You weren¡ät the first they hired me for..." "But I was the first you stopped for. That''s a big step! Not everyone admits that sometimes they shouldn''t follow orders... The good thing about life is admitting that we make mistakes but can improve!" "Heh... I guess you''re right..." for a moment, he fell to the ground, but Jos¨¦ David helped him up, putting Alejandro''s arm over his shoulders. "Don''t worry, man, we''re almost there, okay? Everything''s going to be fine, I promise..." And finally, they arrived. Upon entering, they found a very nervous receptionist, who got even worse when he saw Alejandro enter. "Good evening! Everything okay?" the receptionist asked, smiling, trying to act like the man''s wound was none of his business. "Um... No. I need help... Don''t you have someone to take care of this?" "Yes...! But today they got sick... So no!" "Can you call an ambulance?" "Yes!" And so it was. The ambulance would arrive in 15 to 20 minutes... Probably 20 due to congestion. "And how are you feeling?" the receptionist asked Alejandro, who was bleeding in a chair, next to Jos¨¦ David. "Not very well, man..." "Take it easy, they''ll be here soon." "Thanks..." "And... Aren''t you going to say where that came from?" "No." "Well... You know? I like to talk a lot... It''s fun! So... Since you''re not going to tell me what mess you got into, I''ll tell you one of mine!" Alejandro and Jos¨¦ David sighed at the same time. Jos¨¦ David''s illness started to resurface as soon as his adrenaline dropped. The receptionist began his story... "You see, I really like a werewolf... No, I think that''s not how you say it... Werewoman? Sounds weird, but seems right... The thing is, she''s really good. S-She''s pretty, but at the same time I''m insecure about dating her. It''s not because of her, rather it''s because of me... I mean, what if I make a fool of myself in front of her? I''m usually annoying, and people don''t like me, but I really like her... But, what if I ruin it!? ''Oh, I don''t know, Daniel, have confidence in yourself and everything will be fine.'' But, what if I become overconfident and become an egocentric son of a bitch!? ''It won''t happen, Daniel, relax... But if it does, it''ll be your fault and you''ll deserve to be abandoned.'' And that makes me so... Terrified of the future. I don''t know what I''ll do with myself, I don''t know what Valeria wants. Maybe I''ve misread the signs... Maybe not... Maybe she just wants me... But that''s even scarier because then I''ll have to maintain that image she has of me, and I don''t know if that''s me! You know?" Both men looked at the receptionist confused, mainly by the werewoman part, but empathetic. Jos¨¦ David responded. "Well, you won''t know until you try... Life is short, so it''s better to do something than nothing..." The receptionist nodded a little unsure, but not as much as before. "True, I''ll have to go out with her... I''ll ask her out when I see her... I wonder where she is. The last time I saw her, she was fighting against an anti-werewolf cult in America... What was the leader''s name?" Suddenly, a pink Spark stopped in front of the Ebais. Someone got out; it was Tobias. He approached and shot his new revolver, hitting the receptionist in the left eye. Seeing this, Jos¨¦ David grabbed Alejandro''s shirt collar and covered both behind the counter. This time there was another goal, causing the shot not to be heard thanks to the spectators'' cheers of excitement. "Oh, crap... Oh, crap!" Jos¨¦ Alejandro repeated over and over. "Shit!... I didn''t think he would come back..." commented the hitman, as he took his gun out of his jacket and checked the bullets. He had only used one, and the gun had eight. Tobias'' revolver, at least the one Alejandro thought the man had, had six bullets; one spent. "Tobias, you''re low on bullets! You know well you won''t get out of here alive... Better leave!" Alejandro shouted, hoping for a response from the man. Tobias, however, fired the five remaining bullets at the furniture, without harming any of the men. Alejandro took advantage of this and peeked out to shoot Tobias, Jos¨¦ David followed even though he had no weapon. However, he saw no one nearby. He stayed observing the place for a good eighteen seconds until he heard the sound of a revolver being reloaded... Tobias had entered through one of the building''s rear windows and reached where they were. "I have more bullets, so I recommend not making any sudden moves," he said casually, with the same serious tone as always. Both men sighed and turned around. Alejandro put the gun on the ground slowly and pushed it towards Tobias. "Thanks," Tobias replied, looking at the gun; it didn''t have as much style as his. "Why did you come back? Did Isaac force you?" the hitman asked. "No." "So what do you want from us?" "Nothing in particular." "Then why are you attacking us!? I never did anything to you..." "It''s not personal." "But... I don''t understand... At least tell us the truth... Tell us what you want..." Tobias looked a little confused at both men, who seemed exhausted and very scared. After this, he looked at the street and his pink Spark, thinking. "The truth...? The truth is I do it just because I can... Does that sound so bad? Well, the truth is that our lives are short and absurd. Strange situations like this happen all the time; people die for stupid reasons and others live fully by mere coincidences. We create gods, laws, science, and philosophies to rationalize it, but deep down we know everything happens without any specific reason. It''s nothing personal from the universe; heck, it probably doesn''t even know we''re living in it. We''re just alive because of a series of elements that were bound to come together, sooner or later. So, the truth is we will never really understand how everything works. The truth is we spend so much time trying to find meaning in our actions that in the end, we don''t do anything significant in this world. That¡¯s why I know when my time comes, I''ll be satisfied because I''ll have done everything I wanted. The truth is, it''s all about making the decision you think is best for you, and for me, getting rid of you and not being recognized will be the most convenient. That way I''ll save myself future problems and live in peace... Don''t take it personally, I have nothing against you other than a slight conflict... The truth? All I wish is that you lived your lives as satisfactorily as possible. And if you haven''t? To be honest, it¡¯s not my problem." This little monologue was the first time Alejandro had heard Tobias speak more than a sentence, but it explained some things he had seen while working with the man. However, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud. It was the homeless man. "That revolver is mine, you bastard!" he shouted as he punched Tobias with his fists. "They gave it to me! It''s mine, mine, mine!" The punches continued until Tobias shot the man in the arm. The homeless man fell away from him and ran towards the street, where he collided with a young woman who was about to enter the clinic. "They gave it to me from the sky! It fell..." he said, raising both arms despite the pain in his arm. "Right in front of me... Like they had done before!" The homeless man looked at something in the sky and started laughing. The woman also looked at the sky, seeming like it wasn''t the first time she had seen whatever was up there. "It''s them! They''ve finally come to visit me once more..." Little by little, his body began to rise as if gravity had reversed where he stood. And quickly, his laughter stopped being heard; the only thing that could be seen was a strange hat falling to the pavement. The woman remained there. "Daniel? I think this has been a shitty day..." she commented as she walked towards the small reception. Upon setting her eyes on the three men, she was puzzled not to see her friend. "Daniel?" She looked at the ground and saw him. Daniel had a hole where his eye once was. After this, she looked at Tobias and recognized the weapon he was carrying. "You!? You¡¯re one of them!" she yelled angrily, pointing at the man. Tobias raised an eyebrow upon hearing such a comment, and raised the other when he saw the woman transform into a wolf-like beast. It was the first time Alejandro had seen Tobias impressed by something. "Ah, damn..." Those were his last words before dying, being mutilated by the wolf woman... Following this, she slowly and angrily approached the other two men, who were in shock, until Jos¨¦ Alejandro spoke. "He was going to ask you out... I''m really sorry... Truly..." The monster stopped... Ten minutes later, the ambulance had arrived, and everyone, including Daniel, who had miraculously not been hit anywhere important other than his eye, was inside. The woman was back to being human and wearing new clothes she had taken from Tobias. She had explained her story and why she reacted that way upon seeing the weapon. She deduced that it had reached the homeless man thanks to whoever those beings from the sky were, and she deeply regretted what had happened. Alejandro and Jos¨¦ David explained the situation to her and how they had gotten to where they were. The conversation ended with this: "Damn, what a shitty day," Valeria commented, stroking the arm of the unconscious Daniel. "You can say that again..." Alejandro replied. There was a silence that lasted a few seconds until Jos¨¦ David said... "At least Costa Rica won the World Cup... That won''t be seen for another thousand years..." "True," Valeria replied. "He''s right," Alejandro replied. "Miracles happen!" the ambulance driver replied, having listened to the entire conversation. TRIXCAM.com TRIXCAM.com was a website designed for men and women worldwide to participate in their own live pornographic shows. The site was shut down after the recording of a live death of one of its members. Her name remains unknown to this day. Her pseudonym was ¡°KalypsoGambles.¡± Kalypso used to visit national parks in her country from time to time to have sex with men, situations she broadcasted live for over 100 viewers to watch. She usually charged a fee of $25 to give her location so the buyer could come to her; however, this practice was not conducted at the beginning of her career. The highest number of people she invited to one of these events was 19, and she managed to get them all to come within less than two hours (including breaks). Her last broadcast was on March 6, 2017, in an unknown location. It started like any other show, with her greeting the viewers and having small conversations with them as the donations increased. However, no one was paying the necessary $25 to be invited to the location. This was nothing new; it wasn¡¯t the first time the show didn¡¯t necessarily lead to sexual relations, and Kalypso knew how to handle that situation: she gradually removed her clothes. At $10, she took off her coat; at $25, her blouse; at $50, her pants; at $75, her bra; and finally, at $100, her panties. While using her vibrator (activated according to the amount of donations), several viewers managed to notice something behind her: a grizzly bear. It was approaching her slowly, without her realizing it, until it was about five meters away from her; that¡¯s when its growl was heard. Kalypso looked behind her, startled, dropping the vibrator. Upon seeing the bear, she slowly backed away while raising her hands to her waist, pointing at the bear as if trying to calm it with the gesture. "Easy... Easy..." she said in a clearly stressed tone. "Please, no..." The bear slowly walked towards her, growling louder; the animal, which appeared to have a knife mark in its left eye and what seemed to be a fairly recent bullet wound on its right paw, sounded angry and eager to kill. It opened and closed its mouth, drooling profusely, saliva dripping onto the ground. The grizzly''s head lowered, and its ears went back. Noticing this, the woman quickly turned around, grabbed the cell phone she was recording with, which was in her path, and started to run. After this, it¡¯s not exactly clear what happened as the camera moved uncontrollably; however, it can be inferred that Kalypso, while fleeing, fell under the roots of a tree and broke her left leg. There, the bear only managed to reach her right foot, which it tore with its paws, exposing the bone. The cell phone fell far from her, in fact, it landed outside the hole in the tree, near the grizzly, removing the possibility for the woman to call someone for help. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Kalypso screamed for help for about 45 minutes. No one heard her. Slowly, she probably realized she was going to die and couldn¡¯t do anything about it. The bear was still there, trying to get at her as if its life depended on it. There was a moment of silence, and then her voice was heard once more. ¡°Is the broadcast still working? They haven¡¯t disabled it... Shit...¡± There was another moment of silence, but then she continued. ¡°Did you know I really like the name Kalypso? I chose it after reading about her in the Odyssey, in school... I really liked the name, but the Calypso with ¡®C¡¯ and ¡®I¡¯ had already been taken, so I put it as you see it now... I had a lot of fun doing this. I¡¯m not one of those women who regrets exposing herself like this to others, I knew what I was doing, I knew what it could lead me to do... But I was never afraid that something bad could really happen, at least not like this. My philosophy in this life was to do whatever I wanted, and I really felt great doing this... I like that people see me and say, ¡®You look great!¡¯ you know? I, a little before TRIXCAM, had very low self-esteem and... Well... Well... I found... A way to feel better. I felt... Loved, even needed. I liked taking pictures of what I did, and seeing that people cared... Visiting places like this and feeling that people wanted to be there with me... Accompanying me... And not just that, I also received good pay! Damn, I didn¡¯t need a second job anymore, I could live off this and not feel bad at all... A-A-And I had never felt more... Alive... But the real reason I chose the name Kalypso was because I identified with her... Even if she was a captor, I know what it feels like to be interested in someone and not get their attention... Damn, but that¡¯s not the only reason I created the account. I really wanted to try something new... I don¡¯t... I don¡¯t understand why it had to end like this!... I just want you to know that I was in this world and that I am a human being... My life has value!... And I don¡¯t want to die!... I don¡¯t want to!... Someone, please help me!¡± Screams were heard again. According to what was inferred from the recording investigation, the bear managed to reach her and bit her face, leaving her to bleed to death for several minutes. To this day, no one has found the woman¡¯s body, and no announcement has been made for her search. The Last Celebration of the Independence of Costa Rica The Independence of Costa Rica The following story you are about to hear can be found on the World Organization of Information or Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and it has not been confirmed or denied by any historian, as they currently do not exist. On September 15, 1821 (supposedly), the independence of Central America was proclaimed in Guatemala. Of course, there were no modern means of communication, so people found out through something very primitive called "speech," which, according to Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit, is "the realization of a language, that is, the individual act through which a person uses a language to communicate, crafting a message according to the grammatical rules and conventions shared with a specific linguistic community." For this reason, Costa Rica, which was a country from 1821 until 2053, found out on October 13, less than a month later. Here we introduce our protagonist, Calasancio Heradio de la Gloria de Jes¨²s y los Dolores de la Encarnaci¨®n de los Santos. He was an ordinary peasant who had no more problems in the world than diseases, like the common cold, which could kill him within three days of contracting it, and not having enough money to feed his family, which consisted of a wife, who was also his cousin, and 43 children, of whom 22 had died several days after birth. Calasancio was heading towards the nearest town, one called Spain. This was near another town called Cartago, which was the capital of Costa Rica from¡­ some year¡­ until 1823, when it was replaced by a town called San Jos¨¦. The road was dirt (according to Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit, so it must be true), trees, which were woody-stemmed plants that branched out at a certain height from the ground, surrounded this road and filled it with green leaves, which fell from them. The man, like everyone else at that time, did not think about anything. This was because brains started to function from the year 2078 when Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit was declared the World Organization of Information and won the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, the Turing Award (Computer Science), the Abel Prize (Mathematics), the Fields Medal (Mathematics), and the International Prize for Historical Sciences. Upon arriving at the town, his friend Juanito (name shortened to reduce the length of the story), who was a street vendor, greeted him: ¡ª Heradio! How are you? ¡ª asked Juanito. ¡ª Very well, thank you. And thus ended the conversation. There weren''t many topics to talk about in those days. Author''s Note: I''ll continue tomorrow, I''m already very tired¡­ Despite only having written one page. Another Author''s Note (created two months after the first): Recently, Google, which was considered the New World Order since 2075, was overthrown by the History Rebels a few days ago. I fear this affected Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and it is no longer called that, currently its name is Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that only the History Rebellion can edit. However, the information about the Independence of Costa Rica has not been deleted/changed, so I can continue with the story. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. After finishing his business in the town, Calasancio returned home and lived until 1823, when he died in a civil war. THE END. Third Author''s Note: I don''t like this story¡­ I don''t understand why¡­ Something doesn''t sound right about all this. Why couldn''t people think or have conversations back then? Why is there no "speech" now? Why did Costa Rica stop being a country in 2053? Why isn''t there more information about this place elsewhere? Why did people die from something as simple as a cold? There are no answers on Wikipedia, nor anywhere else. People no longer remember this country. All the people, their lives, their history, were forgotten so quickly... Fourth Author''s Note: Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that only the History Rebellion can edit has now also been completely destroyed, I suppose from now on it will be called Wikipedia: the free content encyclopedia that no one will ever edit again. And not only that, the rebellion "accidentally" destroyed all the information that was there, so we have been left without history¡­ I hope we survive this. Updated ending of the story (found in the last notes of the author, who died in 2093 trying to steal information from the Great World Order of History): I apologize for being so ignorant, my readers. I have discovered new information about the Independence of Costa Rica, thanks to a historian, probably the last of his profession, who died of old age. He explained to me, through "speech," the last years of the country. Therefore, I have decided that this is a new ending to the story. The Last Celebration of the Independence of Costa Rica Before explaining what the last celebration of this day was like, we first need to explain how Costa Rica gradually disappeared. This event can be explained with three reasons: And with that clear, let''s read what happened in the last celebration of Independence... Nothing happened. There are no records of any celebration, except on channel 7 where one of the presenters said the following: ¡°Today, September 15, the Independence Day of Central America is celebrated. Congratulations.¡± He didn''t even said ¡°¡­of Costa Rica.¡± The next news after this was about the International Day of Democracy, established by the United Nations General Assembly on November 8, 2007. The end. DESERVED TORTURE from: Rafael Mora V. <[email protected]> to: "Anonymous Kidnappers Association" <[email protected]> date: Sep 21, 2025, 12:57 PM subject: DESERVED TORTURE sent by: xmail.com ?: Important message because it was sent directly to you Let''s start with something quick; I am going to torture a woman to death. Another thing, she deserves it. Now that we''ve gotten that out of the way, I''m going to describe in as much detail as possible how to do what I did without being discovered by the police. The first thing is to choose the location. Many people choose their basements, garages, or similar places. I honestly recommend a location outside civilization; maybe a cabin in the middle of the woods, which was my choice. If you can''t find such a place, the best option would be the sewers; there are many large enough places under civilization for this type of thing. Stolen story; please report. Now, the capture. I think one can take many liberties with this type of operation. In my case, I knocked on her door and hit her hard with a hammer on the head. Don''t worry, I know exactly where to hit to avoid causing more damage than I wanted. I tied her hands and feet with rope and duct tape; I recommend this if you know that one of you can''t handle it alone. After this, I took her to the cabin. The bitch was screaming to be released. It didn''t bother me; but if it happens, I recommend using duct tape. When we arrived, I put her in a chair and smiled. Here begins the fun part; so if you like listening to music, watching movies or series, you can do it without a problem. First of all, let me make a note here: If you are going to rape the person, try not to leave your fluids inside the victim; unless you are sure that it will not be discovered. In my case, I won''t do it mainly because I''m not interested in that kind of relationship with my own victim; her suffering is what I seek. Nails are a good starting point, especially if the person you''re torturing takes good care of them; I have a theory that these people are very proud. I used the same hammer as before, since I don''t have much money, even with my promotion. Next, you can move on to the tee Son of a bitch. What a fucking son of a bitch. I don''t know who he was sending this to, but just because they run over your dog, because they didn''t give the promotion to the REAL and ONLY candidate, is not a reason to KIDNAP HER. And one more thing, make sure she''s well tied up, this idiot doesn''t even know how to do that right, not even with a rope and duct tape! Phones are (not) the same as cellphones "Oh, that''s weird," Jimena commented as she looked at the corpse. In the library, everyone was staring at the dead body. He died as he lived; but no one knew how he lived, nor how he died. One moment he was alive... and the next, blood started coming out of his ears and he fell. "We need to call an ambulance. Who will do it?" asked Diego, a professor who was present. "The professor should do it," replied Sim¨®n. "I mean you." "I don''t want to use up my credit. Can someone lend me their phone?" he asked again, looking at his students. "Cellphone," said Olivia. "What?" the professor asked, confused. "Cellphone. It''s not a phone. The phone is the one with the little cord; the cellphone isn''t," Olivia responded. "I didn''t know that..." "Neither did I," both Sim¨®n and Jimena said at the same time. "Alright... But will no one lend me their...," he corrected himself, "cellphone?" "One doesn''t need credit to call 911," Jimena commented. "Oh... Well, I''ll call then..." No one seemed very interested in the situation; of the 23 students in the library, only the professor and these three students seemed slightly puzzled by the situation. The professor because he had to act, and the three kids out of mere curiosity. The others were talking about other things, unrelated to the corpse. However, there was someone else among them: a librarian, who seemed truly concerned about what was happening. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. While talking on his cellphone, Diego gradually realized the seriousness of the situation. The deceased wasn''t the only one in the country; apparently, a disease was affecting many places, causing death within minutes of infection. Meanwhile, Jimena, Sim¨®n, and Olivia were discussing the difference between a landline and a cellphone. Diego took this opportunity to leave the place and lock the door with the external bolt... No one noticed what was happening until another student, quietly listening to Katy Perry''s "I Kissed A Girl," dropped dead. The librarian watched in horror as this happened and quickly scanned the room, looking for the professor, but she realized the grim reality: the professor had abandoned them, and no one would survive this. She tried to warn everyone, but no one paid attention. "Wow... I wonder what''s going on," Jimena commented, somewhat disinterested. "I think they''re faking it; no one dies like that out of nowhere," Olivia replied. "What did they tell you in the end, professor? Professor!?" "Everyone, they recommend that we keep a distance from each other," the professor replied, observing everyone through a window. Many followed the instructions, but quickly gathered and continued talking indifferently. Sim¨®n, Jimena, and Olivia also conversed, keeping a distance between them. The librarian looked around anxiously, trying to communicate with some authority. Several students began to die one by one. Five, who were debating the origin of the disease with conspiracy theories, were among the first to die. Seven, who were watching chaos unfold around the world¡ªexplosions, fires, and protests¡ªthrough their cellphones, died next. Four students who tried to leave the place failed in their attempt and perished. Three, who were just chatting, also died. Only Olivia, Jimena, Sim¨®n, Diego, and the librarian remained. "It''s starting to smell bad in here. Do you think we can open the door now, professor?" Olivia asked, disgusted. "I don''t know... Maybe it''s still better not to." Hours passed, and the ambulance didn''t arrive because it had more important places to be. Days after this incident, the remaining three students, the professor, and the librarian returned to class. By that point, they had forgotten what had happened, but continued talking about phones and cellphones. The librarian, however, noticed that the disease had never left and probably wouldn''t, so she decided to do everything possible to raise awareness about the disease and the danger of forgetting it. The Condemned Cristel left that class with one of the deepest voids in her soul she had ever felt. Her world stopped so abruptly, everything felt in slow motion and her breathing couldn''t have been faster. She had heard of cases like this before, but never thought she would experience it herself. The young woman sat on a bench, where she usually met her boyfriend, and began to look at her hands and legs. She had never felt more disgusted in her entire life, everything around her was spinning. She didn''t know what to do, or maybe she did, but she was terrified of what would happen if she did it. She had no evidence, so how would she prove it? "Hey love! How''s it going?" Liam, her boyfriend, asked as he sat down beside Cristel, putting his arm around her shoulders. "They just won''t stop giving us assignments today, I''ve already got four! Four! It''s barely eleven-twenty in the morning, I don''t understand what''s happening today. I think all the teachers got together and decided to load us up with work for these days. It''s not fair! They should discuss these things in the countless meetings they have, decide who''s assigning what on which day and by when, and who''s next, but not all at once! You know? Oh, I started drawing..." During his rant, he noticed Cristel seemed distracted, perhaps more than usual. "Hey... Cristel! Are you okay?" he asked, raising both eyebrows since he couldn''t manage just one. Cristel looked at Liam with one of the most desperate and frightened looks any human had ever seen; she told him everything. Meanwhile, Daniel, a teacher with the most average face you could see on a man, was transferring attendance from a sheet to his computer when someone knocked on his classroom door. The man glanced at the small window in the middle of the door but couldn''t see who it was because a red curtain obscured his view. He stood up, straightened his pants, and went to the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted by what seemed to be Liam, one of his former students, with a very serious expression. "Liam! Good to see you! How have you been?" he asked, smiling at the young man. Out of nowhere, a second student appeared beside Liam, looking a bit concerned. "Sir, have you seen my cellphone? I think I left it here..." Ignoring the boy''s question, Liam looked Daniel up and down, and suddenly punched him in the jaw, continuing to hit him as he fell to the ground. Several students nearby, witnessing the attack, intervened with all their might. Liam struggled and shouted as they separated him. "Who do you think you are? Huh? How dare you touch her, you damn son of a...!" Liam was pulled away from Daniel and found himself in temporary detention in the library, while the same fate awaited the teacher, who was in a school meeting room with the principal and another person. The principal, named Dante Rodr¨ªguez Jim¨¦nez, but everyone called him Don Rodr¨ªguez, was reprimanding the teacher at that moment. "What do you mean you don''t know what''s going on!? You''ve gotten us into a huge mess, damn it! I have over twenty-one thousand messages in the WhatsApp parent group! There are students at the entrance wanting to leave school, there are parents at the entrance wanting to pick up their kids, nobody wants classes and there are many who just want to come in here and beat you up! It''s a complete chaos with no end! So don''t tell me you don''t know what''s going on because you damn well do. It''s a damn, complete, irreversible and inevitable disaster that you caused, and I don''t intend to give you an ounce of my empathy!" "I''m serious, I really have no idea what''s going on! That kid went crazy, he doesn''t know what he''s talking about!" "But he said you touched someone, Daniel. That doesn''t paint a good picture for us," commented Camila, a coordinator and counselor working at the institution, who was standing with crossed arms not far from the principal. "I know. But it doesn''t matter, because it didn''t happen! Just... Don''t call the police, okay? There''s no need to make this worse..." "Too late, we already did. It''s part of the protocol in these cases," interrupted Don Rodr¨ªguez, causing Daniel to sigh almost irritably. "Damn..." Meanwhile, a student named Jacob was watching a video of the earlier commotion with a smile on his face. It was perfect. The young man began walking towards a classroom and sent a message in a WhatsApp group called "Colegiando". A few minutes later, six more students were in the same classroom; all of them were watching the video. "Look at this. Look closely. What you''re seeing is a building success for us! I''m talking about the news that will save us from being replaced by another club... These two just started punching each other not too long ago," said Jacob, pointing to Daniel and Liam on his phone. "Why? We don''t know, but what we do know is that everyone is like us: No one knows what happened between Professor Daniel and that student. We only know that the professor is currently in trouble with the principal and the other one is locked in the library. So I want all of you to go out there, talk to everyone, and find out the reason for this scandal! Let''s be a success, got it? A success!" "But... Isn''t that taking advantage of something bad happening right now? Couldn''t we talk about it when everything has already been cleared up?" asked one of the students, Carlos to be exact. "Of course not! That''s the point. Look, we''re a journalism club. We''re The Journalism Club! As such, our duty is to inform the masses about what''s happening in school. We have to talk about this now, my dear, if we don''t, when we do, we''ll be the laughingstock of the school for doing it too late, instead of informing the situation when it was time, we''ll literally be wiped off the map. And why? Because no one reads newspapers! We''re a joke right now and the principal is looking for any excuse to get rid of us. We have to use this or else every single one of us will die! So go out there, find out all the mess going on, and come back here with a news success. Let''s go! Go, go, go, go!" And so, each of them began asking questions to everyone; Jacob included, who went to the library where Liam was. However, he abruptly stopped upon seeing a teacher watching the door. "Oh, damn..." The young man changed his mind... Or maybe not? He remembered something; the small library had a window with louvers. With this information, he had an idea. He headed towards the back of the classrooms and walked to the library window, being careful not to be seen. Upon arrival, he saw Liam sitting in a small armchair inside, hands on his head, looking down; the librarian was nowhere to be seen. "Psst! Hey! Over here!" he whispered loudly enough for Liam to hear. Liam approached the window. "Who are you?" he asked, confused. "My name is Jacob, I work for the school newspaper, ''Highcooling''." "''Highcooling''? Is that even a word?" "Um... I don''t know." "Oh... Well, I''ve never heard of you guys..." "No one has... Listen! I''m running out of time, I don''t know when they''ll come for you, so I have some questions to ask. In the confrontation you had with that teacher, you said he touched someone, who was it?" Liam frowned and wrinkled his nose upon hearing that question. "Look, I already have enough problems, I don''t want to..." the student began to respond before being interrupted. "No, no, calm down, it''s just to inform others what''s happening... Look, these kinds of cases are very difficult for the victims, especially when the teacher seems innocent. My duty as a reporter is to show the true face of people. If we don''t do this, he might get off scot-free, just like that! Who did that bastard hurt, huh? You can tell me, I just want to help." Liam sighed, looking at the ceiling. He started thinking about Cristel, whom he had left in his class when he finished lunch, just before attacking the teacher. He thought about her, and in doing so, clenched his fists; he should never have done that. Liam knew she didn''t want to draw attention, as she usually preferred, but she did want to report her abuser. However, with his actions, the young man had thrown that idea out the window and made almost the entire school aware. He wasn''t going to make the same mistake again. "No, stop wasting my time," he said, walking back to the same armchair as before and sitting down, taking the same position he was in. Jacob exhaled, groaning, and left, aiming to find someone more receptive. Meanwhile, Cristel was in one of the bathrooms, trying to control her breathing. She felt like she was going to die right there, alone and helpless. It seemed like everything was falling apart, and she was about to be crushed by the weight of it all. It was a horrible feeling, invading her entire body, trapping her in fear and confusion so intense that not even her tears could escape. Everything seemed to worsen until Roberta, a fellow student, entered the bathroom. "Hey there! How''s it going? Taking a break too? Seems like everyone is," Roberta said with a slight laugh, pulling out a small bag of makeup from her bag. Cristel remained silent, still trying to control her breathing. "Yeah, well, you gotta take advantage of these breaks. I''ve been sweating all day, it''s unbelievable! Hate the sun... But hey, what can you do? Life throws some rough stuff at you sometimes. It''s a real..." She stopped short when she noticed Cristel suddenly burst into tears, leaving her startled. "Hey, hey. What happened? Did I say something wrong? I''m sorry, I didn''t..." "No, no... It''s not you, it''s just that..." Cristel tried to speak but couldn''t through her tears. "I-I just want to go home... I''m sorry, I..." "It''s okay, it''s okay. Let me call your home, okay? What''s the... What''s the number?" Shortly after, the police and Cristel''s mother arrived simultaneously, despite the call to her mother being made twenty minutes later than the one to the police. The officers took Daniel away, and Ava, Cristel''s mother, took Cristel home. Roberta, who had accompanied Cristel to the exit, scratched her head, confused, as she watched both cars disappear into the distance. "Hey! Roberta, right?" someone suddenly asked. It was Jacob. "Oh, Jacob! Haven''t seen you since last year. Still doing that magazine thing?" "Newspaper," he corrected. "And yeah, actually, I think you know something I need to know for a story. How does that sound?" "How does it sound? Well, not great, to be honest, maybe..." She stopped when Jacob offered her ten thousand colones in his hand. "Well, maybe I do know a few things..." Meanwhile, Ava was talking to her daughter about what had happened. "So why did you call me, honey?" she asked. Cristel didn''t respond immediately; she was scratching her arms, leaving red marks but not drawing blood. "I... There''s a teacher... He... I didn''t... Well... He... He touched me..." Before she could continue, Cristel abruptly stopped as the car screeched to a halt. Her mother looked at her with astonishment and anger, not directed at her, of course. That''s when she began calling people from the school, the Ministry of Education, and child services. Soon after, they were at the nearest courthouse. A day passed. Cristel didn''t go to school, nor did Liam, who was suspended for twenty days and had to give a presentation against violence. Jacob, with Roberta''s help and their clubmates, published the newspaper and started selling it, causing a stir that summoned the principal to his office. "Good morning, Don Rodr¨ªguez," they all greeted upon entering. "Good morning. Please, take a seat," the man replied, pointing to a large chair in front of his desk. "Thank you," Jacob replied simply, adjusting something in his coat pocket, likely his phone. "So, what''s this meeting about, Don Rodr¨ªguez?" Upon hearing the question, the principal stood up and looked out the window. "I''m usually a calm man, kids. I''ve always loved this school since I arrived here eleven years ago; I aimed to improve it, make it the best of the best! However, that goal has been struck and crushed due to major reasons. Whether it''s the little money MEP gives us, the quality of the infrastructure left by the engineers when they built the place, cases like the current teacher... And cases like yours." Mr. Rodr¨ªguez turned his gaze back to the young people, serious and terrifying to everyone except Jacob. "You''re playing with burning and deadly fire right now, and that won''t be tolerated. Understood? Do you think you''ve simply reported a common crime? That''s not the case. You''ve put the school in serious trouble, and we can''t get out of it anymore. What you did is breaking the status quo, disrupting the economic balance, and destroying the school''s values. Death in person has come to take over the place, and you let it in. I''m not talking about literal death, but economic death. Do you know how many students join us every year? Five hundred, plus depending on the generation. That gives us the minimum, the minimum to survive. And then come the scholarships, which MEP doesn''t give us enough to fully satisfy. By publishing those kinds of articles, you not only compromise the school but also the people studying here. Your actions cost the school a lot financially. If students stop coming, we''ll go bankrupt. We''ll be shut down completely." This speech left Jacob indifferent, but Carlos was greatly affected. "Very well," Jacob replied, looking Mr. Rodr¨ªguez in the eye. "I understand what you''re saying. Of course." "I''m glad we''re on the same page," the principal said satisfactorily, before being interrupted. "But... The article has already been published..." "Yes, I know, and despite that..." "You don''t want us to continue publishing these kinds of things, of course. Although I also believe it''s important to follow up on this news. I don''t want to overstep my bounds; I know exactly what you didn''t like about the article, so I want to propose something." The principal didn''t respond immediately but appeared interested in the proposal. "I propose that we publish an article on how the school has handled the situation. This would, of course, be a continuation of today''s article, but it wouldn''t cast a negative light on the institution, nor on Cristel, who wasn''t even named in the previous one... And as I can imagine, I think that''s what the school needs right now... What you need... And your colleagues." The older man thought about it for a few seconds, causing Jacob to sigh and get up from his chair. He looked at his colleagues and gestured towards the door with his eyes. Everyone, except him and Mr. Rodr¨ªguez, left the room. "Listen, Don Rodr¨ªguez. You may want to help the school, but you need to realize you can''t help if the students are against you. No matter how much you show you want to improve things, if they''re against you, it''ll all go downhill quickly. How can you convince them to support you? Well, what do today''s teenagers want? They''ve been affected by all sorts of things¡ªfamily problems, poverty, especially here at this school, bullying, climate change, the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, national elections, and many more¡ªthey''re tired of seeing the world like this, they want something good in their lives. They spend hours on their own hobbies, watching series and movies, playing video games, reading, getting high, having sex or masturbating, trying to escape the sad reality; or maybe they do it for philosophical reasons, maybe they watch and analyze what they see, but at the end of the day, they don''t really aim to change things, because, truthfully, they don''t know where to start or they''re waiting for a Messiah to guide them. They watch pornography, despite hearing a million times that it''s bad for their minds, but they do it because they''re lonely, they need to see someone; even if that person is a million kilometers away or died years ago. They watch violent videos or listen to stories like that, they watch people being mutilated and tortured because they think they don''t feel anything, they believe they''re better than others, they believe they can endure such situations; or maybe they just watch it because... Well, ''there''s nothing else to do''. Sometimes they rebel against adults because they think their ideas and knowledge no longer fit today''s world, or they think it won''t work for their future. They take photos, alone or with their partners or friends, and post them as statuses, thinking someone cares, that somehow someone, somewhere, is interested in them. Some cry at night or want to, and they also want to scream, but they don''t because the person or people living with them are next to their room, or even inside it, and they don''t want to be an even heavier burden for those people... They need good news from time to time, Don Rodr¨ªguez, even if it''s half-truths or propaganda news. The world is built on lies. Whether it''s one to improve the world like... Christianity. Or one to make it worse like jihadism. You need one to make it better, so why not try?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The principal looked directly into the young man''s eyes, trying to find something, but he didn''t find it. "If I say yes... How long would it take you to do it?" Jacob smiled satisfied. "Give me 1 day," the young man replied. Rodr¨ªguez nodded, and Jacob walked to the door. However, before leaving, the principal asked. "How did the world end up like this? I don''t remember it being so..." "So tragic? I don''t know. Maybe it was always like this, maybe it got worse. I''m a reporter, not a historian, my job isn''t to analyze the world, just to talk about what happens in it." And that''s how the conversation ended. During that time, Liam took the opportunity to visit Cristel and apologize. When he arrived at the house, he stood still for a good thirty seconds before knocking, but he gathered courage and did it. Ava, his girlfriend''s mother, opened the door. "Oh, Liam, hello, how are you? Come in," greeted the woman, pointing inside the house. The young man entered, took a quick glance around; however, he didn''t see Cristel anywhere, so he turned his gaze back to the woman. "I''m fine, thank you... Is Cristel...?" "Here? Yes, in her room. You can go..." Before she continued, her voice was interrupted by the sound of an old song that Liam didn''t recognize; it was the woman''s phone ringing¡ªsomeone was calling her. "Oh, sorry, I have to take this..." Liam nodded, and Ava left. The young man took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and walked to his girlfriend''s room. When he reached the door, he knocked and heard her voice allowing him to enter. Upon entering, he saw her lying down, surrounded by several stuffed animals she had refused to sell because they were so precious to her. They looked into each other''s eyes for a short period of time, which felt like years. However, it wasn''t uncomfortable; it felt comforting, like seeing someone you haven''t seen in years. "I''m so sorry, love. I shouldn''t have... I''m really sorry..." Tears of guilt began to flow from Liam''s eyes. He had no explanation, nor excuse. He was just angry and did the first thing that came to his mind. Despite this, out of nowhere, he felt something embracing him; it was her. Her hair brushed against the young man''s chin, almost tickling him. There were no words, just a mutual agreement between them, and a kiss in the end. Meanwhile, Roberta was at school walking, as she spent most of her time, before being intentionally bumped into by two classmates who passed her on the other side. That wasn''t new, but it did irritate her as it usually did. The girl entered a classroom to attend classes. However, the last thing she received there was an exam with a low grade. It was unusual for her to see that, as she had studied a lot, really putting effort into several sleepless nights, trying to be the best to pass the exam, but in the end, all that effort was in vain. After leaving the class, she walked to one of the bathrooms, took the exam sheets, and tore them all in half, all at once; it was a 14-page exam. Finally, she had realized how angry she was. She didn''t know why or with whom, but she was going to make herself noticed one way or another. Eventually, she decided to do the same thing Cristel did, accuse a teacher at the school of abuse. She thought about it for a while and then decided to blame Jorge, her Chemistry teacher, even though he wasn''t her first choice, as she had previously considered her math teacher, but dismissed the idea knowing that no one would take her seriously if the abuser was a woman. That''s how she thought it, and that''s how she would do it. Shortly after meeting with the director, Carlos went to have lunch with his boyfriend. "I read in the chat that the director gave us the green light. How did you manage that, Jacob?" His boyfriend let out a small laugh and replied, "Let''s just say I told him what he needed to hear. That man is desperate; he knows the school needs money, so I made him an offer he couldn''t refuse." "Oh... I see... I still think we should have left her alone..." Jacob raised an eyebrow at this. "Leave who? Cristel? Well, these things happen. It was either us or an external news source. You know that, right?" "Well, I guess... But..." "Carlos..." Jacob leaned closer to his boyfriend. "You know, right?" Carlos looked at the other young man, uncertain for a moment, but nodded. In response, Jacob kissed him on the forehead and stroked his hair. "That''s my boyfriend," Jacob said, before being interrupted by Roberta''s arrival. "Jacob, I need you to cover a story." The mentioned young man raised an eyebrow, curious. "A story about what?" "A teacher," she replied, pulling down one sleeve of her coat, revealing a scratch mark and a bruise underneath. Jacob examined the mark on her arm, knowing it hadn''t been caused by a teacher. "Oh God, are you alright?" Carlos asked, concerned. "Is that the only mark?" Jacob asked, ignoring his boyfriend''s question. "No, I have more." "Alright, it''ll be done. Who did it?" Roberta smiled. Elsewhere, specifically at Cristel''s house, she and Liam were discussing what had happened in court. "So they can''t have a trial without evidence?" her boyfriend asked, angry and confused. "No... The Prosecutor''s Office wants evidence; I need something and... Well, he didn''t do anything that can be noticed..." "God..." Liam managed to say as he rubbed his face with his hands. "How is that even possible?" "For now, they''ve only issued a restraining order. He can only be within 100 meters of me or the house..." "I guess it''s something..." There was silence for a moment, until Cristel asked, "L-Liam?" "Yes?" "After all this, would you still see me the same way, or will it never be the same?" They looked into each other''s eyes. Liam stroked Cristel''s cheek, and she took his hand. "Cristel, love, listen. We''ve been together for two years; three if you count before we were dating. I''ve known you and I''ve known your mother, who, by the way, is a very good person... I didn''t fall in love with you out of pity; I fell in love with you because you''re the best woman I''ve ever known in my entire life... And, to be honest, you''re also very beautiful. I love you because you''re a real person, and a good influence on me, compared to... You know who... I love you because in this world full of bad people, I found something good: You, I found you. So no, I won''t see you differently and I won''t stop loving you. I''ll support you in every way I can, and I''ll never go far away." The two kissed. There didn''t seem to be any justice coming, but at least they would have each other... Until someone knocked on the door. "Cristel, could you please open up? I''m on a call!" her mother shouted from the kitchen. Cristel sighed and headed for the door. However, she stopped before opening it; she was scared. Liam noticed this, so he carefully moved her away from the entrance and then opened it. There stood a student, the same one who had left his cellphone in Professor Daniel''s class. "Hello... Uh... Is Cristel here? Or her parents?" Liam raised both eyebrows, confused. "Yes... Why?" As he asked, Cristel appeared behind Liam. "Oh, um... Hi. I, uh... I don''t know how to say this, but... Well, here it goes... No... I don''t know who I am. Every day I look in the mirror and I don''t recognize the person standing there. A scrawny, scared, pathetic teenager stares back at me, and I completely lose my ability to understand that it''s me. I''ve lied for so long, to others and to myself. I''ve lost my ability to discern between reality and lies, I no longer know what I''m supposed to be. I don''t know what my dreams and goals are. I don''t know who my family and friends are. I don''t know if I''m capable of doing some of the things I say. Half the time I don''t even know if the information I know about my past is true, or just something I made up to impress someone a year ago. What have I done to myself!? Who the hell am I!? What have I become!? I am the personification of a lie, and did I want that? I don''t remember anymore... But now I don''t want it! I''m sick of being the personification of a lie. I''m tired of not knowing what I should say to a person and what I shouldn''t. Confusing the story, my story. It''s a horrible feeling that won''t leave me alone, and probably never will. I just want to be alone... Focus on myself instead of what others think of me. Spend my life improving, being the person I want to be, not the person others see in me. I hate my life. I hate it so much because deep down, I know I''m not anything I''ve said in my life. So that''s what I''ll do. I''ll leave, no matter where. I just know I''ll leave, far away from people. Far from everything I know to create a new me in me. To hell with everyone else! I also have the right to live and I will! The thing is... I want to start that part of me by helping someone... You see, I''m bad at remembering things, especially classes, so... Sometimes I put them to record with my cell phone. That day, I left it right in the same class where everything happened, and I recorded... Well, it''s better if you listen to it..." And so, they finally got the proof Cristel needed so much. The morning of the next day arrived. The second article was published, but it wasn''t what Don Rodriguez expected; it was an article about another sexual assault, even worse than the previous one, naming Professor Jorge as the perpetrator. Not long after, Jacob was in his office. They stared at each other; the director with anger, the student with a mocking smile. "So, what''s this meeting about, Don Rodriguez?" Jacob asked, feigning confusion in his voice, but not on his face. "We had a deal." "Yes, we did." "Why didn''t you fulfill it!?" Don Rodriguez asked, raising his voice a bit. "It didn''t work for me." "What do you mean it ''didn''t work for you''?" "Yes," Jacob interrupted the man, "it didn''t work for me. I must admit I deceived him. I don''t actually think people want happy endings, what they want is justice... Not truly ''fair'' justice, more like revenge. Revenge for whatever they''ve received, no matter what. They enjoy seeing others suffer. They enjoy watching high-ranking individuals suffer, even if they''ve done things right. They want to feel they''re in control, even if they''re not. They want to believe they''re right, that they''re good, even if deep down, they know they''re the worst sort." "I''m going to shut down the journalism club," he said, trying to interrupt. "Oh, I don''t think that''s wise for you right now." "I don''t care what the students think now. I''m going to..." "But you do care about your job, don''t you?" Jacob responded, pulling out his cellphone. "Did you know the agreement we made the other day isn''t in your favor? You should''ve canceled us instead of doing what you did." On his phone, Jacob played an audio recording... It was their conversation with the principal the other day. Don Rodr¨ªguez was left speechless. "People are angry right now, that''s what they''ve been taught: ''Get angry and all your problems will be solved.'' It''s like in action movies, when they kill someone dear to the protagonist. The bad guys must pay, right? So they''re killed by the good guy... Ha... It''s so easy to say that in fiction... Sometimes people don''t realize reality is much more boring and complicated than that... Relax, I''ll write the article, just in my own time." With that, the conversation ended. The police arrived for Professor Jorge shortly thereafter. All of this while Roberta gave a speech in the middle of lunch, in the cafeteria. "I''ve been here for four years. In these four years, I''ve seen people''s true faces. Students are the future of humanity... And people like him!" she said, referring to the professor who allegedly abused her. "People like him terrify me about what might happen to us if we let our guard down! We spend nine hours and ten minutes in this place, nine hours and ten minutes! Five days a week, nine hours and ten minutes, we spend here, trusting that the people in charge will protect us. Protect us from the dangers of the outside world, protect us from the evil out there; however, they didn''t. They blame us for the school''s problems, blame our parents, but they also have responsibilities. And if they don''t fulfill the bare minimum they should, then why are we even here? They come and give us food that''s not good to eat, talk to us about things that won''t serve us in our future, fill our heads with ideas they shouldn''t, as if that''s how the world should work. That''s not how it should be! We have to form our own opinions, we have to defend our rights as human beings. We are just minors, for God''s sake, our lives do matter! So I want everyone to make themselves heard. I want everyone to make themselves heard! I want them to rebel against adults, go tomorrow, make their signs, and shout, ''We are just minors, for God''s sake, our lives do matter!'' I want everyone to come tomorrow, I want them to come to school and come in... I want them to come in, make signs, express their ideas and shout with all their might, ''We are just minors, for God''s sake, our lives do matter!'' I want them to shout it again and again and again! Together, no one can defeat us. Together, no one can destroy us. So I want them to rise up, come tomorrow, make signs, show their anger, and say with all their might, ''We are just minors, for God''s sake, our lives do matter!'' And we will keep doing it until the problems stop. And if they try to silence us? We''ll use our fists! And if they tear off our hands? We''ll use our feet! And if they take away our feet? We''ll roll around and make ourselves heard! But first, I want them to come tomorrow, make their signs, and shout with all their might, ''We are just minors, for God''s sake, our lives do matter!''" Gradually, all the students began to shout that phrase. It was a stampede of sound that reached more than 100 meters from the school, maybe even farther. Roberta had gotten the attention she so desired. Cristel, who had arrived at school that day, witnessed the entire event, and all she could think was, "What happened while I wasn''t here?" Later that afternoon, there was a call for all students to gather in the gym, to receive a brief speech from the counselor, Camila. "Good afternoon, students and teachers. We''ve seen that in these last few days there have been several situations that have left a great mark on the school, and I, along with the teachers, the principal, other counselors, and administrative staff, are here to tell you that we hear you. If at any time you''ve been victims of any kind of personal attack, the necessary processes will be done to improve and protect..." Before she could continue, the woman was interrupted by a student''s voice. "Take Professor Santiago away!" she shouted angrily. "And Professor Gabriel too! That old pervert doesn''t deserve to be in this institution!" "Arrest Don Rodr¨ªguez, he''s useless and doesn''t protect his students!" "Kill all those worthless perverts!" "Damn crappy school!" "Go to hell!" "Get rid of Mat¨ªas!" "They''re all bast..." The shouts continued, and the counselor gave no speech. Shortly after, Jacob met with the principal near the administrative office. "Jacob, come here for a moment, I need to tell you something." Jacob raised an eyebrow and approached the principal. "I''ve been thinking... I don''t care what you do with what you recorded, I''m going to shut down the journalism club," the man said with a smile. Jacob didn''t take him seriously. "Ha. No, seriously, why are you calling me? I think we''ve had this conversation..." "Yes. I know... But unfortunately, the Ministry of Education assessed my achievements and... Well, there aren''t many here it seems. They''re putting in a new principal soon. So, I don''t care much anymore, to be honest..." The young man lost his smile; Don Rodr¨ªguez was serious. "But don''t worry, Jacob, I''ll let you publish one last time tomorrow." With that, the principal left, leaving Jacob stunned. Nevertheless, he saw an opportunity. If Don Rodr¨ªguez left, the new principal could revive the journalism club. That was what he ended up believing, and it would be the only thing that would keep the club alive. Everything was going to continue as normal. At the end of the lessons, the journalism club was called together once again by Jacob, who, when they all arrived, began to talk about a great business opportunity. "That girl is definitely going to be useful to us. I see Roberta as our next big success, after the news of the fight. I see a woman who will speak about the faults and sins of this school! A Jesus among us who suffered for our sins. It''s incredibly sensational! And if we use her story, we''ll become her disciples. If we express what she thinks, we''ll be like damned Saint Peter for Christians, the fishermen of men of the Messiah! Ah...!" he said, crossing himself. "I can already imagine it. We''re going to earn thousands and thousands of colones for every student who reads it! I can already imagine how many people will come to join us! For now, I need you to find out everything about her. Invent that she was conceived without sex if necessary, but that she''s the holiest person on this earth, got it? Go, go." Everyone left the room except Carlos, who took a paper out of his pocket and handed it to Jacob, leaving the latter confused. "What''s this, Carlos?" "I''m going to quit the club..." "What? No... But why?" Jacob took the young man''s hands as he asked. "Because... Because sometimes I wonder if it''s good to be with someone who turned out to be as... as bad as you." Jacob, for the first time in a long time, was speechless; he simply let go of Carlos''s hands slowly. "W-Well... I... I''m sorry..." Jacob said, feeling a sense he couldn''t describe other than sadness and shame for himself. Carlos nodded, kissed him on the cheek, and left the room. Jacob was alone, completely alone... Until a young woman arrived at the door. "Excuse me, is this the journalism club?" The next day, Roberta was waiting for the protesters at the school gates, but no one came, everyone went to classes as usual, leaving her confused. On her way, she met Jacob, who was in a free period. "Jacob. What happened? Where is everyone? I thought..." "That everyone was going to join your little strike against the school''s wrongdoings? Yes..." "I don''t understand... Everyone was with me, I..." "You were important for a day... You know why I wrote about you in my newspaper in the first place, Roberta?" Roberta tilted her head, intrigued. "Because people were losing interest in the first news. The one that started it all. The fight... These days people can''t stand repeated news, they want something new. They''re used to their minds being caught by different information, every day, all the time..." "But..." "There was no difference with you. It was anger for a day, the next day there''s something new to read... Like this..." Jacob pointed to a newspaper lying on the ground. The front article was about her, and about the lie she had told. Apparently, a student saw her hurting herself and recorded it. "I-I was... I was..." Roberta repeated that phrase over and over, trying to make sense of it all. "Someone... For a day. No one the next. That''s how it works... That''s how it''s always worked in a world as damned as this one... For example, I recently found out that the new principal coming in is a friend of Don Rodr¨ªguez, so they''ll shut down my club anyway... Heh... It''s so stupid. I guess I brought it upon myself..." Jacob got up from his seat and, without saying a word, walked somewhere he didn''t even know where it would be. Several months passed. Professor Daniel was imprisoned thanks to the evidence against him. Professor Jorge, despite being proven innocent, was marked as a rapist for life. Roberta continued in her loneliness, as did Jacob. Carlos started to meet new people, in a different club, and finally, Liam and Cristel spent all the rest of the time together. Despite how crazy the world was, they were united to face it. Despite everything, they had each other, and that was what mattered. Fire in Cartago Fire in Cartago: Two deceased individuals were found in the aftermath of a fire in Oreamuno
The Fire Department responded to a house fire in the Oreamuno area at 3:33 a.m., where two deceased persons were discovered: a man and a woman. Early this Friday, March 13th, the Cartago Emergency Dispatch Center received a call from a neighbor of the deceased reporting a smell of "hellish smoke" coming from the house to their left. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Upon arrival, the fire unit found the house almost completely consumed by flames; however, they were quickly extinguished as previously mentioned. Unfortunately, the two residents of this house could not be saved. Additionally, neighbors have mentioned that the smell of burnt flesh lingered for several hours. The man was identified as Carlos Mora Rodr¨ªguez, 24 years old; however, the identity of the woman is still being investigated by authorities. According to the Fire Department report, most of the woman''s body, except for bone fragments and her right foot, was completely consumed by the fire. The area around the victim was covered in greasy soot, and it is believed that the fire started when the woman''s clothing caught fire from an external ignition source. Her skin was burned by this initial fire and began to melt her body fat, absorbed by the clothing, acting like a candle wick, continuously fueling the fire. The question remains: what started the fire in the first place? Murphys Law I would like to begin with a small request to you, my readers. There is a child in Bellamy who needs money for a heart transplant, so if you have extra money, please donate it to the following number: H3LP-1777. Now let''s begin, and thank you for reading. My story begins on a Monday morning at 4:00 a.m. I woke up at that hour because I had to go to work, but first, I was going to help a neighbor whose wife was in a coma. He was a good man, and his wife was a very beautiful woman. It''s a pity they passed away! Afterward, I took a taxi¡ªThe good thing about not having your own car is that you use public transportation and, of course, get to know many interesting people¡ªI remember the conversation I had with the driver... "Did you know the government is building secret bases under cities?" the man asked. "I had no idea! Why do you think that is? Are these bases meant to help homeless people?" I replied. "Of course not, you fool! They use them to experiment on people like us down there." "Oh, that''s horrible!..." "In fact, I''m planning to stop them. Would you like to join me?" he asked excitedly. I couldn''t refuse such a proposition, as he seemed like a good person. After all, I still had plenty of time, and despite the risk of getting fired by my demanding boss, I knew it was better to help someone else than myself. "Sure!" Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The man smiled. I noticed he was very excited, which genuinely filled me with joy. I had never seen someone so full of faith in something that... Well... At least, in my humble opinion, isn''t real. We arrived at large concrete channels in the middle of the city, and there we entered the sewers through access tunnels. As we walked with our phone flashlights in hand, we began to hear several strange noises. "Those must be the demons the scientists from the bases summoned," he commented. "I think we should turn back..." "No! We''re close..." Gradually, I could discern what the sounds were¡ªthey seemed like moans. To this day, I honestly don''t know if they were of pleasure or pain. They started coming from all around us. "Get thee behind me, Satan, for the Lord is with me! Oh, God! You who protect me, help me confront this evil being..." the taxi driver began to pray. I didn''t join him due to personal reasons; I don''t believe in any gods. Out of nowhere, I heard moans to our right; I aimed the flashlight, worried that someone might need help. It was two people¡ªa man and a woman¡ªengaging in sexual intercourse. The man saw us, slit the woman''s throat with a knife, pulled out a gun from his unbuttoned pants, and shot me in the stomach. The taxi driver ran away. To this day, I still can''t believe I couldn''t help that poor woman... I woke up in the hospital; I don''t know who called an ambulance, but I would like to thank them. They asked me many questions that day; however, unfortunately, I no longer remember them. Hours later, I received a call from my job, demanding explanations; I told them everything, but my boss still fired me. It was understandable, which is why I haven''t sued him to this day. I also received a call from my apartment building¡ªmy entire block burned down; apparently, my neighbor had murdered his wife and then committed suicide. I think that was one of those days, you know? Where everything just keeps getting worse. However, something that lifted my spirits happened¡ªthe taxi driver visited me. He said he regretted what happened and wouldn''t ask for my help anymore, but he still believed there was something down there, a secret that needed to be revealed to the world. From that moment on, I reminded myself once again how important it is to help others; no matter how much you suffer in the process or what you lose. It''s all worth it if you help others and make the world a better place. My friend, the taxi driver, now explained to me that we must commit suicide to enter the second dimension and finally end the government; I will do it because I want to help. THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE CONDEMNED On an uneventful day, in a year that holds no significance, a group of filibusters began planning a war against Costa Rica. They weren''t actually filibusters; they called themselves the American Renaissance Congregation, but everyone said they were just cheap copies of filibusters¡ªtoo afraid to attack countries with armies, they chose to strike at one without. Their founder, William Walker II, persuaded a large group of people in Texas to join him, so quickly that it seemed the majority of the state had been simply waiting for that opportunity. Their movement was so successful that even the President of the United States had to speak with him in the White House. "Good afternoon, Mr. Walker, a pleasure to have you here," greeted the President with a friendly smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Mr. President," replied William as he sat down in the chair opposite the presidential desk; the President never offered him that chair. Both men stared at each other for a while, waiting for one to start speaking, until the President stood up from his chair and looked out the window, turning his back on the other man. "Do you hear that, Mr. Walker?" William strained his ears, trying to hear something. However, he couldn''t hear any sound. "I hear nothing..." he replied, confused. Nevertheless, the President continued. "Since the beginning of my presidency, every day at this same time, I hear the singing of those birds. At first, they drove me crazy; I even asked for them to be hunted down. But miraculously, I got used to them. Yes, I could still hunt them, but I found them useful¡ªthey tell me the time without me needing to look at my watch..." After saying this, Walker tried to listen to the birds that the other man could hear, but there were no birds nearby. The President turned around and began shouting with the fury of a thousand thunderstorms. "You''re fighting against the powers and authorities of this world, Mr. Walker, and none of them will waste their resources on your delusions! Do you understand? Tell me, do you think it''s just us against them? They have been part of us for a long time, but people like you are too inept to realize it! We have conquered your country for years, we have been slowly destroying your culture, even bringing you to the brink of bankruptcy! So no, Mr. Walker, it''s not us against them; they are with us, for us, and by us. We have become their daily lives, their husbands and wives, lovers, sons and daughters, pets, heroes, gods, idols, and saints. Thanks to globalization, the unchanging system of our planet, established by no one but the system itself, which creates and develops the natural laws of all living beings, allowing our country to flow eternally as the first world country it is. For God''s sake, whenever you look up, do you see any advertisements for Costa Rica? No. However, they do see advertisements for ours every day, whether it''s through the latest Netflix series of the week, the Marvel movie of the year, video games, their mandatory English classes, fast food they eat, posts they look at on the internet; and if it''s not from us, it''s from another country, like anime, boring European films, any religion, K-Pop, the current soap opera, reggaeton, or the prequel to the next book of a bunch of stupid English kids going to a magical school! Through this beautiful and absolute integration of integrations, we remind them who''s in charge, without needing any violence. They have slowly become our allies. They are our birds singing in the afternoon, Mr. Walker; they have been since they started interacting with us years ago. To them, we are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the prophets and the apostles, and they are our followers. The system no longer lives off us, Mr. Walker. We are the ones living off the system. Currently, the Earth belongs to all of us. However, you and your group of racist maniacs want to break that system of systems! And if you continue, you will pay to the last cent." Upon hearing this angry speech, William was completely stunned. However, he stood firm; now it was his turn to speak. "You... do you think I don''t know that? I mean... who doesn''t know that? Everyone knows it, even them..." he commented, referring to the Costa Ricans. "No... I... I want to do something with my life... When I was young, they told me my life had value, that I would achieve all my dreams. My father was a banker, so we had no complications... And I almost did it, almost fulfilled my dreams! I went to school for six years, five to college, got a postgraduate degree in classical literature, was president of the Debate Society at my university, got a doctorate in medicine, continued my studies in Paris and other countries and... then I realized I chose the wrong career... I was supposed to be content, supposed to be happy, but I wasn''t. So I decided to study Law, then found a better place and worked as a journalist and then met my fianc¨¦e... And... still, it wasn''t... happy as it was supposed to be. I mean, yes, I was happy, but I thought it would be different... And despite everything, at least with her I felt satisfied. She cheered me up on bad days, so it was enough... Then Ellen died, before we could marry, and I was left alone, and that made everything worse! And I don''t understand why she had to die like that, no... She deserved better and everything went to hell so quickly... And when I tell someone this they look at me with pity and say, ''Oh, I''m so sorry.'' Everyone, everyone feels so sorry, but the truth is no one cared. That''s what I''ve really learned. Does anyone think I''m selfish? They have no right to speak! I''m also a human being, I also have the right to be happy and be remembered! So no. No, Mr. President, I''m not going to stop. I''m going to make history. I''m going to help my country... And yes, maybe we are slowly conquering them already, but it can be done quickly and safely, because in the end, who can stop the United States of America? Russia, China? Who, really, who cares about a third world country like Costa Rica?" The President simply sighed upon hearing this and nodded disinterestedly. "Well, alright..." "Alright...?" stuttered William, confused. "Alright? I... thought it would be more complicated... Are you really going to help us?" "Oh, no, not at all. However, we''re not going to help Costa Rica either. After all, they''re in debt and haven''t paid it off for a long time... And... it''s fun to hunt birds now and then." "Debt? Well, at least they''re not against us... How much is the debt? I mean, I don''t want them to just manage to pay it off and you go back to being the enemy overnight..." "Oh, I don''t think so, they haven''t paid us for twenty-seven years..." "Seriously? But how much is it?" "Umm... Two dollars..." Shortly after the meeting, it was decided that news of the war would be announced at a press conference in the United States; Channel 7 of Costa Rica was broadcasting this conference. "In recent days, a rumor has spread about the new American Renaissance Congregation. Finally, it has been decided that the United States of America will remain neutral in this conflict and will allow the Congregation to invade Costa Rica in approximately 15 days. God bless us, and God bless this country. Amen." Despite hearing this, two men in the transmission room did not hear the message, as they were discussing more pressing matters. "So then, this girl comes up to me, and out of nowhere, bam, she kicks me where it hurts most! And man, let me tell you, that hurt. That woman, I just told her she had a nice body!" "Oh man, these women, such a hassle," replied his co-worker, shaking his head. "That''s why I prefer prostitutes. Less complicated." "Hey!" shouted their colleague, the only other person in the small room: Francisca Carrasco Jim¨¦nez II. "What, man!? Is what we''re saying not true?" asked one of the men. "It''s not that, did you hear what that guy said?" she asked now, pointing to one of the small TVs in front of them. "What? Did they declare war on Iraq again?" "No, they want to invade us." "Invade us? Who?" "The American Renaissance Congregation." "Who?" asked confusedly, scratching his head. "That... The cheap copy of the filibusters. The one we talked about, like, four months ago?" "Oh, that American Renaissance Congregation... Sorry, what are they going to do?" Shortly thereafter, in an extremely luxurious house, the President of Costa Rica, Juan Rafael Mora Porras II, lay down with a woman who was not his wife. He was calm until a famous song from his time rang on his cell phone; it was a call from the Chancellor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, and he answered. "Oh my God, Mora, we''re screwed, man!" shouted the Chancellor in terror. Confused by such an expression, Juanito Mora simply asked. "What?" "Didn''t you see the news!?" "What? No, who watches the news on a Tuesday? Nothing interesting happens on Tuesdays..." "That happened yesterday! The invasion thing!" "What invasion?" "The American Renaissance Congregation''s invasion!" "The Autistic Congregation of what?" "The American Renaissance Congregation!" "But what is that!?" "The cheap copy of the filibusters!" "Oh, yeah, that! Yes... Did you say they were going to invade...? Where?" "Here!" There was a short silence as the president analyzed what he had heard, while he slowly got out of bed. He looked at a clock he had next to him, glanced at the woman, looked at the floor, and said. "Uh... Did you say the cheap copy of the filibusters?" "Yes!" shouted the Chancellor, distressed. "Oh... I''ll call you back." And that''s how the President hung up the call. He got out of bed while the woman asked him something. "Oh, love, why are you getting up? I was having so much fun with you," asked the woman. However, the president just entered the bathroom and called one of his contacts in Switzerland. "Hello?" greeted the man. "Oh, hi, Mora," greeted a man. "Finn, I need you to find a way to get me there." "Uh... To Switzerland?" "Yes. Honestly, I don''t want to go to North Korea, China, or Russia... I''ve never understood those languages." "Oh, sorry, buddy, but that won''t be possible..." There was an awkward silence between the two men, mainly because the president wasn''t believing what was happening. "But... Why not? For... At least take my daughter... Yes? Please..." "Nah... You see, lately we''ve had a few issues with the United States, so we''re in a tight spot... Actually, this whole thing is very unfortunate for you guys. In fact, I''m not sure if other countries will let you go to their borders because of those Yankees'' power, I think..." Before continuing, the president hung up. The man spent quite some time in the bathroom, trying to call everyone he knew, but all he got was the realization that he was alone. Upon finishing, he simply walked out of the bathroom and saw the woman already packing everything. "Did you hear the news? I got a flight to get out of here. I assume you''re coming with me, right?" she asked, while putting on her clothes. "No... There are no flights for me..." "No? But you''re the president, why didn''t they give it to you?" "Why did they give it to you?" "Well, I guess it must be because..." she replied, while pointing at her body. "So... just because you''re hot, they let you leave, while I, despite making efforts and having several contacts, literally get nothing..." "Well, if you put it that way..." the woman started to speak as she took her phone out of her pants, a bit uncomfortable, until interrupted by Mora. "It''s not if I put it that way, it''s simply a fact," the man began to raise his voice. "You have no idea how much time I''ve wasted, how hard I''ve tried to get what I want. The number of shoes I''ve had to lick to get where I am!" "Sir, I don''t think I''m comfortable with..." "Shut up!" he began to shout furiously. "Shut up! You''re nobody without me, you''re nobody, you stupid good-for-nothing. How dare you!? After all the recommendations I made for you! For you! You don''t even work for the government, you''re just a more expensive prostitute than the others!" "But I''m not that expensive..." "Damn you! I hope you die! Damn you! Damn you!" At the same time, Francisca was called by one of her superiors, who had a great revolutionary idea for her. "Francisca, today you''ll have to talk to a guy who knows a lot about the subject, because Nacho is sick! Um..." the man scratched his head, thinking about what else she should know. "Yesterday, one of our American investors told us about the benefits of a union between Costa Rica and the United States, so you''re going to focus on that. Ask him about the benefits, don''t focus on, you know what. Is that clear?" Francisca, upon hearing this, simply sighed and nodded, knowing perfectly well that this was nothing new, not on Channel 7, nor on any of the other Costa Rican channels. "Just that?" the reporter asked. "Yes! Remember, try to do it like a ''Wow!'', instead of a ''Wow...'', or an ''Oh!'', instead of an ''Oh...'', okay? Always smile, always smile, you usually look better with a smile!" "Sure, so always emphasize the ''Wow!'', and not end like a ''Wow...'', understood." "Very well!" Shortly thereafter, the President of the Republic and the different ministers and deputies were discussing the current situation. "We''re screwed! Did you hear!? Extremely screwed!" the President shouted to everyone present in the room. "I, um, don''t think that''s the case, Mora. There''s a chance they won''t do anything in the first place. We''re talking about the United States! They would get into a lot of trouble with our other friends. It''s not convenient for them and not for the United States, and neither side wants a Third World War... If we consider that and that they usually talk a lot and do little, like with the wall, then we''ll survive. Because that''s how the world works since the beginning of globalization! They work with us, not us for them! It''s a... Great team. A team the world has never seen before. That''s why we''re a free country, because we''re capable of defending our rights as human beings, and even though we''re not big, we are important! That''s why Costa Rica will prevail!" said the Minister of Justice and Peace; and yes, that is a ministry that exists in the country. "Okay... I honestly don''t think that''s the case... I mean, where''s the ambassador!?" "Which one?" "How come which one!? The one from the United States, who else!?" "Oh, he''s not coming. He''s in Guanacaste right now," a deputy replied. "Why didn''t you say that!?" "Everyone already knew! I thought the President himself would know..." "No, I didn''t know! Apparently, everyone in this room is good for nothing and doesn''t communicate important things like that." "We''re not good for nothing! That''s disrespectful towards me as a woman, Mr. President, and that won''t be tolerated," exclaimed the deputy. "Oh, leave me alone! All of you!" he shouted as he got up from his chair and walked away from the table where they were gathered. "Why do I have you if you''re no good to me!? From the beginning, you wanted me to end up as president again. Not me, you! And now I''m drowning, and all you do is blame me? It''s not my fault! Tell me, how was I supposed to know!? How was I supposed to know that the President of the United States of America would be overwhelmed and were leave us alone against people from his own country!? Huh!? How!? There was no way! And yet, here you all are, looking at the cypress as if it weren''t your problem. This is already our problem! For the first time, we can''t just escape. We can''t leave the problems for the next party anymore! And that''s why we''re really screwed!" There was a silence where everyone just looked at the President, puzzled by his tone of voice, which he had never used before. "Um... It''s ''and would..." The President slowly looked at the Minister of Public Education and asked. "What?" "You said ''and were'', but it''s ''and would." At that moment, the President simply thought about shooting himself right there. However, the same minister continued proudly and with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "But well, besides that, I suppose we''ll have to call upon the citizens for war. While you were saying that... talk, I was writing this speech for those guys... It says,¡± at that moment, the minister took out his cellphone and began to read something from it. ¡°Costa Ricans, peace, that blessed peace which, united with your diligent perseverance, has greatly increased our credit, wealth, and happiness, is treacherously threatened. A gang of intruders, scum from all nations, condemned by the justice of the United States, finding no place where they are now, no means to satisfy their greed, plan to invade Costa Rica to seek pleasure for their ferocious passions in our wives and daughters, in our homes and estates, fuel for their unbridled greed. Need I paint for you the terrible evils that could result from calmly awaiting such a barbaric invasion? No. You understand them; you know well what can be expected from that horde of adventurers, apostates from their homeland, you know your duty well. Alert, then, Costa Ricans! Do not interrupt your noble tasks, but prepare your weapons. I watch over you, fully convinced that at the moment of danger, as soon as the first alarm cannon shot resounds, all of you will gather around me under our free national banner. Here the invaders will find no division, no spies, no traitors. Woe to the national or foreigner who attempts to seduce innocence, sow discord, or sell us out! Here they will find nothing but brothers, true brothers, resolutely determined to defend the homeland as the sacred mother of all they hold dear, and to exterminate every last one of its enemies. Compatriots! To arms! The moment I foretold has arrived. Let us march to Nicaragua to destroy that impious phalanx which has reduced it to the most ignominious slavery: let us fight for the freedom of our brothers. They call to you, they await you to rise against their tyrants. Their cause is our cause. Those who now despise, rob, and murder them, boldly defy us and attempt to impose upon us the same blood-stained chains. Let us hasten to break those of our brothers and to exterminate every last one of their executioners. We are not going to fight for a piece of land; not to acquire ephemeral powers; not for meager conquests, much less for sacrilegious factions. No. We are going to fight to redeem all our brothers from the most iniquitous tyranny, to assist them in the fruitful work of their regeneration, to tell them: ''Brothers of Nicaragua, rise up: annihilate your oppressors. Here we come to fight at your side, for your freedom, for your homeland! Unity, Nicaraguans, unity! Put aside forever your animosities. No more factions, no more fratricidal discord! Peace, Justice, and Freedom for all! War only against the filibusters!'' To battle, then, Costa Ricans. I march at the head of the national army. I, who rejoice today in your noble enthusiasm, who take pride in calling you my children, wish to share with you the danger and the glory. Your mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters encourage you. Their patriotic virtues will make us invincible. By fighting for the salvation of our brothers, we also fight for them, for their honor, for their existence, for our beloved homeland and the Hispano-American independence. All loyal sons of Guatemala, San Salvador, and Honduras march against that band of bandits. Our cause is holy; victory is assured. God will give us victory and with it, peace, harmony, freedom, and the union of the great Central American family... What do you think? Sounds good, right? I wrote it myself!" There was a confused silence among everyone until the President spoke. "What!? Did you just use Juan Rafael Mora Porras'' damn speech?" "Oh, is it that obvious?" "Yes! Nicaragua isn''t even under attack this time. We''re on our own!" "Oh... Yes, you''re right..." The president sighed desperately until he received a call from his daughter. "Love! Hey, how are you...?" The men and women in the room looked at each other, waiting for the call to end. "Oh, really? Well, I''m so glad, love, I... Sorry I wasn''t there. Will you forgive me...?" One of the ministers was playing Candy Crush. "Thanks, sweetheart, I love you..." A congresswoman was checking Tinder. "One...? Well, okay, just one... Um... What does one printer say to another? ''Is that sheet yours or is it a print of mine?''..." A congressman was flirting with a secretary too young for him. "Hah! You wish you could come up with one as good as that... Well, love, goodbye, I love you." And so, he hung up the call. He looked at those present in the room once more and sighed again. "I don''t understand why I put you as ministers..." the President stopped talking for a second, thinking. "Wait a minute... I know!" Meanwhile, at a school named San Mart¨ªn de los ¨¢ngeles, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit of the Latter-day Saints, a young man named Juan Santamar¨ªa II was in class with his classmates at the institution. "You''re driving a bus, where there are four people. At the first stop, three passengers get off and ten get on, and at the second stop, twenty get on and eleven get off. So, who is driving the bus?" the math teacher asked the class. Juan looked around at his classmates to see who would answer since he hadn''t understood anything and didn''t know the answer himself. He glanced at Sara, who was talking with her two friends about gossip concerning someone she didn''t like, David, who was playing a soccer video game on his cellphone, Gabriel, who was taking a selfie with his friend behind him, Daniela, who was sleeping, Andr¨¦s, who was kissing his girlfriend, Helena, who was glaring at another classmate with anger, Roberto, who was talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone, and the others who didn''t understand the subject. No one answered, so the teacher continued. "Um... It''s not advisable to use the calculator for all exercises, especially since it''s not allowed in the admission exam, but if there''s no other way, you can use it." Just as the teacher spoke, his cellphone rang, so he picked it up and left the classroom. Seeing this, Helena took the opportunity to approach Sara, the classmate she was glaring at. "Bitch, really, is this how things are now!? You, bitch, come and take Aaron away, acting like you don''t know anything!" "What?" Sara asked after a brief pause of confusion. "That''s exactly what I''m talking about! You act like you don''t know anything, but I know that''s a lie. So swallow your own words, bitch! Because I won''t tolerate that." At the end of this angry complaint, the young girl punched Sara and started pulling her hair. Everyone was surprised to see this, but shortly after, they began to encourage the fight, except for a few who hadn''t heard the gossip. Meanwhile, Juan was called by his friend Rodrigo, who was sitting next to him, to talk about what had happened in the United States. "Hey, man, Juan, did you hear what those gringos said?" he said approaching him. "Who?" Juan asked, confused, until he connected the dots and knew what Rodrigo was referring to. "Oh, those filibusters? Yeah, I saw... Um... What are they really called?" "Uh... The Armed Commission Godchild, I think. But hey, man, I think that''s just talk. Those gringos think they''re smart, they won''t last if they mess with us. I mean, the United States isn''t the only country that defends us." Juan nodded as he tried to solve the math problem the teacher had given using the calculator when he was interrupted once again by Rodrigo, who started showing him a very muscular man on Instagram. "Look at this dude, man. Isn''t he hot?" his friend asked excitedly. Juan wasn''t surprised by this behavior, as ever since he mentioned to Rodrigo that he was single, he had been looking for a boyfriend for him wherever he could. It wasn''t something that bothered him, but he also didn''t think it would be possible to find a boyfriend so easily. "Yeah, he really is," Juan replied with a smile. "Is he at school?" "Yeah, man, and you know what? I''ve heard he''s definitely gay," he said, smiling and giving a thumbs up. "Oh, I see..." Juan replied as he looked at the photo. "So, what''s he like?" "He''s cool, man. From what I''ve heard about him, all his boyfriends have been good-for-nothings, so you can show him what a real man is like!" he said proudly, making Juan laugh. "Man, right now I''m interested in someone else, so I''d rather be loyal," Juan commented, scratching his head. "Really? Who?" Rodrigo asked curiously as he moved his chair closer to his friend''s desk. "Um..." Juan crossed his arms, a little embarrassed. "It''s... Um... Eduardo." "Eduardo!?" Rodrigo suddenly shouted. However, no one heard him, as the fight was still ongoing. "Yeah..." Juan replied, giving a nervous chuckle. "But... Why him out of everyone? That guy is a scoundrel!" his friend said worriedly. "It''s just... I don''t know, man. He''s... really handsome. And he hasn''t treated me badly!" he replied, stuttering a bit. "Man, that''s how he is. He makes you think he likes you, then sleeps with you or takes your money, and then he''s gone. You''ve heard those stories with all his ex-girlfriends. And not only that! You saw him with Gabi too, at the time," he exclaimed, referring to his girlfriend. "I know... It''s just that... I don''t know, it''s lonely. You know? Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I just hug my pillow to pretend someone''s with me, but it doesn''t work... I think it''s because it''s almost empty... But I also think it''s because there''s nothing like a person... I''m just saying... Why not try to be with someone, anyone, despite their flaws, and try to fix them?" Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Upon hearing this, Rodrigo sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know, man, it''s lonely... But it''s not good to be with someone like that either. It''s not our responsibility to try to fix people, especially if that person doesn''t want to change and treats you like nothing. So no, I don''t think that guy is good for you, Juan." Now Juan sighed, but also nodded; Rodrigo was right, and he knew he was wiser in those aspects. However, before he could say anything else, they were interrupted when Sara fell onto Juan''s desk and split it in two. The next day, Francisca conducted an interview with what she called "an expert on current issues." "As we anticipated, we''re here with Mr. Pablo Stevens. He was... uh, sorry, he is an economist and politician, studied at Cambridge, and has a doctorate. A pleasure to have you here, Mr. Garc¨ªa!" "The pleasure is mine, Francisca." "Alright, then, we''ve been hearing a lot about conflicts between the United States and our beautiful country. Tell me, how likely is it that there will be a union between the two?" "Well, you see, it''s a very complex situation with many complicated things. Such a situation requires ideas and a mindset different from what we currently have. Our relationship with the United States of America is established as one of peace and exchange of goods, so all these things combine to create an environment of peace, tranquility, and mutual benefit... There are several layers of difficulty and understanding that we need to break down to grasp the current situation. Right? Still, the utility of the goods that the United States of America provides us is indispensable, important, vital, and essential for our economic and social survival. Therefore, this union will be a positive turn in our history, both socially and culturally as well as economically. It will provide jobs, completely reduce poverty, stop crime, and control drug trafficking, those kinds of things..." "Of course, thank you very much for your time, Mr. Garc¨ªa. And now, a section where we''ll talk about how to prevent your teenage son or daughter from having those horrible and pathetic acne spots with a recipe from grandma!" In another part of the country, a group of men were gathered, watching the corner of a local store, quite famous for the drug dealers who frequented it. These men were themselves a group of those dealers, looking for someone who had outsold them that week. "How''s this guy look, man?" asked Julio, one of the men in the driver''s seat. "He''s wearing one of those Disney hats, man, one with the head of that dog, or something like that," replied Jos¨¦, browsing Instagram on his phone. "Disney? Why''s he got a Pluto hat?" queried Rodrigo, the third man. "No, not Pluto, the other... Um... Goofy!" "Ah, got it..." "Hey, check this out, guys. She''s something else, isn''t she?" Jos¨¦ asked, showing a video of a woman exercising semi-nude to the two men in the front seats. "Wow, man, she''s...," Julio responded, biting his lip. "What''s her name?" "Oh, come on, man, that''s not right, man! That''s just wrong!" Rodrigo interjected, shaking his head. "Ah, what a buzzkill, man. Relax, it''s not like you''re a saint," Jos¨¦ commented, rolling his eyes. "No, but we should respect women, man. It''s not cool," Rodrigo insisted, still shaking his head. "Nobody said not to respect them, man! I''m just saying they put up these videos for a reason. They like it, even if they say otherwise," Jos¨¦ retorted, raising his hands. "Yeah, but they have the right to dress however they want. But you can''t just talk about women like that, man," Rodrigo argued. "Oh, come on, she''s not even here! If she were here, she''d probably agree. She posted that video herself, and now I''m going to enjoy that video tonight." The men continued their discussion. However, as they spoke, two other men watched them from a car definitely more expensive than theirs, parked in front of them. "I still don''t get why we''re here, man," remarked Pablo, smoking a cigarette. Despite the comment, Miguel, the other man, didn''t respond and simply watched the scene. "Please, man, they''re new, but I don''t think they''re stupid. I''m sure they''ll do well, especially your son! I was like that when he met me, man ..." The man continued without speaking. However, he nodded, remembering his glory days. Now he was old and stingy, but he was sure Pablo would take his place correctly. Then Miguel noticed a police car heading towards them from the right, apparently on routine patrol. Meanwhile, Gabriel, the young man everyone was looking for, exited the store. As Jos¨¦ had said, he was wearing a Goofy hat, which a child noticed and made him approach. "Hey, mister?" asked the child. Gabriel looked at the child and smiled. "Yeah?" he asked as he knelt down. "Is that hat Goofy''s?" "Um... Yeah! Do you like it?" The child nodded. "Where did you buy it?" the child asked curiously. "Well, um... From... From a Disney store, in Chepe!" "Chepe?" "San Jose," he clarified. "Oh, that''s really cool!" the child replied, smiling. "Do you like it? Do you want it?" he asked as he took it off. "Yes!" This response made the man laugh and he gave the hat to the boy. However, as for the other three men, Jos¨¦ realized that the young man with the Goofy hat was out of the store. "Man, I just think that the girls with attractive bodies show that they have good nutrition," Julio continued, until he was interrupted by Jos¨¦. "Guys, guys, guys, there he is!" "What guy, man?" Rodrigo asked, confused. "That guy... Which guy from those guys?" "Um... Oh, I don''t know, man..." Jos¨¦ replied, also looking at the two individuals in front of the store. "Is it the big guy or the little guy, man?" Rodrigo asked this time. "I don''t know, man! Supposedly it was a guy with a Goofy hat, man." "Man, then is it the little guy?" "Man, I guess, man..." "Ah, it doesn''t matter. Kill them both!" Julio exclaimed, while turning on the car engine and stepping on the accelerator. "Die, bitches!" Rodrigo shouted, accidentally shooting at all the people present except for their two targets, just like his companion who was in the back seats. Julio, who stopped paying attention to the street for a second to look at the massacre, hit the bumper of the car where Pablo and Miguel were. The police officers in the patrol car to his right saw all the chaos and activated the siren, despite being technically next to it. Pablo was stunned by the stupidity of the situation, Miguel watched the men in front of him with silent fury and disappointment, and the three men in that car hid under their seats when they noticed their boss''s anger. Shortly thereafter, all the men were arrested: Rodrigo, Julio, and Jos¨¦ for obvious reasons, and Pablo and Miguel because Miguel shot Julio''s foot for not being able to drive properly. On the other side of the country, Francisca was with a divorce lawyer. "So, dear, tell me everything, okay? We need every detail, every one," said the woman with braces. "Well... I, um...," Francisca scratched her arm, leaving a slight mark on it. "When... When I was hired to be a presenter, I met him. He was... He was one of those reporters you usually see talking about women''s rights and LGBT people..." "Yes, yes, the A-Z, those," the lawyer interrupted the woman, slightly annoyed. "Yes... Well, he actually seemed like a nice guy, you know? He was sweet to me, treated me well, he wasn''t... He wasn''t one of those guys who try to take advantage of you... We dated for a while, became a couple, it lasted like... a year and a half, more or less, and everything was so... perfect! I mean, I''d had good relationships before but... none like that. And yes, maybe it was a bit stressful for me to watch those damn soccer matches every day, and it hurt sometimes to use wax to depilate, or sometimes I had to pretend to be happy even though I couldn''t take my depression anymore! But I was happy! I watched those soccer matches every day, waxed, and pretended to be happy even though I couldn''t take my depression anymore, and I did it because that''s what you should do in a relationship, try to be the best version of yourself... Then we got married... And everything started well! He didn''t change, treated me well, took me out to nice places, bought me things when we could, but... I don''t know what happened, but... He changed... He... He got worse... He stopped trying, stopped being the best version of himself, didn''t take me out, didn''t buy me things, he didn''t even say he loved me when he left to work, and that was the least he could do for me... Once I asked him about it, and you know what he said? ''You''re delusional,'' that''s what he said. We''ve only been together for two years, just two years! And that''s what he said to me... So I cheated on him with someone else, because I was angry. I was angry because all that effort and all that time had been for nothing. Because it was there, right there, where I realized he had stopped pretending... So why did I have to be the one who had to pretend? Then he found out and... Now we''re here... Now we''re here..." "Alright, but definitely leave out the bad part about yourself, it won''t help us. Do you have any photos of any kind of abuse he might have done at any time?" "What?" the woman asked, confused. "Like I said! Listen... Divorces are complicated. Everyone wants to get something out of all the lost time, it''s understandable. That''s why we have to tell a story that''s believable, and not many people like the story where a woman cheats on her husband because he was good for nothing; although believe me, I''ve done it too! However, in our semi-progressive Catholic democratic society, women have to be the victims of the situation, and not just any kind of victim. You have to be the victim of a greater abuse than apathy; apathy hurts, yes, but not enough. Technically, you were the one who cheated on him, not the other way around, so he must have done something much worse for the judge to favor you. Do you understand me?" The next day, the president was having a conversation with the Ambassador of the United States. He was snapping his fingers and humming. "Excuse me, I came from that hotel and the party didn''t stop. Oh, which one was it? Rui Palace, beautiful, since they turned it into a casino it''s a thousand times better. But well, let''s stop talking about me and talk about our problem. Tell me, do you know why bald eagles are our national symbol? Despite existing in such a hostile environment, their intelligence is what keeps them alive. That''s the United States of America for you, we do what we can with what we have," the man pointed to his head, "Intelligence. And you... Well, I wouldn''t say you''re not intelligent, but you definitely haven''t been wise... If you had your debts paid, we would gladly help you, but not everything is perfect..." "We''re trying to settle that debt, but inflation since..." "We already know what happened, but despite that, we can''t give our resources for any situation that suddenly arises. Besides, it''s only two dollars." "Two dollars is a lot of money." "Have you fallen that low?" "Yes!" "Well, there''s nothing else we can do, the United States can''t just lend its services to anyone. If it does, it will look weak to the world, and you know perfectly well that has never been our flow. Things are like this, friend, the world is bad..." "Yes... If we win the war against the filibusters, could you help us afterwards?" "Of course! We don''t want to not help... But I warn you that this two-dollar debt will increase to four..." "Isn''t there another way to settle the debt?" The ambassador shook his head. "No. However, if someone comes up with something, I''ll let you know. For now, gather followers, people who would give their lives for their country, for their homeland. This is like a political campaign, sell them something, rights, privileges, it doesn''t matter. They''ll follow anything that benefits them; that''s the beauty of the system, it has a little something for everyone!" The next day, the president was giving a press conference. "Costa Ricans, peace, that prosperous peace which, united to our laborious perseverance, has increased so much our credit, wealth, and happiness, is perfidiously threatened. A gang of newcomers, scum from all nations, condemned by the justice of the sovereignty of the United States, finding no longer where they are with what to satisfy their voracity, plan to invade Costa Rica to seek in our wives, husbands, sons and daughters, in our homes and estates, pleasures for their ferocious passions, food for their unrestrained greed. Need I paint for you the terrible evils that may result from awaiting so barbarous an invasion coldly? No. You understand them; you know well what can be expected from that horde of adventurers apostates of their homeland, you know your duty. Alert, then, Costa Ricans! Do not interrupt your noble tasks, but prepare your weapons. I watch over you, well convinced that, in the instant of danger, as soon as the first cannon shot of alarm resounds, all, all will gather around me under our free national flag. Here invaders will find no divided parties, spies, or traitors. Woe to the national or foreigner who attempts to seduce innocence, foster discord, or sell us out! Here they will find nothing but brothers, true brothers, resolved irrevocably to defend the Motherland as the holy mother of all they love, and to exterminate even the last of their enemies. So, compatriots! To arms! The moment has come. Let us march to destroy that impious phalanx that seeks to reduce our country to the most odious slavery: let us fight for the freedom of our brothers. Those who today want to vilify, steal, and murder, boldly challenge us and try to cast upon us the same bloodied chains. Let us rush to exterminate even the last of their executioners. We are not going to fight for a piece of land; not to acquire ephemeral powers; not to achieve wretched conquests, much less sacrilegious parties. No. We are going to fight to redeem all our brothers from the most iniquitous tyranny, we are going to help them in the fruitful work of their regeneration. Forever sacrifice your rancors. No more parties, no more fratricidal discord! Peace, Justice, and Liberty for all! War only to the filibusters! To the fight, then, Costa Ricans. I lead the national army. I who rejoice to see today your noble enthusiasm, who pride myself in calling you my children, my friends, companions, want to share with you the danger and the glory. Your mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters are with you. Your patriotic virtues will make us invincible. Fighting for the salvation of our brothers, we will also fight for them, for their honor, for their existence, for our beloved homeland and Hispano-American independence. Our cause is holy; victory is certain. God will give us victory and with it peace, concord, freedom, and the union of the great Central American family... Costa Ricans, to arms!" In the following days, the speech was met with diverse opinions. Some loved the idea of killing Americans, others wanted to steal all the weapons they had, some wished to completely enslave the United States in some form, others didn''t want to fight out of fear or because they weren''t very interested in what happened in the country, some didn''t even believe they could be attacked, and others disagreed with the recent decisions of the president. National channels had to use this to increase their viewership and preach about the great opportunity the filibusters brought to their lands. Francisca was one of the reporters who shared with the country her great revelation about the system of systems. "Yesterday our beloved president called us to be part of a great mistake, but we must not blame him; after all, he is human, just like you and me. However, we must realize the truth, that conference has absolutely no authenticity in its discourse. It''s all nonsense, lies that the privileged make us swallow. I won''t insist further, everyone already knows what is really happening here in this country right now. We are part of a joke to them, a damn and filthy joke to all those good-for-nothing corrupt people. They don''t want the common good; they want their own well-being! They force us to endure years of mediocrity. They make us live in fear of the crazy drug traffickers who sell in front of our homes and bring corpses to our doorstep. They make us experience the loss of our sons and daughters due to the irresponsibility of teachers who focus only on themselves and not on the Costa Rican future, in addition to the terrible and outdated huge gap between public and private education. We have to deal with horrible infrastructure where every 50 meters we encounter a pothole in the streets. We endure the terrible high taxes that we pay so that in the end they are used for their own comforts, and we have to subsist with what little is left, or worse, simply starve while we lose our tin homes because a new hotel is being built near where we used to live. Or they make us wait in an endless line of people just to get an appointment at the Caja, because a monster stabbed us with a knife while robbing us due to the lack of a good policeman on that street. We already know all this, we all know. We know that everything is going very wrong, horribly wrong. And of course, nobody wants to hear this, but I also know it''s because they''re fed up. We all are! However, I want you to listen... Listen everyone! Because I won''t stop saying it, it''s time for a real change. So, I want everyone to join us, because it''s time. It''s time for a change, time to show that we are a strong and determined people. We are Costa Ricans, for God''s sake, we are capable of moving mountains, of improving our country! So, I want you to rebel against those damn good-for-nothings. I want you to take whatever you have, unleash all your anger, and show the true face of this beautiful country. It has been done in the past; it''s time for this generation to do it too. We will overcome the oppressors, the corrupt, and the wicked. Costa Ricans, rise up against oppression!" Shortly after, conflicts escalated in the country. Several fights broke out everywhere among different groups. The first was led by the president, called United Costa Rica, and the second led by Francisca Carrasco, called Immutable Generation. All this started a civil war, where different people from each family fought among themselves for what they considered right. Juan Santamar¨ªa was one of those affected. "What!? No, no, no! That''s the dumbest idea I''ve ever heard in my life. Don''t do it," Rodrigo rebuked angrily. "I''m just joining United Costa Rica, you support it too..." "You''re not joining because you support it, you''re joining because Eduardo is joining them! Dude, no, no, no!" Rodrigo began to repeat the same thing over and over, until Juan became fed up. "Just leave me alone then, man!" Saying this, his friend stopped talking, completely hurt. Rodrigo sighed, looked at the ground for a moment, and continued. "You''re my friend and I care about you. I''m not going to leave you alone, but I can''t convince you either, so I''ll join too if necessary." They looked at each other, reaching a mutual agreement. Conflicts grew more violent every day. Crimes began to increase and the police couldn''t control the situation. Various hate crimes towards Americans, Nicaraguans, Chinese, and many more nationalities became the daily bread in the country. Meanwhile, William Walker approached on a ferry with all his followers. It was a dark night, and the man contemplated the stars at the stern, while a party was going on inside. Soon after, another man, perhaps a little older than Walker, approached William and asked him. "It''s chilly around here, isn''t it?" "A bit, I suppose." "Yeah... You''re... William Walker, right? The one who started all this..." "That''s right." "Well, I admire you a lot, you know? I mean, convincing a bunch of gringos to attack a country... It''s too good to be true." Walker stayed silent upon hearing the word ''gringos'', until he turned around and looked the stranger in the face. "Are you Costa Rican?" "You got it, my name''s Jos¨¦ Manuel Quir¨®s Blanco II... Although, honestly, I have no idea where the ''II'' came from... Pleasure to meet you." "Are you here to kill me?" Walker asked bluntly. "No... Actually, I really admire your thinking. Costa Rica is a dump, everyone knows it. That''s why I left... And that''s why I''m here now." "Don''t you have family in Costa Rica?" "Sure, who doesn''t? But they''re not people worth mentioning." "And aren''t you afraid I''ll say you''re Costa Rican?" "Honestly... no. I don''t think you''re that kind of person... Actually, I don''t think you''re the person you claim to be..." Walker paused his interrogation for a moment, confused. "What do you mean?" the American asked. "I mean, you don''t seem like a Hitler II... You lost someone, didn''t you? I heard it on the news... Your fianc¨¦e." Walker said nothing, just turned and continued gazing at the stars. Nevertheless, Jos¨¦ Manuel continued. "And you think you''ll never get over it... Even when you start to forget, you desperately search because you''re terrified of not thinking about her anymore. Because deep down, in that darkest part, you feel like you don''t deserve happiness after what happened. Isn''t that right? The pain lingers every day, it won''t leave you alone, but it doesn''t kill you, and you don''t have the guts to do it yourself either. So, in the end, what you do is inflict that pain on others, so they can feel how horrible it is. This was never about Costa Rica or the United States, was it? It''s about your ability to accept happiness or not, and whether you deserve it. But, William, each of us deserves to be happy, even with our own sins... I''ve planted a bomb on the ferry, and soon we''ll all die, so let me ask you one last time... Do you think you deserve to be happy?" "No..." "Then finally accept your death..." The ferry never reached Costa Rica, but the civil war continued. With the need for weapons to win, the president turned to one of his last resorts. "So, what we''ll need is assistance from your organization. Of course, this will mean your release and that of your colleagues, Miguel." Miguel wasn''t impressed. Since being imprisoned after the three youths tried to kill a vendor with a Goofy hat, he had witnessed the slow decline of the country by its inhabitants. This could be a great opportunity, but he simply shook his head. "Why not? Don''t you want to save your family, get them out of this place?" "Of course I do. But it''s too late. It''s too late for me, for my son. It''s too late once you get into this... Did you know that oxygen is what ages us? It kills us slowly. I learned that from an addict who used to be a teacher. When you''re born and live in the same place for so long, when you eat the same food every day, when you see the same people across the street, when you do the same things every day... That''s your world. You know? My family has always been into this. My children, my brothers, uncles, parents, grandparents, we live for this. There''s nothing else for us until we die. It''s a system of systems. Unbreakable, completely unbreakable. Do you think it''s easy to stop? It''s not. You don''t escape, you never escape. You learn this when you''re old and it''s too late to run away. And your children? They haven''t lived what you''ve lived, and despite how much you warn them about how dangerous and pathetic the whole system is, they haven''t lived what you''ve lived. It''s the human curse. When you realize how bad things really are, it''s already too late. You''ve made your mistakes, so the next generation continues, and they do the same, over and over again... And then they learn, they tell their children, they beg them to stop... But they haven''t lived what one has lived... Annihilation. Like when we breathe, we kill ourselves slowly, but we do it to live longer, even though oxygen itself poisons us. We''re suicidal beings, but mostly mediocre... I remember once I tried to work on a plantation. The boss wouldn''t let me talk to the inspector, so he wouldn''t know he was forcing us to work 15 hours a day, every day, with a wage that barely fed my son... That man was clever, but mediocre because everyone knew he had the money to pay us properly, and that way, we might have had better work, we might have done everything faster... But he was just clever. Humanity is clever, that''s why we''re still the species at the top of the food chain, that''s why we haven''t gone extinct. And the years will go on, and there will be wars, extinctions, and the death of the planet, but we won''t be there anymore... We''ll be gone, and we''ll spread out, but the same problems will continue for ages. Humanity will continue, and the universe won''t even remain as a dystopia or a utopia, it will only experience what humans have done to everything they touch, not destruction or death, just mediocrity. It never amounts to anything, it doesn''t get worse or better, it just stays static in the vastness of time. The only difference? Generations and technology, but the rest... The rest becomes mediocre. It doesn''t matter anymore. No one cares if the country is bombed or sold... In the end, who cares about a country like Costa Rica?" "And where did that come from? I just want weapons," the president asked, confused. Meanwhile, on the other side of Costa Rica, a small group of United Costa Rica was trapped in a building. Juan, Rodrigo, and Eduardo were there. "Oh no, we''re going to die! I don''t want to die!" Eduardo screamed in terror while Juan tried to calm him down and Rodrigo looked at him with disdain. "You''re such an idiot. Why did you join this then, huh?" "I just thought it wouldn''t amount to anything! And then, on top of that, a girl dared me and told me she''d become my girlfriend... In the end, she didn''t and said it was just a joke because she''s aromantic... I''m still not sure if I''m sure what that means..." Suddenly, several shots were heard near the main entrance; their enemies had entered. Juan knew instantly it was time to declare himself to Eduardo, who was moments away from wetting himself. "Eduardo?" "Yes?" he asked, terrified. Juan looked at Rodrigo for a second, who understood what was happening and simply nodded in support while keeping an eye on the door where the enemy group could enter. Juan continued. "Listen, I''ve always liked you. You''re someone I think is really good, and if we get out of here, I''d like to be your boyfriend." Eduardo was silently confused and simply asked. "Sorry, but... Who are you?" That made Juan feel a knife in his heart instantly. Suddenly, a man entered the room where they were. However, Rodrigo shot him in the chest instantly, but couldn''t aim at the next one who entered subsequently. The second man fired his gun and hit Juan Santamar¨ªa in the head and Rodrigo in the stomach, causing him to fall to the floor and lose consciousness. The older man observed the scene and saw Eduardo in a small corner terrified, then saw his dead companion and entered a great rage; he approached Eduardo and began to strangle him, with Eduardo unable to do almost anything because of the fear he felt. However, just before Eduardo lost consciousness, the man got a bullet in the head from Rodrigo, who had awakened. Despite having a bullet in his head, the stranger simply looked at Rodrigo for a second and went away confused thanks to the adrenaline that left him alive for a few seconds until leaving the house and dying from a hemorrhage. After this, both young men decided to leave the war and try to continue with their lives. Juan did not survive. Thanks to the large number of deaths and economic losses that the country suffered, it was even worse than it was before all these events. The civil war ended, but now a way had to be found to escape the misery that the country lived, and this could be achieved with the help of the United Nations. "No," was the first response obtained from one of the countries. "What? Why not!? You were the ones who left us in the hands of those racist maniacs. You were the ones who didn''t let us in, and now you''re telling me no?" "Exactly. You see, we''re in a more complicated situation now, most of us are a bit angry because the United States didn''t stop William Walker''s organization, so we''re saving in case there''s a third world war. You know how it is... Isn''t that right, Mr. President?" Everyone looked at the President of the United States, who was wearing a straitjacket. "The birds are right, Mr. Mora! Listen to the birds. Birds, birds, beautiful birds!" "This isn''t fair! We need help..." Juan Mora was about to start a speech about responsibility when he was interrupted by another country. "Oh, for God''s sake! Listen to yourself right now. Do you think we''re the villains in this story? Do you truly believe we''re responsible for this misery? No! We''re not; the real culprits have been you. All of you are guilty. In different ways? Of course! But ultimately, you''re all guilty of your own misery. You ruined everything trying to manipulate the truth, they ruined everything by believing it. You stole from the country, they just started complaining but did nothing about it. You followed a damaged, corrupted, dying system, and they worship that system like a god of gods. So, tell me, do you seriously think we''re the villains in this story? We''re not the villains of the story, you are... You are. Now the question is: Are you ready for a new opportunity in the world of prosperity? If so, you will let your country be bombed." "Bombed?" asked the President of Costa Rica, confused. "We have been negotiating a pact between nations. To stop the conflict, finally, thanks to the support of the greatest minds of our generation, we offer to bomb several parts of your country so that a piece of each of our nations is in yours. In return, we will give you an insurmountable amount that will pay off any debt and make you prosper." Juan Mora remained silent for several seconds, pondering what to do. "I think I need the country to make a decision and vote for what they think is best." "Democracy is always the best option..." The country voted in favor of the agreement. In the following days, the places to be bombed were evacuated, and the day the bombs fell arrived. By then, Juan''s funeral was taking place. Rodrigo watched as his cheap coffin was lowered into the depths of the Earth, and how the little family the young man had walked away. Then Eduardo appeared. "What was he like?" he suddenly asked, causing Rodrigo to look at him for a moment, then return his gaze to the coffin. "He was good... Not academically, but in other ways. He liked sushi and watching anime. He loved playing soccer; he was very excited about the World Cup in Japan... I mean, his two favorite things combined? He was more than excited... He lived in a family that never loved him for who he was, and he suffered bullying for many years, many years... He felt lonely and sad many times, and despite everything, he was always good at pretending. And I think... I think I should have done more for him because I loved him a lot, and then I lost him..." "I''m so sorry..." "You know something? He always saw the good in people, even if they were good-for-nothings like you... I don''t know if he was stupid or blind, but he always tried to see the good in them..." "I... um... I remember where I met him... When I broke up with your girlfriend, I started going to a bar, where they gave me drinks despite being underage, and I started getting drunk a lot. One day I drank more and decided to try to jump off a bridge, and for some strange reason he was walking around there... Then he asked me what I was doing, and I said, ''Well, man, I just want to stop feeling bad.'' So he came up to me and just told me everything would be okay and that I would manage to get out of whatever it was. He took me by the arm, brought me close to him, and just hugged me... And I never saw him again... I can''t justify what I did... But I can assure you that he was always a great person and I''m really sorry... I''m really sorry..." Rodrigo just looked at Eduardo, patted him on the shoulder, and walked away. Shortly thereafter, the president was at home with his daughter and wife, and received a call with bad news. "What!? They confused them!? How can they allow them to fall here?" The call ended when Juan threw the phone to the floor. "We have to go..." On the other side of San Jose, Francisca was in her small house when suddenly someone knocked on her door. When she opened it, she found her still husband. "Did you see the news?" the man asked with a serious face. Francisca nodded, making the man look at the house for a few seconds and ask, "Can I come in?" A few minutes later, they were both having a cup of coffee. "How did you know where I was?" the woman asked. "Your parents. They still like me despite everything." "Hah... It''s because they think I caused everything..." "And didn''t you?" he asked, almost offended. The reporter lowered her coffee cup and hit it on the table hard enough to spill some of that liquid on the white tablecloth. "I don''t want to fight, it''s too late for that...," her husband suddenly commented as he looked at the coffee stain. "I just want to know why..." "Why?" Francisca asked confused, now she sounded almost offended too. "Because you left me. That''s the reason. What more do you want? I... I thought we had established something... But honestly, I think that something had only been established by me..." The man looked her in the eyes, thinking about what to tell her. "I... I''m sorry... I don''t think I''ve been the husband you deserved..." "I shouldn''t have done what I did either...," she answered with a sigh. "I think we both made things worse..." "Give me some credit, okay? I think we both took our part in this..." They looked at each other and smiled. "I''m scared...," the man said. "Me too... But I want to tell you that, despite everything that has happened between us, I''m glad to have had you in my life. And I want you to know that I love you, and I always will..." He approached her and just hugged her. They both began to wait for the inevitable. At the president''s house, he and his wife were packing. "Pack everything we need! Did you hear me? Everything!" the man exclaimed over and over, not paying attention to something his daughter was saying. "Where are we going!?" his wife asked, but he didn''t answer. "Dad!" the girl shouted as loudly as she could, getting the attention of both adults. "We can''t leave them... You promised!" Juan approached the girl and shook his head. "Love, sometimes you have to run to help more people..." "No! You''re running away because you don''t want to face it..." "Face what?" he asked confused. "That you''re not a good example for me..." The man looked into the girl''s tearful eyes, trying to find some excuse not to stay, but he didn''t find it. He looked at his wife, who had stopped packing, and she simply nodded and approached them. The three of them hugged. The man put his hands on his daughter and began to say... "Look at me, love, look at me... Do you remember when I told you Rufus was going to heaven? Well, today we''re going there! We''ll see each other soon... On the other side of the road." "Can you tell me one last joke, Dad?" "I think this time I''d like to hear one from you..." "But they''re very bad..." "Just trying is enough for me." "Well... Why did the chicken cross the road?" "Why?" They didn''t finish the conversation. On an uneventful day, in a year that holds no significance, several nuclear explosions destroyed most of Costa Rica. The few survivors would die in the following weeks due to lack of resources, radiation, or the third world war which had atomic bombs as the preferred weapon. The world collapsed in a short time and the end of the system came, at least until someone else came up with a new system of systems. BROKEN MIRRORS You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You rush down the stairs, slip, fall, break your neck, and die. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are many people, animals, and creatures. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You rush down the stairs, slip, fall, break your neck, and die. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are many people, animals, and creatures. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You carefully descend the stairs, leaving your house. As you exit and try to cross the street, you notice the ground starting to shake; thanks to this, you had stopped in the middle of the road. A driver doesn''t see you, runs you over, and you die. You''ve finally understood. At last! It took the whole damn life. Why do they realize so late? At least he finally achieved it. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You carefully descend the stairs, leaving your house. As you exit and try to cross the street, you notice the ground starting to shake; thanks to this, you had stopped in the middle of the road. A driver doesn''t see you, runs you over, and you die. Damn it, this will be long. Give it time. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. I think we''ve given everyone enough time. Literally, we''ve been waiting for billions of years for everything to get better. That shit isn''t going to happen! Maybe you''re right, but we don''t have much to do, we can only watch them. That''s not enough for me. But it''s all you have. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You carefully descend the stairs, leaving your house. As you exit, before crossing the street, you notice the ground starting to shake. You look at the sky and what you see surprises you... The sun, as bright as ever, has an eye in the center. The sun feels your gaze and returns it. Suddenly, you start to feel a deadly heat. You die. See? At some point, they figure it out. Stolen novel; please report. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. But this idiot can''t escape from this. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You carefully descend the stairs, leaving your house. As you exit, before crossing the street, you notice the ground starting to shake. You look at the sky and what you see surprises you... The sun, as bright as always, has an eye in the center. The sun feels your gaze and returns it. Suddenly, you start to feel a deadly heat. You die. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. You wake up from your bed thanks to your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You get ready to go to your destination, a place where you had work. You carefully descend the stairs, leaving your house. As you exit, before crossing the street, you notice the ground starting to shake. You ignore it. Many people look at the sky and die. You''re not sure if you should go to your destination or if it no longer makes sense to do so. The situation is too strange to think clearly. You sigh, look around. Many dead people; however, there''s a man looking at you. This man waves his hand at you. "Hello," he says. Then, he points to the sky. You decide to look; the sun is no longer there, but you can see the moon and the Earth. Where are you? "Welcome to your personal broken mirror. Here, very bad things are going to happen to you, and you will never be able to leave." You ask why you are in such a place. "Everyone is in a place like this. They have to find a way to break the loop..." he pauses and continues, "Now, if you''ll excuse me, I must kill you." You try to say something when the man pulls out a gun and shoots you in the face. Your left eyeball flies away from you, along with several parts of your skull. You die. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it. Obviously, you do, and you lose consciousness. You don''t get up from your bed despite your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You''re terrified of what''s going to happen. Still, you die from a heart attack. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror in front of you is the one that grabs your attention the most; you want to hit it, but you don''t. You seek help from one of the living beings by your side. There are quite a few. Those closest to you are: A futuristic machine, an angry woman who seems to be a ghost, an old man around 80 years old who you feel is very wealthy, a very humble house, two young people who seemed very resentful of each other, a man in medieval clothing and a dragon, a child and an angel, what you assumed was a father and his son, many nervous minors, a werewolf woman and a group of men who were not wolves, a sad and attractive woman, a man very curious about the past, a man and a woman with a lot of hatred between them, a woman with a group of ignorant children, a teenager suffering with other teenagers, two people on fire, a very altruistic man with another very paranoid, and finally, an entire country full of people fighting to survive. You asked for help from everyone, but no one knew how to escape the loop. I think they realized their tragedy. It''ll never change. And no one can get them out of this. You don''t get up from your bed despite your phone, which was emitting a very annoying sound: an alarm. You''re terrified of what''s going to happen. Still, you die from a heart attack. You wake up. You''re no longer in your bed; you''re in a place completely different from where you''ve been. In front of you is a mirror with your silhouette. Behind you is an infinite mirror. On your sides are infinite people, animals, and creatures; each with their own mirror. However, the mirror behind you catches your attention. You just noticed that no one has broken it. Why would they? After all, it''s not their mirror, nor yours... You hit it. You make a slight crack. You keep hitting... That''s new... Damn, it''s true. You keep hitting it. Those around you see you and start doing the same. I didn''t expect this... Quickly, all living beings do what you started doing. Everyone loses consciousness... THE END