Vikram narrates.
When Trip left, I felt an absurd pang. A part of me—one I don't recognize—wanted him to stay. To keep his gaze fixed on me. To keep him from crossing that damned door.
I know I don't know him well enough to feel this way. I know it. But I still feel it.
I don't want to continue with this.
Shit.
My body is a betrayal I can't control. And yes... Trip was right. I liked feeling him inside me.
For some damn reason, I've responded to all his intuitions. Every touch, every word, every gesture of his... changed something in me. Something I don't want to name. Something that disgusts me. Because wanting more of that—of them—repulses me. I hate myself for that. But also...
I also want to keep feeling.
I want to keep discovering that side of his personality that disarms me. That breaks me down. That pulls me in.
Why are humans so curious?
Why did I decide this?
Ah, right. I already know that.
I'm submerged in the pool, floating silently. The water envelops me like a cold cradle. My arms open slightly, as if I want to surrender. My legs sink, heavy, until my feet touch the tiles at the bottom.
I hold my breath.
I think.
I just want all this to end.
I don't want my body to keep craving those... demons.
I want a partner. In the human world. Someone to hold me without masks. Without punishment.
Wait... partner?
The word hits me like an icy current. My eyes open underwater. They burn. Not from the chlorine. From the truth.
Why did I say "partner" and not "girlfriend"?
My hands tremble. I clench my fists. My chest aches. Not from lack of air. From something deeper.
Maybe the changes are already happening.
I don't like it.
I want to feel them. I want them. But no. I can't. I shouldn't. I don't want to.
Stop! Please! I don't want these thoughts! I want to get out of this shit!
My body shrinks underwater. I hug myself. Bubbles escape my mouth like stifled sighs. My nails dig into my arms. My legs tremble. And for a moment, I don't know if I want to surface for air... or stay here, in this liquid silence, where no one can hear me scream.
Later, Bi brought me new clothes.
A soft, plain white cotton t-shirt. It smelled clean, like it had just come out of a dryer that doesn't exist here. The pants were cargo pants, black, wide-legged, with side pockets I wasn't sure I'd ever use. And the shoes... sneakers, also black, with thick soles and laces that looked brand new. Everything fit. Comfortable. Functional. Almost human.
I had to admit it: Bi definitely has good style.
Although I don't understand how she does it. Where does she get her clothes?
Is there a store in this hellhole? A shopping mall for lost souls?
Maybe I'll find out later. Or maybe not.
My body felt cleaner. More relaxed.
After being... pleased by Trip. The second Executioner.
I don't want to think about that now. Not here.
I was eating.
A deep plate of white rice, pieces of chicken sautéed with vegetables, and a thick sauce I couldn't identify but that tasted good. Beside it, a bottle of cold water with droplets trickling down the plastic. Steam rose slowly from the food, as if time itself seemed to float here.
The place was silent.
Not the awkward silence of an empty room, but a denser one. As if the walls were secretly breathing. As if the air itself were waiting for something.
Bi wasn't there. She had told me she would give me space to change and eat in peace.
And I was grateful for every second of that solitude.
I've only been here a few days, but it feels like months. Or years. Or lifetimes.
When I finished eating, I leaned back in my chair.
I didn't know what time it was. My phone's clock doesn't work anymore. Time here changes too fast.
But that meal left me full. Satisfied. Almost... comforted.
Bi explained that I didn't need to eat so much.
That the soul doesn't need nutrients.
But since my body weakened after each encounter with those Executioners, I saw it as necessary.
A way to keep me going. To prevent me from falling apart.
I don't feel hungry.
But after being with one of them, I feel an emptiness.
A hole in my stomach. A weakness that compels me to eat anything.
That's why she feeds me after each encounter.
I feel like a hamster.
And honestly... I feel good.
After a while, I grabbed my phone—the only thing that was still alive with any dignity. It witnessed every moment I spent there—and headed for the exit. But before crossing the threshold, I stopped. I looked around for a few seconds, letting the images return. What had happened here. With him.
A tingle ran down my spine. A slow shiver, as if my skin remembered before my mind. I brought my hands to my arms, rubbing them gently. I could still feel the warmth of the moment in my fingers. Each touch brought Trip back to me. To how he treated me like I was a... like I was a girl. And I... I fell for it all.
I swallowed nervously.
I shook my head, as if I could shake off those thoughts. It didn't work. But I went out anyway.
Outside, the fog was thick, almost solid. The air smelled of dampness and something else... something metallic. Bi turned to look at me. He smiled, barely.
He approached with a calm gait and handed me a backpack.
I recognized it instantly. It was mine.
Bi: You can't leave your things lying around, Vikram.
Vikram: I know, I said, serious, my eyebrows lowered and my voice deep. I just left them there when you gave me the car and the rest... I forgot.
Bi: Don't worry.
I saw her take out her cell phone. She looked at it for a few seconds, as if checking something important. Then she looked at me.
Bi: I already have the video. I sent it to your phone a while ago.
It didn't surprise me. Bi was always recording. Always watching. She seemed to enjoy seeing how we changed. How we broke down. As if watching us being pleasured by those Executioners was her form of entertainment.
Like watching live porn. But crueler. More intimate.
I blushed a little. Not from shame. From anger. From powerlessness.
I remembered what happened. Again. Even though I didn't want to.
Vikram: You know I'm never going to watch them.
I don't need to see myself moaning.
I don't need to see myself being...complicated by them.
I walked past her without looking and headed to the car.
I felt her smile behind me. I heard her soft laughter, almost a whisper.
And then, her footsteps. She was following me.
We still had to prepare for what was to come.
Once inside the car, I start the engine. The sound brings me back to reality. I settle into the seat, adjust the mirrors, and check the rearview mirror to make sure no one is behind me. I fasten my seatbelt with a sharp click.
Beside me, Bi does the same. He calmly buckles his seatbelt, then turns to face me and smiles. I look away from the road. I don't want to talk. I just want the drive to be quiet.
Bi would tell me where to go.
And so the journey unfolds. Silent.
But not for long.
Bi: Well, passive friend-
Vikram: I already told you not to call me that.
My hands grip the steering wheel. My knuckles tense. I don't take my eyes off the road.
Serious. Annoyed.
That nickname burns inside me. I don't say anything else. Just that. Just that he doesn't call me that.
I'm not... passive.
I just want to escape.
I want this to be over with.
I pull out my phone for a moment. I swipe through the screen.
I check the list.
The number of Executioners I've slept with.
Only two.
Just two?
I have eighteen more to go.
Damn it...
I don't think I can take any more.
When I mention it to Bi, she nods immediately. She doesn't say anything. She changes the subject.
She gives me directions again.
Like nothing's wrong.
The road keeps going.
But I don't.
My body still aches.
And so does... that area.
I want to say something to her. Ask her for something. Tell her how I feel.
But I stop.
Maybe she'll laugh. Maybe she'll downplay it. Maybe she'll say it's part of the process.
So I don't say anything.
I just keep driving.
My body ached.
And my soul was on pause.
The road continued in silence. Or so I thought.
Bi: You know what I like most about you?
I rolled my eyes without looking at her.
Vikram: Don't start.
Bi: That you're so easy to read... and so hard to break. -She paused dramatically- Although Trip already softened you up a bit, didn't he?
I gripped the steering wheel. It growled for a few seconds. I counted to three. It didn't work.
Vikram: Can you not talk about it?
Bi: Why? Are you embarrassed? Or do you want to?
I turned my face slightly, just enough to give her a withering look.
She smiled. As if she'd just scored a point.
Bi: Okay, okay. I'm sorry. -She raised her hands in a gesture of peace-
I won't bother you anymore... for now.
But it didn't erase the smile.
Not even a little.
I looked ahead again.
The road continued.
And so did I.
A few minutes later, the road began to narrow.
The asphalt became rougher, as if the ground had been forgotten by time. The branches of the trees on either side leaned toward us, forming a natural tunnel that seemed to whisper things I didn't want to hear.
Bi had guided me here.
And now the car could go no further.
I stopped the engine. Silence fell immediately.
I turned to her.
Vikram: Bi, the road is very narrow. Very small. The car can't go any further.
Bi: That's why we're going to get out here and continue on foot.
She said it with that smile of hers.
And then she winked at me.
I blushed.
I couldn't help it.
I've always liked bold girls.
But with Bi... I never know if she's flirting or teasing me.
Probably both.
Even though I blush, I can't stand seeing her with that smile.
That knowing smile.
Just as I was about to open the door, I noticed Bi was already there.
In front of my seat.
I raised an eyebrow, confused.
She smiled even wider.
She opened the door with a theatrical gesture and bowed slightly, her gaze never leaving mine.
She extended a hand toward me.
Bi: Madame, allow me to guide you...
My brow furrowed instantly.
I got out of the car without taking her hand.
Without saying a word.
I didn't want her to treat me like a girl.
Not now. Not after all.
She stepped aside, still smiling.
I watched her for a few seconds.
And then I gave her a little nudge with my arm as she passed.
Not hard. Just enough to mark the boundary.
I could hear her chuckling softly behind me.
And then her footsteps. She was following me.
The path narrowed with every step.
As if the world wanted to close in on us.
The natural walls—made of damp stone, twisted roots, and dry branches—drew little by little, until the path was the width of a large bed.
Just wide enough to walk single file.
Just wide enough to feel trapped.
The air grew denser.
Colder.
And then, without warning, the sky turned black.
Not gray.
Black.
As if someone had spilled ink across the world.
And ash began to fall.
Lots of it.
As if the sky were burning silently.
Bi: We'd better hurry.
Her voice changed.
It no longer sounded mocking.
Her expression became neutral.
She looked at the sky for a few seconds, then looked at me.
And without another word, she took my hand.
I didn't have time to resist.
Her grip was firm. And her step, determined.
She pulled me along with her, moving forward down that path that seemed to swallow us whole.
To that place she hasn't yet mentioned.
To that destination I know I won't like.
But I didn't let go of her hand.
And she didn't let go of mine.
The author narrates.
Bi continued dragging Vikram along the increasingly narrow path.
The forest closed in around them as if it were breathing. Branches hung low, brushing their shoulders, and roots jutted out of the ground like fingers trying to grasp them. The air smelled of damp earth, rotting wood, and something else... something nameless.
They could still walk. But barely.
Bi said nothing, but her body was tense.
She felt something stalking them.
Corrupted demons. Souls warped by desire or pain.
Or perhaps something worse. Something even she couldn't name.
It wasn't concern that drove her.
It wasn't affection.
It was possession.
If anything happened to Vikram—if he was kidnapped, killed, or broken before his time—her distraction would end.
And with it, her fun.
That human was her favorite toy.
And he still hadn't finished breaking it.
The night was dangerous for him.
And Bi knew that Vikram wasn't ready to walk alone in this world yet.
Further on, through the thick fog, a sign appeared nailed to a crooked post.
Bi walked past without looking at it.
But Vikram did see it.
"El Madero"
And just below, in smaller letters, the word: Bar.
He frowned, confused.
A bar?
Here?
He didn't understand why Bi would take him to a place like this.
Did he want to distract him? Or was it another test?
When they got closer, he saw the sign hanging above the door.
Hand-carved, with irregular lines.
No lights.
Just the name, etched into the wood like a scar.
The facade was made of thick planks, blackened by time.
The windows were small and opaque, covered by a film of dust and ash.
You couldn't see inside.
But from inside, you could hear voices.
Laughter.
Clinking glasses.
Or so Vikram thought.
It had been days since he'd heard other people.
And for a moment, he doubted his sanity.
He turned to look at Bi.
And found her adjusting her clothes.
Smoothing her blouse with her hands.
Adjusting the collar of her jacket.
As if she wanted to look her best before going inside.
Vikram raised an eyebrow.
He didn't know if she was doing it out of coquetry, strategy... or pure theater.
But something about her—her posture, her barely contained smile—made him think that El Madero wasn't just a bar.
It was a trap disguised as a refuge.
A place where souls went to drink, to forget... or to surrender.
And he was about to cross the threshold.
___________________________________
.░▒▓█Episode ended█▓▒░.
Good day! 😏
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
I'd like to know if you liked it or what your reaction was to the chapter.
Are you enjoying the story?
What emotions does it evoke in you?
Is there anything interesting that keeps you reading and makes you want to stay? Aside from the superficial stuff, of course. XD
Let me know in the comments.
¡Chao Chao! See You later! Bye!
[☘️]