2.

There was an echo far away from my ears, or it could be that I was in a very distant place inside my head, but in the end I don't know, the fact was that there was a very distant drip that was coming closer to me every moment. Yes! I remember it very well, almost perfectly, or it could be my imagination that every day adds one more thing and takes something away from my memories, maybe it is something important that has been replaced by an image perfectly located in one place. My eyes started to open little by little because of that strong light that I don't even know where it came from. It was daytime, possibly nine o'clock in the morning, but from what day? Something had fallen over my frown; that woke me up, that in a nutshell must be the echo that was approaching at an impressive speed every moment. It was a viscous lake that was flying the idea that it was water.

I took courage and opened my eyes to perfection. There was a leak in the roof, but what was up there for that viscosity to drip? Perhaps the much more correct option would have been not to have found out and not to have deduced what it was. My body hurt a lot and that was what kept me from standing up, because for sure if I took a wrong step, my body would hurt until I cried. It was a room, a very abandoned one, of course, because of the state of the walls, which didn't mind someone giving them a hand to fill in those holes in the concrete, or to pass another coat of paint to the walls, which surely at some point were white, not as they were: a grayish color with several brown stains. There were also many boxes, my goodness, there were so many boxes that I could mistake that place for a warehouse, but it wasn't, it was actually a very large room that had several layers of dust scattered all over it. I put my hands on that moldy floor and stood up at my own pace because the pain was still there. In addition, there was a bandage that covered my neck with several turns and right where they stuck that giant needle in me there was a gauze where it also pierced the blood. I took my right hand to my neck and jumped out of the pain while screaming uncontrollably, howling:

-- Shit! Shit! Shit! Aggg!

Indeed, it was blood that was wet on my neck and I could tell by the small discolored red spots on my fingers. It took me several minutes to control myself (I mean to be still, not like before, like a worm, to contain my movements while my eyes must have been red from the way I was holding back the screams). I drowned out those screams of pain as I breathed more aggressively than before. I don't know what happened to me, but it hurts like never before that hole that never heals in my neck, even to this day that I cannot turn my neck without bleeding out and desperately looking for something to stop the bleeding. I took another quick look at the mysterious room that reeked of moisture or water piled up for days. I looked at the leak that had awakened me and it wasn't water but... blood or something with the same consistency of a purple-brown color; but the place where it originated was even more horrible, as on the ceiling there was a gigantic brown stain as if it were a stain big enough to surround my entire body. There was a small window about ten feet from my head to the ceiling (that's why I say that room was too big) and by calculations of my mind I would say that that window is the same size as a book, and I'm talking about a small one. Even if I wanted to make the attempt to jump and get to that window there was no way I could get out completely through there. In spite of that, I spent about two minutes looking at that window where that huge light was coming from that illuminated the whole room, but how I did it, considering that tiny size, was a big mystery. And I started to take another look at the room in case there was an open door or something to escape to, for example...

There was a noise that caught our attention. Someone had hit a box or one of them had staggered to the point of falling and making me jump out of my skin because of that hollow noise. As fast as one of the boxes sounded I turned around to see who was at my sword, however, I couldn't see anyone in the middle of all those boxes, although in a pile of them, something was moving and I had the impression that I was not at the right time or in the right place. I swallowed as much saliva as I could before leaving my tongue dry and my breath so agitated that I would have been running for several hours. I looked back at my back where I could see a door, if that was a door, that thing that was a rectangular sheet of steel or a material that was too rusty. Then I looked back at the pile of boxes that had moved for a few seconds.

I don't know, I was hesitating between going to the boxes and checking out what was behind them or maybe the most likely thing and what would save my life: going to the door and kicking it as much as I could to send it down, without trying to push it beforehand in case everything turned out so easy. Maybe my craziest idea was to decide on the first option, but... I could go first to check if the door was open and then go and see what was behind the boxes; but no... I was so determined to go and see what was behind the boxes. I think it was the fault of all the blood that I surely lost the cause of my unreasonable ideas at that time.

Those seconds, those moments were the only ones where I could realize the biggest fear I could have in my life. Really. Never in my life could I have been as afraid as those moments when I walked at a slow pace while I looked at what was in front of me and what was behind me: the door. I could hear a very faint squeal that if I had not been silent I would never have noticed this kind of chatter. I was no more than ten feet away from the pile of boxes from which that slight shaking and screeching came, and now I could see perfectly how the boxes were moving in a more obvious way than anyone would realize that someone or something was moving those boxes. I confess that at first I was so afraid that I began to hate the crazy idea of approaching to pry; instead I wanted to turn in a semicircle and head for the door in order to open it and get out of that place of fear. But my curiosity got the better of me and I preferred not to turn back because I was too close to act like a scared person (that's why I say that I must have lost a lot of blood before; metaphorically I must have had a liter of blood inside me to have that kind of crazy thought).

I was already face to face with the boxes that were shaking, from where some whispers also came from; yes, this time it was a few whispers and not a few shrieks, although I could not find any sense in that almost non-existent voice either.

I took a deep breath, trying not to produce any kind of noise that would warn the creature behind the boxes. I waited until I had the courage, something that could cover my whole body, in order to extend one of my arms to throw the boxes to one side and see what was there. Even though I planned to do that, I simply lunged forward to take a first look and then let my instincts help me out of the one I got into.

There was a person there with his legs up, or I can say he was in the fetal position. He was rocking and shaking in the same way that I once was about to think about what was behind the pile of boxes. And she had in her hands... she had in her hands a knife, well actually it was a knife with a rather long blade that I mistook for a knife.

He looked into my eyes. She looked at me with intimidation (ufff... at least she had eyes, at least she had eyeballs). I could hardly be ready for what was to happen next. He stood up suddenly. He pushed as hard as he could on the boxes so that they would go on top of me at the same time, but I pushed aside so that only one of the boxes fell on my back, although, what the hell was inside that box, I think it must have been ceramic figures with a surprising weight because as soon as the box hit my sword and part of my left shoulder I felt an electrifying prick as if something extremely heavy had fallen on my shoulder. On the other hand, the guy with the knife had jumped into a corner, shaking his left hand, where he had that knife.

--Get away from me! -he warned as his hand shook and his eyes dilated to a point where he could tell he was close to breaking his orbit.

--Calm yourself -I tried to calm him down as I stretched out my hands and struggled with the stabbing pain in my back and left shoulder-. Put down that... razor; don't do something stupid... friend.

The guy calmed down a bit. He put the knife down, although he was still looking at me, it seemed that he was aware of my future intentions.

--I'm stupid -he said.

--Why? -I frowned.

He took a quick look at the knife and looked me in the eye again.

--For a few moments I thought you were... you were those men who brought you.

I frowned again and was determined to ask him the same question again: Why?

--The men who brought me here? -I said at last. What do you mean…?

--Denis! My name is Denis, and you?

He took another look at the knife and pressed a button on the handle as if it were a switch to which he would slide the blade and when he lifted the switch the blade would come out. The blade went in right away the moment Denis slipped the switch and he put the knife in one of his back pockets.

--I call Jason Parker... What men were you talking about? The ones without eyes? -I ended the question by circling my right index finger around my face.

Denis nodded.

I drew a smile on my face.

--At first I thought you were one of those guys who didn't have eyes, too.

Denis smiled as well.

--You were the one who screamed. You gave me a good scare. I thought you were back.

--I'm telling you, at first I thought... -Hey. -I felt my neck, although I hated the idea after the twinge was in my neck-. Do you know how long I've been here?

--You've been lying on the floor for about five days.

--What? Five days!

--Yes, at first I thought you were dead, because the dose is not universal and for some people it's a very large dose and for others it's a less powerful dose that wakes them up after a few minutes.

I had talked about a dose and the only thing that was on my mind was:

--Dose? You mean that thing they injected me with? -I felt my neck slightly.

I noticed a small spot on Denis's neck, at first I thought it was a mole, but the more I looked at it, it looked like a dry caracha that maybe joined up with the dead skin on his neck.

--Aha -he replied.

At that moment my head went blank, with nothing in mind, the only thing was that I was very afraid to a certain point of going crazy. I put my right hand in my mouth while I had my left hand around my abdomen. My stomach was burning. I looked up at the walls, at the little window on top and at that breeze coming in. Then I looked back at the door; something inside my head was screaming at me at a volume that wasn't easy to let through, and it was saying, "The door, Jason! The door!"

--It's true -I said. I looked at Denis in a way that meant to look at him-: What about that door? Is it open?

Denis shook his head and added:

--No. That door hardly ever opens, well, they open it once a week to see what state we're in or to... -He stopped and put his left hand where he had put the knife, maybe shovelled it for a moment and then put it back.

--Or for what?

I fell into that mysterious silence that tormented me.

--I don't know -he confessed, but I knew in my heart that he wasn't serious or planning to keep me from the truth-. They come every so often and bring people and then take them to...

--Where to?

He looked at me. He too was frightened by something that would later lead me too into that same state of anxiety and terror to see if that door would open.

Denis looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, especially at the point where the goo was dripping from. I also followed his gaze in order to find an answer.

--You know what that is? -I said, pointing at the ceiling with my right thumb.

He was silent for a few moments as he looked at me with those wide, terrified eyes that could only mean one thing: he was afraid of someone or something that was sure to be behind that mysterious rusty door.

--That's blood -he said at one point.

My skin froze when I heard him speak, even though I had my suspicions about it, but when I heard him say it, my body was too terrified as if I had doubted it at first.

--Blood of...? -I dared to say.

--Human blood, what else is it going to be -he interrupted me as soon as he h eard-. If you want to know so much about what's going on in this damn place, I'll tell you. No one who has entered this filthy place has left and those who leave, don't leave alone, they leave with those... things without eyes.

--But...

There was a chilling sound that caught our attention. It was the door, there was someone behind it and he was surely trying to open that rusty door, however, every time he failed as if that door that was turning to dust was actually stuck.

Denis looked at me. In his eyes there was an extremely indescribable terror, it was the same as a mixture of fear and disgust, because his face was very pale, but it goes without saying that this was due to fear about what he was trying to enter.

--Shit, they're back -he said.

--Who?

--They, those things that don't have eyes. It's better if you lie down on the floor, in the same place you were before you woke up.

I frowned.

--For what?

--It's not time to explain, just go to the place where you were, it's better for you; if they know you're awake, they won't hesitate to take you there as soon as possible.

--Where are they going to take me?

The rusty door continued to squeak, this time the door was shaking as if someone behind it was banging one of his arms against the door to open it.

--I don't know. It's for your own good.

--What about you? Don't you think they can take you instead of me?

--If they had wanted to, they would have done it months ago.

Once again I frowned.

--Okay, it's your problem if they see you and take you who knows where -he said.

He walked away from me.

I agreed with this terror, and I was equally overwhelmed by a fear of the unknown, but I guess at that moment I should have had my feet on the ground and my senses working to pay attention to Denis instead of wanting to know what was happening to people when they came out.

As soon as my legs came to their senses and they obeyed me, I took a few quick steps to the extent that the door had already opened, even if it was only a few centimeters and the shaking continued. I skidded on the floor a few inches and was lying on the floor the same way I was before I woke up, according to me, however, as an alert from that screaming voice in my mind, something screamed at me: the constant dripping of that thing vis... the constant dripping, or reduced rain, of blood from the roof. I put my hands on the floor in order to lift my back and crawl with my legs step by step until I reached the exact point where the blood was constantly falling drop by drop.

The door shook more strongly, however, this time those things without eyes were already able to open the door at a sufficient distance so that their bodies could pass, although with difficulty, that is why they were slow to enter, also saying:

--We don't fit in here.

A few moments ago they had already reached the right place. The drip was falling almost close to my frown to the point of wanting to fall on my right eye, but instead I was breathing heavily and must have been sweating like crazy. I tried to calm down as much as possible while closing my eyes and telling myself not to open them for everything I want most in this world and maybe in those moments what I wanted most was my freedom and then that was at stake: my freedom.

--Hey, the sleepyhead is still dreaming -was Kevin's voice, of course, I will never forget that high-pitched voice and I would recognize it even without seeing it.

--He's already silent; this is serious -said another, I think it was the one that accompanied Kevin five days ago-. Could it be that he has already died? Would the dose be the right one?

--I don't know. Hey, look at the other guy, he's cornered like a rat, it's not like we overdid it with the dose, because he's already starting to talk to himself.

There was silence after that, although the men were walking, yes, they were walking, in my position I could hear very clearly each of their steps coming towards... they were coming towards me. My heart jumped and I must have been sweating even more than before. There was someone face to face with me and I had the crazy idea to open my eyes a little to see what was happening and I saw Kevin and I closed my eyes suddenly; I don't know if it was the best option. Kevin moved my right eyelid with that disgusting hand of his. I don't know how I got the idea of not moving my eye; I did: I kept my right eye still, aiming at that guy's creepy face, it was disgusting to see him for a long time. He took his hand away from me, what a relief that was; I was no longer trying to blink to calm my light-irritated eye.

--No... he's not dead yet, Sam -he said-. He's still breathing, come look.

Again my heart skipped a beat. I thought Sam was going to open one of my eyes too. I already wanted them to go away, I already wanted them to go away or go out the way they came in, to come back and force the door shut.

--Yes, he's breathing... -Sam said this time-. Aggg, holy mother, how disgusting -The drip began to increase as time went by and it no longer seemed like a drip, it seemed like a constant dew that soaked my eyes and ears-. The ceiling is falling down in droves. We'd better move it out of the way so that at any moment the ceiling doesn't come down on us and we don't have to wake up and crush it. It would be a waste to let it go to waste and spoil.

Surely Kevin must have nodded at him for that interval of silence.

Someone, I have no idea who, grabbed my left leg and dragged me across that very cold floor; but for my part I was acting as if I had not yet woken up, letting my body act on its own while they took me somewhere else.

-Yes... that's good. Then we'll fix the problem with the roof, right?

I didn't hear the answer, I'm sure Kevin nodded (of course, that was Sam's voice).

Now silence reigned for a couple of seconds, although it was endless minutes of calm when I could only hear the footsteps of those eyeless things.

--And you? –Kevin talked-. Why so much silence?

Surely they were face to face with Denis. If only I had a way to help him, I would, but how, if all that was on my mind was that those things were in the room tormenting us with several minutes of terror of what they were going to do.

--Get away from me, I'm warning you -Denis said and my nerves calmed for a moment.

--Well, well -Sam said-. The frightened rat is threatening us.

What could be happening there where Denis was. What? The only thing I could hear was, but sometimes they were silent or sometimes they began to laugh like complete madmen or also like madmen who hide their future actions within that sinister laugh.

I could no longer hear anything. The only thing that I thought was that Denis had taken out his knife to assure them that he was serious, although I doubt very much that this type of things has been happening because Denis had a fear in his eyes before those things. Poor him; he had to see the face of those horrible things, especially those eyes, or rather: those little eye orbits that were empty, from where he could harbor any garbage if they were not washed.

--This guy really makes us laugh. Let's go, Kevin.

--As you say -he replied.

Again that mysterious silence that made me desperate every moment to know what was going on behind my closed eyelids. However, the only thing there was was that emptiness where I could hear my heartbeat; that was the only thing my ears could perceive. But then I managed to hear the door creaking and everything was as if it started to start: there were constant noises coming from the door that was forced to close. And then this emptiness. I was sure that these things, "they" had left the room, but it was better to prevent anything in case it was a hallucination in my head. Within seconds someone came over to shake me up like anyone else would when they want to wake someone up from a long sleep because something bad is coming. It was Denis, for God's sake, his hand was cold, surely it was because of the fear he must have felt when he saw things without eyes.

-Hey, they're gone, you can open your eyes -he said.

I trusted Denis' voice and opened my eyes. He was very agitated, more so than before, I think "they" did cause him the worst fear of his life. She was turning her head from side to side, especially at the side where the door was, which she watched with her eyes.

--That was a close call -he added.

--Of course, at first I thought they would realize that I had actually woken up and was only fooling them.

--Don't worry about it -he cut me off-. If there's one thing I've learned in this place, it's that these things are very stupid, and if they don't get ahead, we can probably escape.

I nodded quickly.

--Now what? -I asked-. What are we going to do?

I told him beforehand, because in my mind I kept thinking that sooner or later those things would discover us and maybe I could discover the truth behind that door, maybe I would know in my own flesh what happens to people who arrive and then leave. I looked at Denis, he was still the same as before, still moving his head from side to side as if he was afraid of something or sure that something was going to happen at that very moment.

--Is something wrong with you, Denis? -I finally asked him the question.

He in turn shook his head from side to side to deny me and add:

--It's nothing, just... seeing these things scares me so much that I can't think what's happening to the people who are going out there, I don't even want to imagine that the stain up there -he looked at the ceiling- is blood... it's blood from the people who were there before.

Back to that fear, as soon as Denis talked about the blood on the roof again, my stomach turned and I had nothing in it to let it out. It burned.

--We'll find a way out of this place.

--No -he said.

--What?

--Remember I told you that those things are very stupid? -I agreed-. Well, what do you think, I'm finding a way out. -He discovered his right arm from the long sweater he was wearing, there.

--For God's sake! Denis, what have you done to yourself?

It was horrifying to see those cuts that surely must have been the product of the knife. He had a very long line, one that already showed a caracha almost detached on top of a scar; then he had a short line on the right, after the line was another long line and turned left where there was also a sloping line and another one that followed it.

--This is the way out.

--Walk to the exit? -I said totally alarmed-. Can't you see you have several cuts on your arm? You could have cut a vein and died.

--This is my ticket out -he mentioned holding his right arm.

--What a ticket out! Why did you do it, Denis?

He kept looking at me with fear.

--If I did it somewhere else they'd notice while I was sleeping and when they wanted to spy on my arm, I'd be careful not to show them my secret.

--What a secret! -I shouted and felt his arm. By God, it was horrible to see those cuts that were beginning to heal and form pits.

Denis shrugged his arm and then started walking around the room looking at the cuts as well. He saw me after a while and his look made me uncomfortable at a certain point.

--We're going to get out of here, Jason, I'm telling you -he said.