3.

They were silent. In this, you could hear Joseph's shrieks. Carlos walked in circles with his hands on his head and his eyes pointed to the purple follicle. He saw his friend stagger. He immediately ran to his friend, who immediately regained his balance.

--Are you all right, friend?

--Yes, I just got dizzy for a moment.

--Very well. Help will be here any minute. Just lie back and try to gather your strength, okay?

--Okay.

I could see his friend shivering, but when I felt his friend's skin boil, it looked like a steel bar near the fire. He didn't want to tell his friend about it so as not to worry him in any way. He looked back. He saw the T-shirt his friend had left on the floor. He quickly went over to the shirt and grabbed it and then gave it to his friend. He stopped halfway back, paying attention to the strangely purple follicle. He frowned. Despite the concentrated color of the pile of blood, he could make out the white substance and could... see that something inside the grain was moving. At first he didn't want to believe it and later he did. He approached without making much noise to his friend who was staggering, but who was regaining his balance. He approached his face to his friend, disgusted, towards his back, squinting a little. Now he could see the white substance moving clearly. He opened his eyes, horrified. He took steps backwards and spoke:

--No, no, it's a joke.

Joseph looked back; there was a thick line of tears on his cheeks.

--What is it?

Carlos swallowed his saliva.

-- It's just that... It's just that...

In reality, his tongue was stuck to pronounce his discovery.

--Please tell me, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with my back?

Carlos nodded.

--There is something moving inside the grain. I looked at it. That thing is... is... Well, it looks like a worm.

--What!

He looked back. It turned in circles, as if it were a dog trying to grab its tail; although in this case it was to look at its back. He staggered as he turned. Carlos approached Joseph to prevent any accidents.

--Wait, don't be alarmed; it's not a big deal. You breathe. -He inhaled.

--How did that thing get on my back?

Carlos shrugged.

--Are you kidding, Carlos? Tell me you're kidding!

--What? Of course not, you have a worm on your back that's trying to get out anyway.

Joseph shrieked. He looked back and turned in circles again, although this time it wouldn't be like before, now it almost fell off.

--Hey, hey; take it easy. Breathe, my friend.

He didn't take his word for it, he breathed in a quick way.

--I can't believe you. I don't have a worm, it's a lie.

He shook his hands as if to push Carlos away from in front of him.

--Hey, hey, buddy. You better go to bed, it's going to be good for you. You're very tired.

He looked him in the eyes.

--Let go of me, please.

--You must be joking, you're very weak, you're going to fall as soon as I let go.

--No... You say I have a worm, that it's trying to get out. Take it out.

--What? Are you sure? I don't know if that's a good idea. Look. -He pointed to the ground.

Joseph looked where Carlos' index finger was pointing. He was pointing to a bloodline which extended and was accompanied by spots of the same color and ended in something like the roots of a small plant.

--You know? Your back is red. I'm afraid something bad might happen to you if I take out that worm on your back. Look. -He extended his palms to his friend. Joseph hadn't noticed, hadn't noticed that his friend's hands were covered in blood-. You're bleeding a lot.

--Just do it, I'm not afraid of anything. Get that thing off my back.

Carlos walked away from his friend.

--No, you better go to your bed and get some sleep while help arrives. They might know what to do, maybe a doctor will come and maybe he'll get the worm out of your back.

--No, no, I don't want to wait any longer…

Joseph took a sudden jump while opening his mouth and vomiting a semi-white fluid. Carlos reacted in time and moved away as quickly as possible so that the vomit would not fall on his clothes.

--Jesus God!

He placed one of his hands in his mouth. He had already been around people vomiting before, he knew the smell of the vomit by heart, it was already etched in his head. The smell of Joseph's vomit was like rotten vegetables mixed with the smell of standing water. Carlos put his hand closed near his mouth as he inhaled deeply.

--No, no, no, what's wrong?

--I'm sorry; I just feel really bad and...

Joseph began to tremble. Carlos breathed at a higher frequency.

--What's wrong with you?

Again his friend jumped up and vomited, but less fluid than before.

--Carlos, something is inside me, I feel it moving.

Carlos frowned.

--W-w-what?

--Yes, I can feel something moving inside my body.

He looked away from the tired, dead face of Joseph. He looked back at him.

--Could it be that worm? -he asked in fear.

His friend nodded.

--That must be it. Burrp! It must be that damn worm.

--It can't be. -He felt his forehead-. You say you feel something moving inside you.

--Yeah. It's weird, I can't describe...

Joseph jumped up and vomited a large amount of saliva. Carlos followed the slow path of the saliva with his eyes, breathing slowly.

--It's that worm, it must be -he said in low volume with his head down.

--Pull it out.

He raised his head.

--Are you sure?

Joseph lowered his head and nodded.

--Just do it -he said, screaming.

Carlos took a deep breath as he released him to his friend. He walked with both hands covering his mouth. He came face to face with the follicle. He looked at it from top to bottom. His back was worse than before. He felt like throwing up at that moment. Next to the edematous skin he saw a purple spot, plus tiny purple lines surrounding the follicle. He looked at his friend's T-shirt in his hand and then brought it to Josep. He told him to wear it when he was going to burst the follicle. At first his friend didn't understand very well and Carlos told him to make a ball with the shirt and bite it. He looked to the sides. He needed something to keep from directly touching the worm, or whatever was inside the grain. He couldn't find anything useful. He wanted to go into the bathroom and get a large amount of toilet paper and also some gauze, if he could find it in the first-aid kit his friend had there. But when he took his first steps, his friend stumbled and almost fell to the ground. He knew he couldn't leave him alone for long, so he didn't leave the place. He blinked several times, paying attention to the point. At that moment he could see the white substance moving from one side to the other. His stomach was compressing every time he made an image in his mind of how big that worm could be. The smell of rotten vegetables and stagnant water increased his desire to vomit. He approached his friend's back in fear. He put his hands towards the follicle, feeling disgusted. He touched the surface of the follicle, it felt like touching a hot bread dough dipped in oil. His friend walked forward, jumping slightly as he grunted and bit into the T-shirt.

--You sure want me to pop that pimple?

His friend nodded, but you could tell he didn't want it to. Just as Carlos was, he couldn't wait to get his fingers out of that giant follicle. He took a deep breath. He looked away from that place for a few moments. Being near that thing made his fingers tremble. He blinked several times before he started. He dipped his fingers into that skin that seemed to be made of warm silicone. He heard his friend growl, biting into the shirt. He pushed his fingers hard into the center of the pimple and watched the follicle grow in size. The worm inside the follicle moved, he saw it clearly; it was actually the same shape as a giant worm. Carlos withdrew his hands from his back, panting in horror.

--It can't be, it can't be -he said with both hands above his head.

Joseph looked back.

--Wait, give me a moment -Carlos said.

He placed his right wrist over his mouth as he approached the grain. He put both hands on his friend's back. He did the same procedure again, dipping his fingers into the edges of the follicle. He squeezed the pimple, which he saw as a pump filling with water. He heard his friend howl at high volume. His fingers were shaking from the force he was exerting and it was not working. The area that was once a purple bloodstain stopped having that color and became the natural color of the skin. Joseph bit hard on the ball of his shirt as it screamed and shed countless tears. Carlos stopped for a second. The area that was previously the natural color of the skin turned back to a blood-purple color. He placed his right wrist close to his mouth to hold back the uncontrollable urge he had to vomit because he was looking at the follicle. He squeezed the pus-filled flesh mass again, although it was not pus. The worm moved to the sides, looking for a place to escape. Seeing that, Carlos wanted to get away from his friend's back. He squeezed even harder. His friend squealed as his body shook. The follicle stopped being a fleshy color and the skin in that area became a semi-transparent color. He could now see the worm perfectly. Just doing so made Carlos tremble. It was a giant worm. He had never seen that kind of worm in his life. It looked like a white worm of a tiny height and a grotesque thickness. He squeezed harder and... he didn't see when that happened. The worm moved to the center of the follicle. At that moment he thought it was finally going to come out of his friend's back, but... A thin thread of white substance jumped from the center of the follicle and landed on the bottom of his nose and in the middle of Carlos' lips.

--Buff!

He walked away immediately. He waved his hands around his mouth and nose as his stomach contracted and he opened his mouth as if to make the vomit come out. There was a bitter, mentholated taste on his tongue, there was a small dose of the white substance there and he knew it. The stomach contracted more, but not enough to make him nauseous enough to empty his stomach. On the other hand, as soon as Carlos walked away and stopped squeezing the follicle, Joseph took a few steps forward before falling to his knees, shaking and biting his shirt. He brought his hands close to his head and squeezed a lot of hair with his fingers; he wanted to pull it out. The pain was going to be intense, but not as much as the pain he felt in his back; it was as if flesh was being torn from that spot while he was conscious.

--Buff!

Carlos put his hands on his knees. He put his fingers in his mouth and dragged a large amount of saliva to get rid of that fluid that gave him a minty, sour taste. He couldn't get any flattering results. It was strange, for that moment, with those movements he made with his fingers in the middle of his mouth, it already enough to make him vomit. For no apparent reason, he could not vomit; even if he wanted to.

--Buff!

Joseph looked back, taking his shirt off his mouth.

--Are you okay, brother?

Carlos shook his head.

--Is that worm out yet?

Carlos shook his head again.

--I don't want you to ask me to come to you.

Joseph looked forward again, shaking.

--Aggg...!

He put his hand to the back of his head. He jumped up and down as he spat out a large amount of saliva. Carlos returned to see his friend, and as he expected, it was a bad idea. The follicle began to swell in front of his eyes and then contracted and then swelled again. Then came the trigger, the drop that spilled the glass. The follicle swelled and then rotated on an axis and a wrinkled mass of skin formed.

--It can't be! What's happening to you, friend?

For his part, Joseph kept his hand close to the back of his head, while shouting:

--Aggg...!

Carlos blinked several times, witnessing this horror. He put his back straight and approached his friend without much thought.

--Joseph, Joseph, are you all right?

His friend shook his head. Carlos took a step backwards as soon as he saw the follicle twist more and... it looked like a skin volcano, as it swelled and relaxed spitting out a large amount of sebaceous material with red and purple spots. Carlos took a deep breath and put one of his hands on his friend's arm, saying:

--Friend, please resist; help will come soon. Come on, calm down.

--No, no; it hurts. That thing is moving inside my bones -he squealed.

The comment made Carlos tremble. He licked his lips while swallowing saliva and blinked several times a second. He looked at the follicle and it was the same images as before, the grain contracting and spitting out lumps of a thick substance.

--Oh-no, my friend. Hey, do you have any alcohol and gauze in the first aid kit you have in the bathroom?

--Yes, there's everything in that thing.

--All right, I'll--I'll get the first aid kit. -He looked at the folio-. Brother, you really need to get that thing off your back. You've got something sharp with...

He heard footsteps behind his back. Carlos looked back. Back there he saw a lady, with a confused look, hands near her chest and much fear on her skin.

--The door was open -she said, looking to her front-. I heard some screams, are you all right?

Carlos didn't feel much like talking at the time. Joseph started screaming at a higher volume.

--What's going on here?

--Are you a doctor? -Carlos asked, about to scream.

--No. What's going on here? Why the yelling? What's wrong with you, boy?

Joseph didn't answer anything. Instead, Carlos tried to make conversation. At first he couldn't talk; he thought he was saying something when he was actually just moving his lips and making a muffled shriek. He bent his head to calm down and breathe.

--I don't understand anything, what's going on here?

--You need to see this, and then call a doctor right away. My friend is dying.

--Dying?

Carlos looked into her eyes.

--Please call a doctor, have him come as soon as possible. If you look at what's happening to my friend, you'll know what I mean.

The lady placed her left hand on his neck. Without receiving a clear command, she walked slowly towards the two boys, afraid of what their eyes might witness. She didn't get very far; she stopped as soon as she realized the state of Joseph's back. He placed his left hand in his mouth.

--What's wrong with his back?

--We don't know. Please call a doctor.

--Young man, are you all right?

Joseph shrieked.

--Friend, please get up. You-you're very weak. You need to go to bed and lie down.

Joseph shrieked.

--Come on, come on, help me.

At first I didn't want to do it. As time passed, Joseph was determined to help. At first he moved one foot, although he didn't respond very well. Then he continued with the other. With one pull, Carlos lifted him off the ground. He wrapped his friend's right arm around his neck so he could stand.

--I'm going to call an ambulance -she said.

Carlos looked back at her and said:

--You tell them to hurry, my friend is very sick.

--Yes.

He ran out of the place vigorously. Carlos swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath.

--Come on, my friend, you can do it. Walk to your bed so you can lie down and rest.

--Yes -he whispered.

Carlos pulled his friend, for by this time he no longer had the strength to move his feet. He looked back at Joseph's back for a brief glance. The area where the follicle was, looked worse; but what caught his attention was the territory of the oedematous skin. The seeds, in Carlos' eyes, looked larger and moved to the sides, making slight movements. He did not want to believe it; it was said that perhaps it was his friend's breathing that created this effect. He decided not to pay attention to that; he just hoped nothing worse would happen. They crossed the frame of the wall, Joseph seemed to regain the sensitivity to support his own weight with his legs. Carlos was sweating and at that moment when his friend helped him walk, he was able to take a breath and rest.

--Come on, help me out. It won't be long now.

Although the bed was less than six feet away, it looked like Carlos was walking down a whole street with sacks of sand in each hand. He pulled his friend, who had lost control of his body and was now like a heavy corpse breathing and sweating a sweat that stank mysteriously. Joseph's stomach contracted and he opened his mouth and then let out a large amount of white vomit. Carlos looked away from the front, he too, with the same desire to vomit. Joseph put one foot on top of his own vomit as he tried to help his friend and his foot slipped backwards. Carlos was very tired, his arms were shaking a lot, and when Joseph slipped on his own vomit, he couldn't bear the extra weight that appeared. They both fell to the floor at once; although the one who suffered most from the blow was Joseph who opened his mouth without making a sound.

--A...g! -was what came out of his mouth.

--Friend, friend.

Carlos stood up at once. His heart was beating in his neck. He wasn't quite sure what to do at that moment. On the one hand, he wanted to approach Joseph and help him up, giving him words of encouragement to hold on longer. On the other hand, he wanted to get out of that place and ask for help immediately. He saw his friend shaking on the floor while spitting out a large amount of thick saliva. He decided on the first option. He approached his friend as soon as possible.

--Joseph, are you all right? -he said in his ear. He didn't want to touch it, in case it caused him worse pain than he was suffering at the time-. Come on, friend, answer me.

He opened his eyes wide as he watched Joseph shiver with great vigor.

--Friend, what is wrong with you?

--I… I'm…-he said

--What is it? Come on, take a deep breath.

--I'm very cold -he whispered in a dead voice.

Carlos looked around, looking for his friend's shirt. But then he knew that wasn't enough to calm the chill Joseph was suffering from. He stood up. He put his hands on his forehead. He stopped looking at the bed near him. Without wasting a second, after an idea came to him, he approached the bed. He removed all the blankets and threw them on the floor, in the direction of Joseph. He walked to the front of the bed and grabbed the pillow. He ran to his friend, who was beginning to pick up the blankets to cover himself.

--Let me help you.

He placed the pillow under his friend's head and then covered his friend's body with the blankets. It wasn't enough. Carlos took steps in reverse, without taking his eyes off his friend, who was shaking, despite all the blankets on him. He was shaking and sweating at the same time. He put his hands on his head, looking to the sides.

--No, no, no. A doctor. You need a doctor!

Without a word, he turned around and walked to the door. He stopped at the door frame, tired and dizzy, his nails buried in the wood. The things in front of him were spinning and he felt an invisible force pushing him backwards. Carlos shook his head. He took a deep breath. The dizziness stopped. He looked back at his friend, he was still shaking. He took another deep breath and walked out of the bedroom. It was no longer dizziness, now it was discomfort in his mouth and stomach. He stopped three feet beyond the entrance to the room to take a breath. He closed his eyes for a moment. He had not noticed. The color of his skin was no longer normal and he was now pale. He put his right hand on his forehead. He noticed the high temperature of his skin. He did not want to believe it. He touched his face with both hands and found that he had a fever. He was also sweating and that was what helped him realize. But... these events were strange to him because... he didn't feel anything, any discomfort. He thought maybe it was some kind of hallucination. He felt that his stomach contracted suddenly. He felt a blow that lasted a couple of seconds. He knelt down at that moment, sweating too much and having difficulty breathing. He looked forward and then looked back. He didn't understand any of it. Something bad was coming into his head, though. He looked at his hands by pure chance. He would rather have never seen them than realize the state of his limbs. The palms of his hands were... wrinkled, as if he had been underwater for a long time. A part of his wrists likewise began to wrinkle and lose their natural color to become pale. He breathed in deep air. This time he had a hard time inflating his lungs with air, it was as if he had something stuck in his mouth that prevented him from inhaling air. He got up, although with difficulty and with tiredness that increased little by little. He turned around. He turned his eyes to the ground, looking for the root that he had pulled out of his friend's back. He saw it a little close to the furniture, near a small pool of blood. He stopped at the entrance to his friend's bedroom. He paid attention to her. He didn't move, he didn't see him move... Well, when he paid enough attention he realized that his friend was breathing, but it was weak breathing. Again, this discomfort in the stomach returned, accompanied by a strange twinge in the throat and on the tongue. He felt his neck, panting because he could not absorb much air. He felt his stomach jump up and down inside his body. His cheeks swelled up. Carlos put one of his hands in his mouth to stop the vomiting. He walked quickly to the bathroom. He didn't have much time to go to the toilet. He went to the sink and... He just opened his mouth and a large amount of saliva came out of it. The contractions in his abdomen increased. Carlos was only vomiting saliva and nothing else.