Deaths Never

Chapter 2 – Deaths Never

Matulo sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed on his red cell phone, as if it were a bomb about to explode. Several minutes had passed. The room was silent except for the muffled sound of the rain outside.

The device displayed only a single app, with a skull icon and the word in English:

"DEAD."

Matulo swallowed hard. His hand trembled. His thumb hovered over the icon.

"This is just a prank... just a scare app..." he tried to convince himself.

But the curious part of him—the one that thrived on mysteries and injustices—was already overcoming his fear.

With a hesitant touch, Matulo clicked.

The screen went completely black for a few seconds. Then, a simple, cold, and frightening interface appeared: an input line that allowed him to type a name, attach a photo, or even paste a fingerprint with the screen's sensor. Any of the three options. They all led to the same fate: the death of the chosen person.

"This is... too heavy to be a joke," he muttered.

But what bothered him most was: "What if it's not a joke?"

He kept looking around, as if someone might see him. The bedroom door was locked. His cell phone was still. The world seemed to hold its breath.

And then she came to mind.

Pietra Nanez Rodrigues.

Giant. Athletic. Beautiful. Idolized by teachers, athletes, and the popular students. But behind her appearance as the school queen, there was a cruel predator. She humiliated the nerds, pushed the loners in the hallways, mocked the shy. She did it laughing, as if she were the center of the universe.

Matulo had seen what she did up close. Crying. Punches. Torn notebooks. Broken glasses. Students forced to change schools. And never, ever, was she punished. The parents were rich, influential, untouchable. The school turned a blind eye. The teachers turned a blind eye.

Matulo wasn't the vengeful type, but... he hated injustice. And at that moment, looking at that dark app, something inside him told him he could, just once, get even with the world.

He opened the notebook and began to draw.

Matulo was good with pencil and paper. Extremely good. He could copy anything—a face, a leaf, even a worm with perfect detail. Within minutes, Pietra's face appeared on the paper, eerily faithful. Cold, with a look of superiority, her hair tied up like she always wore. He took a picture of the drawing with his red cell phone.

Then he typed into the app:

"Pietra Nanez Rodrigues."

At the bottom of the screen were two buttons:

[OK/DEATH] on the right.

[DELETE] on the left.

Matulo hesitated. His thumb trembled. His heart pounded. But then... he clicked OK/DEATH.

The screen went black. A loading circle appeared. Just a second later, the word:

"DONE."

He exhaled.

"This... is ridiculous," he said nervously, trying to laugh.

He threw his phone on the desk, got up, and grabbed a bag.

"It's just a dirty joke... a bad joke..."

But before he reached the hallway trash can, the phone vibrated.

A notification.

Matulo froze.

With slow steps, he returned and picked up the phone. The screen displayed:

"See if your death was successful."

His finger was shaking so badly he could barely click. But he did.

And then...

A photo. Taken from somewhere unknown. Maybe security cameras. Maybe something much scarier.

Pietra, kneeling in the school hallway, both hands on her own neck, eyes wide, suffocating as if something invisible were squeezing her throat.

Her mouth open, gasping for air. Her classmates in the background, in shock.

It was real. The pose. The desperation. The expression of someone who didn't understand what was happening.

Matulo stood there, frozen. Sweating cold. His pupils dilated. His heart pounding in his ears.

"Is this real?" he murmured.

"Or... or am I delirious?"

But deep down... deep down, Matulo knew.

It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a prank. It was real.

And he had pressed the button.

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Would you like me to continue with Chapter 3? We can explore the aftermath, the trauma, the temptation to use it again, and the beginning of the true curse of the Red Cell Phone.

(Comments from readers of the reddit of this webnovel above are discussion)