MATHIAS
¡No todo es lo que vemos y oímos!
I can't believe how entertaining it is to throw a basketball against the ceiling and wait for it to fall back into my hands. It's stress relief for me.
—When the hell are you going to stop doing that? —Aitor asks for the fourth time.
—If it bothers you that much, you can ask to switch rooms. —He laughs.
—That won't happen.
—Then we'll have to put up with each other. —There are two knocks on the door— Come in.
—I thought you didn't want to see your friend anymore.
—Shut up, if only I could get out... —I murmur.
—And I came to invite you to a party... —he pretends to be sad— Well, it'll be without you. What you'll be missing out on in this jail. —He climbs the ladder to the bunk bed and sits on the edge.
—Sorry to interrupt, but I don't agree with you. —He points to Henry— If we're with the right people, we have an advantage. Mathias knows that well. —With that he gets up from the desk and leaves the room.
—Who's that guy?
—Jealous, Henriciyo?
—Don't be an idiot.
—Besides being my roommate, he's Michael's friend.
—That guy you can't stand?
—Yes and no.
—Be specific.
—One of these days I was at his mansion. To be exact, Monday, when we worked on a biology project due today. It was too late to go back to school, so he offered me to stay there.
—So you fucked. —He says teasingly. I throw the basketball toward his face and he catches it.
—I just realized we're very alike, same tastes in many things, and I think that's why we don't get along so well.
—You look at the same things? Or in other words, you both looked at the same girl?
—I don't want to talk about that.
—I see you do... —he murmurs to himself—. So, how did the biology project go? —I sigh.
—The stupid teacher had a family problem and postponed it for the next class. I'll finish that crap early...
—You're very stressed...
—Want to go to the cafeteria? —He nods.
At the place, we both order something to eat. Henry chose a burger with a dark soda, while I opted for a ham sandwich with grapefruit soda. He started talking about his new obsession with collecting vinyl records. 'It simply doesn't surprise me how he spends money.' I just "listened," though my thoughts were more focused on how to help Nefertary. I've noticed her more stressed than usual. 'Is that girl normal?'
—She's not normal at all... —I murmur to myself.
—What? Are you paying attention, Mathias?
—Yes, I asked how many records you still need to collect.
—I don't have the list right now, but I guess about… 23?
I spent about two hours with him at the cafeteria, which was empty at the time, with not many people around, until it was time for him to go home and get ready for the party that I don't even know where it was because I didn't pay attention to all the crap he was saying. I just went to the bedroom, but when I entered, I found Aida, Aitor, and Nefertary, who was handing each of them a white envelope.
—Just the guy we're waiting for —Aitor says as soon as he sees me enter— I told you, with the right people we can have certain privileges.
—We're leaving now. Thanks a lot for the permissions, Nefertary. —Aida takes Aitor by the arm and leaves the room, leaving me alone with her.
—You saved Mendes some time, he was going to come get you.
—How can I help you?
—I have a permit for you to go out this weekend.
—How?... How do you get the permits? I thought only parents authorized that.
—Not with me. My family is very important for this institute. Let's say it's one of their favorites because of donations and support, of course.
—Where do you plan to take me? —I ask while sitting on one of the desk chairs.
—Are you still interested in helping me with the moods?
—I told you, you can count on me.
—Good. Then change clothes. I have some clues about who the people might be, but this isn't the right place to talk.
—Okay. —I was about to leave the room— Do they... —'that's none of my business.'
—Do what?... —she invites me to finish the question.
—Do they know too?
—If you mean Aitor and Aida, no. They don't know anything. If they ask what the permits are for, they'll say it's for a party. When they're part of my social circle, they get guaranteed privileges.
—Why them? I told you they're not trustworthy. —She sighs before answering.
—I like them. Besides, if you lowered your guard with them, you'd get along very well. I advise you to do so, since the Mendes are part of my world just like you, Mathias. —With that she leaves.
We've been on the road for twenty-seven minutes. The lead Ibagon had is a place outside the capital, and there was still a long way to go. Technically, when we arrived, we were going to inspect, gather evidence... I don't know how the hell we'd do that. I asked if the police knew about this; she said yes, but they still couldn't approach the property since they need a permit to search it. I didn't ask how she got that location, though it's obvious that just mentioning her last name gets her everything.
—Are you sure about this?
—Are you regretting it?
—I'm just saying because we're going somewhere we don't know what could happen, not to mention there might be mafiosos...
—That'd be another problem altogether, since we have one right now.
—What the hell are you talking about? —She speeds up the car.
—They're following us. —Her voice sounds a bit more serious.
—Since when?
—I think about ten minutes ago.
—Ten minutes!? And you only tell me now...
I glanced at the rearview mirror and sure enough, they're chasing us. It was a gray car, with tinted windows, almost the same model Ibagon was driving at the moment. At that instant, I caught Nefertary's gaze, which showed neither fear nor panic. Technically, she looked calm, and I didn't understand it.
—Act normal. Don't panic or we're screwed, okay?
—How can you be so calm? —I ask, alarmed.
—Me calm?... I try not to panic like last time. It doesn't suit me at all... it doesn't suit us at all.
At that moment, the car chasing us crashes into us, making our bodies jerk forward.
—Shit! —I spit out frustrated.
She increases speed at the same time as the other car does, though it moves to the opposite lane. Then it blocks our way, causing Ibagon to swerve, which makes us go off the road and crash into a tree.
I hear Nefertary's voice trying to say something, but I can't make out a word. My ears only hear a fucking annoying whistle caused by the impact. My eyelids start to feel heavy and I struggle to keep them open. At that exact moment, everything goes black and I lose consciousness.
✧────── ༉───✦───༉ ─────✧
I feel an unbearable pain in my head and arms. I remember being with Nefertary in the car... Shit!, we crashed into a tree. I try to open my eyes, but my eyelids won't let me, they feel heavier than usual. After a few seconds trying, I manage to open them.
—Finally, you wake up! —says a man I can barely make out because my vision is blurry— I was already thinking about doing something fun with you.
—Don't even think about it.
—Nefertary!? —Those words come out more like a whisper.
—And what are you going to do?
—You know very well what I'm going to do.
—How do you plan to do that? Don't you see your situation right now?
My vision clears enough to see Nefertary hanging by her arms just inches from the ground, just like me. She looks at the man with hatred, as if she wants to eat him alive. I don't see a hint of fear in her.
—Well... —he concludes, getting no answer— First of all, I have a little message for you, Nefertary, which says the following: "A little help to make your experience more real and fun." —The man says standing between us.
—Are you starting the game, or should I? —He mocks her.
—Don't you see yourself, little girl? —Ibagon's face, which was full of anger before, now only reflects a mocking expression, like trying to imitate the man... only he does it better.
—Looks like whoever sent you here didn't explain very well how to kidnap me. —She takes momentum and hits the man in the crotch, making him drop to his knees. She repeats it, this time managing to hold his head between her legs— Never underestimate a Ziegler, idiot!
The man, now struggling to breathe and free himself from Nefertary's grip, tries to speak, but it's difficult.
—Mathias!, try to bring that chair over here, it's a few meters away. —I just stare at the man. My brain is processing everything. 'How the hell does she know how to do that? How did she do it?'
—Mathias! —This time she looks me in the eyes.
—If you want to die, don't do shit. If that's not your plan, do what I just told you, we don't have all the time.
I try to get momentum to kick the chair toward me with my leg. The first try is a complete failure. My whole fucking body hurts, I'm more tired than usual. After trying two more times, I fail again.
—Mathias, take a few seconds to regain strength, try to stay calm.
—How?! You just told me minutes ago we don't have all the time in the world.
—I know that perfectly well, but getting frustrated won't help.
I take a moment to observe her. It's hard to understand how well she handles the situation. This is not the girl who was scared a few days ago for being followed by mafiosos. She's completely different. 'But you already knew that, that's what attracted you to her.' My gaze turns to the man who was just being choked a few minutes ago, lying on the floor. I don't see his chest moving, no sign of life. 'Did she kill him? Then why don't I see a hint of remorse or terror on her face?'
—Mathias, now is not the time to talk, we have to act. —As if she read my mind.
I take a deep breath to calm down. This time I focus more on the momentum I need to pull the chair toward me. I try again and this time it works. I bring it to the center of the room.
—Good, now push it toward me. —I nodded.
As soon as the chair is inches from her, she prepares to get on it. With one hand, she pulls a hairpin from her hair, which she uses to free herself from the handcuffs.
Then she approaches me and does the same thing she did before, but this time we're both on the chair. After a few seconds, I feel my wrists free and my arms exhausted from being like that for so long.
—Is he dead? —I ask, seeing her approach him.
—His miserable life is what matters now.
She starts searching him until she finds a weapon. Then she pulls a dagger from her boots, which she quickly plunges into his throat. The image makes me nauseous, so I look away.
—Mathias. —I ignore her.
—Mathias, it was necessary.
—He was already unconscious or dead, why do it?... how...?
—There are about six more men. What you just saw is nothing.
—Nothing?...
She approaches me and takes one of my hands to give me the weapon, after removing the safety.
—Shoot him in the head. They showed no mercy bringing us here. We don't have to be the exception.
—But...
—They led us for three hours like dead cows in a slaughterhouse. —She says under her breath— You cover my back or you stay here.
Nefertary heads toward the door. I feel like I'm in a trance. Is this the Nefertary Ibagon? To kill someone like that and feel no empathy at all doesn't happen overnight. I'll find out later, right now I need to get out of here. I prepare to follow her. A few meters ahead I see her slitting the throat of a man much taller than her; somehow she managed to get him to his knees.
—I thought you wouldn't come. —Her face is a little stained with that crimson, which doesn't seem to bother her— Don't feel sorry for them. —She extends one hand to caress my cheek, smearing it with blood— Only five left. —A sinister smile appears on her face. Does she love killing? 'I'd say it excites her' —Let's keep going...
We walk into the corridors of what seemed to be an abandoned building. As we moved forward, the light left us, plunging us into darkness. The silence let me hear every heartbeat racing so fast, trying not to go into a trance from what I'd seen Nefertary do... simply...
Two tall, strong men appear down the hallway. They run toward us as soon as they see us. One lunges at Nefertary and the other at me. Before I can react, he punches me in the face. This makes me take a few steps back. The man tries to punch me again, but this time I dodge, causing him to drop the weapon from my hands.
He kicks the weapon away with his left foot. I prepare to punch him in the face, but when my fist hits, it doesn't make him back off. 'Shit!'. He takes advantage to hit me again, with twice the force of the first. I fall on my ass to the fucking floor and, when trying to get up, he plants a kick to my face that makes me fall completely. 'This guy's going to massacre me.' My vision blurs for a few seconds. The man was coming at me again to beat me up, but he stops when he sees his ally losing against Nefertary, so he helps the other guy.
I try to locate the weapon, which is a few meters from me. I take advantage that he left me to get it. I feel my body too heavy to get up, so I decide to crawl. When I have the weapon in my hands, I aim at one of the men. The gunshot echoes down the hallway as one of the men emits a sound of pain.
—In the fucking head, idiot! —Nefertary yells at me.
I hit the leg of the man who lunged at Ibagon. The other guy comes at me again, so I prepare to aim at him. I miss the first shot. Before he reaches me, I aim at his head. I sigh, pull the trigger, and the bullet travels directly to his skull. The man staggers a bit and falls just inches from me.
I killed a man, but it was self-defense. I get up from the floor as soon as I see blood start to come from his head. I feel horrible nausea but hold it back. Not the time. I throw the weapon aside and inhale slowly to calm my uncontrolled breathing.
—It was you or him —Nefertary says, grabbing my face with her hands to make me look at her. Under the little light, I can see scratches on her face, which is also stained with blood, as are other parts of her body. I don't even want to imagine how I look— Come on, we're almost out of here.
We keep moving through the corridors. Every step I took was torture for my body. Never in my life had I felt like such shit. The wounds on my skin felt like they were being burned by a flame that had no intention of going out. The sound of gunshots made Nefertary and me stop for a few minutes until they ceased.
—Who do you think...?
—Could be the people I think, or maybe our problems getting out of this fucking place just got worse.
—How can you be so...?
—Give me one reason why I should be worse off than you.
Without getting an answer, she kept walking. It didn't take me long to catch up. Who the hell is this girl I have right now? I know I don't know her well enough, but this is... it's something with missing pieces to understand... this is no longer normal. 'Did you ever think she was normal?'
Some men in suits, armed and aiming forward, appear in front of us. I stop, while Nefertary keeps walking as if nothing.
—How the hell do they dare point their stupid guns at me? Idiots!
—Miss Ibagon, are you alright? —one of the men says, also signaling the others to lower their weapons.
—Where is Steven? —She ignores the man's question, even though it was more than stupid.
—Downstairs, miss.
—Well... —she pauses—. We're no longer in danger, Mathias.
We follow the men until we reach the building's exit. On the sides lay some bodies. I simply ignored them. My stomach wouldn't hold up just from seeing another fucking corpse.
About six black cars stood out, which I imagine were how they arrived. There were also other guys on watch, who lowered their guard as soon as they saw us.
—Miss Nefertary, I... —Ibagon punches the man who approached as soon as he saw her.
—If I were dead, believe me, Steven: I'd bring fucking hell with me to drag you into it. —He doesn't react, only keeps his gaze on the floor— Now do what you already know you have to do.
She dodges him to one side and keeps walking until she reaches one of the cars, while I can't process anything else. Is this the girl all of Switzerland knows?
—Aren't you coming, Ludwig?
—Who are you? —I ask, stunned. A twisted, sinister smile reflects on his face.
—Nefertary Ibagon, the monster you want to expose to society.