MICHAEL
¿Por qué morir ahora?
The more time I spent with Nefertary, the more I understood her behaviors, so much that at this exact moment I knew the hurricane her thoughts were subjected to. Two weeks had passed without precise information about the murderer of his father.
—Could someone tell me what the reason for this meeting is? —asks Aitor, who arrives accompanied by Mathias.
—Most likely more death threats. —Ludwig has been unbearable since what happened, and every chance he gets he doesn't hesitate to hide his displeasure.
—You're right, so much that I'm going to take you to the place where I'll bury your wretched body, after, of course, mutilating it and selling your organs on the black market. —Those words leave him pale—. If there are no more stupid questions, you can get in the car.
After 40 minutes of driving, we arrive at what looked like a mansion. Upon entering, it had a great hall bigger than that of a regular mansion.
—This mansion is designed for one purpose. As you may have noticed, there are two routes: the right side leads to 6 rooms and 2 bathrooms; the left, to the garden. Meanwhile, the hall is more like the center of a club —of course, there was a bar in one corner—. Like all clubs, it has its own VIP area. —Upon climbing to it, there was a view of the garden, which had a pool.
—Well, I have to say it's fucking awesome, you can see everything —Aitor says in amazement.
—Only 25 people whose names are on the list enter here. If you're not on it, you can only get in with the invitation of someone who is. The place, as you've noticed, has a capacity for 800, to which about 550 people are invited, from school and some others.
—Be more specific? —Aida.
—In our year, only the lists for 11th and 12th grade. Anyone from that level can enter. Meanwhile, other schools have a more restricted list, known or friends from the VIP zone, who act as secondary hosts.
—Are there university students?
—Would you mix Louis Vuitton with Nike, Aida?
—Of course not —she replies offended, which makes Aitor and me laugh.
—High school parties are one thing. These I throw just to boost my popularity. I throw a total of 18 parties, 9 just like this Friday's, and the others more exclusive with university and high school students.
—In conclusion, anyone can enter this Friday.
—Exactly, Mathias.
—I want to know more about the other parties.
—Well, the VIP zone is more demanding, only with 5 more spots. Here are only the richest kids in all of Switzerland, the top of the top. The rest have about 400 people with the same social rank, of course, and ages between 17 and 25, each allowed one guest. Of those, only about 150 people not on the list are the maximum allowed.
—You're starting to grow on me.
—Excuse me —announces a girl carrying some snacks and drinks. She leaves them on the table and leaves.
—Now you're going to regret what you said, Aitor, about toys. These parties aren't for that —he rolls his eyes—. No sadistic games.
—Sadistic!?
—You heard me right, Ludwig —I reply— Nothing that surrounds Nefertary is healthy. Why do you think these two are here? —I point at Aida and Aitor— They're something like her.
—We are —Mendes intervenes— You're included too, Michael —who gives me a crooked smile.
—I'm going to the bathroom.
—You scared the kid, idiot —Aida hits her brother's head, who complains.
—You blame me, but Lorenz started it.
—It's true, Aida, your brother only, well... —Nefertary laughs.
—It was time Mathias got to know more about us —she commented.
—If you say so... I'll get to know the garden better, excuse me —Aitor leaves our sight, not without grabbing some snacks.
—I'll go with that idiot.
—If it were up to you, you wouldn't do these things.
—It's a waste of time —I get up from my seat to go to the corner where she is.
—I want to know what else is a waste of time for you —she just smiles at my comment.
—I know what you're trying to do —I shorten the distance between us.
—Then you wouldn't mind if... —I plant a few kisses on her neck. I must admit her scent drives me crazy.
—And if you're looking for your death like that? —she brings her arms to my shoulders.
—Believe me, I wouldn't mind —with that, I kiss her.
The desire in her is so evident, and as aggressive as that afternoon on the cliff. We both want this, our mouths moving at a violent rhythm, our breathing a complete mess.
—It's very bad to get addicted to something so unstable.
—You already know what I think about that —I seal our lips again, pull her closer, and one of my hands goes to her butt for a little squeeze that makes a small moan escape.
—I want to do so many things to you right now —I turn my attention back to her neck, which I suckle a bit to leave small bites.
—Hope I'm not interrupting —that voice makes me stop. I was starting to like him.
—Not at all —Nefertary clarifies, putting distance between us— We're talking about economics.
—It was obvious —Mathias says ironically as he takes a seat.
—Changing the subject, I have a small gift for you today.
—Are you really going to do it? —I interrupt her.
—Of course —she sits on Ludwig's lap— It's time you're officially in my world —she says while looking only at him and planting a kiss on his cheek.
I roll my eyes at so much ridiculousness. This boy is barely alive to survive another test from Nefertary, one of many that will come his way.
I get ready to go to the garden, where the silhouettes of Aitor and Aida are visible, enjoying the view in silence.
—Where...
—On the second floor.
—Alone? —I stick my middle finger up at Aitor as a reply; he laughs widely.
—Is he going to surprise her today?
—She just told him. Do you think, Aida, that she can stand it?
—We'll find out in a couple of hours.
—Now I understand why he's so... you know, less unbearable than other days.
We stayed talking for a couple more minutes until it was time to go. Some of Nefertary's men had arrived to pick us up.
The ride to the cabin was peaceful—up to the point where Aitor started whining about nonsense. Aida had to shut him up by force.
Once inside Nefertary's twisted world, she ordered Mathias' blindfold to be removed. It was the first time he saw the facility.
—Room "M", Miss Ibagon.
—I'll take the main room. Fill me in on the details. —Nefertary signaled one of her henchmen to follow Aitor.
As we walked further in, some of the rooms we passed were drenched in blood; two even had corpses inside, which made Ludwig go completely pale. The fear and tension in him were painfully obvious.
—Open it —Nefertary ordered. Her command was followed immediately.
Aida and I stayed outside, watching through the window.
—The man you see here is worthless, Mathias, don't feel any pity. This man was never good, so…
—I won't do whatever it is you're thinking —he muttered through his teeth.
—That's what you think —she grabbed one of the knives on the table and handed it to him—. If you don't do it, you can be damn sure you won't make it back to your fucking mansion today without me ending your pathetic life first. —She gave him a twisted smile. He had no choice but to take the blade—. You have less than half an hour to end his life.
—You have no idea how much I hate you.
—I didn't drag you here by force —she feigned sadness—. I'd love to know how much pain you can cause. —She walked out of the room, leaving him alone.
Having people half-naked and tied to gurneys had become more than just a habit for Nefertary.
—Will you really kill him if he doesn't do it? —Even though the answer was obvious, I couldn't help asking.
—He sought out hell, now he has to learn to live in it. Even if he hates me with everything he's got, I'll always be by his side, in this life or the next. I won't leave him alone.
Ludwig, lost in his thoughts, tried to figure out how to get out of that situation, fully aware that his options were painfully clear: kill or be killed.
Realizing that, his face—already twisted with rage and hatred he had long buried—drove him to make his first move: he stabbed the man in the abdomen. The man screamed in pain, a gut-wrenching sound for Mathias' ears, who then pulled the blade out and stabbed again, and again, letting his rage take over until the man was finally dead.
His pale face was now stained with that crimson color Ibagon adored so much, her expression one of pure satisfaction, while that boy backed away from the corpse, still gasping for breath.
His eyes were clouded by guilt—one that wouldn't let him live in peace from this moment on.
Not all of us are built to carry someone's death on our conscience.
Not all of us can kill and pretend it was just some thrilling game.
Because not all of us have that obsession with hurting people just for our own pleasure…
Some of us do feel compassion.