Hello, everyone. I know this update (Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 ; Part 4 ) was faster than usual, but it’s extremely urgent. Before I begin, I must say that I’m typing this with trembling hands and a knot in my stomach that seems to be growing, so I apologize in advance for any typos that may appear. Although I’ve mentioned before that this might be my last post, I’m really considering if it might be better if it were…
I decided to take desperate measures. Mr. Tobias was at the door and began knocking more heavily.
L: Is everything okay? Come out, we can help with some medicine, or if you want, I can take you home.
Just a moment… I’m almost done. You see, I’ve known Mr. Tobias since I was a child, and seeing him speak so friendly was a temptation to my frayed nerves.
But there was no choice. I opened the bathroom window and looked at the ground. It was a drop of 3 to 4 meters, nothing that would kill me, but it could break something. I aimed for the bushes in the corner and jumped. I hurt myself badly and felt my bones collide when I landed. But thanks to God, nothing seemed to be broken. I heard the bathroom door being opened and a voice coming through the open window.
Maria: Did he jump? My God!
Tobias: Quick, let’s see where he is; he must be in the backyard, and with that fall, he can’t be doing well!
I had no choice, I got up, still wobbly from the fall, and began to run awkwardly and shakily, looking for a hiding place. I heard the front door opening and the footsteps of the two running around the house. I stumbled and fell to the ground, cursing, but to my luck, it was a blessing. I had stumbled upon a trapdoor. I quickly opened it and went down the stairs, huddled in the darkness, while I heard my pursuers getting closer. I could hear their voices as they frantically searched for me in the backyard. Each of my breaths felt like a deafening thunder, and the sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears like tribal drums.
Maria: L, where are you?
Tobias: L, boy, come here so we can help you.
I heard their footsteps passing right over the trapdoor and stopping. Tobias’s heavy boots caused some dirt to fall through the passage.
Tobias: Look, I’m going to search the area. Don’t call the police yet. We’re so close to them because of Rafa that he doesn’t want to see us even if we’re gold. Let’s wait a little.
My breath was held, my body tense and sweating cold. Finally, the tension subsided when they decided to enter the house, but I knew I wasn’t out of danger. Did he know I had gone down? I stayed in the trapdoor for a moment, letting the adrenaline gradually subside. Then, carefully, I got up and looked around. It was a large tunnel dug in stone, actually a series of tunnels, a kind of labyrinth.
The place was dark and damp, with walls of wet earth and rock that seemed to close in on me. Every step echoed, creating a cacophony of sounds that seemed to betray me with every passage. I advanced, trying to stay as quiet as possible, although the feeling of being in a nightmare consumed me. As I approached what seemed to be the epicenter of these tunnels, more bizarre things appeared: bones scattered on the ground, and what seemed to be the remains of missing pets along with tufts of hair and torn clothes, were there as silent witnesses of unspeakable horrors.
Finally, I reached an underground clearing illuminated by torches where a gathering of “Enigmatics of the Celestial Serpent” cultists was taking place. They were engaged in obscure rituals, dancing and chanting in a language I couldn’t understand. The heat of fear enveloped me as I watched the terrifying scene, hidden in the shadows. I hid behind a rock, praying that their profane customs would conceal my insignificant presence.
Then, a thunderous scream echoed. Tobias appeared in the clearing and informed the cultists about my intrusion, mentioning that I had stolen the map and had been in his house before fleeing. He warned them that I had jumped from the window, so I was likely incapacitated and couldn’t have gone far. They reacted quickly, separating and going in search of me throughout the city. That evil bacchanal had dissolved in seconds, leaving a silence that in other times would have been desolate, but now it was comforting. Taking advantage of the distraction, I approached the area where they were and began to look for clues.
It was then that an unexpected presence manifested itself - the Murucututu, the mysterious creature that had haunted me in my nightmares. It flew down from the ceiling, almost giving me a heart attack. However, it looked different, strangely transcendent.
L: Hey, friend, what are you doing here? - I asked automatically, not as if I expected a response from a bird.
Then, almost as if it were just waiting for my question, it landed on a stone altar where a book was nearby and used its beak to turn a few pages.
I looked at the book and realized that the page in question was about a ritual of possession by the serpent entity through the body of a host. I discovered that the host’s body needed to belong to a specific lineage, separated from birth and prepared so that at the right age, it could be possessed. I began to understand that Rafael was a part of this. Raised by his father to be the next one. Nothing more than a lamb prepared from birth for slaughter. The text also indicated that when the ritual was performed, the host’s soul was not destroyed but would migrate to the nearest living being, hence the need for caution in the execution. I was stunned. I began to think then. Could it be? No, I was going crazy. It was when the Murucututu looked directly at me, its strangely human eyes. It was him. Rafael.
L: Rafa, is it you…
Before I could say anything, a burnt smell filled the air. I stopped and felt the soot filling my lungs, causing me to cough heavily. Quickly, I looked for the source through the tunnels and found, to my dismay, a large barricade of burning tires blocking the entrance to the cave. Smoke filled the cave like water in a sunken ship. I ran desperately back to where I came from and tried to open the trapdoor, but it was stuck. They knew I was here; it was just a ploy to trap me and finish this once and for all.
If any of you live in the area, could you please send emergency services here? I’ve tried to contact the police, firefighters, and rescue, but the only thing that works on my phone is Reddit. The Murucututu flew away about 5 minutes ago and hasn’t returned yet. I really hope he knows what he’s doing. I hope I can come back here, but if not, I thank all of you. Goodbye.