Chapter 5

Gabriel, Edgar, Victoria and Estefany advanced at an accelerated pace, ignoring what was happening behind them. So it was until the light of the last lamp of Plaza Cubierta illuminated their backs, projecting their shadows on the cement path that would take them to the outside of the faculty of economics and social sciences building and to Tierra de Nadie (No Man's Land); an extensive green area full of trees and grass. From there a walk of just over ten minutes would take them out of the university.

The path they had to follow did not even have a light until it connected with one of the emblematic roofed corridors. It was eighty meters blind, where only the silhouette of gnarled and twisted trees that would surround them could be distinguished. The idea was unpleasant for everyone, and so they stood for a few seconds, a small moment that made the silhouette of the building in front of them stand out.

It was large and looked very dark, as if the walls were painted black. Again there was no sign of people and in a building that was never quite empty, there were no light bulbs on.

—Estef, how many floors does your school have? —Edgar asked, knowing that she studied in that building.

—Seven... why?

—Are you sure it's not ten?

Estefany looked back at him, confused, as he pointed straight ahead. The large building, unlike so many times Estefany had seen it, seemed larger than usual. It was subtle, but something gave it an odd volume. So surprised was the sociology student that she had to stop and count the floors. The first time there were eight, then she counted them again and there were eleven.

"I feel dizzy, I can't count properly anymore", she thought impatiently.

She wouldn't have a chance to do it a third time because a strong light began to flicker on the last of the floors. Blue-white, it flickered in short intervals, focusing on them insistently.

—Maybe they were distress signals? —Gabriel tried to elucidate—. Did something happen and we didn't notice?

Victoria covered her face and turned away, and there she just noticed the casualty they had suffered. She felt like the world was coming down on her and she turned around, hoping to see Diego a few meters behind her, but she saw no one.

—Guys, and Diego? —She waited a few seconds for an answer, but no one said anything —Guys and Diego?! —she shouted, plunging into a fleeting fit of anxiety. She hyperventilated and advanced several meters alone in the hope of seeing him hidden behind a column.

—Wasn't he coming after you? —was the only thing Estefany answered.

—Diego?! —she shouted again, making her voice echo throughout the length and breadth of Plaza Cubierta.

—Calm down, Victoria, calm down —Gabriel stopped her as he looked towards Plaza Cubierta—. He can't be far, calm down, we're going to look for him.

Although he tried not to show it, Gabriel was as scared as she was, aware that the young man was her responsibility. They retraced their steps and searched for him behind every column and on every ramp of Plaza Cubierta and Aula Magna, running faster and faster the more they worried about the absence of the youngest of the group, but he was nowhere to be found.

There they would last about ten minutes, holding their hands to their heads until, standing on the border between the plaza and Tierra de Nadie, Edgar could make out a silhouette in the distance that stood out in the darkness surrounding the economic and social sciences building.

—Ey! I found it! Guys! —he shouted powerfully.

The others joined him in a few seconds and without thinking began to run in the direction of Diego, Victoria the first, but as soon as they got a little deeper into that path, an abrasive and overwhelming feeling ruled them all. Gabriel threw a blow to his right, clearly feeling as if someone was closing in on him. That made him lose his balance and roll on the ground a couple of times before getting back on his feet.

They all sensed the same thing and stuck their backs to each other's while looking to the sides, trying to find the entities that were surrounding them, suffocating them. The threat was so great that Estefany had to stretch her hand backwards, looking for Edgar's arm to hold it tightly, as she was convinced that whoever went last would be separated from the rest, just as had happened with Diego.

Gabriel imitated Estefany and held Victoria's arm while she in turn grabbed Edgar, running down the hill, almost falling many times as they approached Diego who, engrossed, was waiting in front of a metal door, next to the outside stairs of the building.

The door opened wide before him; nothing inside could be made out, although a thunderous creaking sound came from the darkness, as if a group of people were scraping pots with knives and forks. It was obvious to everyone that Diego should not go in there.... How to avoid it?

—What are you doing? —Victoria asked him with a powerful shout, close enough to be heard, but not close enough to grab him by the shirt and pull him towards them.

They had no chance to stop him, and Diego could barely turn to look at them as he advanced into the cavernous room; he had an expressionless grimace on his face, though many tears escaped from his eyes.

Suddenly, as if Victoria's fuss had disturbed whatever entity was forcing him into her abode, the door slammed with a great force, leaving them outside. Edgar and Gabriel did not take long to hit it furiously, pulling it with all their strength. In another situation they would have managed to force it somehow, but at that moment it was useless.

Estefany and Victoria illuminated them with the flashlights of their phones; it took them a while to notice the oppressive cloud that surrounded them. The light of the lamp of their phones was suffocating like a flame in the rain and what was a strange feeling of threat became a real danger when an icy caress, the touch of a finger with a sharp fingernail, slid brazenly down Estefany's arm burning her skin.

The girl threw a blow with inordinate power, but there was no one there to receive it. She didn't think twice and pulling the collar of Gabriel's shirt she began to flee in panic.

—Let's go! Run! —shouted as she ran towards the entrance of the building, which was about forty meters away from them.

The lights in the roofed corridor where they were advancing began to go out behind them, at the same time they heard clearly how the nails of a pack of rabid wolves came after them, coming so close on their heels that Edgar's shoe slipped off when a sharp claw snagged the back of it. He barely kept from falling.

Their muscles fatigued by hours of exercise gave their all to run that last stretch of hallway at full speed, until the white lights of the faculty entrance were in front of them. The two metal doors with rectangular windows were wide open, giving them the warmest of welcomes and they crossed them without a second thought, eager to close them to prevent whatever was following them from entering the building.

As soon as they were inside the building they passed the latches and held the doors tightly, waiting a few seconds for the impact of a gigantic horde of wild dogs crashing against the metal and bursting the window panes, and although they heard them hovering, they saw nothing. They never saw anything until the sound faded with the wind. And just like that, an older woman, hunched over and wearing colorful floral print clothes, appeared walking slowly, with a toothless smile, followed by a soft mist.

—Have fun my children... have fun, everything will be fine —she said in a raspy voice, waving her wrinkled hand, full of blue veins. And as suddenly as she appeared, speaking to them from outside, the soft mist swallowed her up and the lights outside went out, making it impossible to see anything.

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