Saturday, April 24, 1937.

2125 Hours.

Underground Cemetery.

Everyone thinks they can handle a situation in a moment of crisis. Nobody in their sane mind would admit that they freeze against the prospect of imminent doom, always playing the role of a hero or savior in their mind. Those are children's fantasies. 

I have seen death itself in the face, and I couldn't even move a finger. I couldn't think of a word to say--my mind had been invaded by the beast. To live with the beast, to die by the beasts. It dripped over and inside me as the warmth of finality came to me. 

I don't know what happened at that moment. It was all a blur that I haven't been able to remember. What little I could piece together from clues afterward was that both me and Torito dropped the coffin on the ground. I don't know if it was the fall, or the fact that the beasts stepped on it, but the coffin was shattered a few moments later. 

I could feel its breath on my face, being mere centimeters away from me. It was cold, smelling of death and destruction, but it was also familiar and inviting, whispering sweet nothings to my ear. 

"Surrender, Sebas," it whispered. "Join me, and be at peace, for we are many." 

And I whispered back. "Will I ever be alone?"

"No, you will never be alone again. There will be no fear, and no death. You shall not be judged, or punished. With us, there is no pain, no hate. Only love and bliss, forever, until the end of time. All you have to do is surrender." 

And I asked. "Will you love me for who I am?"

"You are perfect just the way you are, Sebas. You shall be my children, and myself. I will be you, and you will be me. Us. No more loneliness. Be at peace, my child, born in darkness." 

I closed my eyes, feeling the happiest I have ever felt in my life. My skin aroused at the thought of having this bliss for all eternity. Can you imagine it? Being loved and adored for who you are? No ifs, or buts, or preconditions. Just constant adoration, without criticism. The beast was true love. The beast is true love. A primordial womb in which we are nurtured. 

I licked my lips, savoring the moment, and every letter that dropped from my lips tasted like the sweetest of honey. "Yes, I surrender." 

Only to be ripped away by Camarada. 

A single shot flew from his rifle and stuck the beast in one of its tusks. His bullets, unlike Torito's, were blessed by Father Maximino, and managed to dent the white-bone protuberance. It came from somewhere near me, close enough to pierce through the void and drag me back to reality. In a split second of consciousness, I realized the beasts still had Camarada clutched in its claws.

What followed was a sharp noise, followed by a deep ringing. The shot had been so close to my ear that it had ruptured my eardrum. I could only hear ringing, and the throbbing of my veins as blood pumped to my ears. 

I could faintly hear the beast screeching in the background, which only worked to drive the pain further into my ears, like nails being pounded into them. Up became down, left became right, and the room spun as what little balance I had was thrown array. The beats disappeared in front of me, being replaced by the spinning ceiling slowly crawling with dozens of beasts, like cockroaches behind a dumpster. 

The next few events happened in quick succession, almost in the blink of an eye. Camarada flew from somewhere in my right and smashed against Torito. Both hit the wall, with Camarada in particular showing a deep gash on his head and a leg bent in an unnatural angle. 

Something grabbed me by the armpit and lifted me up with surprising strength. It was Father Maximino. He yelled something at me, possibly to cover my eyes, as the next thing he did was place his hands in front of him as a heavenly glow began to form on his fingertips. A burst of life fired like a shotgun at all directions. It was as warm as the scorching sun, and even blinded me for a few seconds. 

When my vision came again, the hall was empty, save for the beats, likely stunned by the light. Father Maximino was panting, sweating bullets, and pulling me along as we both ran to a tunnel. Torito had somehow stood up, holding his side, and running behind us. 

Camarada was nowhere to be seen. 

"Where is Camarada?!" I yelled, or at least in think I did. My ears were still ringing.

The answer I got was a handful of inaudible words, and a head shake. But I wasn't going to leave him behind to die like a rat. I shook Father Maximino off me as I ran to the hall once again. 

I found Camarada on the floor, bleeding from top to bottom, slowly dragging his body towards the headless corpse of Father Jagger. I knew right there and then that he was not going to make it. But I still refused to let him die alone there. 

Kneeling beside him, I tried to hold his hand to stand him up somehow, but he shook me off. Instead, he yelled at me, pointing at Father Jagger's body. I ran towards the corpse, and did the only thing that I could think off, dragging it towards Camarada. 

He got on top of the corpse, searching it for a few seconds before finding Father Jagger's guns, and two grenades. She shoved one of the guns to my hand. It felt cold, and had blood all over it. I tucked it behind me, followed by Camarada grabbing me by the neck and yelling something I could barely hear. 

"Up! Up!"

I took it as a call that he wanted me to help him up, which I did. His body was as cold to the touch, and even I could feel his heart barely beating as the last of his blood ebbed from him. He posted at the tunnel, using me as a clutch to move as fast as he could with one good leg. However, as we reached the entrance of the tunnel, be pushed me, standing against the wall. It didn't last long, as he immediately fell down. 

I rushed to his aid, but he pushed me away. I tried again to grab him once again, but he grabbed me by the back of my head instead, placing his forehead against mine. 

I could feel his breath on my face, warm and pleasing, as he whispered something to me. My ears were still ringing, and it was low enough so that neither Torito or Father Maximino ever got to hear it. It lasted less than a second, as hordes of beats began flooding the hall as we spoke.

He let go of me, pushing me inside the tunnel. Whatever he said to me was lost forever. Those were his last words. 

Camarada pulled the pins out of his grenades, pushing them close to his chest before pulling the trigger on his head. He died with a wicked smile. 

We ran as fast as possible before the grenades blew up, collapsing the entrance of the tunnel behind us. 

We lost.