When her head snapped in half and her blood splattered on my face, I knew I could stop squeezing.

Her body fell heavy at my feet. I turned around and walked over to one of the tables to sit down. From there I stared at her. Raquel lay almost unrecognizable on the floor of the same room I had attended for a semester.

It felt weird, back to killing them all. It had been a long time since I had felt the urge to rip and break bones.

I looked down at my hands, not too proud of what I had done. My fingers were shaking after so much effort. The blood on my face, neck and hands was starting to dry. It felt cold and sticky; the urge to wash it away increasing, but that feeling was not new; I knew I'd be fine afterwards.

Most bitter of all was the thought of facing my dad again, telling him I had failed. I wanted to break something out of frustration, but I was tired, maybe in a few hours. Again I had blown it all away. I'm such a stupid, dumb girl. I put a hand to my head and let myself cry.

I don't know how long it was, but sooner than I expected, I started hearing sirens. I didn't care who had called, I knew it was time to leave, but at that moment I didn't feel like having a chase. I was fed up, tired and frustrated, very frustrated. I just wanted to be left alone.

I crouched on the table and hugged my legs. I contemplated the idea of staying there so that the cops would shoot me on sight. Maybe I could finally rest from it all, being dead.

But no, I really didn't want to. Besides, my dad would be very sad if I died, so it wasn't debatable. I sighed, jaded. I had to think of a way to escape. I'd probably have to kill more people and get more blood and bodily fluids all over myself. What a drag.

In that silence, I could hear the cops coming through the front door. The IV°C classroom was relatively close, plus, since the gate was covered by debris, they had to climb through the gate, and that forced them to make a lot of noise. I leaned out of a side window to watch them. There were only three guys, but soon more would join them, there was no doubt. Nobody would see a hundred corpses and don't call for reinforcements.

I was thinking about leaving, when suddenly a "Pst" caught my attention. I turned, surprised, and found him.

Sitting at the window, in his work clothes and tie, was my dad.

—Hello, princess.

I froze. For a moment I didn't even know what to think. Then tears overwhelmed me and a pout formed on my lips without my consent. My dad looked at me with his tender and benevolent smile, as he always did.

—Dad!

To my surprise, my voice came out broken. I could barely understand myself. I didn't know what to expect from him, I didn't know what to say to him in the face of one of my biggest mistakes in years. I had screwed everything up, we would have to move again, find another life in one of the few cities we had left to visit in the country, and we would have to do it all over again, all because of me.

However, he just nodded to me that it didn't matter, and opened his arms. My emotions took over, my legs took on a life of their own and ran to hug him. My dad wrapped his arms around me as I cried.

—It's okay, Erica. It's okay.

—I'm sorry, Dad! I'm so sorry!— I sobbed.

—It's okay, my princess. I'm sure you've had a rough few weeks here.

I nodded, still frustrated with everything that had happened.

—My child, my poor little princess— he said, his voice low and gentle— let's take a few days to relax. You'll see, you'll get better.

—But dad... school...— I pleaded, guiltily.

—School is the least important thing, princess. What matters is that you are well and happy.

He stroked my head and kissed me on the forehead.

—But you didn't want to see me graduate?— I asked.

—I wanted to see you get something that you wanted— he confessed— I wanted you to socialize a little, because it is a very important aspect for growing people like you, but I didn't want to see you suffer.

Then he took me in his arms like a princess. I admit I love it when he does that.

—That's enough for today. You can rest now.

He put one leg over the window to jump out. Then he landed on the sidewalk and continued walking with me in his arms. I made no attempt to walk on my own, as I know he's just as comfortable carrying me as he is carrying a feather.

As we walked away from the school and the sound of sirens, a question came to my head.

—Dad, do you think... Is it wrong to kill people?

He looked at me with an arched eyebrow.

—Where did that come from?

I looked at my fingers on my chest, covered with blood.

—I just... I don't know, everyone resented me so much for accidents or for protecting myself. I feel like people value life more than they need to.

My dad laughed.

—Life has no value on its own— he replied— We can kill the first person we pass on the street, and we won't feel a thing. But if I died, you would care, wouldn't you?

—Of course I would care! It would be terrible! I would want to die!

My dad laughed again.

—I wouldn't want you to kill yourself when I die. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Despite his bad joke, I think I understood what he meant.

—You're saying that the lives of the people we care about are more valuable?

—Isn't that right?

When he put it that way, it was hard to deny it.

—Yes, I guess you're right.

We were silent for a while. I thought about the lives of my classmates, vanished after I destroyed them all. I still resented them a little, only regretting the fact that they were so fragile, because if they weren't, I could have beaten them for longer. I had to resist a lot to leave Raquel last and not kill her with a punch to the face from the start.

But after thinking about it some more, I realized I was more frustrated by her impatience. We could have been friends, we could have had a nice graduation and everything, but they chose to mistreat me.

I didn't regret anything I had done, only that I hadn't done it sooner.

I was tired. I crouched against my dad's broad chest. I loved it there, I felt safe.

In that moment, I understood I'd never get to have real friends.