Miguel Mendoza, part I.

2009, May.

an older version of Tequila walks around the jungle. he has a small team with him. there are around six more people following his instructions. they arrived in front of a hole. even from outside you can see a giant crimson door at the heart.

"So, it came to be two years ago?" asks Tequila shaking in horror.

he has long unkept black hair with white hairs. he has a thick beard with gray hairs. there are some wrinkles and scars all over his face and body. he can barely stay standing. he uses a cane to stay standing. the man is healthy, but weak.

it came to his mind the words of the stranger. it has been more than ten years indeed. the Genesis has started. the end is approaching. the door is just proof of what is to come. maybe Armageddon is something beyond human comprehension. the feeling of being unable to react properly to such horrors makes him feel weak. vulnerable. pathetic.

after some time getting the proper equipment, the team descends inside the hole. there are strange noises coming from all around. they are using military equipment similar to the one use to go underwater. they move slowly. the equipment is too heavy. they procure to avoid making any noise. there is something slimy moving in the ground between their feet.

there is an immense fog making it hard for them to see. one of the members steps away from the rest by accident. he gets nervous and screams. nobody can hear his voice. he takes a lantern out a small backpack. he turns it on. there is an immense object in the form of an eye staring directly at him. the eye looking object has tiny baby hands all around the pupil. it has some sort of long black tentacle connected to the lateral area. the eye gets closer to him and throws some liquid at him. the liquid melts part of the equipment. he tries to take it all off. he drops the lantern. he takes a few steps behind. something similar to a tentacle drags him to the darkness. he screams in dread until there is no voice to scream anymore.

the rest of the team keeps moving up. they step a mile or two away from the door. they stare at the door which seems to be made out of a precious stone. the door is closed with a locker. there is a knocking noise, but it doesn't open. 

around that area the fog becomes less dense allowing them to find a sort of village or whatever is left of the village. they move around some worn out wooden houses. then they find something moving around them. they all pull out riffles. Tequila yields asking them to not make a damn brusque movement. then a boy appears in front of them. 

the kid isn't wearing any equipment. the boy isn't older than four years old. he is barely wearing some rags to cover his body. the kid is dirty. skinny. his features indicated that the boy was of Latin American linage. Tequila tears up as he kneels in front of the child. he felt horrible to think the horrors the boy had to see in order to survive in that environment.

"No papa. no mama. tu papa?" said the kid.

"Call me uncle. I am still too young to be a dad. but I can be your uncle for sure." said Tequila with a gentle smile as he approaches the child.

Tequila grabs the child between his arms. he looks at his team. he gives them instructions to leave that place at once. they had already seen enough. any longer in there can be dangerous. he is informed of a missing member. he tells them to give up on his soul. it is important to leave at once before it's too late.

they proceed to return. the door opens itself slightly by two seconds. one of the members saw what lies on the other side of the door. he screams. he runs around in horror. there was something beyond human comprehension that terrorized him. he turns his lantern on. then he stares at something hidden. in the darkness. it was hard to tell for sure what it was. it was slimy and huge moving around the ground and above the air at the same time.

"Please save me. mom save me. I am sorry." said the man crying loudly.

then a thing that appears to be a slimy tentacle appears in front of him. it opens from the middle revealing things similar to genitalia with teeth. the man turns the lantern off. but it was too late to save his soul. his creams were a warning for the rest of the team. it also awoken the creatures sleeping in the depth of the darkness.

the rest of the team run for their lives. they try to stay together. Tequila keeps warning them against walking by themselves. he also warns them about turning their lanterns up. he is so terrified for his life. but he tries to keep himself together. the child is more important. if he isn't mistaken the child at his arms may be the salvation. he is the key, or one of many.

"Soldiers remember what I pay for. I know that letting any of you die under such awful circumstances would be an injustice. but this child comes first. it doesn't matter if we have to sacrifice everyone in here in order to deliver the child alive to the outside. so, you boys better die if needed for this boy. your families depend on it." yields Tequila out of breath.

they keep running as fast as possible. something seems to be moving around them. one of them turns the lantern on. it observes something massive that steps on top of him leaving nothing behind. another one of them runs by himself. he screams. he makes loud noises. then something in the darkness devours him. just like that there are only three of them left.

Tequila feels an intense amount of adrenaline pushing him beyond his limits. he has to make it out of that piece of hell. he needs to do it. after some long time lost in there. the two reminding soldiers and Tequila made it back to the ropes that will take them back up. they proceed to climb back to the surface. from the opposite side the door is shaken abruptly by a force that they can't see. a force they can only hear. a force they can feel for sure.

as they are climbing one of the soldiers lose his footing and falls back breaking his neck in the process and was probably devoured by whatever was down there.

the last two man standing keep moving up without looking down nor back. they keep moving fast with precise movements. Tequila holds tightly the child who could be a one-time miracle or the one to save men kind.  no matter what, he needs to make sure the kid makes it out unharmed in the process. he gasps for air. his breathing becomes louder and heavier. he feels like he should take it light in the alcohol consumption. he keeps moving faster. his fingers are swollen and sweating by now. he is a mess. his forehead is sweating so intensely that the sweat blocks his view. he feels the heat going up out of bravery, and down in intense fear.

after an intense amount of pain, he finally made it back up. the child still in his arms. he was technically fine if you don't account for the years of malnutrition. Tequila moves far from the hole carrying the child with the last strength his body had left to afford. he falls drain on the ground looking at the smiling child.

not too long the soldier also made it out of the hole. the soldier takes the equipment off. he throws some of it inside the hole. he is a man in his mid-thirties with some scars. he has brown hair and black eyes. he has some rough appearance. the man kneels looking up at the sun. he stays in a position similar to praying for a while. he didn't move from there until the mantle of the night had slightly touched him.

the soldier follows Tequila to a run out van. they both get inside. the kid falls asleep on Tequila's lap. his face is calm. the soldier looks at the child surprise of how a creature can survive in such environment for that long when trained soldiers didn't lasted long.

"It is surprising, isn't it? a miracle the faithful may say." said Tequila in a calm voice.

"Yes. indeed. I know that I am just a pay soldier told to follow instructions and do as I am told to do but there are things I am indebted to know." said the soldier in an emotionless tone of voice showing some hints of wonder and fear.

"I am not precisely a know it all. I am just some random Mexican with money and good looks. and probably a damn good mathematician with some knowledge in chemistry. but as far as I am concern. the end is coming. we, as in a group of powerful people including me. we were warned about the beginning of the end. my last hope lies in the boy."

there was a second that later turned into a minute of silence. no one dared to say a single word for about ten minutes. as it all sounded and felt too silly to be true. the end was less cinematically than expected. it felt raw and cruel. no matter the choice of words to explained what just happened in a logical way was absurd.

"I guess the retirement plan is out of question. let me be your security guard. not just for this single mission. I can pull it off for the rest of my life. if he is that important, then I want to give the rest of my life protecting him." said the emotionless soldier.

"I was certain that you soldiers were no believers. it's good to have some smart muscles taking care of the child at my side." said Tequila forcing a smile.

"don't get me wrong sir. I don't believe in supernatural bullshit. no aliens. no ghost. I don't even believe if God is real or not. but I believe in what I saw out there. that was for sure hell. if that is our future. then I want to fight on the winning side. your side sir." said the soldier.

there was another awkward minute of silence. Tequila calls out for his secretary to do the legal process to properly hire the man as the kid's bodyguard. Tequila even calls someone to make sure that the adoption was going to be legal and fast. with a few bills he is going to come up with a good excuse to justify the child under his care.

"May I know how you are going to call the child sir?" asks the soldier.

"Oh, you're right. the child needs a name. from now on his name should be Miguel Mendoza. just like my dad. rest in peace. oh, it seems like I also forgot to ask for your name." said Tequila.

"I am Paul Smith sir." said the soldier.