Chapter 1

The story begins a day before, with two young people, a girl and a teenage boy, playing, jumping, and having fun in the park.

In the present, the young people meet again, but this time it is not to play, since the girl accuses the boy of stealing her bicycle. According to the story told by the girl, the boy threw her bicycle into the lake.

This was no ordinary lake; its surface was almost crystal clear, although upon closer look, a bluish tone prevented seeing the bottom. In the middle of the lake, there was a very small island, with well-kept green grass and a medium-height tree. 

What was truly unusual for both locals and strangers was that on that island at sunset, a beautiful mermaid usually rested.

It is said that the mermaid returns all objects that fall into the lake back to the town, and according to tradition, the mayor must receive them every day to prevent misfortune from befalling his people.

The girl told her mother what had happened, accusing the boy of throwing her bicycle, so the three of them went to the mayor. He told them that, indeed, the mermaid had found a red bicycle in the lake and had returned it to the town.

The mayor added that the bicycle had been taken to the bike shop for maintenance, and since the chassis had a serial number, it would not be difficult for the owner to claim it with the purchase ticket.

The mother, the girl, and the boy went to the bike shop. The person in charge told them the bicycle was already in good condition, pointed with his finger toward the bicycle hanging there, and everyone was left confused.

At that moment, the boy remembered what had happened. The girl had visited him to invite him to play, and since he did not need the bicycle, he left it at his house.

After hours of laughter and fun, they set out to return home, and since she, excited and noisy, lived so close, she completely forgot she had arrived by bicycle. The bicycle had remained stored there ever since.

It was then, upon hearing that memory, that the girl began to doubt: who had she seen throwing something into the lake? And what exactly was it? She only knew that it was also red, like a bicycle.

With the mystery of the bicycle resolved, everyone headed to the boy's house; however, the woman stopped at the local market to get supplies.

The mother, then meeting a group of friends, shared whispered concerns that they had to be very careful lately, as they said a girl from the town had disappeared, and it was believed to be the fault of some pagans who had recently arrived in the town.

They all agreed that those pagans had something to do with it, as it was said that since their arrival, they had been performing very strange rituals near the lake.
The woman, with the youngsters, left the market and intended to resolve the bicycle problem later.

At nightfall, a mother, worried because her son had not returned home, went to visit the town seer after reporting the disappearance to the authorities.

The seer read her fortune, told her everything would be fine and that she would find her son, but before leaving, he asked her to please listen to his story since, according to her fortune, she was meant to hear it.

Centuries ago, a group of rich and powerful people discovered a kind of humanoid animal, which, upon drinking their blood, would grant protection and "eternal permanence on earth."

But the rich fell into pride. With immortality on their side, they committed terrible acts they never thought they would have if they had been mortal, and their deeds worsened more and more.

Suddenly, while sleeping, their dreams began to turn more and more frequently into nightmares, where extremely bright beings, so dazzling that it hurt to look at them, exclaimed to them to await their death, to free the earth from their filthy presence and bring them before the judgment of God.

The rich, terrified by these messages, went to the creature that had granted them immortality, telling him about their nightmares and worries.

The creature then offered them a pact: he would rid them of these nightmares and give them the power so their vile acts would not affect their lives, but he would demand that they fulfill every desire he had.

Eager for trivial desires still to be fulfilled, they all accepted. Among the first desires the creature had was that he wanted to feed on someone like them, and on someone "purer," to see if the filth from their acts changed the taste of their flesh.

That is how they all offered a part of their bodies to the being, as well as the child of a poor ex-wife of one of them.

The being, more out of taboo than flavor, enjoyed the blood of the innocent, making that request routine.

Over time, the being had to rest for long periods, and usually chose to sleep in deep lakes to be at complete peace, and upon waking, near his followers.

He asked them to continue placing blood in the lake so that during his rest he could delight in what he liked so much.

One by one, the followers died without realizing their deaths, but upon "waking" at that moment, they were in a younger, more beautiful, and stronger body than their old counterparts.

It was not that they were immortal, but that they would never leave the earth to the beyond, sentenced to live eternally in chains to their master.

In the present, still fearing the wrath of God, they offered the blood of innocent creatures to pagan idols so they might intercede for them and allow them to continue committing their sins. This ritual continued obligatorily, though slightly modified to try to soothe the minds of the followers.

All of this was revealed by a former member of that sect; however, the list of main culprits and their companions disappeared.

The seer thanked the mother for listening to his long story, told her he would include her in his prayers, and took a suitcase already packed to leave the town, never to be seen there again.

Later, the mother found the boy returning from playing with his friends in the meadow and scolded him severely.

The next day, rumors spread across the town that the "pagans" had left the town.

The mayor went as usual to see the mermaid that same morning, but she never appeared. There was not a day she had failed to appear at the same hour, and although the mayor waited longer, she did not come out.

From that moment, several people claimed to have seen a ghost, and all agreed on one thing: it appeared at midnight, in the same place where the mermaid used to rest, lamenting and sobbing throughout the night.

Could it be that the pagans had something to do with it? Where is the mermaid? Is she safe? Why did the girl suddenly remember seeing someone throw something red into the blue lake?