《Ek Chapat's Cave》 Part 1
1 The production truck advanced slowly along the narrow dirt road, surrounded by dense tropical vegetation. Mary, sitting in the passenger seat, observed the landscape with a mixture of fascination and apprehension. The humid heat filtered through the half-open windows, bringing with it the dense aroma of the jungle. "How much longer?" asked Carlos from the back of the vehicle, his voice loaded with impatience. Mary turned to look at him. The cameraman held his equipment firmly, protecting it from the bumps in the road. "According to the GPS, we''re close," Elena replied, her eyes fixed on her phone screen. "Although the signal here sucks." A dull thud shook the vehicle. Joseph, the young sound technician, let out a muffled cry as his microphone almost slipped from his hands. "Relax, rookie," Carlos mocked. "If you keep this up, you''re going to need a change of pants before we start filming." Anna looked up from her notes, giving Carlos a disapproving look. "Don''t be a jerk. We''re all nervous." The vehicle came to an abrupt stop. George, their local guide, pointed through the windshield. "There it is. Welcome to Old San Juan." The village materialized before them like an apparition among the vegetation. Adobe houses with palm roofs and some with tile roofs lined up along dirt streets. Curious faces peered out from doors and windows as the team descended from the vehicle. Mary took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the gazes upon her. This was her moment, her chance to reconnect with her roots and create something meaningful. She remembered her grandmother''s voice telling her stories of Ek Chapat when she was a child, stories that had haunted her all her life. "If I could prove it''s real," she thought, "I could honor my grandmother''s memory and maybe, finally, understand who I really am." "Alright, team," she said, trying to project a confidence she didn''t entirely feel. "Let''s get set up and then we''ll do a tour to familiarize ourselves with the place." As they unloaded the equipment, Mary noticed the tension in George''s shoulders. The man was constantly looking around, as if he feared something might jump on them at any moment. "Everything okay, George?" she asked in a low voice. The guide startled, as if he had forgotten her presence. "Yes, yes... it''s just that..." he paused, looking towards the dense forest surrounding the village. "There are places here where it''s better not to go, you know?" An uncomfortable silence fell over the group. Mary felt something cold settle in the pit of her stomach. She looked around, noticing for the first time how deep the shadows were between the trees, as if night was lurking, ready to fall upon them at any moment. 2 The camera focused on the wrinkled face of Don Esteban, an old man with sunken eyes and sun-weathered skin. The man shifted uncomfortably in his wooden chair, his gaze nervously jumping between Mary and the lens observing him. Mary leaned forward, her voice soft but insistent. "Don Esteban, tell us about Ek Chapat." The old man visibly shuddered at hearing the name. His gnarled fingers clung to the cane resting on his knees. "You shouldn''t ask about that," he muttered, his voice hoarse like dry leaves. "There are things better left alone." Carlos adjusted the camera, his lips pressed into a tense line. "Come on, Mary," he whispered. "Don''t tell me you''re believing this." "Why do you say that, Don Esteban? What dangers are there?" The old man closed his eyes for a moment, as if gathering strength. When he opened them again, there was a feverish gleam in them. "Ek Chapat is not a story to scare children. It''s real. And it''s hungry." A shiver ran down Mary''s spine. The conviction in the old man''s voice was undeniable. "What do you mean it''s hungry?" Don Esteban leaned forward, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. "It feeds on curiosity. On ambition. On those who come seeking fame or fortune." Mary''s throat closed up, rough as sandpaper. She swallowed hard, trying to moisten her suddenly dry mouth. Was the old man implying...? "You''re not the first to come asking," Don Esteban continued, his gaze fixed on Mary. "Others have come before. Journalists, explorers, treasure hunters. They all disappeared." A dull thud made Mary startle. Joseph had dropped the microphone, his face pale as paper. "I... I''m sorry," the young technician stammered, bending down to pick up the equipment with trembling hands. "Great, Joseph," Carlos muttered. "If Ek Chapat doesn''t kill us, the ruined budget will." Don Esteban didn''t even seem to notice the interruption. "Ek Chapat lures them with its riddles. It makes them believe they can outsmart it. But no one can. Its seven heads think as one, but each is more cunning than any human." Mary felt a knot in her stomach. The description matched perfectly with the legends they had researched. "Don Esteban," Anna intervened, her voice trembling slightly, "have you ever seen Ek Chapat?" The old man slowly turned his head towards her, his eyes dark as bottomless wells. "No. And I thank God for that every day. But I''ve heard its footsteps in the night. I''ve seen the marks it leaves on the trees. And I''ve heard the screams of its victims." The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A sepulchral silence fell over the room. Mary could hear her own heart beating furiously in her ears. "Please," Don Esteban begged, his voice broken with emotion. "Leave this place. Forget about Ek Chapat." Mary opened her mouth to respond, but the words got stuck in her throat. The fear in the old man''s eyes was palpable, almost contagious. 3 The team gathered in their room, the tension palpable in the air. "Maybe we should reconsider this," Elena murmured, her voice trembling. Mary clenched her fists. "We can''t give up now. We''ve invested too much in this project. If Ek Chapat is real, imagine the impact our documentary would have." Carlos nodded slowly. "Mary''s right. This could be our big chance. It''s not every day you have the opportunity to discover something that could change history." The evening light filtered through the cracks of the hut like spectral fingers, drawing a map of shadows on Do?a Rosario''s wrinkled face. The old healer leaned forward, her dark eyes shining with an intensity that sent a shiver down Mary''s spine. "Ek Chapat is not just a legend," Do?a Rosario murmured, her voice hoarse and laden with urgency. "It''s a guardian. A protector of ancient secrets." Carlos adjusted the camera focus, capturing every wrinkle and scar on the old woman''s face. Mary moved closer, the microphone in her hand trembling slightly. "What kind of secrets, Do?a Rosario?" The healer opened her mouth to respond, but a sharp electronic squeal filled the room. Mary startled, looking at Joseph with confusion. The sound technician frowned, frantically adjusting the controls of his equipment. "I don''t know what''s happening," he muttered, panic evident in his voice. "Everything was fine a moment ago." Carlos lowered the camera, cursing under his breath. "The image just went to hell. It''s all distorted." Mary felt a knot forming in her stomach. This couldn''t be happening. Not now. "Come on, guys," she urged, frustration coloring her voice. "Fix this. It''s our only chance with Do?a Rosario." Anna approached the old woman, trying to keep her entertained while the rest of the team struggled with the equipment. But Do?a Rosario seemed to have sunk into a trance, her eyes fixed on a point beyond the walls of the hut. The squeal intensified, becoming almost unbearable. Joseph tore off his headphones with a muffled cry. "Damn it!" he exclaimed, rubbing his ears. "It almost burst my eardrums." Mary looked around, desperate. The equipment they had brought was state-of-the-art, tested and re-tested before the trip. How was it possible that everything was failing at the same time? Suddenly, the LED lights they had installed for the interview flickered violently, plunging the hut into a frantic alternation of light and darkness. In one of those flashes, Mary thought she saw something move in the shadows behind Do?a Rosario. Something long and sinuous, with multiple limbs. "What the hell...?" she began to say, but her voice was drowned out by a deafening roar. All the electronic equipment failed simultaneously, causing a shower of sparks. Mary instinctively covered her face with her arms, feeling the heat graze her skin. When the chaos subsided, the hut was plunged into a sepulchral silence, broken only by the team''s ragged gasps. "Is everyone okay?" Mary asked, blinking to adjust her vision to the sudden darkness. Murmurs of assent came from different corners of the room. Carlos turned on his phone''s flashlight, illuminating the scene. The equipment lay on the floor, smoking and completely useless. But what made Mary''s heart stop for an instant was the empty chair where Do?a Rosario had been sitting. The old healer had disappeared. 4 The dawn light filtered between the tree branches, casting dancing shadows on Mary''s face. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeat as she ventured into the thicket surrounding the camp. The humid air clung to her skin, laden with the scent of wet earth and decaying vegetation. Mary adjusted the small action camera she carried with her. After the fiasco with the main equipment, these and Carlos''s camera were their only options for documenting any findings. Her footsteps crunched on fallen leaves, the sound amplified by the unnatural silence of the forest. A movement in her peripheral vision made her stop dead in her tracks. She turned sharply, but only caught sight of the branches of a bush swaying gently. "It''s just the wind," she told herself, but not even a breeze was blowing at that moment. She continued advancing, her eyes scrutinizing every shadow, every nook between the trees. Suddenly, something caught her attention. A tree, thicker and more twisted than the others, stood before her. Its dark bark contrasted with the pale marks that furrowed it. Mary approached, focusing the camera. Her heart skipped a beat when the marks took shape before her eyes. "Oh my God," she muttered, her voice barely a whisper. Symbols. Dozens of them, deeply carved into the bark. Sinuous shapes that intertwined, creating patterns that seemed to move if she looked at them for too long. With trembling fingers, Mary touched one of the symbols. The wood felt warm to the touch, as if it pulsed with its own life. "This can''t be human work," she murmured for the camera, her voice hoarse from the mixture of fear and excitement. "The cuts are too deep, too precise." A crunch behind her made her turn sharply. For an instant, she thought she saw a shadow moving between the trees, something long and sinuous. "Hello?" she called, her voice trembling slightly. "Is anyone there?" Only silence answered her. She turned her attention back to the tree, focusing the camera on the most intricate symbols. Some seemed vaguely familiar, as if she had seen them in one of the books Anna had brought. "I need to bring the others," she said, speaking as much to herself as to the camera. "This could be the proof we were looking for." As she stepped back, without taking her eyes off the tree, her foot caught on a root. Mary stumbled, struggling to maintain her balance. In that moment of distraction, she thought she saw one of the symbols change shape, twisting like a live snake. She blinked, sure that her eyes were playing tricks on her. When she looked again, the symbol had returned to its original form. Mary swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "I have to get out of here," she muttered, turning around to return to the camp. As she walked away at a brisk pace, she couldn''t shake the feeling that something was watching her from the shadows of the forest. Something hungry. 5 The laptop screen illuminated Joseph''s pale face in the gloom of the tent. His eyes, bloodshot from lack of sleep, scrutinized the sound waves displayed before him. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he adjusted the headphones, focused on his task. Suddenly, his body tensed. His fingers flew over the keyboard, rewinding the recording. "It can''t be," he murmured, his voice barely audible. Mary leaned over his shoulder, frowning. "What''s wrong?" Joseph swallowed hard, his Adam''s apple visibly bobbing. "Listen to this." He pressed play and the sound of the interview filled the tent. Do?a Rosario''s voice crackled through the headphones, talking about Ek Chapat. But beneath her words, almost imperceptible, something else could be heard. A whisper. No, several whispers. Intertwined voices that seemed to speak in an unknown language. Mary removed the headphones, her face a mask of confusion and fear. "What the hell is that?" Joseph shook his head, his hands trembling slightly. "I don''t know. It wasn''t there when we recorded. I swear." Carlos frowned, his finger tapping nervously on the camera. "There must be a logical explanation for what happened with the equipment... right? Let me listen." Joseph passed him the headphones. Carlos listened in silence, his expression gradually changing from doubt to shock. "Shit," he muttered, taking off the headphones. "How is this possible?" Anna, who had been observing from a corner, approached. "Let me see it." Her eyes scanned the screen, studying the sound waves. "That''s not interference," she murmured. "It''s too... structured." Joseph nodded frantically. "I know. And there''s more." His fingers flew over the keyboard again, opening another file. "This is from the walk we took through the forest yesterday." The sound of leaves crunching and branches breaking filled the tent. And then, clear as day, a growl was heard. Low, guttural, definitely not human. Mary felt her blood run cold. "What animal makes that sound?" Joseph shook his head, his eyes wide open. "None that I know of." The growl was followed by a dragging sound, as if something huge was moving through the underbrush. "Wait," Anna interrupted. "Do you hear that?" Everyone leaned in closer. Behind the growl and the dragging, almost imperceptible, a chant could be heard. The same intertwined voices from before, whispering in that unknown language. A sepulchral silence fell over the group. Mary felt a knot forming in her stomach. "Joseph," she said, her voice trembling, "do you remember hearing any of this when we were recording?" The young technician shook his head, his face pale as paper. "Nothing. Everything was silent. I swear." Carlos ran a hand over his face, his expression a mixture of fear and frustration. Carlos passed a trembling hand through his hair. "There has to be a logical explanation," he insisted, but his voice lacked conviction. "Maybe... maybe the equipment is faulty." No one had an answer. The silence in the tent broken only by the hum of the laptop and Joseph''s agitated breathing. Part 2 6 The underbrush crackled under their feet as the team advanced through the thickness of the Guatemalan jungle. Mary was in front, machete in hand, cutting a path through vines and bushes. The heavy, humid air clung to her skin like a second layer. "Are you sure it''s this way, George?" she asked, turning towards the local guide. George nodded, his face a mask of apprehension. "Yes, miss. But..." He paused, looking nervously around. "Perhaps we should turn back." Carlos snorted, adjusting the camera on his shoulder. "You''re chickening out now? We came all this way for something, didn''t we?" The tension was palpable. Joseph moved nervously, his eyes jumping from one tree to another as if he expected something to jump on them at any moment. Suddenly, Mary stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her, the vegetation opened up revealing a rock formation. At its base, a dark and menacing opening gaped like a hungry mouth. "My God," Anna whispered, her eyes widening. "It''s real." The cave entrance was surrounded by symbols carved into the rock, similar to those Mary had found on the tree. But these seemed older, deeper, as if they had been engraved with superhuman strength. Carlos stepped forward, focusing the camera on the symbols. "This is incredible. Anna, can you decipher anything?" Anna approached, her fingers gently brushing the marks on the stone. "Some look like Maryn characters, but others..." She shook her head. "I''ve never seen anything like it." Mary felt a shiver run down her spine. Something about those symbols seemed unsettlingly familiar to her. "George," she called, without taking her eyes off the entrance. "What do you know about this cave?" The guide took a step back, his face pale beneath his tan. "It''s a cursed place, miss. The elders say it''s Ek Chapat''s lair." A sepulchral silence fell over the group. Only the distant sound of tropical birds broke the stillness. Elena, who had remained silent until that moment, spoke with a trembling voice. "Maybe we should listen to George. I don''t like this at all." Elena''s walkie-talkie crackled. "Film crew, this is base. A tropical storm is approaching. You have 48 hours before we have to evacuate you by helicopter." Mary stopped in front of the cave entrance, her heart pounding hard. Part of her screamed to turn back, that it was madness to venture into the darkness. But another part, the part that had dreamed of this moment since she was a child, pushed her forward. She closed her eyes, remembering the sleepless nights researching, the sacrifices she had made to get here. "I can''t give up now," she told herself. "I need to know the truth, no matter what it costs." She looked at her team, then at the cave entrance, felt the weight of all the gazes upon her. As the director, the final decision was hers. She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. "We''ve come too far to turn back now," she said, her voice firmer than she felt. "We''re going to take a look." She turned to George. "You can stay here if you want." The guide shook his head, a mixture of fear and determination in his eyes. "No, miss. If you go in, I''m going with you." Mary nodded, grateful for his loyalty. She took a flashlight out of her backpack and turned it on, its beam of light timidly penetrating the darkness of the cave. "Stay together," she warned. "And be alert for anything out of the ordinary." With one last glance at the jungle they were leaving behind, Mary took a step into the darkness. The air coming out of the cave was cold and carried with it a strange smell, like damp earth and something else she couldn''t identify. 7 The darkness of the cave engulfed the team like a hungry beast. Mary led the march, her flashlight weakly piercing the gloom. The beam of light danced on the rocky walls, revealing symbols that seemed to twist and change when they weren''t looking directly at them. George stopped abruptly, his face beaded with sweat despite the cold emanating from the depths. "Please, Miss Mary. We shouldn''t be here." Mary turned, focusing her flashlight on the guide''s terrified face. "George, I understand your concern, but this is our opportunity. If Ek Chapat is real, we''ll find it here." Carlos snorted, adjusting the camera on his shoulder. "Do you really believe in that crap? It''s just a legend to scare tourists." Anna shot him a withering look. "And the symbols? And the recordings? Explain that, Mr. Skeptic." A sharp squeal made everyone startle. Joseph was frantically manipulating his sound equipment. "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. But... you''re hearing that, right?" A low murmur, almost imperceptible, seemed to emanate from the very walls of the cave. Mary felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Elena, the producer, took a step back. "This is insane. We should leave. Now." Mary clenched her fists, torn between fear and determination. "No. We''ve come too far. We need..." Her words were interrupted by a rumble that shook the cave. Rock fragments detached from the ceiling, forcing them to take cover. "Watch out!" shouted George, pushing Mary out of the way of a rock that was falling towards her. When the dust settled, they discovered that the path they had come through was now blocked by a pile of debris. "Shit, shit, shit," Carlos muttered, focusing the camera on the rockfall. Mary felt panic threatening to overtake her, but she suppressed it with a herculean effort. "Everyone stay calm. There must be another way out." George shook his head, his voice a terrified whisper. "There is no other way out, miss. We''re trapped." The silence that followed was broken by a sound that chilled everyone''s blood: a low, prolonged hiss, like that of a giant snake, which seemed to come from the depths of the cave. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Anna clung to Mary''s arm, her eyes wide open. "What... what was that?" Mary swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. "I don''t know. But it seems we''re not alone here." Joseph, visibly trembling, raised his microphone. "It''s... it''s recording. Whatever it is, we''re capturing it." Mary made a decision at that moment. She knew it was dangerous, she knew it was probably insane, but she also knew they had no other choice. "We''re going to keep moving forward," she declared, her voice firmer than she felt. "If there''s something down there, we''re going to find it. And if Ek Chapat is real..." she paused, looking at each of her companions, "...we have to document it." George took a step back, shaking his head frantically. "No, no, no. This is a curse. We must not awaken what sleeps here." 8 Mary stopped abruptly, her shoulder scraping against the wall that was closing in on them. "Careful," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the beating of her heart. "The tunnel narrows." One by one, the group compressed, their agitated breaths forming small clouds in the cold air. Mary''s flashlight traced dancing shadows on the walls, as if darkness itself came to life around them. Suddenly, Mary stopped dead in her tracks. Carlos, right behind her, almost tripped. "What the hell...?" he muttered, focusing his camera forward. In front of them, the tunnel opened into a circular chamber. Seven identical passages opened in the walls, like the teeth of a stone monster. In the center, an obsidian pedestal gleamed faintly under the light of the flashlights. Anna stepped forward, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and fascination. "Look at this," she pointed to the pedestal. "There''s something engraved." Mary approached, her heart beating hard. On the polished surface of the pedestal, words in an unknown language glowed with their own light. "George," she called, "can you read this?" The guide approached trembling, his eyes scanning the inscriptions. "It''s... it''s a mix of ancient Mary and something else. Something I''ve never seen before." Joseph adjusted his microphone, capturing the ominous echo of the chamber. "What does it say?" George swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper. "''...seven paths, seven tests.... only the true seeker will find the right path...''" A sepulchral silence fell over the group. Elena was the first to break it. "This is madness. We can''t..." Her words were interrupted by a distant roar that seemed to shake the very bowels of the earth. Rock fragments detached from the ceiling, forcing them to take cover. "We have to choose a path!" Mary shouted over the rumble. "Now!" Anna approached the pedestal, her fingers frantically tracing the inscriptions. "Wait, there''s more. ''...the right path... the sacred number of Ek Chapat.''" Carlos snorted, his voice tinged with panic. "And how the hell are we supposed to know that?" Mary closed her eyes, her mind working at full speed. Suddenly, she opened them wide. "Seven," she exclaimed. "Ek Chapat has seven heads. It must be the seventh path." George shook his head frantically. "No, no, no. It''s a trap. We must go back." But it was too late. The roar intensified, and an icy wind began to blow from the tunnels, extinguishing their flashlights. In total darkness, Mary felt something brush against her leg. Something long and sinuous, like a tentacle. Or a tail. "To the seventh tunnel!" she shouted, grabbing the nearest hand and pulling towards where she remembered the entrance was. "Now!" The team rushed forward, stumbling in the darkness. The roar turned into a deafening howl, as if the mountain itself was awakening around them. Just as they were crossing the threshold of the seventh tunnel, Mary felt something closing around her ankle. She screamed, struggling to free herself. A blinding light suddenly burst forth, illuminating the chamber for an instant. In that flash, Mary saw something that chilled the blood in her veins: a dark mass crawling towards them from another of the tunnels. The light went out as suddenly as it had appeared, plunging everything into darkness again. Mary felt the pressure on her ankle disappear, and she lunged forward, falling over her companions in the narrow tunnel. 9 The dim light of the emergency flashlights bathed the narrow tunnel with a sickly glow. Mary, still panting from the run, scrutinized the pale and sweaty faces of her team. The palpable fear in the air mingled with the stench of dampness and decay. "Everyone... Is everyone okay?" she managed to articulate between labored breaths. Joseph, huddled in a corner, clutched his sound equipment as if it were a lifeline. "Something... something brushed my leg. I swear." Carlos let out a harsh laugh, the echo bouncing off the rocky walls. "Please. It was your imagination, rookie." Mary straightened up, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and determination. "No, Carlos. I felt it too. It was real." Elena shook her head, running a trembling hand through her hair. "This is madness. We have to get out of here. Now." Anna, who had been examining the walls of the tunnel, turned to the group. "Don''t you understand? This is exactly what the locals were talking about. Ek Chapat..." "Enough!" Carlos roared, his voice reverberating in the confined space. "There''s no damn monster. It''s just an old cave with some cheap tricks to scare tourists." Mary took a step towards him, her fists clenched at her sides. "Cheap tricks? What about the recordings? The symbols that change?" Carlos snorted, adjusting the camera on his shoulder. "Interference. Light tricks. There''s a logical explanation for everything." Elena nodded, positioning herself next to Carlos. "He''s right. We''re letting ourselves be carried away by old wives'' tales." Joseph stood up shakily, his eyes jumping from one face to another. "But... but what we heard in the recordings..." "Echo," Elena interrupted, her voice sharp. "Or maybe some animal. But not a mythological monster, for God''s sake." Anna approached Mary, her eyes shining with a mixture of fear and fascination. "Mary, you know there''s something else here. You''ve felt it since we arrived." Mary nodded slowly, her mind racing a mile a minute. "Yes, and I think..." "Enough!" Carlos exploded, throwing his backpack to the ground. "This is ridiculous. We came to make a documentary, not to hunt ghosts." The silence that followed was broken by an unsettling sound: a whisper that seemed to come from the walls themselves. Joseph choked back a cry, backing up until he hit the wall. "Did... did you hear that?" Carlos rolled his eyes, but Mary noticed that his hand trembled slightly as he adjusted the camera. "Air currents. That means there''s at least one more exit." Elena nodded vigorously, though her face had lost all color. "Exactly. We''re wasting time and money on this nonsense." Mary felt anger bubbling inside her. "Money? Is that all you care about? There''s something here, something big, and we''re about to discover it." Carlos approached her, his face inches from hers. "The only thing we''re going to discover is that we''ve wasted days on a baseless story." The whisper intensified, now clearly audible to everyone. Anna shuddered, instinctively moving closer to Mary. "We have to keep going. We''re close, I know it." Elena shook her head, backing towards the entrance of the tunnel. "No. This is over. We''re leaving." 10 Mary led the march, her flashlight casting dancing shadows on the damp walls. A cold dampness clung to her skin as they advanced. The echo of their footsteps bounced off the walls, mixing with a constant dripping in the distance. A metallic taste settled in their mouths, accompanied by a smell of wet earth and something else... something ancient and threatening. Suddenly, a metallic sound bounced off the rocky walls. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell was that?" Carlos whispered, his voice tense. Mary turned, the beam of her flashlight dancing over the damp walls. "George?" There was no response. Elena turned sharply, focusing her flashlight backward. "It came from there," she said, pointing to a small side passage they had overlooked. A distant roar made the ground vibrate beneath their feet. Rock fragments detached from the ceiling, falling on them. "Watch out!" Mary shouted, pushing Joseph out of the way of a falling rock. In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed that George was no longer among them. When the dust settled, Mary quickly took roll call. "Everyone okay? Carlos? Elena? Joseph? Anna? George?" A heavy silence fell over the group when they realized a voice was missing. "George?" Mary called again, her voice broken by fear. Joseph pointed his flashlight backward, revealing the empty tunnel. "He was right behind me. I swear." "We have to find him," Mary finally declared. "We can''t leave him behind." Panic seized the group as they frantically searched for their missing guide. Elena shook her head frantically. "No. No, no, no. We have to get out of here. Now." "We should go back," Joseph whispered, his voice breaking. Anna shook her head. "We can''t leave George. Besides, what if there really is something here? Something that could change our understanding of the world." Mary felt a shiver run down her spine. "I know you''re scared. I am too. But we''ve come too far to give up now. Think of all the questions we could answer, how this could change our lives." "And how do you propose we do that?" Anna snapped. "George was our guide. Without him..." Her words were interrupted by a sound that chilled the blood in their veins: a distant, muffled scream that seemed to come from the very bowels of the earth. "George!" Mary shouted, her voice bouncing off the tunnel walls. Joseph dropped his equipment, the crash making everyone startle. "It''s him," he whispered, his face pale as wax. "It has him. Ek Chapat has him." Carlos grabbed Joseph by the shoulders, shaking him. "Get a grip, damn it! There''s no monster. George probably fell into some hole. We have to..." Another scream, closer this time. And then, the unmistakable sound of something large dragging itself over rock. Mary felt panic threatening to overtake her, but she suppressed it with a herculean effort. "Move," she ordered, her voice firmer than she felt. "We have to find George." "You''re crazy," Elena hissed. "We''re going to die down here." Mary ignored her, advancing with determination into the darkness. One by one, the others followed her, fear and uncertainty palpable in every labored breath. Mary''s flashlight flickered for an instant. She held her breath, giving the device a tap. The light stabilized, but a feeling of unease settled in her stomach. The tunnel suddenly widened, opening into another circular chamber. Mary swept the space with her flashlight, looking for any sign of George. What she found made her heart stop for an instant. In the center of the chamber, George''s cap lay in a puddle of something dark and viscous. And next to it, carved into the rock with impossible precision, a new symbol: seven interlocking circles. Part 3 11 The team cautiously advanced through the winding tunnel, their flashlights casting dancing shadows on the damp walls. Mary led the march, her heart beating hard against her ribs. The air grew thicker and more suffocating as they ventured deeper into the bowels of the earth. Suddenly, the tunnel widened, opening into a large chamber. Mary stopped abruptly, causing Carlos to bump into her. "What the hell...?" the cameraman muttered, focusing his camera. Before them stretched a space that contradicted everything they had seen so far. Instead of bare rock and natural formations, the chamber showed unmistakable signs of human habitation. A small fire, still smoldering, occupied the center of the space. Around it, empty food cans and wrappers were scattered across the stone floor. In a corner, a worn sleeping bag lay next to an open backpack. "Someone has been living here," Anna whispered, her voice tinged with awe and fear. Mary advanced slowly, her flashlight sweeping over every detail. On the walls, traced with charcoal, a series of symbols and diagrams covered the rock. Some seemed familiar, reminiscent of the Maryn characters they had seen before. Others were completely alien, twisted forms that seemed to change when not looked at directly. "This is impossible," Elena muttered, her voice trembling. "Who could live down here?" Carlos approached the fire, examining it closely. "These ashes are still hot. Whoever was here, left recently." Joseph, who had been unusually quiet, let out a muffled cry. Everyone turned to see him pointing with a trembling hand towards one of the walls. There, nailed with what appeared to be a hunting knife, was a photograph. Mary approached, her heart skipping a beat as she recognized the image. It was a photo of them. Of the entire team, taken in the village before venturing into the cave. "Oh my God," Anna muttered, her voice barely a whisper. "They were expecting us." Carlos shook his head, his usual skepticism fighting against the evident fear in his eyes. "This has to be a joke. Some local who followed us..." His words were interrupted by a metallic sound. Mary turned to see Elena holding something in her trembling hands. "It''s... it''s George''s crucifix," the producer said, her voice breaking. A sepulchral silence fell over the group, broken only by the constant dripping of water somewhere in the darkness. Mary approached the abandoned backpack, opening it cautiously. Inside, in addition to provisions and survival equipment, she found a notebook. She opened it, her flashlight illuminating page after page of frantic writing. "It''s a diary," she murmured, quickly leafing through it. "Dated... three months ago." "Three months?" Joseph repeated, incredulous. "Someone has been living here for so long?" Mary continued reading, her frown deepening with each passing moment. "It talks about Ek Chapat. About rituals, sacrifices. It says that... that he''s close to deciphering it all." A dull thud made everyone startle. Carlos had dropped his camera, his face as pale as wax. "We need to leave," he said, his voice hoarse. "Now." But before anyone could move, a heart-wrenching scream resonated in the distance, followed by the unmistakable sound of something large dragging itself over rock. 12 The tunnel narrowed. Mary led the way, her flashlight barely scratching the darkness. The echo of their footsteps bounced off the walls, mixing with the constant dripping of water. A metallic taste settled in her mouth, while her fingers brushed against the cold, rough rock. The air, increasingly dense, seemed to stick to her skin like a second damp layer. Joseph cursed under his breath. His flashlight now emitted a weak, yellowish light. "The batteries are running out," he muttered. "I don''t know how much longer they''ll last." Suddenly, a metallic sound bounced off the rocky walls. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell was that?" Carlos whispered, his voice tense. Elena turned sharply, focusing her flashlight backward. "It came from there," she said, pointing to a small side passage they had overlooked. Mary shook her head. "We can''t deviate. We have to find a way out." Elena frowned, her jaw clenched with determination. "It could be George. Or an exit. I''m going to take a look." Before anyone could stop her, she ventured into the passage. "Elena, wait!" Mary shouted, but her voice was swallowed by the darkness. Joseph clung to his sound equipment, visibly trembling. "We shouldn''t separate. It''s exactly what Ek Chapat wants." Carlos clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "There has to be a rational explanation," he said, but his eyes frantically scanned the tunnel. "Although I admit that this... this isn''t normal." Anna approached the passage, squinting. "Elena, can you hear us?" Only silence responded. A mix of adrenaline and determination coursed through Mary''s body. Her hands were shaking, but her jaw tensed, determined not to be overcome by fear. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. "I''m going to look for her. You stay here." Carlos grabbed her arm. "No way. We''re not going to separate more." A sharp scream pierced the air, chilling the blood in their veins. It came from the passage where Elena had disappeared. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Elena!" they shouted in unison, rushing towards the tunnel. The tunnel compressed, forcing the group to snake in single file, their shoulders brushing against the rough rock on both sides. Mary was in front, her heart pounding against her ribs. The beam of her flashlight danced frantically on the walls, revealing more symbols carved into the rock. "Elena, where are you?" she called, her voice breaking with fear. A dull thud made them stop. Something metallic rolled towards them in the darkness. Mary picked it up with trembling hands. It was Elena''s flashlight. The light flickered weakly, casting dancing shadows on the walls. "Oh my God," Anna whispered, her voice barely audible. Joseph let out a muffled groan. "It has her. Ek Chapat has her." Carlos shook his head frantically. "No, no, no. She has to be around here. Elena!" His shout reverberated in the tunnel, but only silence responded. Mary felt the world crumbling around her. First George, now Elena. What was happening? A sound chilled their blood. The ground vibrated beneath their feet. "Run," Mary whispered, her voice barely a thread. "Run!" They launched themselves backward, stumbling in the darkness. The sound chased them, getting closer and closer. Mary could swear she heard the snap of enormous jaws closing behind them. They emerged from the side passage, panting and trembling. Without stopping, they ran through the main tunnel, fear giving them wings. Only when the sound faded in the distance did they dare to stop. They collapsed against the wall, struggling to catch their breath. Mary looked at the pale and terrified faces of her team. Elena was gone. And something was stalking them in the darkness. 13 The tunnel closed in on them like a hungry throat. Joseph, at the end of the line, felt the walls closing in with each step. His camera, once a comforting extension of his body, now weighed like lead. Every shadow cast by his light seemed to come alive, fueled by his growing paranoia. A hissing sound made him stop dead in his tracks. He spun on his heels, his heart pounding in his chest. "What''s wrong?" Mary whispered from the front. Joseph swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "I thought... I thought I heard something." He focused the camera on the tunnel they had come through. The screen showed only darkness and damp rock. Suddenly, something moved at the edge of the frame. Joseph held his breath, adjusting the zoom with trembling fingers. The figure sliding through the tunnel defied all logic. Seven protrusions rose, each moving independently, like conscious snakes. The main body undulated in a way that made Joseph''s stomach turn, a mass of muscles and textures that his mind refused to process. A dark figure slid through the tunnel, moving in a way that didn''t seem entirely human. It was long, sinuous, with multiple limbs that twisted unnaturally. "Oh my God," Joseph muttered, his voice barely a thread. "Mary! Carlos! You have to see this!" The group huddled around the small camera screen. The figure stopped, as if it had noticed their presence. Seven protrusions rose from its body, unsettlingly reminiscent of the heads in the legend of Ek Chapat. "It can''t be," Anna whispered, her eyes wide open. Carlos backed away, visibly trembling. "No," he muttered, "it can''t be real." He swallowed audibly. "But if it''s not... what the hell did we just see?" The creature turned towards them. For an instant, seven pairs of eyes glowed in the darkness, fixed on the camera. A shrill cry emanated from Joseph''s throat. The camera shook violently in his hands. "It''s moving! It''s coming this way!" Mary grabbed Joseph''s arm. "Run!" The group lunged forward, stumbling in the gloom. Joseph ran backwards, the camera still focused on the tunnel. The figure approached, moving at an impossible speed. "Faster!" Carlos shouted, panic evident in his voice. The camera screen began to flicker, lines of static distorting the image. Joseph frantically hit the device. "No! Not now!" For a second, the image cleared. The mass was just a few meters away from them. A deafening roar filled the tunnel. The camera exploded in a shower of sparks in Joseph''s hands. "Shit!" he shouted, throwing the smoking device. Mary grabbed his arm, pulling him. "Keep running!" They ventured deeper into the cave, the sound of something large dragging behind them. The tunnel split like a forked tongue, offering two equally dark paths. With no time to think, Mary guided them to the left. They emerged into a circular chamber, panting and trembling. Seven identical passages opened before them, like the jaws of a stone monster. "What... what was that thing?" Anna managed to articulate between labored breaths. Joseph collapsed against the wall, his face as pale as paper. "It was real," he whispered. "Ek Chapat. It was real." 14 Mary stopped abruptly, raising a hand to silence the group. Her nostrils flared, catching something that the others hadn''t yet perceived. "What''s wrong?" Joseph whispered, his voice tense with constant fear. "Air," Mary replied, slowly turning her head. "Fresh air." Anna frowned, skeptical. "It''s impossible. We''re too deep." But Mary was already on the move, following an invisible current that only she seemed to detect. The group followed her, half hopeful, half fearful of another disappointment. And then, they all felt it: a soft but unmistakable breeze, laden with the scent of vegetation and damp earth. "My God," Anna murmured, her eyes widening. "She''s right." Hope, that almost forgotten emotion, began to grow in their chests. Mary quickened her pace, the team following closely behind. The tunnel began to ascend, each step seemingly bringing them closer to the surface, to freedom. "Listen," Joseph suddenly said. Everyone stopped, holding their breath. In the distance, the unmistakable sound of running water reached their ears. "A river," Mary said, a smile forming on her cracked lips. "It must lead to the outside." They advanced with renewed vigor, fatigue and fear momentarily forgotten. The sound of water grew louder with each step, the breeze more intense. Finally, the tunnel opened into an immense chamber. For a moment, euphoria overwhelmed them... until the reality of their situation became evident. The water they had heard fell in a deafening waterfall from an impossible height, losing itself in the depths of an unfathomable abyss. Fresh air filtered through cracks in the impossibly high ceiling, as distant as the stars themselves. It wasn''t an exit. It was a trap. Mary fell to her knees, hope escaping from her body like air from a punctured balloon. The others remained motionless, too shocked to react. It was Joseph who finally broke the silence, his voice barely audible over the roar of the waterfall. "Look at the walls." Everyone turned, following his gaze. The chamber was covered in symbols, older and more complex than any they had seen before. In the center, carved into the living rock, one they already knew too well: the seven heads of Ek Chapat. They weren''t closer to escaping. They were exactly where the creature wanted them. 15 Anna approached the walls of the chamber, her fingers brushing the symbols carved into the rock. The flickering light of her flashlight danced over the characters, casting shadows that seemed to come to life. "This is... incredible," she murmured, her eyes frantically scanning the inscriptions. "Some of these symbols are Maryn, but others... they look like the ones we''ve found before." Mary approached, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. "Can you read them?" Anna nodded slowly, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Part of them. They talk about Ek Chapat, but..." She stopped, her eyes widening. "Oh my God." Carlos approached, his camera focusing on the inscriptions. "What? What does it say?" Anna swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. "It''s not a monster. It''s... a guardian." A sharp, broken laugh escaped Joseph''s throat, more like a squawk than a laugh. His eyes, too wide open, jumped from one side of the tunnel to the other. "A guardian? Of what?" "Of a portal," Anna replied, her fingers tracing the symbols. "It says that eons ago, beings from another world tried to invade ours. The ancient Mary created Ek Chapat to protect the portal and prevent them from crossing." A penetrating cold took hold of Mary, as if her blood had turned to liquid ice. Her fingers went numb, and she had to struggle to maintain her grip on the flashlight. "Are you saying that... thing we saw is a Maryn creation?" Anna shook her head, her face pale under the flashlight''s light. "Not exactly. It says they summoned a being from another plane and bound it to this place. They gave it seven heads so it could see in all directions, and they fed it with sacrifices to keep it strong." Carlos ran a hand over his face, letting out a shaky sigh. "God, I never thought I''d say this, but... what if they''re right? What if there''s something here we can''t explain?" His words were interrupted by a distant roar that shook the walls of the cave. Rock fragments detached from the ceiling, falling around them. Anna continued reading frantically. "The riddles... they''re tests. Ek Chapat devours those who fail to maintain its strength, but if someone manages to solve them all..." "What?" Mary urged, her heart beating hard. "What happens if someone solves them?" Anna paled even more, if that was possible. "The portal opens." A sepulchral silence fell over the group, broken only by the constant dripping of water somewhere in the darkness. Joseph was the first to speak, his voice barely a whisper. "Do you think... someone has been trying to solve the riddles? The one who was living in that chamber we found?" Mary remembered the diary they had found, the pages full of frantic symbols and calculations. "Oh God," she muttered. "That''s what he was doing. He was trying to open the portal." Another roar, closer this time, shook the cave. Dust and small rocks rained down on them. The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate. A sound, like something huge dragging itself, came from one of the tunnels. Mary looked at her team, fear palpable on every face. "We have to get out of here. Now." Part 4 16 "Wait," he whispered, his voice tense. "I think I saw something." Mary turned, the beam of her flashlight dancing over the rocky walls. "What did you see?" Carlos shook his head, his eyes darting back and forth. "I''m not sure. It seemed to... move." An icy tingle spread from the nape of Mary''s neck, running down her spine like ghostly fingers. She shuddered, instinctively rubbing her arms. The image of the creature they had seen in Joseph''s camera was still fresh in her mind. "We have to keep going," Anna urged, her voice barely a whisper. "We can''t stay here." Carlos nodded, but didn''t move. "You go on. I''m going to take a quick look. Maybe... maybe there''s an exit we didn''t see." An invisible pressure closed around Mary''s chest, as if giant hands were squeezing her. She gasped, struggling to breathe against the oppression of fear that threatened to crush her. "No. It''s dangerous to separate." "It''ll just be a couple of minutes," Carlos insisted, already backing away. "I''ll catch up with you right away." Before anyone could stop him, he disappeared into the darkness. The group stood in silence, holding their breath. Seconds crawled by like hours. Suddenly, a heart-rending scream pierced the air, chilling the blood in their veins. It was followed by the unmistakable sound of something large dragging itself over rock. "Carlos!" Mary shouted, her voice breaking with fear. Only the echo of her own voice answered her. "We have to keep going," she said, her voice firmer than she felt. Joseph clung to what was left of his equipment, visibly trembling. "It has him," he whispered, his face pale as wax. "Ek Chapat has him." Mary felt tears threatening to spill. First George, then Elena, and now Carlos. A voice in her head screamed at her to run, to save her life. But another voice, stronger, reminded her why she had come. "If I leave now, I''ll never know the truth. I''ll never be able to honor my grandmother''s memory, never truly understand who I am." She took a deep breath, the smell of dampness and antiquity filling her lungs. A distant roar made the tunnel walls vibrate. Small rock fragments detached from the ceiling, falling on them like a sinister rain. "We have to move," Anna urged, pulling on Mary''s arm. "Now!" They lunged forward, stumbling in the gloom. The sound chased them, getting closer and closer. Mary could swear she heard the snap of enormous jaws closing behind them. The tunnel abruptly widened, Mary looked around frantically, searching for any sign of Carlos. But only the cold, damp rock stared back at her. 17 Mary moved forward. The tunnel serpentined. Her flashlight, a weak beacon against the voracious blackness. Each inhalation was a struggle. The air, thick. Humid. Putrid. Her stomach rebelled with each step. Joseph followed close behind, his ragged breathing echoing in the narrow passage. Mary''s flashlight suddenly went out. She choked back a cry, shaking it frantically. After a few seconds that seemed eternal, the light returned, dimmer than before. "How much time do we have left?" she thought, fear closing her throat. A metallic glint caught Mary''s attention. She stopped abruptly, causing Joseph to bump into her. "What''s wrong?" he whispered, his voice tinged with panic. Mary didn''t respond. She slowly approached the object, her heart pounding against her ribs. As her flashlight illuminated the scene, she felt her blood freeze in her veins. Carlos''s camera lay on the ground, its cracked lens sinisterly reflecting the light. Next to it, the boom microphone was bent at an impossible angle, as if an enormous force had twisted it. "Oh my God," Joseph muttered, his voice barely audible. Mary crouched down, her trembling fingers brushing the shattered equipment. "Carlos," she called, her voice breaking. "Carlos!" Only the echo of her own voice answered her, bouncing off the damp walls of the cave. Joseph approached, his eyes nervously jumping from side to side. "Do you think... do you think Ek Chapat...?" He couldn''t finish the sentence. The fear in his voice was palpable. Mary shook her head, refusing to accept what seemed evident. "He has to be around here. Maybe... maybe he left the equipment to move faster." But even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. Carlos would never voluntarily abandon his precious camera. A metallic noise made them startle. Mary focused her flashlight towards the source of the sound. A small object rolled towards them: the camera''s memory card. With trembling hands, Mary picked it up. It was covered in a viscous substance that she preferred not to examine closely. "We have to watch it," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Maybe Carlos recorded something that can help us." Joseph nodded, pulling his laptop from his backpack. With clumsy fingers, they inserted the card. The screen came to life, showing the last recording. The image was chaotic, the camera moving frantically. Carlos''s agitated breathing could be heard, interrupted by muffled curses. Suddenly, a deafening roar filled the audio. The camera turned violently, capturing for an instant a dark mass moving at high speed. Carlos''s scream chilled Mary''s blood. The image became blurry, as if the camera had been thrown. The last thing seen before the screen went black was a close-up of seven pairs of eyes glowing in the darkness. Mary and Joseph looked at each other, horror reflected on their faces. There was no trace of Carlos anywhere, just his shattered equipment and that terrifying recording. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. 18 Step by step. The echo pursued them. Mary and Joseph plunged deeper into the earth, where the air thickened as if the cave itself wanted to suffocate them. Each breath was an effort. Each sound, a threat. The light from their flashlights danced on the walls, revealing carved symbols that seemed to twist when not looked at directly. Suddenly, the tunnel opened into a huge circular chamber. Mary held her breath, her heart pounding against her ribs. "Oh my God," she whispered, her voice barely audible. The chamber was illuminated by a pulsating greenish light emanating from a pit in the center. Around it, seven obsidian pillars rose towards the vaulted ceiling, each carved with symbols that glowed with their own light. Joseph choked back a cry, pointing with a trembling hand. "Mary, look." Scattered across the chamber floor, personal items lay in macabre chaos. Mary recognized George''s cap, stained with a dark, viscous substance. Further on, Elena''s crucifix gleamed faintly under the pulsating light. "It can''t be," Mary muttered, approaching cautiously. A movement caught her attention. Next to the central pit, a figure stirred. Mary focused her flashlight, her heart skipping a beat as she recognized Carlos''s torn shirt. "Carlos!" she shouted, running towards him. But something was wrong. Carlos was moving erratically, like a puppet with tangled strings. When he turned towards them, Mary backed away in horror. Carlos''s eyes were blank, his mouth open in a silent scream. From his back, dark and sinuous tentacles extended, sinking into the living rock of the floor. "What... what happened to him?" Joseph stammered, his voice breaking with terror. Before she could answer, a deafening roar shook the chamber. Mary backed away, dragging Joseph with her. Her back hit one of the pillars and a sharp pain shot through her mind. Frantic images flooded her consciousness: ancient sacrifices, forgotten rituals, a portal between worlds. "It''s... it''s Ek Chapat," she gasped, suddenly understanding the horror they were facing. "It''s been feeding on them. On all those who have come before." A dark mass emerged from the pit, each of its seven heads moving in perfect synchrony. Mary watched in horror as the tentacles extended, adhering to the obsidian pillars. Where they touched, the symbols glowed more intensely, as if the creature was absorbing some kind of ancient energy. The creature rose to its full height, its seven heads turning to fix their gaze on them. A low, menacing hiss filled the chamber. Joseph raised his camera with trembling hands, focusing on the monstrosity that stood before them. "If we''re going to die here," he said, his voice surprisingly firm, "at least let the truth be known." Mary nodded, clinging to her own camera. Terror paralyzed her, but she also felt a fierce determination. If this was the end, they would face it together, capturing every moment of this unimaginable horror. Ek Chapat advanced towards them, its multiple limbs dragging across the floor with a wet, repulsive sound. Mary and Joseph backed away, their cameras focused on the nightmare approaching them. 19 "Joseph," Mary whispered, her voice barely audible over the beast''s hiss. "Are you still recording?" The young technician nodded, his face as pale as wax under the spectral light. "Until the end." Ek Chapat moved in a way that made Mary''s eyes hurt trying to follow it. Its body seemed to be in several places at once, bending the space around it. The seven heads rose, each emitting a hiss that resonated in impossible frequencies. Mary felt her own reality distorting, as if the creature''s presence was tearing the very fabric of the world. A tentacle shot towards them, grazing Mary''s arm. She choked back a scream, the sharp pain shooting through her body like an electric shock. Chaotic images flooded her mind: ancient sacrifices, forgotten rituals, screams of terror echoing through the centuries. "Mary!" Joseph shouted, pulling her. "We have to move!" They lunged to one side, just as another tentacle crashed into the wall where they had been seconds before. Rock fragments rained down on them. Mary focused her camera, capturing the monstrosity looming over them. Ek Chapat''s seven heads rose, their jaws opening to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. A deafening roar shook the chamber, making the air itself vibrate. Mary felt her bones resonating with the sound, as if the creature could tear reality apart with its voice. "This way!" she shouted, pointing to an opening in the opposite wall. They ran, their feet slipping on the wet floor. The sound of something massive dragging itself pursued them, getting closer and closer. Mary dared to look back. Ek Chapat was moving with impossible speed for its size, its tentacles extending like living shadows. Suddenly, something coiled around her ankle. Mary fell, her camera flying from her hands and landing a few meters away, still recording. "Mary!" Joseph stopped, turning to help her. "No!" she shouted, struggling against the creature''s grip. "Keep recording! The world needs to know!" The tentacle pulled her, dragging her backward. Mary dug her nails into the rock floor, leaving bloody grooves. Joseph raised his camera, focusing on the scene with trembling hands. Tears ran down his face, mixing with sweat and dirt. "I''m sorry," he sobbed. "I''m so sorry." Mary felt something break inside her. Fear gave way to a strange, almost supernatural calm. If this was the end, at least it would serve some purpose. "Record everything!" she shouted, her voice resonating in the fallen camera. "Don''t let them forget us!" Ek Chapat roared, the sound reverberating off the cave walls. Mary was lifted into the air, her eyes fixed on the seven heads approaching, jaws open. A heart-rending scream filled the chamber, a sound that seemed not entirely human. The image shook violently and then, darkness. 20 The Guatemalan sun punished mercilessly, its relentless rays penetrating the thick vegetation. The rescue team advanced with difficulty through the rugged terrain, machetes in hand, cutting a path through vines and bushes. Their faces showed the exhaustion of days of fruitless search. Ramirez stopped, wiping his sweaty forehead. "We''ve been in this damn jungle for almost two weeks," he growled. "We''ve already checked three wrong locations. Are you sure it''s this way, Fernandez?" Fernandez consulted his GPS, frowning. "According to the data from Mary''s phone''s last signal, it should be close. But this terrain... nothing matches the descriptions we had." Lopez, the team leader, intervened. "We can''t give up. Those people have been missing for weeks. They have to be around here." Garcia, the youngest, leaned against a tree, panting. "What if we''re wrong again? The coordinates they gave us have been a fiasco so far." "Wait," Ramirez suddenly said, bending down to examine something on the ground. "Look at this." The others approached. Half-buried in the mud, a piece of orange fabric peeked out from among the fallen leaves. "It''s the same color as the shirt Carlos was wearing in the last photo they sent," Lopez muttered, his voice mixing hope and apprehension. With renewed energy, the team began to search for more clues in the surroundings. After an hour of meticulous search, Fernandez shouted: "Here! I found something!" The others ran towards him. Before them rose the entrance to a cave, partially hidden by undergrowth. Ramirez crouched down, examining the ground. His fingers brushed against something metallic, half-buried in the damp earth. He pulled hard, revealing a shattered camera. "My God," Lopez murmured, his voice laden with emotion. "After so many false leads... Do you think it''s theirs?" Ramirez nodded, his face grim. "It has to be. It can''t be a coincidence after everything we''ve been through to get here." With trembling hands, he extracted the memory card. Miraculously, it seemed intact. "We have to watch it," Fernandez said, his voice laden with apprehension. "It could give us clues about what happened to them." They took out a laptop from one of the backpacks. The screen came to life, flickering under the intense sunlight. They inserted the card and held their breath. The images that appeared chilled the blood in their veins. They saw familiar faces: Mary, Carlos, Joseph... They all looked terrified, frantically talking about a creature called Ek Chapat. "This is insane," Garcia muttered, the youngest of the team. "It can''t be real." But as the footage progressed, reality became increasingly blurred. Strange symbols carved into rock. Impossible shadows moving in the darkness. And finally, that last scene: Mary screaming, being dragged by something that defied all logic. The video ended abruptly with a heart-rending scream and the screen went black. A sepulchral silence fell over the group. Only the buzz of insects and the occasional squawk of a tropical bird broke the stillness. "What... what do we do now?" Garcia asked, his voice barely a whisper. Lopez looked towards the cave entrance, his jaw tense. "We have to go in. Find answers." Ramirez shook his head, fear evident in his eyes. "We can''t. If what we saw is real..." "We don''t know what we saw!" Lopez exploded. "They could be in there, injured, waiting for help." The tension was palpable. Each team member struggled internally, duty clashing against survival instinct. Finally, Garcia spoke: "If we go in, we record everything. The world needs to know." Lopez nodded, taking out his own camera. "Whatever happens, we won''t separate." They sent a boy back with the evidence found and a message to their superiors, and with one last look at the scorching sun, the team turned on their flashlights and ventured into the darkness of the cave. The vegetation seemed to close behind them, as if the jungle itself wanted to erase their existence. END. The weird ending 21 The screen flickers and stabilizes, showing a well-lit conference room. A group of people, dressed in formal suits, sits around a long table. In the center, a laptop projects blurry images on a screen. A middle-aged woman, with thick-rimmed glasses, leans forward. "We''ve analyzed the recovered footage exhaustively. The conclusions are... disturbing." A gray-haired man slams the table in frustration. "Disturbing? It''s madness! We can''t present this to the public." The camera focuses on a young man with pronounced dark circles, nervously manipulating a pen. "The forensic analyses don''t lie. The footage hasn''t been altered." The tension in the room is palpable. A woman in a dark suit stands up, her voice trembling but firm. "Gentlemen, we have to consider all possibilities. If Ek Chapat is real..." "Please!" the gray-haired man interrupts. "A millennial monster with seven heads? It''s absurd." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The camera pans across the room, capturing expressions of doubt, fear, and confusion. A man with a military appearance clears his throat. "What about the locals? Their testimonies coincide with..." "Superstition," the skeptic snaps. "Old wives'' tales." The woman with glasses raises a hand, asking for silence. "The fact is that six people disappeared. And this footage is the only evidence we have." The image changes, showing fragments of the original video. Mary screaming. Carlos disappearing. Joseph trembling with fear. The young man with the pen speaks, his voice barely a whisper. "What if it''s real? What if there''s something down there?" A sepulchral silence falls over the room. The camera focuses on the screen, where the frozen image of seven glowing eyes seems to be watching them. The woman in the dark suit breaks the silence. "I propose that we archive the case. For now." Murmurs of assent and protest fill the air. The camera captures tense faces, exchanged glances. The military man leans forward. "And the rescue team?" Another uncomfortable silence. The woman with glasses adjusts her lenses, avoiding looking directly at the camera. "We haven''t heard from them since they entered the cave." The image flickers, showing for an instant the entrance of the cave, dark and threatening, before returning to the conference room. The young man with the pen looks directly at the camera, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination. "Someone has to go back. Discover the truth." The screen suddenly goes black. A text appears: "The original footage and all subsequent investigations remain classified. The fate of the film crew and the rescue team remains unknown."