Dungeon

CHAPTER 18 - THE LETHAL HOURGLASS

"Mama! Este televisor no funciona!"

A girl around eleven was trying to change the channel on television, but in vain. She got up and hit the television in the back, but to her dismay, the screen kept flashing a young girl tied to a chair that stood amidst a flowing river with a small vial on top of her head.

"Mama! Vendrás aquí rápidamente? Voy a extrañar la orquesta por esta estúpida televisión!" Mama! Will you come here quickly? I'm going to miss the orchestra because of this stupid television!

A lady in her mid-twenties rushed to the hall with a frustrated look on her face. She took the remote from the girl and tried changing the channel, but it didn't seem to move. She caught sight of the unchanging visual before her and widened her eyes. "Es esto realmente un programa de televisión?" Is this really a television show?

Three hundred and eighty-eight miles away, the department of the National Police Corps was inevitably silent at the visual before their eyes. The television screens displayed the same image of a young girl. A man in his late 40s stood before the rest with a stern expression in his face that showed his wrinkle lines across his face.

"Qué es esto visual? Llame a la división de satélites y pregúnteles qué está pasando!" What is this visual? Call the satellite division and ask them what's going on!

A young guy stumbled forward with papers in his hands, fear striding in each and every short step he took. He kept fumbling with his glasses and tried to lunge out the words, which were now hiding inside his throat, refusing to come out. He cleared his throat and looked with fearful eyes towards the commander.

"Señor, este visual no sólo se retransmite dentro de las instalaciones de la sede, sino que se retransmite para toda España. La división de satélites dice que sus servidores fueron pirateados hace una hora y están intentando solucionar el problema." Sir, this visual is not only broadcast within the headquarters facilities but is broadcast throughout Spain. The satellite division says their servers were hacked an hour ago, and they are trying to fix the problem.

He wanted to speak more, but the stern expression of the man before him told him otherwise. He strolled back towards his peers and hung his head low. The commander was trying to process the information, but as his nerves caught up on each and every word, his heart beat faster, rhythming the outcomes of this strange visual.

"De dónde viene este visual?" The silence in the crowd was more than enough for him to understand that tracing the location of the visual was impossible. Anger and tension surged through his veins, and before he could react, a cellphone shriek echoed throughout the building, sending fear rushing through the crowd.

A cellphone call wasn't quite abnormal in a police headquarters, but a call from this specific cell phone was abnormal in all its ways, as this medium was used to directly contact the head of the country, the prime minister of Spain.

The commander's hands trembled with fear, which resonated throughout the bodies of the people gathered inside the headquarters. His voice quivered, but his position was one of respect and diligence. "Señor?"

A calm yet defiant voice spoke through the other side. "Lo que está sucediendo?" What's happening?

The commander didn't know how to reply. In his 23 years of service, he has never let down his leader or the people of his country. "Señor, aún no lo sabemos, pero créame, lo solucionaremos lo más rápido posible." Sir, we don't know yet, but believe me, we will solve it as quickly as possible.

"Mateo, confío en ti." Mateo, I trust you.

The cellphone beeped to an end, and the entire department was once again shrouded in silence. Mateo tried to suppress the emotions that were welling up inside him. Never once has his leader taken him by his name, but for the first time he did, and that was more than enough to prove the gravity of the situation.

He cleared his mind and focused back on the screen. His eyes scanned through the live visual to find something that could end this whole catastrophe. "Acércate a lo visual." Zoom in on the visual.

The controller obediently zoomed in, and a huge gasp echoed within the crowd. On the vial above the girl's head, a small timer was fixed that was counting down from 15 hours. The commander took a step back, and his eyes quivered. "Bomb?"

A fearful voice rang across the hall. "¡No! ¡America!"

The crowd turned around to look at the same young man, who now stood in a pile of papers that he had just dropped. His legs trembled, and his face was pale, as if he were nearing his death. "¡El mito! Después de todo, ¡no era un mito!" The myth! After all, it wasn't a myth!

The commander looked and shook at the behavioral change before the man in front of him. "Rafael, ¿qué pasa? ¿Qué mito y qué América?" Rafael, what's wrong? What myth, and what America?

Rafael threw his specs and kneeled back on the ground. He started rummaging through his hair, and the crowd jeered backwards as if they were witnessing a man go mad. "¡Estados Unidos nos va a matar! Vamos a morir!" The United States is going to kill us! We are going to die!

Mateo looked like the young lad before him needed help, but before he could react, a hand tugged on his shirt. He turned back and saw the controller pointing at an engraving on top of the vial. Mateo strained to read the small engraving, but when his mind registered the words, he felt like his soul was about to meet its maker.

"¡División Médica de Vanguardia! ¡Esos traidores!" Vanguard Medical Division! Those traitors!

A woman came forward and spoke with a curious tone. "Pero el presidente de los Estados Unidos extendió relaciones amistosas con nuestro presidente hace un mes." But the president of the United States extended friendly relations with our president a month ago.

Mateo looked at her with a mix of anger and betrayal. "¡Traicionaron la confianza de nuestro presidente y ahora van a borrar a toda nuestra nación!" They betrayed the trust of our president, and now they are going to erase our entire nation!

The crowd nodded in agreement. Some of them dispersed back to work, while others went to call their family, wanting to spend their last hours with their loved ones. A man came rushing forward and pushed aside a paper in Mateo's hands.

"¡Señor! Dos oficiales estadounidenses ingresaron a nuestro país hace un día. No han sido registrados oficialmente en ninguna jefatura de policía." Sir! Two American officers entered our country a day ago. They have not been officially registered with any police headquarters.

Mateo turned back and faced the man. His eyes were bloodshot, but his voice remained defiant with rage. "Dispárales cuando los veas."

The man looked stumped and gave out an incredulous look. "Pero señor, son bastante jóvenes, tal vez podamos arrestarlos y-" But sir, they are quite young; maybe we can arrest them and-

Mateo's voice bellowed with rage that echoed throughout the building. "¡Dije dispararlos a la vista!" I said to shoot them on sight!