Charon's Net

by Gemma Herrero Virto

  Carlos thought about it for a second. He knew that he was not able to trust Roberto, but he had no other option. He had to get him to help him, even if he had to beg. Gus's life was in danger; this was no time for remembering his pride.

  "Fine. Listen carefully. We know where the Internet killer is. A collaborator of mine has arranged to meet with them on an old rugby field in Barrionuevo, in La Reineta, in about five minutes’ time. You have to send units there immediately."

  "What's this about a collaborator? And what are you doing organising the arrest for a case that I’m in charge of? I think you're going to have a ton of explaining to do."

  "It doesn't matter. If necessary, I'll hand in my resignation this very Monday. Now do what I say. My collaborator's life is in danger. Have you noted down the address?"

  "Yes of course."

  "Good, note this down as well. The killer is not a man. Her name is Mónica Iraza, and she's a twenty-one-year-old woman, about 5’3” in height, with dark hair and green eyes. It's likely that she will be wearing a black coat and carrying a rucksack. She's armed, and highly unstable. Have you got that all down?"

  "Yes. Are you sure it's a woman?"

  "Yes, we've just spoken with her psychiatrist. I'm on my way to the place now, but it’s going to take me half an hour. Send the patrol cars this instant.”

  “Don't worry, I will."

  Carlos hung up and started the engine. As soon as he was back on the road, he floored it on the accelerator. He squeezed the steering wheel with his hands until his knuckles turned white, as if trying to physically push the car so that it would go even faster. Natalia remained in silence, all the while with only one sentence going around in her mind: ‘We have to get there in time, we have to get there in time, we have to get there in time..."

  ***

  After hanging up the telephone, Roberto leaned back in the chair, giving himself a few minutes to reflect. He knew that his obligation was to raise the alarm. Within a few minutes some patrol cars could be in La Reineta to help Carlos capture Charon. They would detain him, and Carlos would return to headquarters and, in spite of the fact that he had been taken off the case, nobody would remember it. Everything would be all congratulations. He could not allow that to happen. It was his case; Aguirre had assigned it to him, and Carlos had disobeyed. He deserved to be sacked, but he knew that it would not be like that, not if everything turned out as Carlos had planned. Of course, the situation was now in his hands, and he could modify the events. If he delayed it a bit before sounding the alarm, Charon would escape.

  He got up to get a coffee. He would search for somebody in the corridors who would then be able to vouch for the fact that he had been away from the office. That way he would be able to say that he had not received the call until he got back. On walking out, he remembered Carlos's warning about his collaborator's life being in danger. He shrugged his shoulders and left, thinking that, if this really was true, then it would only be the sole responsibility of Carlos.

  ***

  At last, the car finished ascending the steep slope, and the small village appeared before their eyes, illuminated by just a few streetlights. Nobody could be seen on the streets, and nor were there even many lights on in the windows. It was as if everybody was asleep. Carlos continued driving at full speed towards the place of the date.

  "There's nobody there," said Natalia quietly, worried. "Where are the patrol cars?"

  "I don't know," replied Carlos. "They should already be here by now, shouldn’t they?"

  "Yes, it's twenty past ten."

  Carlos did not say anything more. He limited himself to leaving the village behind, until arriving at the rugby field. There was no sign of Gus either. Carlos pulled up, and they both got out without saying a word. They looked all around, searching for Gus between the shadows of the first few rows of trees.

  "Where could he be?” asked Carlos, nervous. "Are you sure this is the place of the date?"

  "Yes, of course. I was there on the day Gus talked about it with Charon. And in the message he said that they had arranged to meet here. It has to be this place.”

  "Well he's not here. Not him, or the patrol cars I asked for," Carlos began to walk slowly along the road, searching for any indication that Gus had been there.

  "Is it possible that Roberto didn't understand you properly, and might have sent them to the wrong place?"

  "I don't know. I do hope he’s not trying to screw me over, because I will not forget this.”

  He stopped in front of a large rock situated on one side of the road and gestured to Natalia for her to come over. She went up to him whilst Carlos crouched down and picked up a cigarette butt from the ground.

  "Look, there are more of them scattered around, as if someone had been waiting here for a while. It's the brand that Gus smokes, isn't it?” said Carlos, holding it out to her.

  "Yes, it is. But, if he has been here, where’s he got to now?" Natalia's tone had progressed from worry to anguish. “It's impossible that we've crossed parts with him."

  Carlos did not respond. He continued looking at the ground, searching for some answer. Natalia stood still to the side of the road, hugging herself so as not to feel the cold. A few light droplets of freezing cold water were beginning to fall, making the night even more unpleasant. A few minutes later, Carlos returned to Natalia’s side, feeling angry.

  "He can't have been so stupid as to have gone into the forest; he had no reason to," he said, hoping that Natalia would say he was right. “It’s not possible that she could have been able to convince him to follow her."

  "Well, he didn't have any reason to come here, and he did.”

  "Yes, but to go into a forest that a killer could be waiting in is stupidity. And I don't think Gus would be brave enough to go in there alone."

  "Unless he wasn't alone," whispered Natalia, feeling that her voice was shaking.

  "What you mean?"

  “I mean that we know the killer is Mónica, but to him she would just be a girl who happened to be walking through here. It's likely that she would fool him."

  "No, that can't be," said Carlos, shaking his head.

  "Well, we could stay here saying it can't be, or we can go and look for him."

  "Yes, that’s true. We can't waste any more time,” replied Carlos. "But you stay here and wait for the patrol cars."

  "No, that’s out of the question,” said Natalia, beginning to walk towards the forest. "It's my responsibility too, and I'm going to go.”

  Carlos went after her and gripped her by the arm, forcing her to turn around.

  "Natalia, please, this could be dangerous. Stay out here.”

  “No, I’m going to go. You decide whether I go with you, or we each go our own way, but I’m not going to stay here wondering what could have happened to you.”

  “All right, let’s go. But don’t you separate from me for even one second.”

  They arrived at the first row of trees and began to ascend the slope. The weak light from the streetlights on the road disappeared as soon as they had got a few metres in. They were only able to make out the dark silhouettes of the nearest trees. The rain was becoming heavier and more continuous, colliding into the branches and drowning out any other sound. Carlos grabbed Natalia's arm again to stop her from slipping and, step-by-step, they continued going deeper into the forest.

  ***

  The boy stopped in a clearing and looked all around, while he called to his dog insistently. I walked for a few steps until I reached the exact centre of the clearing and looked towards the sky, which was completely covered over by clouds, asking forgiveness for my new sin. The rain was falling more strongly now, soaking my face and becoming confused with the tears that were beginning to fall. The only thing I wished for in that moment was to die, to forget everything, to put an end to this nightmare... This time I would allow my blood to leave me, without fear, and wish impatiently for death to come and take me away to a place in which there were no memories
or pain, only eternal oblivion, the endless sleep. But, what if it wasn't like that? And what if Rubén was waiting for me on the other side to ask me to pay for his pain, for the love that I hadn't known how to give him in time? I stifled a sob, feeling as the doubts came back to seize hold of my mind. No, I mustn’t think that. I had done everything in my power to prove that I was penitent. Maybe he would be able to understand it and accept me back by his side once more; maybe we would be able to find in the next world the happiness that we could not find in this one. I needed to put an end to it all before the bravery abandoned me; I would do it this very night.

  I looked again at the guy who was walking all around the clearing. He was the one to blame for having brought me to the limit of my strength. It was obvious that he was the one I had been speaking with over the last few weeks. The dog’s name matched, and he was the only person who had showed up to the date. But, why had he done that to me? Surely it was a joke. I had already suffered from that stupid game in the past; it had been the trigger for this whole nightmare. I felt my rage increase and, for a moment, the young man’s face in the shadows reminded me of that other face, that other young man who had caused me so much pain.

  ***

  The ground was becoming increasingly steep and the rain, which was falling endlessly, made it very slippery. Natalia supported herself on Carlos’s arm, trying to keep her balance and get some element of warmth. All of her clothes were drenched, and the cold air was passing through and pounding against her skin with as much ease as if she were naked. Carlos noticed that she was shivering and stopped:

  “You should go back to the car. You’re frozen. And, besides, you’re slowing me down. I would be going much faster if I didn’t have to be pulling you along,” Carlos said to her.

  “I know you’re only trying to protect me, so stop it already. You’re not getting rid of me. Do you think we ought to call out to him?” she asked, concerned.

  “No. If he’s with Charon, we’d alert her.”

  “So what? We already know where she lives. We can go and fetch her whenever we want. What we need now is for her to become scared and get away from Gus.”

  “Yeah, but we might make it so that, if she is going to kill him, she’ll do it more quickly and then go. It doesn’t take long to kill someone. I’d prefer to surprise her. Come on, let’s press on,” answered Carlos, beginning to walk once more.

  Natalia followed, without leaning on him, trying to keep up with his pace. She didn't want him saying that she was holding him back again, and much less to think that he was right. If they got there too late, she would spend the rest of her life thinking that it had been her fault, that she should have stayed in the car, that maybe Carlos, on his own, would have got there in time. She mustn't think that; it was not going to happen. It was possible that Gus was not even in the forest; that he had grown tired of waiting, and right now was on his way back home. And, when they got back, they would find him sitting in front of the computer, like always, safe and dry... He was going to have quite a telling off from her about his idea of becoming the hero and giving them a fright like that. He was going to pay for every minute of anguish, for the cold, and the rain... The image of the empty seat in front of the computer appeared in her mind, making her return to reality. And what if they never saw him alive again? And what if it would never be the three of them again, sitting down with a coffee in front of them, listening to his endless chatter? She felt the pinprick of repressed tears in her eyes and tried not to think about anything, just to keep walking through the rain, fighting against the wind, which was growing increasingly stronger, trying to take one more step, to reach the next tree. Then, she slipped and fell to the ground. An almighty pain shot up through her leg. She bit her lower lip hard, trying to stifle a scream. The tears flowed with no restraint. Carlos turned and ran to help her:

  "Are you all right?" he asked her worriedly. "What happened?"

  "I don't know, I think I slipped. Help me get up."

  "The thing is, nobody thinks to go to the mountains in heels, damn it,” protested Carlos.

  "Listen, I'll remind you that I didn't know anything about this excursion when I put them on. Help me," she said angrily, holding out her arms to him.

  Carlos grabbed hold of her and pulled. Natalia got up but, the second she put weight on her foot, a sharp pain ran back up her leg. She whimpered, unable to bear it. Carlos put her back down on the ground and bent over to examine her. He touched her ankle, which was beginning to swell up, causing Natalia to yelp again.

  "It doesn't seem to be broken, but I think you have a sprain," said Carlos, looking at her in concern. "Shit, what are we going to do now?"

  "You carry on. I'll stay here waiting for you both to come back, or for the others to get here," she replied, trying not to come across as scared.

  "How can you expect me to go off and leave you here all alone and unable to move? Are you crazy or something?"

  "There’s no other option. The one who is in danger is Gus; you must go and look for him," replied Natalia with a firm voice.

  "Damn it, I told you to stay in the car. Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Carlos stood up, feeling angry, and began to take off his coat. "Put this on, you'll die of cold if you stay here immobile and soaking wet. I'll be right back."

  He helped Natalia to put the coat on over her shoulders and began walking away from her. Once he had gone a few steps, he turned and went back to where she was sitting, taking out his handgun. He held it out to Natalia, who looked at him, not understanding.

  "Here, you keep this with you. You know how to use it, right?"

  "Of course, they gave us a few fire arms courses before joining the Ertzaintza. But I can't keep it with me; you're the one who needs it."

  "No, I don’t," answered Carlos. "We don’t believe that she’s carrying fire arms, only bladed weapons. I'll be able to defend myself against her in a physical fight if it comes to it, but you won't, at least not with a broken ankle."

  "I have no intention of keeping it. Nothing's going to happen to me," she protested again.

  "Look, I'm not going to stay here arguing all bloody night," he took a couple of steps back and left the handgun on the ground. "I'll leave it for you here. If you need it, grab it."

  Natalia wanted to argue with him again, but he went away at a quick pace and disappeared into the trees. She looked at the gun again and crawled, trying not to move her leg, and, once she was closer, she reached out and took it. Its hard and cold touch made her feel much safer. She gripped it tightly and pointed it towards the vegetation, attentive to the sounds and the shadows of the night.

  ***

  He stayed still for a moment between the trees, hoping that Natalia would pick up the gun, without being able to see him. Once she had done so, he felt much calmer, and somewhat less guilty for leaving her on her own. He knew he had to do it, but leaving her in the middle of that forest with no means to defend herself made him feel ill. It was not his idea of what a hero would do in this situation. Of course, he was not a hero, and nor was Natalia a helpless little princess. She would know how to look after herself. He looked at her again, and then turned, starting to walk again, climbing up the mountain, which was carpeted with trees that seemed to never end.

  The more he climbed, the damper the ground became, making each step he took more dangerous than the last. There must be some natural spring higher up that was drenching the subsoil, and making the ground increasingly more swamp-like. The darkness was almost total, and he could not orientate himself at all to see where he was putting his feet. All he saw were the silhouettes of the nearest trees, like gigantic guardians ever closing in on his path, and whose dark branches danced to the frenetic rhythm of the wind, giving him the impression of being surrounded by a thousand shadows, by a thousand sounds, by a thousand enemies...

  The ground gave way by a few centimetres, leaving him stuck. He must have stepped into the course of a stream. The entire area he was in was an enormous m
ire that split the forest into two sections. He would have to cross it if he wanted to continue his search. With some effort, he managed to get one of his feet out of the mud, which produced a sucking sound that to him seemed to be audible from several metres away. He went still, waiting in case he heard Gus calling him. He did not hear anything, only the wind between the trees and the beating of the branches. He continued advancing with effort, searching for any stone on which he would be able to support his feet. There was nothing. When he arrived on the other side, the mud had stained the whole of the lower part of his trousers, up to his knees. The sensation was unpleasant; cold and viscous, as if a reptile were trying to climb up his legs. He carried on walking, increasingly his pace. It seemed to him as though he had been climbing for a long time; that it was a long while ago now since he had left Natalia behind. He wondered again whether she would be all right. He was so desperate not to know, to have his head so devoid of doubts... Every step he took in one direction made him wonder whether he was doing the right thing, whether he was getting any closer to Gus, or whether he was moving increasingly further away from finding him; whether with each decision he made, he was leaving him a little more in Charon's hands...

  The ground continued to rise. He had to concentrate all of his senses on focusing on the ground, so as not to slip. The trees seemed to be closer to one another, and the ground was rife with thorny bushes and brambles which were catching on his clothes, slowing him down, giving him the impression that thousands of invisible hands were grabbing hold of him. In spite of this, he forced himself to walk faster, as if he was certain that he was following the correct route, and that he would soon reach the end. His breathing became more laboured. The cold air was making his side hurt, and his lungs felt like they were working at maximum capacity. He forced himself not to think about anything and keep going, just keep going...

  He went along holding on to the tree trunks, which were getting ever closer together, to propel himself along. He felt that he was very close, and that he needed to hurry up, a lot. Before he knew it, he was running, dodging the trees that appeared in his way from amongst the shadows, like dark and silent phantoms. He ignored the branches and bushes that clawed at his face and his hands. The only thing that was important was to run, in spite of the tiredness, and the sweat that soaked his skin, and the feeling of not wanting to get there that was beginning to seize his mind and fill him with an irrational fear, with the distant but pointed impression of being in a familiar dream.