The dark web -Part 5.

He crawled through the living room like a dying animal, eyes closed and his forehead brushing the floor. With each step, he felt as if a hammer was splitting his head open. There was no pain left to distract him. The voice grew louder, turning into a constant and maddening screech.

Then he touched it.

The tips of his fingers met a rough surface. He sat in a meditation pose and placed the object between his legs. Opening his eyes took a superhuman effort for Mariano, as if his eyelids had been glued shut, but the sight was gratifying; if it all began with a package, it would end with one. The box hadn't been sent from Europe but from Argentina. He still remembered receiving the package. How could he forget it? The postal delivery guy's face when Mariano answered the door said it all; it seemed like the poor fellow had seen a monster (he nearly dropped the box out of fright).

In a way, he had seen a monster.

Mariano used his nails and teeth to open it. He clutched his order eagerly. He threw the box aside and focused on the object; a stuffed teddy bear. Mariano laughed when he saw it, but the laughter immediately turned into agony.

"The time has run out, it's time to end this."

"I couldn't agree more, it's time to finish," Mariano whispered. "The end has come."

He stood up and turned the bear in his hands. He unzipped the hidden zipper on the toy's back and rummaged inside.

He found what he needed.

"Don't be foolish, Mariano, nothing can help you now. In a few seconds, you'll vanish, and your body will be mine."

"Shut up!" he shouted with a smile on his lips.

Mariano felt the weight in his hand. It was terrifying what one could acquire on the Deep Web. For example, demons delivered to your doorstep. More than the deep web, they should call it the dark web. But you could also acquire other dangerous objects. Any weapon you could imagine, even a 9mm with a full magazine and a silencer included. The ultimate solution.

Mariano placed the bear on the floor and assembled the silencer. While screwing it on, he contemplated how long it would take for someone to worry about his disappearance. A day, a week, or a month? Considering the lack of messages on his phone since he stopped sending them himself, at least a month. The real estate people would be in for a big shock when they came to collect the rent.

Mariano reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a piece of yellowed paper. He looked at the note in Latin. He crumpled it in fury.

He brought the pistol to his face and inserted it into his mouth.

A shiver ran through his body, and his stomach churned when the barrel grazed his lips. Death had a metallic taste. He hesitated. He closed his eyes like traps and shook his head from side to side to dispel his doubts. The torment had to end; whatever awaited him in death would undoubtedly be much better than the torment of the past week.

"Don't you dare."

A solitary tear slid down his cheek.

"We made a pact, your body is mine."

Mariano pulled the trigger.

The gun went off with a muffled bang.

The demonic voice vanished.

The blast blew open the back of his head, and blood splattered on the floor.

Darkness enveloped him, and Mariano felt relieved; everything was very quiet.

They say your entire life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. In this case, Mariano had only one last memory: the content of the USB drive he should have examined before reading the note that dictated his tragic ending.