^{Foto de Kai Oberhäuser en Unsplash}

Enfrentarse, siempre enfrentarse, es el modo de resolver el problema. ¡Enfrentarse a él!

— Joseph Conrad

E S P A Ñ O L

EL CARNICERO

Se supone que nada iba a salir mal, solo iba a ser una noche tranquila de películas, con un poco de toqueteos y una conversación amena e íntima, pero en vez de ello, cayó un silencio sepulcral, acompañado posteriormente por jadeos de espanto.

—Rosa, despierta, ¡por favor! —Suplicaba Josué con la voz quebrada. Sus ojos cubiertos de lágrimas estaban a punto de desbordar, mientras movía con su única mano sana el cuerpo inerte de su pareja.

—Rosa…, van a encontrarnos, debemos irnos, antes de que vengan. Por favor, despierta—. Sus susurros no vertían ningún efecto. Josué había perdido la cordura, negaba por completo que el cuerpo de su novia estaba sin vida, sin embargo, seguía conversando con ella.

—No voy a dejarte aquí —prosiguió, esta vez más roto por el llanto—, no dejaré que te conviertas en presa para esos bastardos. ¡Rosa, mírame, por favor!, ¡solo levántate y vámonos…!

Josué comenzó a agotarse, perdió mucha sangre a través de su brazo izquierdo a causa de la herida que tenía. Inclinó la cabeza con los ojos cerrados y suspiró. Comenzó a recordar ese instante en el que todo el horror irrumpió en sus vidas.

Rosa y Josué estaban disfrutando una película tranquilos, mientras que, sin percatarse ninguno de los dos, algo se deslizaba hacia dentro de la casa por una de las ventanas de la cocina.

Usaba botas enormes y una gabardina. Su rostro siempre estaba envuelto por bruma negra. Llevaba una gorra percudida y manchada, y en su mano derecha, portaba un cuchillo de cocina que ya había probado la sangre.

Él sabía dónde estaban sus víctimas, podía olfatearlas a metros de distancia. Era sordo en un oído y, según las noticias, tenía el rostro deformado desde la oreja izquierda hasta la barbilla.

Su mente estaba dañada, ahora era menos que un ser humano, era una máquina; una máquina de matar. Se asomó a la sala y vio a Rosa de espaldas sentada en el sofá. Se apresuró rápido para clavar el cuchillo en el hombro de la chica. Ella soltó un grito ensordecedor, Josué se levantó con ella de sobresalto y notó de reojo personas paradas sobre la puerta que dirigía a la cocina.

En realidad, solo era uno, pero el sujeto era tan gran y el pavor hicieron creer a Josué que eran varios. Tomó a Rosa y salió corriendo de allí. Ella se desangraba muy rápido y Josué no lo notaba, solo quería llevarla a un lugar seguro. Al parecer, Rosa padecía de un trastorno genético llamado «hemofilia», el cual no permitía que su sangre se coagulara.

Rosa seguía desangrándose rápidamente y empezó a sentirse mareada. Cuando se refugiaron en un escondite seguro finalmente, Rosa se desmayó sobre el suelo. Josué trataba de despertarla, pero su vida se extinguía.

Ahí es cuando comenzó a llamarla con desesperación. Rosa, no reaccionaba y Josué estaba asustado llorando. Al final solo sujetó las manos de su novia, resignándose a que ella ya estaba muerta. Comenzó a sentirse mareado paulatinamente, hasta que, escuchó unos pasos pesados acercándose hacia él.

—Rosa… —musitó melancólico—, perdóname, no te podré llevar a Cherrys… Si tan solo hubieras abierto los ojos, un instante, aunque sea… —Jadeó terminando con la palabra «Te amo» en un susurro casi imperceptible.

La puerta se abrió abruptamente y Josué observó el rostro cubierto de tinieblas de su acechador. Era solo uno y su cuerpo enorme no permitía que pasara un haz de luz siquiera a la habitación. Empuñó su arma con fuerza y la dejó caer sobre el frágil cuerpo de Josué, todo terminó en un parpadeo.

La pareja salió en las noticias como parte de una línea de víctimas asesinadas por «El carnicero», asesino serial al cual, hasta el día de hoy, no se ha dado con su paradero.

FIN

Confront, always confront, is the way to solve the problem. Confront the problem!

— Joseph Conrad

E N G L I S H

THE BUTCHER

Nothing was supposed to go wrong, it was just going to make for a quiet movie night, with a little touching and pleasant, intimate conversation, but instead, a stony silence fell, accompanied later by gasps of dread.

"Rosa, wake up, please! "Joshua pleaded, his voice breaking. His eyes covered with tears were about to overflow, while he moved with his only healthy hand the inert body of his partner.

"Rosa..., they are going to find us, we must leave before they come. Please wake up..." Her whispers had no effect. Josué had lost his mind, he was in complete denial that his girlfriend's body was lifeless, however, he was still talking to her.

"I'm not going to leave you here," he continued, this time more broken by crying, "I won't let you become prey for those bastards, Rosa, look at me, please, just get up and let's go...!

Joshua began to get exhausted, he lost a lot of blood through his left arm because of the wound he had. He bowed his head with his eyes closed and sighed. He began to remember that instant in which all the horror burst into their lives.

Rosa and Josué were quietly enjoying a movie, while, without either of them noticing, something slipped into the house through one of the kitchen windows.

He wore huge boots and a trench coat. His face was always shrouded in black mist. He wore a percured and stained cap, and in his right hand, he carried a kitchen knife that had already tasted blood.

He knew where his victims were, he could smell them from meters away. He was deaf in one ear and, according to the news, his face was deformed from his left ear to his chin.

His mind was damaged, he was now less than a human being, he was a machine; a killing machine. He peeked into the living room and saw Rosa with her back turned sitting on the couch. He hurried quickly to plunge the knife into the girl's shoulder. She let out a deafening scream, Joshua got up with her with a start and noticed out of the corner of his eye people standing on the door that led to the kitchen.

In reality, it was only one, but the subject was so big and the fear made Joshua believe that there were several. He took Rosa and ran out of there. She was bleeding very fast and Joshua didn't notice, he only wanted to take her to a safe place. Apparently, Rosa suffered from a genetic disorder called "hemophilia", which did not allow her blood to coagulate.

Rosa continued to bleed rapidly and began to feel dizzy. When they finally took refuge in a safe hiding place, Rosa collapsed on the floor. Joshua tried to wake her up, but her life was extinguishing.

That is when he began to call her with desperation. Rosa didn't react and Joshua was scared and crying. In the end he only held his girlfriend's hands, resigning himself to the fact that she was already dead. He began to feel dizzy gradually, until he heard some heavy footsteps approaching him.

"Rosa..." he murmured melancholicly, "forgive me, I won't be able to take you to Cherrys... If only you had opened your eyes, just for an instant, even if only..." he gasped, finishing with the word "I love you" in an almost imperceptible whisper.

The door opened abruptly and Joshua observed the face covered in darkness of his stalker. He was only one and his huge body did not allow even a beam of light to pass into the room. He gripped his weapon tightly and dropped it on Joshua's frail body, all over in the blink of an eye.

The couple was in the news as part of a line of victims killed by "The Butcher", a serial killer who, to this day, has not been found.

THE END

Esta es mi participación al @hispaliterario promocionado por la comunidad @hispapro, las bases las puedes encontrar aquí.

This is my participation to the @hispaliterario promoted by the @hispapro community, you can find the rules here.