The Red Rose

Chapter IX

I had never imagined how tranquil and desolate the desert could be. Both in Llanquihue and during my time in Styria, I had been accustomed to verdant landscapes, feeling the vibrant life around me, birds singing, the wind blowing through the trees, and especially in Llanquihue, the sound of the gentle waves I heard from the lake, which contrasted greatly with the mist that covered the forests in Styria.

But the desert was different. Atacama is truly like being on an alien planet, no pun intended. Feeling the sand rise with the wind, the red and orange of the rocks and sand before me, the heat of the sun, and the wind blowing around me was something unique.

As I ventured further into the desolate landscape, and watched as the silhouettes of Juanpi and Sebastian became smaller and smaller, I couldn't help but have a strange sensation, as if I were venturing into the middle of the ocean, or, following my previous analogy, exploring a vast and unknown planet.

"Darn it, and here I must find the Alicanto..." I murmured, realizing just how vast the desert was.

At dusk, I could enjoy how beautiful the sky looked in this place. The stars adorned the entire landscape, and I felt as if I were enveloped in a celestial bath.

"You can see the Milky Way from here! This place really seems like I'm on the planet Mars," I said, gazing in awe at the grand stellar spectacle above me.

"Can ordinary humans see the landscape as I do?" I thought. "They might miss some stars, colors, or constellations, but I have no doubt it would still be equally beautiful for them."

I continued to gaze at the landscape as I nestled among rocks in the middle of nowhere. I laid out my sleeping bag, checked the time, and set my backpack aside. After doodling on a rock with my nails to entertain myself, I closed my eyes.

In my dreams, I remembered my mother's last visit and my grandmother Flora's first visit. I was still worried about what Juanpi had been telling me about the leak of information about the sect through his informant, and especially about what Carmilla might be doing in Europe.

"Has she had more victims? Is she working alongside that Dracula guy?"

Of all the information torrent that Juanpi was throwing at me, and that I could barely digest, I remembered his mention of the sect, or rather, the conspiracy theory about it, in which many important people were involved through a network of human trafficking, in which, according to the conspiracy theorists and Juanpi's informant and his group of hackers, they trafficked a substance called "chromas," which was nothing more than blood extracted from people under induced pleasure sensations, I think he was talking about hormones like serotonin, dopamine, and others, I don't know what all that stuff is about, but I imagine that Juanpi and his infiltrated informant will know more about it, even so, all of it was giving me the creeps.

After my nap, I wake up in the morning and start using the techniques my grandmother Flora taught me, to assimilate myself with the natural world and be able to detect the Alicanto, so I close my eyes and let myself be carried away by the wind's breeze.

Gradually, the sound of the wind turned into a kind of melody, the rocks seemed to whisper things, and the sand around me began to tremble, until I started to feel the familiar and subtle echo of the buzz.

Guided by the murmurs of the rocks and the melody of the wind, I turned until I found the origin of the buzz; I knew there was a supernatural creature in the distance, so after putting on my backpack, I walked in the direction of the pull.

The sound grew louder and louder, and little by little, I could see traces of what seemed to be minerals. I picked up one of the nuggets and admired it in my hand, as it shone brightly in the blazing sun.