1.

It happened to Joseph, a boy in his early twenties with trouble with college. That night he felt a little strange. He went to bed as soon as he finished lunch, but the next hour he woke up with a discomfort that made his sleepless. He felt his back burn, and at times he felt powerful pangs very clearly. He remained in bed for about ten minutes after the uncomfortable sensations began. He got out of bed and the only place he could think of to go was the bathroom. For a moment he believed it was stress or that some insect was on his back and he would not let him sleep. His apartment was somewhat cramped, though just enough for one person. In a few steps he was able to reach the bathroom, which was adjacent to where he sleeps. He turned on the light in the bathroom. That place was also not very spacious, there was hardly a toilet, a sink and a shower. At least he was able to recycle some space in that place to put some things, for example, a basket of dirty clothes, a small table where there was a pile of clean underwear and a medicine cabinet, and a pile of cleaning supplies. On the same wall where the sink was, there was a large mirror where Joseph could see himself from head to belly button. He looked at his face in the mirror and his surprise was no other than a great doubt when he looked into his eyes. In the distance he could see that his eyes were red, a very concentrated color. He didn't believe it, but by the time he walked over to the mirror and placed his index finger on the eyelid to get a good look at the right eye, he had to resign himself to the fact that it was true.

--What is this? -were his words as he admired his eyes.

It seemed that he had fought with someone, someone who must have hit him in the face through his eyelids. He frowned at the moment. He hadn't noticed it from the beginning, but his hands were a little cold. He had been under the blankets for an hour and it was strange that his hands were cold, as if he had been on the street on a rainy day. He looked at both his hands, fearing the worst. As expected, his hands also had something bad to show him; these were yellow and... his fingers were wrinkled, it seems that he had been underwater for a long time. He swallowed saliva, not believing it. He put the palms of his hands on his cheeks and... yes, these were cold. He gulped again while looking at his hands, especially his fingers. He turned his eyes to his face. Again he had a discovery. His face was a little pale. He went to the mirror. He thought it was strange that his face had been pale from the first moment, for he had looked in the mirror before and it was not the same color as now. With the reflection of his face close by, he could see how scared he was; and his pupils were the best witnesses, for these were very dilated.

--What? What's wrong with me? -he said, whispering.

He swallowed saliva.

Joseph's breathing was a little labored. He didn't want to look at his face anymore so he took his eyes off that place. He took a brief look at the toilet, then went back to look in the mirror, even though he didn't want to. There were many doubts in his head and few answers. As if someone had told him, he placed his hand at his chest level, specifically where his heart is. For the agitated way he breathed, it was strange that his heart was beating at a normal rate. He shook his hand and pulled it away from his chest, by this time he was very afraid. He looked back at the mirror. He frowned. He was sweating... sweating with fear? He looked in the mirror at his face, his tired face with signs of losing his life. He had forgotten the real reason he got out of bed and went to the bathroom. At that moment the twinges in his back came back. Joseph's eyes glowed in that moment when he remembered why he was there.

He was wearing a wide gray heater and a shirt that was neither tight nor wide in deep blue. He turned around and stopped with his back to the mirror. He grabbed the T-shirt from the base and lifted it up. He turned his head back to look at it in the mirror. He couldn't see anything clearly, except when he had his shirt on. He let go of the shirt and immediately took it off. Now he is supposed to be able to see his back very clearly. Before looking in the mirror, he moved his palm across his back and the parts where he felt those stings. First he started with the back of his neck, he felt a lot of pain, like he had been sleeping in a bad position. Then he slid his hand under his neck as far as he could reach. He did not feel any sharp objects in that place, although he felt a muscular pain, as if he had been hit in that area. Before he removed his hand from that spot and went to another, he felt a very intense itching. His nails were very long at that time and when he tore them with little force he felt a relief, but he didn't stop. He scratched harder and harder, however, it was as if the itching increased at the same time as the strength of his scratching. Still, he scratched harder. He stopped. He felt a sting. He put his hand to his face. It was what he expected, he had blood in the middle of his nails; he had scratched himself so much that he had cut himself. The itching persisted. He brought his hand back to the spot and scratched less intensely. He opened his eyes as wide as possible. In the middle of his fingers he felt something. It was... he had no idea what it was. He touched the thing with his fingertips. He tried to pull it. At first he felt a strong prick, but it disappeared. He pulled that thing without a second thought. He was afraid to look at what it was. He stayed for a few moments with his gaze lost in the air. He felt the blood rushing down to his feet when he put the thing in front of his eyes. It was... a piece of flesh. A piece of dead flesh that had a few bloodstains on it. Had he torn off that piece of flesh himself? Full of horror, he released the piece of dead flesh and put his hand near the area where he pulled it out. As soon as he put his fingers in that area...

--Aggg!

He shouted with all the strength his body could muster. He took a few steps forward, placing his hands on his knees as he closed his eyes, squeezing hard. He closed his hands. The pain continued. He did not believe such pain could exist. Soon after, he stopped standing upright and put his back straight; the pain still did not disappear, but was tolerable. He approached the mirror with his head facing backwards. It was to be expected; now he could see his back clearly. His eyes dilated to a greater extent than before; he could not believe what his eyes were looking at. He felt disgust, revulsion, the desire to vomit. His legs were shaking a lot; he thought that at any moment he would faint.

--What is that?

Knock-knock knock-knock

He jumped up and down. He looked at the entrance to the bathroom in terror. He heard a knock on the front door. Had he screamed so loudly that the neighbors in the building came to ask if he was all right? He didn't believe it, but he wished he was. His mouth was a little paralyzed to pronounce anything. He gulped. He tried to say something, but the memory of his back prevented him from moving his tongue. He looked back at the mirror. He wished he could have imagined that about his back. He removed his face from the reflection of the mirror; for it was true what he had seen before. He began to breathe more often, now his heart was beating in terror. There was a knock at the door again. Joseph tried to say a few words...

--Joseph, my friend. Hello...? Is anyone home?

Knock-knock knock-knock

It was a familiar voice. He knew who he was.

--Joseph! I'm Carlos, can you open the door for me? Hello…?

He swallowed his spit. He looked back at the mirror. He relived the horror of his back. He looked at the floor, turned to the sides and picked up his shirt as soon as he found it. He put it on, although for a moment he wanted to go and open the door like this, so his friend could see; but he didn't want to scare him as soon as he walked through the door. He took a deep breath and walked towards the entrance. He stopped at the entrance to the bathroom, leaned against the door frame and took a deep breath. For a moment he was dizzy and lost much of his strength. He inhaled and exhaled as he heard his friend knocking on the door more. He shook his head to the side and began to walk. He turned on the light in that place and opened the door.

--Joseph! Brother! -said his friend Carlos with a fake smile.

--Hello -he replied, a little tired.

Carlos wiped that fake smile off his face and replaced it with a worried expression.

--Is there something wrong with you? You're not well... Have you seen your eyes?

Joseph nodded, closing his eyes and pointing his face more frequently to the floor.

--I just woke up and found this.

--Have you been drinking?

Joseph smiled.

--Of course not, we're on probation at the university. I'm not stupid enough to go drinking right now. By Saturday it would be nice to have a few beers.

--But....

--What is that?

Your friend was wearing a red sweatshirt, wide brown pants, and old sneakers with a lot of stains. In his right hand he was wearing a black cover and in his left hand he was carrying a suitcase. Carlos turned his head to the handle, where his friend was pointing.

--I left my house, this time it's definite.

--Again? Really, this time it's the final one?

You could see in his friend's face how angry he was.

--I don't know, but I'm not going back to that house.

--But what happened? I thought I had solved your problems...

--Can you let me in? -he interrupted, picking up his suitcase.

Joseph looked at him for a few moments, breathing deeper and less forcefully.

--Okay, come in.

--Thank you.

He closed the door as soon as his friend came in like a devilish soul. A few yards from the entrance was an old piece of furniture with a pile of books in it instead of one of the legs. Carlos threw the bookcase aside and placed it on the floor. He sat down, pursing his mouth and showing more of his anger. He looked back at his friend. Joseph placed his hands on the door, taking a break to breathe.

--Do you feel all right?

He stood up and walked to the doorway.

--Yes -he said, his voice stuck and tired, and nodding.

Joseph looked back at his friend, who was already near him. He placed a hand on his back and was about to ask him again about his condition. Joseph bent down, feeling like vomiting, as soon as Carlos put his hand inches below his neck. He walked away with his hand covering his mouth.

--What's wrong with you, buddy? Are you really okay?

Joseph had his head down and his eyes closed. He remained in that state for a moment. He looked up at his friend and nodded.

--Yes, don't worry, it's just... I think it's stress from the exams I have to take tomorrow.

Carlos frowned. Joseph placed his hands on his knees as he took a deep breath.

--Of all the times I've seen you during exam week, you've never been like this.

--You better forget it. I think I ate something that was expired and now I feel really bad. I don't recommend this.

--Are you sure?

Joseph nodded.

--Let's change the subject, shall we? -Carlos nodded, hesitating-. Now what happened? Why did you leave the house?

Carlos used to have a lot of concern on his face, and when his friend asked him, he changed his expression to one of anger. He pursed his mouth. He turned in a circle with his hands around his waist.

--I want to tell you that there is no justification for what they did -he said, pointing him.

--It was their fault that you were expelled from the university because you cheated on all the tests and missed a lot of classes. It was their fault that you were fired from your job because you stole from the register.

--You know I needed that money for life or death; my father took all my money to go to a casino to gamble as usual. It was really their fault that I went to college, they were forcing me to work to bring home money and I didn't have much time to study…

--Ok, Ok, I see your point. But what did they do now?

Joseph lowered his face, closing his eyes tightly.

--No matter what they did, the fact remains that I will never go back to that house -he said, pointing him.

Joseph walked up to one of the walls and put a small part of his back there.

--Are you really okay? -Carlos asked, watching his friend sweat and shake.

--Of course. With a few pills this will go away.

He took awkward steps toward his friend, inhaling with difficulty.

--Are you going to sleep there? -he pointed to the furniture.

--Of course, like every time.

--Okay. -He nodded-I'll get you some blankets. Have you had a snack yet?

--Yes, thanks, anyway.

Joseph put his hands back on his knees. At that point he looked very pale.

--You look terrible, Joseph. What did you eat? Or what happened to you?

--I've been feeling a little sick for the last hour, but it's not serious. I'll be right back.

He put his back straight. He turned around and walked to his room, limping. Carlos was concerned about his friend's walk; it seemed like he fell from a high place or had a broken ankle. But it wasn't that that really worried him, it was the sight of a red spot on his friend's sword.

--Hey, Joseph! -he said in a shrill voice.

--Yes, I'll be right back.

--It's just that...

He didn't even have enough words to describe what he had seen. He couldn't confuse it with anything else, that was blood, it was a big bloodstain next to a lot of stains... it looked like sweat stains.

Joseph did not lift his bare feet much off the ground; he hardly lifted one and dragged it, and so it was with the other, he dragged them. He was already feeling very bad. He didn't have much strength anymore. From the first moment he pulled that piece of meat off, his strength gradually diminished. In the light of his bedroom, a unkempt place with clothes lying in one place and shoes with socks in another, he looked at his hands. It were no longer yellow or wrinkled as before. It were normal, although his temperature was still low. He felt his cheeks. He felt that difference in temperature. His face was boiling and his hands were cold. He closed his eyes as he swallowed saliva. He placed his hands on his knees to get some air. He walked at a fast pace to a closet near his bed. On his way, he stumbled over one of the shoes lying on the floor. Near where he walked there was a table where he studied. He grabbed the edge of the table, some leaves and spheres that were there fell to the floor. He almost fell to the ground, too.

--Damn it -he said.

He placed his hands again on his knees to take air.

--Friend, are you all right?

--Yes -he said, tired.

He inhaled deeply and continued at great speed. He opened the door of the closet, although it was difficult because he felt so weak. In that place there was an endless number of clothes piled up and mixed up between clean and dirty. At the bottom of the closet there were a couple of blankets next to some underwear. Joseph took a deep breath and bent down. He grabbed one of the blankets and... bent down to take a deep breath. He knew he didn't have the strength to get up, or that it would be hard to get his legs straight again.

--I feel bad already. I'm going to ask he for help -he said.

He took a deep breath and got up. As soon as he did, he felt the strength leave his body. He almost collapsed. He grabbed hold of the cabinet so he wouldn't collapse and nearly made the cabinet fall on top of him.

--Damn it.

Carlos looked back and forth, impatient that his friend would not return soon. He looked at him very badly. He pulled out his cell phone. To his bad luck, the battery was low and it was a fact that the cell phone was going to be turned off at any moment. At least he wanted to make a little call to a doctor he knew to have his friend checked out. He was staring at the cell phone and then picked it up when he saw his friend leave the bedroom. Now he looked very bad, he looked worse. His face was pale, he had giant circles under his eyes and... the hand where he was carrying the blanket was shaking.

--I'm going to call a doctor, my friend.

--Please call; I really feel very bad.

--Okay.

Carlos placed the cell phone in his right ear and waited for them to answer. A few moments later he looked at his cell phone screen. It was what he feared.

--Damn it! -He went back to see his friend, his friend who seemed to be dying at the time-. My cell phone went off. Do you have a charger?

--Of course. -He nodded-. Looked in that drawer.

He pointed to a table with a lamp on it that was near the furniture. Without missing a beat, Carlos walked over to the table. He opened the drawer and pulled out a magazine. He ran to one of the walls where there was an outlet. He connected the charger cord to his cell phone.

--Come on, come on. Turn on.

Joseph felt like throwing up. He placed his right hand in his mouth. The urge to vomit disappeared, but it took a lot of energy away. His friend noticed this and asked him:

--If you felt bad you should have told me, we are friends. See how you are. -He looked at his cell phone-. Come on, come on. How long does it take for my cell phone to turn on? -He looked at his friend again-. Will you hold out a little longer, as soon as the doctor arrives?

Joseph nodded.

--Hey, before the doctor arrives, I want to show you something.

The cell phone turned on. Carlos exchanged glances between his friend and his cell phone screen.

--Yeah, tell me. -What is it?

He left the cell phone on the floor and walked in the direction of his friend.

--Before you arrived, I saw something on my back.

--What is it?

Something inside Carlos told him that things were going to get worse than he could have ever imagined in his life. His friend remained silent, staring at him for a moment. Joseph closed his eyes, took a deep breath; he also coughed slightly. He opened his eyes again, showing pain in his face, as if he had a hard time keeping his eyes open or as if the artificial light irritated his sight. Joseph barely raised his right foot and dragged his closer to his friend. By this time, Carlos was bathed in fear; watching Joseph shuffle his feet did not give him a good feeling. He felt it face to face with him, he could sense the warm air his sick friend was releasing.

--Hey, do you have a fever? -he said, feeling his forehead.

It was boiling, like the lid of a pot cooking. He immediately withdrew his hand, his heart pounding. He swallowed saliva. He put his hand back on his forehead, then on his cheeks and back on his forehead.

--Joseph, you're boiling. You're really bad.

--And you still don't see the worst.

He had said it... he seemed to be laughing and yet he was sorry to say those words.

--Hey, tell me once and for all what's wrong with you. I have to call a doctor urgently to have you checked out.

--Yes -he said, nodding.

Again Joseph dragged his feet on the ground, but this time it was not to get closer but to turn around. Carlos blinked several times as he waited for his friend to turn around, or so he thought. Tired of the uncertainty, he walked over and stood behind Joseph, staring disgustedly at the bloodstain on his shirt.

--Hey, you know you have a bloodstain on your back? -his voice sounded uneasy.

--Yes, I did that to myself. -Carlos was speechless. He hadn't understood his friend, but at the same time he had understood him, although... the truth was he had many doubts. He swallowed and wanted to ask a lot of questions, however, the voice did not come out of his throat-. Can you help me?

His friend grabbed the front of his shirt and slowly lifted it up. Carlos frowned; he wasn't sure what his friend wanted him to do.

--Hey, what do you want help with?

There was silence for a few seconds.

--I have something on my back, help me lift my shirt so you can see it.

Carlos frowned. He nodded. He was very afraid of what might be hiding behind the shirt. He imagined the worst. The first thing that came to his mind was that his friend had been shot, but that idea came out of his head right then and there. He also believed that his friend had something there, perhaps a nail, a needle or a razor blade, and he needed help. That was the only thing his imagination could come up with. He gulped. He grabbed the T-shirt from the bottom and lifted it at high speed. He couldn't see very well, but... He opened his eyes as wide as possible, his breathing stopped at that moment, his mouth started shaking and it was so quiet in that place that he could clearly hear his heart pumping. He let go of his shirt and took a step backwards.

--Joseph! What is that? -he said, upset.

He covered his mouth with his hands.

--No! Is this a joke? Tell me it's a joke!

His friend turned around. With a tired voice he said:

--I wish I was.

--But...

Carlos put his hands on his head. He looked to the sides, to a place different from his friend's face and back. He walked around, digesting what his eyes had seen.

--No! That was not real.

With all the suffering and screaming, Joseph lifted his shirt. He released it and grabbed it from the top. The boy's screams came back as he pulled on his shirt. Carlos came over and helped him take off his shirt. Again his eyes opened as wide as these could, his breathing stopped; in other words, he had the same reaction as the first time he saw his friend's back. He took steps backwards, with his hands on his forehead.

--Joseph! What happened to you?

--I don't know! -he said-. I felt sick and I got up to go to the bathroom and realized this.

Carlos took a deep breath. For some strange reason he couldn't take his eyes off his friend's back. He saw on his left side a lot of flesh and skin that was a lighter color than the rest of his body. That area seemed... dead and looked very much like the skin does when it is in water for a long time. There were also parts of the skin that had a frightening resemblance to torn leaves. That wasn't the worst of it, but what was in the middle of all that dead, oedematous skin. At first Carlos couldn't tell them apart from the wrinkles that formed on the oedematous skin. There were... dozens of holes a little deep that contained... it looked like sunflower seeds, it had all the resemblance in the world. He felt like throwing up as soon as he looked at the oedematous skin with buried seeds. But it made that area look worse every time Joseph took a breath; as soon as he inhaled, some seeds would stick out and look like it were going to fall out. Carlos put his hands close to his mouth, and the desire to vomit increased as he perceived an odor that did not exist before. He smelled of wet skin, or well, that would be the name he would give to that smell. He was filled with disgust when he saw that on top of the edematous area there was a part of skin... well, there was no skin, there was living, pulsating flesh that spat blood at an insignificant intensity. He frowned and then made a surprised face. Before, he had lifted his shirt a little, just enough to notice the edematous area; and now he was aware of another discovery, apart from the area where there was no skin. He saw a giant follicle on the right side of his back, it was gigantic, reddish and with a white substance in the center of a granule.

--Joseph! What happened to you? What happened to you?

His friend looked back.

--I have no idea. I told you, I woke up feeling something strange on my back and I saw this.

--And... that thing you have there. -He pointed to his back-. Your skin is torn off. Did you do that to yourself?

There was silence. You could hear Joseph screaming at a low volume.

--Joseph! -he shouted.

--Yes -he shouted-. I pulled my skin out with my own nails -he said, crying-. I couldn't stop, I was very itchy and... it's strange, but I didn't feel anything but the itch. I don't even know when I cut my skin. I started to get the feeling back when I took the skin off my back.

Carlos was speechless.

--And... that? -He pointed to his back.

--What?

--You have a giant pimple near your armpit. -He paused to choose his words-. It looks like it's going to pop any minute.

--What? Where?

Joseph turned his head to his back, but it was no use, he couldn't see it.

--Where is it?

Carlos approached and felt the follicle with his index finger.

--Aggg...!

Joseph walked away howling. Carlos backed away, jumping up and down in fright at his friend's screams.

--What's wrong with you? Calm down, Joseph! -His voice was muffled.

Joseph had his hands behind his back, pointing to the spot where the follicle was.

--Aggg...! -He kept screaming.

--Joseph! What's wrong with you?

The screaming stopped, and now we could hear the boy's panting, as he placed his hands on his knees.

--What did you do to me? -asked Joseph.

--What? N-no-nothing. What's wrong with you?

--My back hurts so much, I feel a knife going through me.

Carlos opened his eyes.

--I just wanted to point out where that pimple was. God! It's about to pop.

Carlos took a few steps forward.

--Don't touch it.

Joseph turned around. He had many tears in his eyes.

--Don't come near me, I don't want you to touch me -he said, stretching out his hands in the direction of his friend.

--What? Hey... Do you have any idea what's behind your back? What were those things you had? It looked like... -he had a hard time finding a word that would describe it well- seeds.

Joseph bends his head, puts his hands on his knees and breathes heavily.

--Brother, are you okay?

--Yes -he answers in a choked voice-. I just feel a little tired.

Take a few steps forward. Joseph takes his hands off his legs and walks away, screaming:

--No! Don't come near me.

--Hey, buddy; I'm not going to hurt you. -He pauses for breath-. We've got to call a doctor right away, and whether you're in pain or not, you've got to get your back checked, and they're going to have to pop that pimple and take out those... those... seeds.

Joseph put his head down.

--Wait a minute -Carlos said, opening his eyes wide-. How did you get that? Do you have any idea how those things got on your back?

Joseph put his hands on his knees and breathed.

--I have no idea -he said, raising his head a Little-. I just woke up a few minutes ago and realized this.

Carlos placed his hands on his waist. He walked in a circle for a moment.

--Did you look at yourself in the morning? -he asked, pointing at him-. Of course not, who do you think I am, I don't check every morning for every part of my body.

--What? Do you hear what you're saying…? -He looked to the side, pursing his mouth-. Okay, forget it. What about yesterday? Did you look at your back yesterday?

Joseph shook his head.

--And the day before yesterday?

--Not even.

--What? Have you ever looked at your back these days? At some point those... seeds must have appeared on your back. Didn't you notice?

--No! What part of you don't understand is that just today, a few minutes ago, my back was itching and I got up to check it out? Of these days I didn't feel anything.

--Damn it!

Carlos walked in circles once more.

--When was the last time you were shirtless? Or when was the last time you looked at your back?

Joseph remained silent, with his head down and his hands on his knees.

--Hummm… -He raised his head to his friend-. I don't remember it very well. I didn't write down the date I looked at the body.

--The seeds had to appear one day; those things could not have appeared to you out of nowhere in an instant…

--Wait... -Carlos fell silent-. Now that I remember... -he look aside with a scowl-. That time we went with the kids to the river none of you said anything to me; I was shirtless.

--It's true! You had nothing. Nothing strange on your back. -He gently squeezed his chin-. When was that? When did we go to that river?

--A week ago, I think.

--Yeah, I think it was about nine days ago. There was nothing wrong with you. So from that day on you still had nothing. Remember, Joseph, remember something. Tell me if you ate something, went somewhere, cut yourself with a needle, say something!

--Nothing happened!

He walked slowly and wearily towards Carlos.

--Nothing strange happened these days. In fact, I barely left here because I had to study for the exams.... -He rolled his eyes-. Remember what they said about that river? That place is off-limits, but why?

--I don't know. One day it occurred to the police to close off that place and nothing else; they gave no reason. Everyone says that that river comes from the forest, the one everyone talks about where strange things happen. I don't understand what you're getting at?

--Did you take a bath when you got home?

--Yes, I took a bath as soon as I got home; what does that have to do with what's happening to you?

Joseph blinked several times. A couple of tears slipped down his cheeks. He turned a little to the right.

--Now that I remember, when I came back from the river I didn't have time to bathe; my sister had an accident and I had to go to the hospital. When I came back, I didn't even remember to bathe. And... oh no! This week has been a little difficult, I almost didn't have much time to do things and... -He looked him in the eyes of his friend-. I haven't had a bath since that time I came back from the river.

Carlos' eyes were wide open, moved and dilated.

--Have you not bathed? Are you serious? It's disgusting... -He looked away. -Are you trying to say that what...?

--Yes. -Everyone's talking bad about that river. -He put his head down-. I don't remember it very well. Everyone says they hear voices in that river, that sometimes they see little animals floating in the water. He raised his head-You said to go into that river! From the first moment I didn't want to go in and then... then we all went in that river; we challenged each other. There was something about that river, because... -He put his hands on his head-. I remember I cut myself with a branch that was near the bank. I think that's why I have these things on my back.

There was silence for a few seconds.

--You mean there was something in the river and we possibly got infected?

Joseph nodded. Carlos took steps backwards, hands on his head. He looked down at the ground and... As quickly as he could, he lifted up his sweatshirt to remove it. It got stuck in his neck, he pulled the sweatshirt out in desperation at that moment to remove it. He turned his head back, but couldn't see anything.

--Do I have something on my back? -he shouted, anguished, with his back to Joseph.

--No, you don't have anything; you're clean.

Carlos had been agitated before, breathing uncontrollably, and when he heard his friend tell him he didn't have anything on his back, that's when he calmed down. He looked at his diver and put it on right away.

--For a moment I thought I had those things too. -He looked him in the eyes-. Will the others, the girls, have those things too?

--I don't think so; they must have bathed. Besides, I was the one who cut my back with a branch. Something must have come in at that moment.

Carlos nodded without looking at his friend.

--What bad luck. -He gulped. He looked back at Joseph-. Didn't you feel anything these days? Nothing strange?

--No -he answered, shaking and bending his head. A few tears fell on the floor-. I didn't feel anything these days. I'm so scared; I don't know what it is. I feel very weak. I want to throw up so badly, and I think I'm going to pass out any minute.

Carlos stepped forward and then withdrew it.

--D.... don't be scared, buddy; I'm going to call the doctor right now to come over.

--Please, buddy.

Carlos nodded and walked right over to his cell phone. His hands were shaking a lot at that moment. His fingers were shaking and he dialed another number several times because he was so desperate at the time. His voice sounded very agitated as he talked to a doctor on his cell phone. He didn't have enough words to explain what he had seen, he just told him to go to that department urgently, which was a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, he did not receive a good response. Carlos insisted for a moment and whoever was on the other end of the line cut off the call.

--Hello! Hello! -he shouted at his cell phone.

--What's going on?

In all that time, Joseph had sat on the floor with his head hidden between his legs. He raised his head the moment he heard his friend yell at his cell phone.

--No, it's nothing -he said nervously-. Don't worry, you'll be fine. In a few minutes the doctor will come. You just try to calm down and get your strength back -he spoke quickly.