by The Eurostar
Edulcore Cicciotto:
I am in the middle of the Mandelovian desert. A strange place, the only desert in Europe, and perfectly circular. Geologists have, since the birth of the discipline, wondered what could have caused this strange environment, encased between the luxuriant vegetation of the mountains that border the little country.
The explanations are many, but the only one I know doesn't involve natural causes. You see, I have been always a fan of esoteric theories -- Egypt, Maya, Atlantis, UFOs, Bermuda Triangle -- I have a whole library on those subjects. I even began to use drugs as part of ancient shaman practises to contact the afterworld. Well, there is a legend that says that this desert was caused by an atomic explosion... five-hundred years ago.
Random thoughts. I am chained to a rock in this desert, waiting for something to happen.
An hour ago, in an old Toyota Land Cruiser, Lorena Burgos -- the Lioness -- brought me here. Lorena was very sad but composed herself. She told me that Agent F7, her lover, died in the Nevada mission. She chained me to this rock, because soon my body will need heroin. Without the drugs, the metagene will finally fully manifest itself. They say it will be like an explosion, and then I will be gifted with uncanny powers.
Pain. The withdrawal crisis is about to kick in. I'm sweating under this enormous sun.
It's like it was in Atlanta, that one time. The two-hundred-meter final, on the starting line. The one sweating was not me, but Frederico. I was cold like ice. How he was hating me. Eduardo Frederico, the Cuban from Miami. He ran for the U.S. And every time he was second, after me. I wonder where he is, now.
Arghhh. The pain is unbearable. The sun is growing larger, hotter. I can't sustain it. My body seems to inflate, to become larger and larger...
...I am about to explode. Oh, fuck what I have done it's absurd being here I really I don't know all those fucking mad Mandelovians what is gonnahappening tomeImust be crazytobehangingfromthispieceoffuckingrockohGodohGodohGod...
The sun. Is shining over me. I'm alive? I'm lying on my back. On burning sand. I'm naked, but I see my red runner's vest near me. Well, let's see if I am still in one piece.
Oh, God, what's happening? I'm sinking in the sand! I try to grab my clothes -- I don't know why, it's the only thing that isn't sand around me -- and my hand passes right through them! Merda! I have died, and now I am a ghost! The ghost of Eurostar! What a scoop for the paparazzi that years ago were always following me.
But just as I think those things, I become tangible again and can grab my clothes. Now I can stay firmly on the ground without sinking like before. It's like I can control my density. Does that mean... maybe... right! I become light again, and leap in the air. The breeze catches me, and, soaring like a hawk, I can rise up into the sky.
I'm flying! Riding on the wind, like a bird. If I am not dead, that man, Quantos, was right. I am much more powerful that before. I can control my density. I can turn intangible, and... what if...
I go closer to the rock were I was chained. I concentrate... and strike, with all my strength, the monolith. The piece of granite breaks in a thousand fragments. Yes, I can even augment my density... I can vary from the consistence of a gas to the hardness of diamond. What I can say, other than: "Cool!"
Time to find Lorena. I soar up into the sky. There, in the distance, I see the Toyota. I vary my density, turning gradually more dense, descending to the ground. And then I'm shocked. Lorena, inside the car, is dead! Killed with a bullet right in her head.
Sirens. From everywhere, cars of the Mandelovian police, and all black Mercedes, come right at me. "Cicciotto, you are under arrest for the killing of Lorena Burgos," a loudspeaker shouts at me.
I am surrounded. From out of one of the black Mercedes comes a tall man in his sixties, bearded, and with an hook in place of his right hand. He points at me with his hook, and all the policemen aim at me their rifles.
And I do the only thing I can. I turn intangible, and sink in the ground. I don't know what they are thinking, now. I see only darkness, but slowly I am trying to go away, swimming in the sand, a meter under the surface. When I come out from the ground, it's late afternoon, and the sun is setting. I'm exhausted, and I must sleep, if only for a moment.
When I awake, it's not yet night. The sky is deep blue, and only the first stars have begun to shine. And there is someone watching me, sitting on the sand.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"Danny. Danny Hearn."