"I could kill for a cigar."

Her own voice sounded raw to herself.
She tug the chains that kept her bound to the wall, and smirked at the jingle that they created.

While her options were many, she found herself deciding between sleeping or screaming like a raving lunatic.

"Too much effort."

She said to the pitch black that filled her cell.

The last few days were a different experience to her.
Her mind was not the same. She was not the same.
She felt it hard. With every sound that reached her ears.
With every dream that filled her mind.

Death. Good warm pitch black void. Bad eyes.
Everything was carving into her.

There's a bad way to rise again.
And she was doing it.

Suddenly the door opens, creaking, gritting against it's own rust and dirty floor.

"Santa Muerte. You asked for a cigarro?"

A guard held a fine Crete cigar in his hands and prostated himself in her front.

She raised an eyebrow at this development and nodded.

"Si. I did." She smirked while using a corsair accent to throw the man off.

He slowly raised his head in surprise and twitching ever so slightly, he placed the cigar in the lucious lips of Death.

"Do you have a light? Or i have to light this myself?"

He quickly lit it up and bowed his head.

"Dismissed. Thank you, mi amor."

She puffed and wiggled her chained right hand in a dismissive move.

The man bowed once more and moved away in flash, quickly closing the door.

"Interesting."

The smell of the cigar oozed over and bathe her in a relaxing odor.
While holding the cigar in a corner of her mouth, she chuckled at the thoughts that filled her mind.

And once again, the chains jingled to her favorite audience.

Pitch black.

The void. Nothing. How sweet it was. She always believed that there is nothing after being claimed by death. Just emptiness. Pitch black void as one breathes their last breath. No shinning light. No flashing life. No memories. Just the void.

Kalliste Silver felt finally at peace. She felt that she had finally died.. Again.

A hand flashed in front of her face.

“She’s out cold, Pedro. See? A coma, the doctors said.”

Two guards were in front of the chained up body of Silver.
Pedro, guard of Rhodes prison for more than five years, jumped at the sound of her breathing.

“This is wrong, Alvaro. Let’s go cabron. I don’t want to be in this cell with La Muerte.”

Pedro scoffed at his friend.

“You are acting like a woman, Pedro. This bitch isn’t going anywhere or doing anything.”


He suddenly slapped her face, giving Pedro a small heart attack. The small head just limped back into the prone position.

“You loco???”

Pedro shouted as he grabbed Alvaro’s hand.

“She killed 50 pilots. Alone. And gods knows how many before. That’s La Muerte incarnated. Now let’s go, i don’t want to be here when she wakes up.”

“Okay okay.. Senorita Pedro.”

Alvaro chuckled at his friend. With quick, trained movements, both men checked the comatosed woman bindings, before leaving.

“Have a nice night, senorita. Don’t let the ratos bite your pretty face.”

Said Alvaro, just to rattle Pedro’s nerves more as they exited the cell.

As the heavy metal door was shut and the sound of the keys closing the lock, two eyes opened.



A bloody haze was gripping her mind. Fragments of memories filled with death and screams came at her like a punch. Like tentacles on her brain, every set of empty eyes she saw, looked back at her, one at a time.
And all she was yearning for was the soft cold touch of the void once more.

“Eh.”

She chuckled. The eyes kept looking at her.

“Aha.”

She laughed once more. This time they were all looking at her.
The face of her first kill. An accountant from a loan-shark that was skimming his profits.
She was hired to kill him, a boon to a newbie like she was.
To kill him.In a very public manner.
After running him over with a hover car in the middle of a crowded street, she exited the car and shot him in the right hand (his writing hand). His screams filled her mind. The sweet taste of fear and pain.
His sobbing voice asking for something she didn’t even acknowledged..
And the smell of another laser cartridge being spent on his forehead.
Those empty eyes were finally there. Looking at her.
Her hand moved closer to her face, and she gripped instinctively to feel the pain.

Those eyes looking at her.
And she looked back at them.

“Ahahahahahahaha.”

She laughed harder.

The two guards stopped on their tracks as they heard the laughter.
Pedro felt a chill down his spine and quickly blessed himself.

“Santa Muerte.. Have pitty on our souls.”

He muttered.
La Muerte had awakened.

Alvaro looked at his friend with an raised eyebrow, and sighed.

“Time to teach this diabla what Rhodes hospitality is.”

As they opened the door, Pedro entered with his gun trailing the prone form of Silver. Every laugh she emitted, it made his skin crawl.
Alvaro grinned and suddenly kicked Silver in the stomach, making her laugh to stop.

“Welcome to Rhodes, senorita. I’m Alvaro. I’ll be your host.”

He kept kicking her until she couldn't even breath straight.
With a quick grab of her hair, he raised her head up and started checking the chains on her wrists and feet.

As he finished checking if everything was secure, he punched her face with joy.

Once, twice, thrice. Who’s counting?

“Si, senorita. Welcome to el inferno.”

Said Alvaro, without stopping to punch her.

Suddenly, she tried to talk, causing Alvaro to stop.

“Hell?”

She asked.

“Si senorita. Hell. And i am your diablo. Here. Catch.”

He resumed the beating.

After ten minutes of brutal, merciless kicks and punches, her face was bloody, her body was starting to show bruises everywhere.

“Eh, Alvaro, stop it.”

Pedro mumbled while looking at her.

“Stop it? Ahaha. Never. I am enjoying this, perro. This cabra will be a lesson to the rest of the galaxy not to take the Corsarios lightly.”

Alvaro replied, taking a breather from the exercise.

“Al Santi is the one that will be doing the teaching.”

Said a voice behind them. As they turned to see who talked, they spotted their commander, and quickly they stood in attention.

“So she has awakened? From a coma? Los doctores said it would take weeks.. Hmm. Well, no matter. Al Santi will be pleased to hear of her recovery. And so will the Elders.”

José Delgado said as he entered the cell to evaluate her status. As he noticed the beating results he turned to Pedro.

“I see you were having fun...”

“Si senor. She needed to be introduced to Rhodes.”

The old man raised an eyebrow at the reply and waved his hand.

“Well, she had enough introductions for the remainder of the day, Quintas. No need for more.”

“Very well, Comadante.”

With a quick movement, Delgado turned his back to Silver and started to walk to the door. The two guards quickly followed.

But then a cold, raw voice was heard in a whisper.

The three men turned around.

“Alvaro..”

Silver whispered. Alvaro smirked hearing his name.

“Si, senorita?”

He replied in a mocking tone.

“Thank you for the welcome... Let me give you mine.”

Said the ragged voice that slowly was regaining it’s strength.

“Oh? You are going to “welcome” me?”

Alvaro laughed, while the other two men were silent. Pedro feeling an eerie feeling crawling up his spine and Delgado, stoically watching the scene as it unfolded.

“Yes... Let me welcome you to the Void beforehand.”

Silver spitted blood to the floor.

“Because i won’t be able to do so when you will be busy dying, squealin' like a pig.”

Alvaro unleashed a laugh, amused by the chained up woman.
He closed into her and punched her in the face again while laughing.

“Thank you, senorita. Thank you very much.”

“Quintas, that is enough. Let’s go.”

Said Delgado.
Alvaro turned away with a smirk on his face and the three men left the cell.

As Alvaro closed the cell, Pedro blessed himself again and muttered a quick prayer.
Delgado looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Fearing something, Oliveira?”

“No, Comandante. I am praying for Alvaro’s soul.”

Pedro replied quickly while watching Alvaro locking up the cell door.
Alvaro looked at him and said to his commander:

“Don’t listen to him Comadante. He’s a superstitious fool.”

Their commander turned his back and started walking.

“I will be relaying the news to the Elders. Inform the next guards that they are not to interact with the prisoner, si?”

Pedro and Alvaro quickly saluted and said in one voice.

“Si senor Comadante!”

Some hours later, Pedro and Alvaro were having dinner at the Rhodes cantina.

“I tell you Alvaro. That woman is La Muerte!”

“That woman is a whore that deserves pain for what she did to us all, Pedro. She isn’t la muerte. Stop being an old woman with old tales.”

Pedro sighed and grab a piece of bread.

“Santo Millán” he quickly blessed himself “foretold that Death would walk in our midst.”

Alvaro stopped eating his paella and pointed with his fork at Pedro.

“Esse santo also said that were would be a praga. Five hundred years afterwards, we are still here, yes, no food and no water, but we are here.”

Pedro raised his hand.

“Mi madre always said to follow the faith. And that has never failed me.”

“Pfffft. It has failed you of getting a mamasita.. or three. You’re like a padre, hombre. But even those score from time to time. See old Bento over there?”

Alvaro pointed the fork again, sending rice all over the place.

“Si, what about the old padre?”

Asked Pedro, while taking a bite from the bread.

“I’ve heard las senoras in the kitchen saying he was an espectáculo en la cocina and in the bakery.. And in other places as well.”

Replied Alvaro with a mischievous look.

Pedro dropped his bread with horror.
And started to scrape the inside of his mouth with the napkin.

Alvaro started to laugh and kept on eating.
But suddenly, the laughing stopped and he started to cough.

The cough became harder and it was obvious he was choking due to the paella.

Pedro ran to his side and tried to help him, but to no avail.
Slapping his back, the Heimlich, nothing worked.
More men came around to help and watch.
People ran to call for medical assistance.
The choking got worse and his face became purple.

Suddenly, Alvaro started squealing, as an effort to get some air inside of his lungs.
Pedro’s eyes widened in surprise and horror and he quickly dropped his friend to the floor and blessed himself.

Alvaro squealed and choked for some seconds more, grasping the arms and legs of those that surrounded him, until he collapsed.
Everyone around were stunned by Pedro’s reaction. One of the men started to give CPR to Alvaro.

“Que passa, senor Pedro? Is Alvaro sick with something contagious?”

The man doing CPR stopped, and took note of the vital signs of Alvaro.

“He’s dead.”

Pedro finished his prayers and looked at his dead friend.

“Senor Pedro! Que passa?”

Another man asked.
Pedro slowly spoke, his voice filled with fear.

“La Muerte.. she said he would die.. squealing.”

"La Muerte? Who..? What are you talking about, senor?”

“You all heard that la Diabla Roja is here.. Me and Alvaro were the first guards.. She said he would die.. squealing.”

Pedro quickly told what had happened hours before, as the medical team arrived at the cantina and declared that Alvaro Quintas was dead.
After he finished the tale of what happened in the prison cells, the men stood in silence, absorbing what was said.

“It’s impossible.”
Said one.
“Santo Millán was right.”
Said another.
“Santa Muerte..”
Another said while blessing himself.

“What happened here?”

Comadante Delgado asked as he arrived at the scene.

Silence was his reply.

“So?”

He looked at the men.

“Comadante.. He’s dead...”

Said Pedro, with tears in his eyes and a quivering voice.

“He died.. Squealing.. Like she said.”

“What?”

Asked Delgado, now with a very serious face. One could say, almost alarmed.

“La Muerte.. said he would die squealing.. And he did.”

Pedro blessed himself again. Some men quickly followed his move as they heard her name. Delgado watched them, with an apprehensive look.
The old priest, Bento, pulled a small book, probably older than himself, from his spartan robes and opened with the speed and precision that years of praying and reading could give.

He coughed, gaining the attention of the small crowd.

“Millán’s Words to the Desperate...

"No se desesperen. Porque ninguno de vosotros vivirá para ver a la Muerte caminando entre nosotros. Y con ella vendrá una plaga que sólo la misma Muerte podrá exterminar.
Con esto, la Muerte se tornará Santa. Santa Muerte."

The crowd had mixed reactions.

Heated discussions started about the validity of this all and soon the beginning of a fight was happening.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Delgado shouted.

“All of you, back to your duties.”

The men dispersed, with some grumbles.

“Oliveira. You’re relieved of duty until further investigación. You’ll be confined to your quarters.”

Pedro was shocked with these orders, but even so, saluted and headed to the exit of the cantina.

As finally the whole situation was diffused, Delgado looked around at the whole scene and sighed looking at the medic team handling the body of the late Alvaro Quintas.

“La Muerte... El Presidente will need to know about this.”

He thought.


-- A day later , Elder Buonocore’s office --


Presidente heard a loud knocking on his door.

"Alphonso, go away , I’ve already told Machete to contact the Outcasts!"

The elders words were answered with silence , so he continued with what he was doing.

"Ah si Josephina , that is the spot si .. I am almost-"

There’s a loud knocking on the door again.

"Just stay under my desk and continue"
Buonocore mumbled followed by
"Enter , the door’s open!"

But it wasn’t decurion Martino.
A tall bearded man wearing a priest robe cautiously entered the office.