text: [Themes: horror, horror]
  
  Your eyes snap open as you realize the odd smell. It smells like vomit. You gag and sit up. Your in a dark room, filled with random items. You see a spoon to your right. To your left, a toaster. You slowly get up, but as you do you notice something out of the corner of your eye. It looks like a person curled up in a ball.
  
  > search the room
  You find an assortment of items, none that seem at all useful. You sit down, more confused then you were when you woke up. You rest your head on your hands and try to close your eyes, but the open with every sound. You lean against the wall and take a deep breath. You stand up again and see what looks like a door.[Themes: mystery / thriller, puzzle]
  
  Dark shadows hide in allies, as evil lurks on the street. You have lived in Caracas your whole life not knowing the darkness that devours the city. Just as your father was, you were hell-bent on becoming an officer of the law. After years of grueling and arduous training, you found out what it really meant to be a police officer. You discovered the disgrace that your father really was. The gruesome secrets that were trapped in his non-existent heart make you clench your stomach in disgust. You sit, brooding in your dusky apartment. The screaming sirens in the distance fill the empty room. Dust lingers in the chilled air, while the aroma of smoke surrounds you. A shadow by the door lingers and then a knock shatters the silence.
  
  "Who is it?" You ask.
  
  "Who else would it be?" the shadow replies, "Nobody else shows up here."
  
  "Goddammit Matías, you're driving away all my clients"
  
  "What clients?"
  
  "Fair point"
  
  You open the door and find Matías, looking as if he had seen a ghost.
  
  "What happened to you? You look like crap," you say.
  
  Matías looks up at you and says, "My brother is dead. Why do you look like crap?"
  
  "Santiago? Jesus, what happened?"
  
  "He was murdered, and nobody's doing a damn thing to help! The police is too corrupt to care"
  
  "I'm really sorry Matías. Seriously, Santiago made some stupid decisions, but he was a good kid. Maybe I can help figure out what happened?"
  
  "Well, duh. Why else would I be here"
  
  "In need of a loving friend?"
  
  "No. I need your help."
  
  You question yourself, if you are a kind soul, you can help Matías. But, if you do it can be dangerous. Are you willing to take the risk?
  
  [Author's Note: You're a private detective in the crime-filled Caracas, Venezuela. The city that you call home is filled with corruption and violence. After quitting the police force, an old friend's brother is murdered. Nobody knows why or how he was killed. If anyone can solve it, it's you.]
  
  > Help
  Matías's eyes light up, as he envelopes you with his arms. You hug him back. "Thank you," he whispers.
  
  Matías takes you to his brother's apartment. A guard waits at the end of the long, narrow hallway leading up to Santiago's apartment. The smoke from her cigarette swirls around her head. From what you knew about her, it's not going to be easy getting in.
  
  "That's detective Sanchez, she's not letting us in anytime soon. We gotta sneak in through the roof," you tell Matías.
  
  "Santiago was my brother, she has every right to let me in. Plus, I'm not breaking any laws today. Maybe we can talk her into it? What do we do?"
  
  You could either sneak in and risk getting caught or sweet talk your way in, and risk getting kicked out. What should you do?
  
  > Sweet talk the cop
  "Hello, ma'am. I don't know if you remember me, Detective Sanchez, but I remember you from my days on the force. How are you on this fine afternoon?" you ask.
  
  "I'm doing fine, but you won't be if you don't get out of MY crime scene." she scolded.
  
  You back away slowly and turn to Matías.
  
  "Well, that didn't work out," you say.
  
  Matías sighs, "Yeah, no kidding, that's Sanchez."
  
  "I guess we could sneak in?"
  
  > sneak in
  "Matías over here, I found a way in," you say, "Are you willing to go to the roof and climb through some windows?"
  
  "I said I DIDN'T want to break rules" he shouted
  
  "SHhhhhhh! Don't think of it as breaking any laws, we're just doing some extreme sports"
  
  "We're breaking into a crime scene"
  
  "Well, that too. C'mon it'll be FUN!"
  
  "I wouldn't describe seeing my dead brother's body as 'FUN'"
  
  "...right."
  
  You gracefully gallop up 10 flights of stairs, after finally reaching Santiago's floor. Like ninjas, you and Matías swing over the metal railing into his bedroom window. Your stomach churns as you step into the apartment where Santiago's insides are sprawled across the floor. You see Santiago's body lifeless with blood encasing him. You distract Matías and take him in the other direction.
  
  He doesn't deserve to see that.
  
  Time is running out. Should you inspect the body or look for clues around the room?
  
  > inspect the Body
  Inspecting his body will give you the best information. "Matías, can you be the lookout?" you ask. "Sure," he replies. You can only imagine how he's feeling. You look at what remains of Santiago and only see one piece of evidence. A bullet lodged in his heart. You hold your breath and reach into his flesh as the stagnant blood oozes down his pale skin. You pull out one of the three bullets from his chest and put it in your wallet. You look down at your hands, drenched in your friend's blood.
  
  "JESUS CHRIST! CODE RED CODE RED!" Matías screams while running towards the window. Three cops come bursting through the door, but by that time you and Matías are gone.
  
  > go to your apartment
  You send Matías to test the bullet for fingerprints at his lab. You come home to find who sold him a storage container. After hours of research, you find nothing. Somebody went through a lot of trouble to stay anonymous, and you intend to find out who.
  
  Matías opens the door with a blank expression on his face. He slowly saunters forward step-by-step and stares at you.
  
  "Matías, what did find out?" you ask.
  
  "It's her, she killed my brother," he says
  
  "What? Who?"
  
  "That cop"
  
  "Which cop, Matías?"
  
  "I didn't want to say anything, but my brother did some stupid stuff, you know? Bribed cops, and other sorts of things."
  
  "Matías, whose fingerprint was that?"
  
  "I told him to back out of it, but I didn't think it was that dangerous. If I knew he was dealing with her I would've made sure he..."
  
  "Matías.."
  
  "God, I didn't think THIS would kill him. I di--"
  
  "MATÍAS!"
  
  "Sanchez. My brother was pulling half the forces strings, so he could get away with..." the grim look on Matías's face tells you all you need to know.
  
  "I don't care what your brother did Matías, he had a heart, a soul. One that I plan on getting justice for."
  
  "You can't go to the police. They will skin you alive before they arrest Sanchez."
  
  You know that Matías is right. Besides, you could always expose Sanchez through the media. The police will have no choice but to arrest her. But, you believe in justice. No matter how much evil rests in that police station, you have faith in the system. Matías is counting on your choice.
  
  Will you play it safe or risk a leap of faith?
  
  > Media
  The TV playing in the background circles around the empty apartment. The scent of cigarette smoke eases you. While car horns honk from a distant street, you watch the television as hundreds of cops are dragged out of the police station. You hear the sirens wailing, ringing in your ears like the cries of the devil.
  
  A reporter is speaking, "An evil beast, by the name of Santiago Perez, was corrupting our force from the inside out. Thank god we have private detectives, who risk their lives for our people. With the death of the monster, Caracas can finally trust it's police again." Videos of Venezuelans chanting your name proliferate through the different news channels, for the whole country to watch. Your name will forever be known as the savior of Caracas, the only home you've ever known.
  
  You never heard from Matías again.
  
  A beast
  
  A devil
  
  A monster
  
  Was the fame worth it?
  
  A dark evil watches from a distance, as a smirk appears across it's face.