"The year of Our Lord, 1901." "In Arga, a village in the province of Orense, the marchioness of Mariño, a Spanish aristocrat and a despotic, cruel landowner, rules over the area." "Wed in a marriage of convenience, she wants an heir who will manage her lands with a firm hand, as she does, but her husband is unable to make her pregnant." "The marchioness, impatient and promiscuous, fornicates with any healthy man of age, to no avail." "Her husband, a weak and timid man who fears her, does nothing to prevent this." "One night, some gypsy performers arrive in Arga and put on their show." "The marchioness is attracted by the gypsy knife thrower." "After trying unsuccessfully to seduce him, she sends a band of her men to the camp, to kidnap him and bring him to her." "After chaining him to her bed, she straddles him and obtains his seed." "Later, sensing that she has finally succeeded and fearful that the truth about her child's natural father might become known, she leads a group of servants who destroy the camp and kill all the occupants:" "men, women and children." "The gypsy's wife, with her dying breath lays a curse upon the marchioness." "Nine months later, the marchioness gives birth to a handsome son." "During his early years, he grows up strong and healthy." "But on his tenth birthday, the curse takes effect and evil falls on Arga." "ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES" "Tomás, it's Grandma." "Where are you?" "I must be about 12 miles away." "Nearly there." "That house has been empty for 20 years." "Itk probably in ruins." "What are you going to do there?" "The place is huge." "Come on, Grandma, I'll be fine." "I don't see why they're bothering with that nonsense." "It's a tribute." "I must be the only famous person who's ever been there." "Don't be a moron!" "You're not famous." "Well, they think a writer is famous." "You wrote one novel and no one read it." "Shit, and I'm your only grandchild." "It's cool to be given the freedom of the village." "Mum and Dad would've been pleased." "They wouldn't have given a damn and neither should you." "You haven't been there since you were 15." "Quite right, too; that's bad land." "Well, I'm going to stay awhile, and try to write another novel." " What?" "I can't hear you." " Grandma!" "Can you hear me?" "Vito, no pissing." "Jesus Christ!" "Shit..." "Vito, not in here either." "I spent my first 15 years here, in this room." "My whole adolescence." "The times I've jerked off in this bed." "And this is the attic." "It terrified me as a kid." "Go on." "Get in there, you coward." "See?" "There's nothing here." "Coward." "Not a thing." "Great!" "Mice." "Drop that, it's not hygienic." "I used to get so scared in here." "Kids are too much." "Their imagination..." "I remember one day..." "I've never been more scared in my life." "I came up with Calisto, my pal here when I was kid." "He told me a story about a witch who lived in this wardrobe and ate the lungs of children who opened it, for being nosy." "Fuck me!" "I was so scared I wet myself, and I was 13." "I slept with my parents for the next week because of the fucking witch." "What?" "What do you smell?" "The witch?" "No, there's nothing here, dummy." "You're a wimp." "Fucking dust." "Your lungs, I want your lungs!" "But first I want you to possess me!" "Possess me!" "You bastard!" "Fuck you, Calisto, you nearly scared me to death!" "You wet yourself?" "I didn't know that." "Or that you slept with your parents." "Go to hell!" "How did you get in here?" "Through the garden, of course." "I've been here for hours." "I thought you weren't coming." "What are you, the village drag queen?" "It was my grandma's." "I never throw anything out, just in case." "I don't see many pilgrims." "Isn't this on the Camino de Santiago?" "Yes, but..." "I guess they take a different route." " You got a girlfriend?" " Yes." " That is..." "Not any more." " She left you?" "No, it was mutual." "In fact, the dog's hers." "So, she pissed off and you got stuck with the mutt." " What a bitch!" " It wasn't like that." "Well, a bit." " How are you doing?" " Fine." "I inherited my father's land and tractor, and that's what I do." "Hello!" " Did you get married?" " Who, me?" "No." "All the girls here went to Madrid." "There aren't even many sheep left." "How long are you staying?" "As long as necessary." "I want to write a novel." " Want to know what it's about?" " No, not me..." "If you're staying, we'll see each other." "I'm here to work, it's not a holiday." "But, yeah, we'll see each other." "Sure." "RETURN TO MY ROOTS" "A NOVEL BY TOMÁS MARIÑO" "CHAPTER ONE" "Hello!" "You're Mariño." "Tomés Mariño, the writer, Rosa's grandson." "Yes." "And who am I?" "Your Uncle Evaristo, damn it!" "Don't you know me?" "Don't you remember me?" "Yes, of course!" "Hell, you're all grown up!" "You're a man now." "Goddamn!" "OK, listen, everyone!" "This young man is Rosa's grandson." "Mariño, the writer." "It's little Tommy." "He's a fine boy now." "I had you in my arms when you were no size." "The times I wiped your ass!" "Don't you remember me?" " I'm Nica." " Shit..." "No, I don't." "But how I could forget?" "Come along." "What's it to be?" "Tonic water, please." "We don't have tonic, we have Pitusa." " I'm sorry?" " Pitusa, soda water." "Hell, have a real drink." "You're a man now." "No, it's not that." "I've given it up." " Given what up?" " Alcohol." "For what?" "But you're in a bar." "There's loads of alcohol." "Paco, two orujos." "Well, how do you think the village looks?" " Just the same, eh?" " Yes." "Evolution hasn't made many inroads here." " It hasn't, has it?" " All the better." "One of the reasons I'm here is to get back to my roots, look for inspiration in the past, give the muse a call, you know." "We've still got a manual exchange here, but if you're patient, you can call anyone." "Listen, is the mayor here?" "I was wondering about the ceremony on Friday..." "He's standing right here!" "The UPA candidate." "Unilateral Party of Arga, and re-elected four times." "Don't worry about Friday." "We don't bother about ceremonies." "A glass of wine, a few speeches and that's it." "But what about the guests?" "A public figure from the area, someone important?" "No, no, the very minimum." "The people, their mayor and the religious authority." "I didn't know..." "On behalf of the village, I welcome you." "On your feet, pal!" " What's wrong?" " Why the hell are you here?" "I've come to wake you!" "Lunch at my place, remember?" " It's two in the afternoon!" " The dog pissed on the floor." "Well, if you don't take him out...!" "Why do people in villages have to shout?" "I don't know." "Hey, you've got one hell of a hangover!" "Don't deny it!" "It's not a hangover, I think my back's broken." " I read your book." " Did you like it?" "Yes." "A bit heavy, but yes." " Why heavy?" " Well, not heavy, but... 500 pages of two guys talking about a bottle of Pacharan isn't a barrel of laughs!" " It was a metaphor for alcoholism." " Well, if it was a metaphor..." "But I liked it." "I don't read a lot, you know." "Combine harvester manuals, things like that." "By the way, since when is my uncle a priest?" "I knew nothing about it." "As far as I know, he isn't." "One day the priest left, he put on the dog collar and that was it." "He's a bit of a religious nut." "They all are." "Why did the priest leave?" "Tell the dog to be careful." "If he goes into the monastery tunnels, you'll never find him." "Vito!" "Come away from there!" "Remember the stories they told to terrify us?" "How the tunnels were full of spirits and curses, and all that rubbish, so we wouldn't go down and look for the anarchists' rifles." "They still find shit from the Civil War all over the village." "The other day, a guy even found dynamite." " Did it still work?" " I'd be surprised." "I remember a story my grandfather told me about a barn." "He said a monster lived in there." "It was over 100 years old and I was never to go near the place." "And I believed him!" "I think it was near here." " Let's see if we can find it." " Forget it." " It'll be fun." " I said, forget it." "Don't tell me you believe all that rubbish!" "Look, Tomés, this place isn't like the city." "The people are different, the land is different, and the things that happen are different, too." "You shouldn't laugh at them." "Vito!" "No!" "Where the hell are you?" "Fucking dog!" "This must be that old barn." "What was that?" "There must be a dog in there." "Is that it?" "Or is it a bitch and you're horny?" "Dummy." "Come on, let's go." "I'm sick of you." "You're not coming, boy." "Animals aren't allowed at this ceremony." "Well, Uncle Evaristo is, but that's all." "Tomés, it's great to see you!" " What the hell are you doing here?" " Fuck, you've got a mega-mansion!" "Why are you here?" "To pay what you owe me?" "I'm here for your tribute." "Am I your publisher or not?" "You've got a nerve." "Has my lawyer called you?" "That hurt." "Why use lawyers when you and I can sort it out?" "We'll talk about that over the next few days, and about what you're writing." "Over my dead..." ""Next few days"?" "What do you mean?" "I'll stay here to see if we can sort things out." " Stay where?" " Here!" "There's loads of room." "To be honest, I needed to get out of Madrid for a few days." "I've got a few problems there;" "nothing serious." "If I don't receive the summons and the cops don't find me!" "I even threw away my phone." "Have you got satellite TV?" "Vito!" "Inside." "Come on." "There'll be girls at the party, right?" "Village girls really turn me on." "Did you bring the whole family?" "Uncle, what are you doing here?" "Isn't the party in the village hall?" "Who's that?" "My literary agent." "So he says, anyway." "What the fuck...?" "Put me down." "What is this?" "Mario, wake up!" "Wake up!" "Mario, wake up!" "He's injured, get a doctor, please!" "Untie me!" "Come on!" "Are you all stupid?" "Tonight, by the grace of Our Lord," "the curse that has condemned our village and its people for the last 100 years will end." "What curse?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "The blood of the Mariño, the blood that cursed us in the past, will free us now from evil!" "Let us pray." "Whose blood?" "All right, I admit it, you've got me terrified." "I'm wetting myself." "You're doing a fucking great job!" "But now let me go, please!" "Mario!" "Fucking wake up!" "What are you going to do?" "For God's sake, don't be stupid!" "I'm sorry, my boy" "If it's any consolation, think of Jesus." "His sacrifice saved humanity." "Yours will save a village." "Sacrifice...?" "What a whack!" "It could have killed me." "What's happened?" "Where are we?" "I think they threw us into a cave." " Who?" " The villagers." " Shit, why?" " I don't know!" "Maybe you owe them money, too!" "I don't think so, unless they invested in audio books for the deaf." "You got a lighter?" "Look." "It's like a church candle or something." " Shit!" " That's a weird candle!" "It's fucking dynamite!" " Why's it here?" " From the Civil War!" " What is this, a time tunnel?" " Just stand still!" "Take this." "Hold it." "Don't touch anything!" "Don't bark." "Vito..." "Find Tomés." "Where is he?" "Find him!" "No, Vito!" "Not that way!" "Not that way!" "Find Tomés!" " Hit me." " What?" "Hit me." "They drugged me." "I can still feel the effect." "Hit me, it'll clear my head." "Fuck!" "Are you stupid?" "Didn't you say to hit you?" "Yeah, but not like that!" "Just a smack!" "Sorry." "Should I do it again?" "No, no, forget it, I'm all right." " Be careful with that." " Glad to help." "Did they say why they did this?" "Something about a curse, the blood of the Mariño..." "I didn't understand, I was out of it." "Your fucking family!" "But why me?" "That's what you get for coming!" "These must be the tunnels of the old monastery." "If it's sacred ground, I feel safer." "Your village hospitality leaves a lot to be desired." "Shut up, you jerk." " This is creepy." " I'm shitting myself." "Jesus Christ!" "Do you realise where we are?" "I hope you know what you're doing." "What the hell is that?" "I don't know." "It looks like..." "It looks like a human body or an animal or something." "It stinks." "Maybe it's a wild animal, a mole or a rabbit..." "Shit." "From here, those look like bones." "Rat bones." "Too big for a rat." " Take a closer look." " You fucking do it." " It's your village." " No way!" "Madrid is my village." "Yeah, but you got the freedom of the place, not me." " Asshole!" " Don't be a wimp!" "The sack!" "Let go!" "Get off!" " Help me!" " Don't touch it!" "What is that?" "Run!" "Don't look back!" "This Way!" "The torch!" "The lighter!" "Calisto!" "Help us!" "Do something!" " Grab on!" " Pull!" " Fuck!" " What the hell was that?" "Shut up, the guards'll hear you!" " Where did that monster come from?" " Shut up!" "But we're being chased by a two-legged six-foot wolf!" "Shut up!" "Shut up!" "You saw it!" "Those teeth!" "And that stink!" "Shit, a smack would have done!" "Let's go." "If they find us, they'll throw us in there again." "What if it gets out?" "I don't think it can, it's too far down." "Let's go, come on!" "Come on, Vito!" "Evelio..." "Evelio!" "Where the hell are you?" "What the hell's going on?" "It's the curse." "What curse?" "Your family curse." "100 years ago, the village belonged to your great-grandmother, the marchioness of Mariño." "My grandmother's aunt?" "She was bad." "An evil, scheming bitch." "She wanted a child but her husband couldn't..." "One night, a group of gypsies came here, travelling performers." "She took a fancy to one of them, kidnapped him and had him." " She screwed him?" " And then killed him." " Him and the whole caravan." " Fuck!" "But the gypsy's wife, before she died, put a curse on your great-grandmother." "What curse?" "At the age of ten, her son would become a wolf and bring death and evil to the village." "Only when 100 years had passed, 100 years exactly, if the beast devoured a male Mariño, with the same blood in his veins, then the curse would disappear and the beast would return to its human form." "But if that didn't happen, an even greater evil would fall on the village." " What a story!" " It's so bad it's like one of yours." "You can believe it or not, but you saw it yourselves." "For 60 years, the beast terrorised the village and killed more than 100 people." "Then, 40 years ago, they managed to trap it and lock it in the barn." " Why didn't they kill it?" " Because of the curse." "If the gypsy's words weren't fulfilled exactly something much worse would happen." "And all the years I came here, I never heard about it?" "It was a secret." "Only the locals know the story." "So hang on..." "You're saying they've been waiting for 100 years to pass, and now they invite me here so that thing can eat me." "Yes." "Tonight, it's been 100 years." "Jesus..." "This is insane!" "Why didn't it eat my Uncle Evaristo?" "He's not a Mariño; he's from your great-grandfather's side." "If it was locked up all this time, why didn't it die of hunger?" "Because they fed it." "On ham and cabbage?" "The children!" "They fed it on the village children!" "No, don't be so stupid!" "No." "They threw down any pilgrims who'd got lost." "We're on the Camino de Santiago, but you don't see many pilgrims now." "How long have you known all this?" "A few years." "My mother told me before she died." "And you didn't tell me?" "You'd have let them kill me?" "I didn't know what they were going to do!" " I only found out this evening." " Why didn't you tell me?" "Why?" "15 years ago, you were my best friend." "One fine day you left, and that was it." "No phone call, no letter, nothing!" "You behaved like a shit." "Why should I worry about you?" "Because it's wrong to kill, even by keeping silent?" "Like I said, I didn't know they were going to sacrifice you." "When I found out, it was too late." " You're all fucking crazy here!" " Yes." "Look, I live here." "The beast ate my grandparents." "They didn't die in a fire like I was told." "I know it's horrible." "It is for me, too." "But I never had a chance to get away, not one." "Why do you think there are only old people here?" "Because when the children grow up, they're sent to the city." "The people are just protecting Arga." "Whatever, but I'm calling the police." "Shit!" " The phone?" " Upstairs." "Look, maybe it's silly to call the police." " Who the hell are you?" " I'm Mario." "Mario Zabardiel, the well-known publisher." "I publish books, video-books, audio-books, books..." " The exchange isn't answering." " Just as well." "They know we're friends and that I never wanted to get involved." "They're probably watching me." "Anyway, the beast is shut up in the cave, right?" "Just as well." "If I were shut up in a stinking cave for 40 years, I'd be furious, too." "Even more if someone dropped a tombstone on my head." "It's quite understandable." " What is it?" " You're stinking me out!" "Stop it." " It wasn't me!" " Sure, it was Gervasia next door." "I said it wasn't me!" "Where are you going?" "Stay here!" " Be quiet, and don't move!" " But..." "Be quiet, damn it!" "Can I talk now?" "You forgot the cartridges!" "Shall I bring them down?" "Go away, please!" "Go away!" "No!" "No!" " Search everywhere." " What's going on?" "The beast escaped and killed four people." "That means the curse is still working, which means your friends have escaped." "You didn't help them, did you?" "I warned you to stay out of this." "They're not my friends." "Mariño's ignored me for 15 years and I don't even know the other one." "I don't give a shit about them." "You can throw them in the river for all I care." "Why should I care?" "I don't give a damn." "Vito!" "Why is that mongrel here?" "Fucking dog!" "It's Tomés's." "I found it wandering round." "I'm keeping it." "Is that a problem?" " There's no one upstairs." " No one here either." "They must be somewhere, they can't get away." "We've wrecked their cars and blocked all the exits." "We'll get them." "Let's keep searching!" "What are you doing?" "You're coming with us." "Don't leave the house." "I'll try to call the police." "Well, we've looked everywhere but they've disappeared." "Maybe the beast ate them." "If it had eaten a Mariño, the curse would be broken and the beast wouldn't have attacked last night." "And where's the beast?" "Probably back in the barn." "That's the only safe place it knows." "Then let's kill it!" "What about the curse?" "Maybe it won't happen." "Hang on, I'm lost." "Which curse?" "The curse if we don't put an end to the curse." "Let's see, there was a curse, and now..." "Now there's going to be another curse because we haven't put an end to the first curse." "But we don't know what the curse is." " Which curse?" " The second one." "Shut the fuck up!" "We've failed." "If the beast didn't eat Mariño, we've failed." "So what does a second curse matter?" "Whatever it is, it can't be worse than the first one." "I say we kill the beast." "It's God's will." "Who's going to go down?" "You." "Like hell!" "Go down or I'll blow your guts out." "Who are you?" "Hey, has your friend got a thing about sheep?" "What?" "Tomés..." "Staring at it won't make it work." " Mind my sandwich!" " Shut up." " You're stepping on it!" " Shut up." "Shut up." " Grandma?" " Tomés!" " Can you hear me?" " They want to kill us!" "Send the police!" "What?" "I can't hear anything!" "There's a werewolf here!" "Tell the police!" " I can't hear you." " That way." " Can you hear me?" " Grandma!" "Call the police!" "No, that way!" "Fuck, be careful!" "We're in danger!" "You have to help us!" " What?" " Shut up!" "I can't..." "Grandma?" "Shit!" "Hey, the pork scratchings!" "Screw it!" "Pull me up!" "There's nobody there." "That's impossible." "Please yourself, but there's nobody." "It'll be dark soon." "The beast will attack again." "At 7:30, I want everyone in the bar, men and women." "We'll spend the night together and track it down." "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." "Mario!" "It's me." "Fuck!" "What about the guards?" "They left." "There's a curfew until nightfall." " Did you call the police?" " I couldn't." " No signal?" " Not a bleep." " Who's the kid?" " I'm not too sure." "He was in the cave." "He could be the beast." "You're raving." "Are you crazy?" "Why did you bring him here?" "What else could I do?" "Fucking kill him!" "Isn't he the beast?" "Yes." "Here, why don't you kill him?" "Go on, shoot him." "Here he is." "No, don't look at me." "I've no kids of my own, but I sponsor two in Guatemala." "Or Peru." " Fuck." " So what do we do?" "It'll be night soon and then," "Dennis the Menace here, or whatever he's called, will turn into a monster." "Not to mention that the whole village is out to kill us." " I've got an idea." " What?" "Look..." "To break the curse, the beast has to eat a male Mariño, right?" "Very good, Einstein!" "Great!" "So the kid gets to eat me with potatoes on the side?" "As far as I know, the curse doesn't say he has to eat all of you." "Maybe a finger would do." " You hear that?" " It's an interesting idea." " Savage, but interesting." " Have you both gone crazy?" "Come on, cut off one of your fingers." "I've heard we use our thumbs too much." "Or is it the opposite?" " Just the little one." " I'll shoot anyone who moves!" "It isn't loaded." "Bastard." "If you'd prefer another part of your body, an ear, whatever..." "Yes, feel free." "What's it to be?" "Bastards!" "Let go of me!" "Calm down!" "Lots of famous writers have got missing fingers." "Camilo José Cela, Wells, Gloria Fuertes." "What the hell are you saying?" "Let go of me!" "Cervantes was missing a whole arm!" " Let go of me!" " Calm down!" "There are two ways to do this." "Nicely or otherwise." "Which is it to be?" "So it's otherwise." " You want a drink?" " No!" "Wait!" "Now what is it?" "Not a finger." "I won't be able to write." " A toe would be better." " No, I wouldn't recommend a toe." "We'll have to walk a lot, probably run, to get out of here." "It'll be hard without a toe." "You don't need your finger to write." "It might do the readers a favour." "Mario's right." "Come on, relax." " Sons of bitches!" " You're a hero!" " You're saving our lives!" " One, two and..." "What happened to three, you bastard?" "Fuck the lot of you!" "And fuck my great-grandmother and all my ancestors!" "I guess we give it to the kid." "Like that, raw, it's a bit creepy." "You got garlic and parsley?" " Bring it back!" " Vito!" " For fuck's sake!" " Sorry!" "Be careful!" "Vito, come out of there!" "He ate the whole thing." "He didn't even leave a hangnail." "Son of a bitch!" "Now what?" "Roots..." "I'm a writer, you hear?" "A writer!" "How the fuck can I write without any fingers?" "Don't complain." "That guy Hawking writes in a wheelchair." "Go to hell." "The dog..." "Go on, give the other finger to the dog." "And give the kid my balls if you want." "Come on, eat it." "It tastes good." "Eat it." "Eat it." "Take it and eat it." "Take it." "Yum, yum." "It's delicious!" "Very good!" "Come on, it's not that bad." "You're lucky." "Not many people can say they saw themselves being eaten." "Hadn't you stopped drinking?" "The kid ate it all." " Now what?" " Well..." "Now, after my fingers, you two could eat my dick, right?" "At nightfall, we'll know if it worked, but we have to get out of here." "Everyone is meeting in the bar at 7:30." "We'll wait here until then, so the coast is clear." "Then we just have to get to the old station and the path behind it leads to the next village." "Swedes give good blowjobs, too." "I'll make coffee." "With lots of salt." "A bit of salt on the tip of a dick." "Delicious." " Weren't you meeting in the bar?" " It's closed." "Deaths in the family." "Listen to me for a minute, please." "You can let them go." "This is the monster." "He was in the cave." "No, no!" "Don't do anything to him!" "We gave him Tomés's finger and he ate it." "Don't you see?" " I The beast ate a male Marino's finger so the curse is broken!" "And Mario and Tomés won't tell anyone, right?" " We promise." " I swear by my children." "How do we know the curse is broken and he won't turn into a beast again?" "Well, I'm not 100 per cent certain." "We'll have to wait until night-time to find out." "We'll see if it's true." "You'd better be right." "You see?" "What did I tell you?" "The curse is broken!" "So it seems." "But just in case, we'll kill all of you." "These curses are very vague, you never know." "And it's best not to leave any witnesses." "It's God's will." "What the hell's happening?" "It's the curse for not breaking the curse!" "And my fucking finger?" "We did it too late, a day after 100 years had passed!" "One lousy day!" "I'll never visit another village!" "Screw rural tourism!" " Grandma!" " Get in, hurry!" " Seat belts on." " Shit!" "What are you doing here?" "I thought something like this might happen." "You're his grandmother?" "Pleased to meet you." "The women in your family are too much!" "Why didn't you tell me?" "I wasn't sure the curse really existed." "Watch out!" "Anyway, I'm here, aren't I?" "If you'd told us a month ago, we wouldn't be in this mess!" "Get off, ﬂeabag!" "Shit!" "That's it, step on it!" " You think this is the time for songs?" " It wasn't me!" " Straight ahead, ma'am." " Just call me Rosa." "I think we've lost them." "No!" "No!" "Vito!" "No!" "Grandma, wait!" "Move!" "Fuck!" " Shit!" " Everyone out!" "Run to the house!" "Close all the windows and shutters!" " Hurry!" " Hold on!" "I'm comming!" "I think they've gone." " All closed upstairs." " Down here, too." "They'll be back." "They're half animal, half human." "They may be villagers, but they've got a bit of a brain." "What do we do?" "I called the police before I left, but they won't come." "I didn't know what to say." "How do you explain this without getting put in an asylum?" "Especially at my age." "Why are we going to Arga?" "Nothing ever happens there." "I'll tell you again." "A lady rang and said something might be happening there, and as we are police officers, Joaquin, we're going to check it out." ""Might."" "I might win the lottery and you'll never see me again." "Never again." "And what's "something"?" "A crime, a wedding, a christening, a first communion?" "Hey..." "The curse, the second curse or whatever the hell we want to call it, affects the villagers, right?" " Yes." " Why has nothing happened to you?" "Well..." "Bastard!" "Galician wolf!" "I was fucking joking!" "So you're a comedian?" "I'm sorry, ma'am." "I wasn't born here." "My parents were on their honeymoon when I was born." " But if it was their honeymoon..." " Forget it, Mario." "Who is this child?" "If we're right, he's the marchioness's son." "You are right." "He's my cousin." " How do you know?" " He recognised this." "It was his mother's." " The bastards!" " They've eaten the lights." "If I win the lottery..." "This is better than being in the station writing reports, isn't it?" "No, because there's heating in the station, and you don't have to save on fuel there, do you?" "And Cuéntame cémo pasé is on tonight." "What did I tell you?" "Nothing's going on here." "It's odd." "No one's around, no lights in the houses." "It's odd." "Maybe they're all asleep." "What the hell is that?" "I can't say for certain but I'd swear these are..." "They're werewolves!" "But werewolves don't exist!" "That's what you say." "A lot of literature from the turn of the 19th century was based on the existence of werewolves." "I mean, who's to say that Lovecraft, Poe and others weren't inspired by reality and not by imagination?" "Why not?" "Do you think you're on Oprah's fucking Book Club?" "What are we going to do?" "Inform the station, naturally." " Holy shit!" " Take it easy." "Lower your weapon." "Hello, good evening." "Please remain where you are, with your hands over your heads." "Thank you very much, boys." " What are you doing?" " We don't know if they're violent." "We'll give them the benefit of the doubt." "Doubt resolved." "They're not peaceful." "No, they're not." "Very good, Joaquin." "You've just wrecked the engine, and probably the radio." " Another disciplinary action." " Do yourself a favour." "Next time, don't skip weapons practice." "It's time to run." "You shouldn't have skipped PT classes either." "The best thing in these cases is to surprise the enemy." "I don't want to put you off, but aren't stakes for vampires?" "We're short on silver for making bullets, and there isn't much holy water around here, so..." "No, it's a good idea." "And it keeps you occupied." "It'll be dawn in three hours." "If we can hold on, we'll get out of this." "Tomés, come here." "Sorry, but stakes are for vampires." "My uncle wrote this book." "The marchioness's husband?" "He talks about the curse." "After all that happened, his wife was killed by an angry mob." "He took her younger brother, my father, and managed to escape." "They went to Madrid, my father met my mother, and I was born." " What happened to the marquis?" " He died a few years later." "But before he died, he told the whole story to my father, who investigated the curse." "He discovered that the gypsies were from Romania, and that the gypsy who slept with my aunt had a history of lycanthropy in his family." "He had wolf blood in his veins." "So Diego was a cross between races, half wolf, half boy." "Diego?" "Is that his name?" "Little Diego." "So he's your older cousin." " It's crazy!" " He's over 100!" "Why hasn't he grown up?" "I don't know." "Maybe it's the curse." "He hasn't been transformed tonight so I guess he's free of it." " What'll we do with him?" " Take him with us, of course." " Are you crazy?" " Why?" "None of this was his fault." "It was my damn aunt." "The poor thing has been a victim all his life." "That thing about crossbreeding reminds me of a very funny story." " Why didn't I remember it before?" " What is it?" "It's the story of a boy in a village and a sheep." "You swore you'd never tell!" "My friend here, when he was little, was horny as hell one winter." "Shut up!" "So one night, bold as brass, he went into his father's corral and scr..." "Sorry, he made love with a sheep." "That's a lie!" "But that's not the worst of it." "After a few days..." "Stop struggling, come here." "...the sheep got pregnant and he thought it was his fault." " Not in front of your grandmother!" " He didn't sleep for two months." "He thought the sheep would have a mutant lamb, half sheep, half yokel." "It was a long time ago." "We did awful things in the village then." "It's not that bad." "Who hasn't jerked off their pet?" " Quiet." " I had a hamster..." "Shut up!" "It's coming from the attic." "Maybe it's a mouse." "The other day Vito ate one." "If it's a hamster, he can go up." "Let's take a look." "Are you sure?" "What's wrong?" "Are you still scared of the attic?" "Grandma, it's not that." " I went up the other day." " You nearly shit yourself." " That's a lie." " Come on, Indiana." " What is it?" " Shut up!" "Don't you hear that?" " Hear what?" " Listen!" "It's your girlfriend, back from the dead to take revenge." "You're a dickhead." "And she's brought your son with her, the were-sheep." "He's all grown up now." "He's a big boy." "He's got your eyes, your sideburns..." "He's got..." " I don't think they heard us." " Will the door hold?" "Push it up!" "I can't do it." "MY fingers!" "Let's get out of here!" "I've got an idea!" " The ball!" " What are you doing?" "The ball!" "See the ball?" "Fetch!" "I thought the genes..." "Hurry, get out." "I'll cover you." "Hurry!" " Now, run!" " Where?" " To the church, hurry!" " Run!" " What happened to your head?" " I shot myself." "I blew away a bit of my scalp, to make them think I was dead." "Better to lose a bit of skin and hair than be eaten by werewolves, right?" "Hey!" "There should be a signal here, right?" "Shit." "This is a sacred place." "I bet they can't come in." "They're cursed." "Move them back." "Mario!" "Spread out." "No!" "Take him away." "Take him behind the altar." "Take him away." "Look at this!" "It's from the Civil War!" "There's a tunnel to the wine cellars." "You all go inside, I'll keep them back." "There's no time to mess around!" "Get in there!" "I'll follow you." "I know what you're going to try." "The dynamite probably won't work." "Go on." " Look after the boy." " Good luck!" "You think this expires, like yogurt?" "Miserable sons of a bitches!" "Shit!" "Keep running!" " What about Tomés?" " There's a way out here!" "Burn, fuck you!" "Burn!" "Let's go!" "Where's Tomés?" "Tomés?" "Tomés is alive!" "Help me!" "Tomés, hold on!" "Hold on!" "Don't let go!" "I've got you!" "Don't let go!" "MY arm!" "Talk to me!" "Diego?" "Hang on!" "Thanks." " How are you?" " It's nothing, don't worry." " How did you know...?" " We saw the fire." "We called your unit, you didn't answer." "What the hell happened here?" "Wait till you read my report." "You'll be amazed." "Right now, arrest the whole village." "Well, the ones who are left." "If there is anyone left." "Mario!" "How are you?" "Tomés, they told me I'll never play soccer again, at least not as goalkeeper." "And the piano is out, but I couldn't play it anyway." "There's one thing." "If the police ask, tell them my name is Sanz, Alejandro Sanz." "There are lots of them." " Please?" " Yes?" " Can you save him?" " We'll do our best." "Thanks, Tomés." "And him, too, of course." "Your wife?" "That's right." "Every year on the anniversary of her death, I bring flowers." "My deepest sympathy." "Thank you." "The flowers are lovely." "They cost a fortune, but for her, I never spare any expense." "Since she passed my life has been empty." "Not a day goes by that I don't think about her." "She was the light of my life, the sun in my garden." "Without her I'm nothing." "There's nothing left for me in this world." "I pray to God that I will soon be with her." "Do you have a loved one nearby?" "Hello?" "You're a louse." "What are we going to do about our little problem?" "What little problem?" "Shit, both of us were bitten." "The legend says if you're bitten by a werewolf, you become one." "How can you believe that rubbish?" "Right, especially after what's happened." "Vito!" "All right, the first thing is to see if you've been infected." " Tonight there's a full moon." " Why are you tying us up?" "Just in case." "If you change into werewolves, you won't be very nice to me." "And if we do change, what'll you do?" "I don't know, we'll improvise." "You're not still annoyed about your fingers?" "No, don't worry." "This is just in case." "Feel anything?" " Nothing." " My nose is itchy." " Hey, did you taste the finger?" " No." "Well, a bit, to see if it was salted enough." "Maybe I took a little bit of skin." "Like me, a little suck." "But that means we're protected against the curse." " You think so?" " I'm sure." " That's why nothing's happening." " Maybe you're right." "Tomés, you can untie us, we're not infected." "What's wrong with him?" "Tomés!" "You weren't bitten, were you?" "Come on, I played that joke already!" " Shit, shit, shit!" " He didn't say a word!" " Fucking hell!" " Do you think he'll remember us?" "When he bites us he'll remember the taste and that we cut off two of his fingers!" "What the fuck do we do now?" " Resign ourselves." " What?" "Let him bite us." "We'll become werewolves and that's that." "We'll form a little pack." "What?" "How can I be a werewolf with just one arm?" "We'll be creatures of the night, roam the Spanish countryside, terrorise the locals, we'll breed, attack flocks of sheep..." "It's not such a bad life." "Crazy'"