A soft laugh escaped her.
"Well, well..." Placing her hands behind her back and swaying her hips lightly, a gesture that contrasted with the situation. "A Brazilian out here?"
"Yes! A Brazilian, just like you, right?" Nunes smiled, an unusual mix of relief and hope blossoming.
"Uh-huh... just like me."
"Ma'am... I know this is strange. But look, can you untie me? Please." He pleaded, forcing an exaggerated look of pity.
"Since you understand my language… let's talk. Man to woman, no bullshit, you bastard."
Nunes' eyes widened when he saw her getting closer, her jaw so clenched in rage it was visible even through the balaclava. She knelt. Right in front of him.
SMACK!—a brutal slap made him see stars.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"—SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!—"BASTAAAARD!"
She grabbed him by the collar with both hands, her nails cutting into his neck as she shook him in pure hysteria.
"WORRRRM! YOU FUCKING TRASH! YOU KILLED EVERYONE!"
PTOOEY!—she stopped shaking him just to pull down a part of the balaclava and spit in his face, now digging her sharp nails into his cheeks, her fury tearing him apart.
"Stop!" Nunes squeezed his eyes shut, an involuntary groan escaping.
"STOP MY FUCKING ASS, YOU DEVIL! YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL!"
She yanked him closer; her forehead pressed against his. Her breath, fresh with a metallic tang, brushed his skin—a strange shiver ran down his neck, almost like the reverence a peasant would give his future Cleopatra.
"And I'll be YOUR devil. Your own personal one. I'll fuck you up, you piece of shit! You're gonna cry like a spoiled little brat!"
"I-I—" He barely started before she punched him in the face, cutting him off.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! SHUT UP!!!"
Nunes gasped, his chest heaving uncontrollably, a trickle of blood running from his lips.
"You…" Her eyes narrowed, brimming with pure disgust. "You're the biggest piece of garbage I've ever had the misfortune of seeing. Trash. Pure. Trash."
Nunes' eyes filled with tears. And she noticed.
"Aww… oh God… what a shame! You're gonna cry so much more, my darling… why waste the energy now?"
"Please…" He shut his eyes, his sobs shaking through him uncontrollably.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" She grabbed his chin, squeezing hard. "You only speak when I let you, you piece of shit."
He nodded frantically. He understood.
"Good, trash. And don't think I feel sorry for you, got it? You think Rui didn't tell me what you say about insurgents?"
He blushed, freezing.
"Yeah… whore, right? Junkie?" She dipped her index finger in the streak of blood and gently smeared it across his face. "Well, you, traitor… you're about to meet the biggest WHORE you've ever seen in your life. And you better believe it… I'll LOVE making you suffer. You know why?"
He shook his head, tears streaming down.
"ANSWER, DAMN IT!" She dug her nails into his face again, slicing him anew. "SAY IT 'CAUSE I'M TELLING YOU TO, TRAITOR!"
"W-why…?"
"Because you… cops…" Her eyes brimmed again. "My family… they…"
She sobbed, shaking her head.
"Forget it. I… forget it." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, erasing any fragile trace of humanity. "And you're such a piece of shit that still… oh God…"
She closed her eyes, but they welled up again, her voice breaking.
"God have mercy on you. You tossed that boy to the gutter. They killed him." She swallowed her tears, her voice hoarse. "You know how I know?"
"Because you killed him?" Nunes asked, his voice liquid, broken.
"No. Because I saw it. Rui was the one who finished him."
"Ah…" Nunes lowered his head, blushing from head to toe. "I'm sorry…" he whispered.
"Too late for that, you piece of shit," she snarled. "You'll pay for what you did."
She stood up, pulling down the balaclava again to spit, this time at Nunes' feet.
"For betraying all your friends… your police… and for calling every woman a slut."
He frowned.
"I didn't say that, I said—"
"SHUT THE FUUUUUCK UP!!!" She kicked his thigh hard, her scream echoing through the ship. "I TOLD YOU, YOU ONLY SPEAK WHEN I LET YOU, FUCKER!"
She stepped back, her voice now slightly calmer.
"Look. Let me spell it out for you, nice and clear… you're my bargaining chip. My mission failed. So did yours. The only way I'm getting out of here is by using you. That's it. Nothing else. You'll keep quiet and you'll obey me."
"Tsk... Go fuck yourself, you and your silence rule, you fucking bitch," Nunes sneered, rolling his eyes at her sideways.
"Yeah, I figured you'd be like this," she said, stepping back to grab a camera and set it up on a makeshift tripod. "Rui said you were trouble. I just didn't imagine the 'big guy' he talked about would fall right into my hands—like a perfect fit."
"Being in trouble? Call Taylor Swift, then, pothead" Nunes grinned.
She blinked, frowning. "Call… Taylor Swift? What the hell are you talking about, idiot?"
"Yeah," he said quickly, enjoying the moment. "You know the song—'I Knew You Were Trouble.' Friends warn you, you know it's bad for you… and here you are, turning into my fan way too fast."
She laughed, incredulous, shaking her head. "Oh my god… you're ridiculous."
"What? Did I lie, you cowardly torturer?" He chuckled, shrugging. "You'd already heard about me from Rui, you speak my language, you beat the crap out of me, said you'd torture me, now you're gonna record me?"
"Pretty bold of you, huh, strongman?" She laughed, shaking her head. "You'll see how much of a fan I really am soon enough."
"Honestly… you know, you might be the real problem here." He leaned back slightly, shrugging, playful. "An insurgent. And me? An Officer."
She raised an eyebrow, smirking. "An Officer, huh? Yeah… a total wanker."
He blinked, then laughed. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," she said, shaking her head.
They both burst into laughter, loud and unexpected, filling the room for a moment.
But as soon as the laughter died down, the weight of the room settled back in. The chaos, the makeshift tripod—nothing had changed. And yet, somehow, everything felt heavier than before.
"What the fuck is this? You're gonna kill me and record it, is that it? Making a snuff film?" Nunes spat the words out along with the blood. "If you really know me... you know I won't just stay on all fours for you quietly, right?"
"Shut up," she said, blunt and cold.
...
"What's your name?" she asked, her tone emotionless, but Nunes was mesmerized by her brown eyes, which reflected the deep blue of the environment, like two smoked glass windows looking into the bottom of the ocean.
"…Hey, kid?" She waved her hand quickly, ironically. "Come on, speak up, wanker!"
"Go fuck yourself," he replied disdainfully, quickly snapping back to reality. "No, I'm not saying anything."
"Bro… another 'go fuck yourself'?" She laughed, shrugging. "Seriously, just say it, it's not a big deal," she insisted, without wavering.
...
"Okay, it's Nunes."
"Alright, thanks," she said, and Nunes noticed a slight smile through the balaclava, her eyes closing for an instant.
She approached, and Nunes's heart pounded when she taped his mouth shut, pulling his hair with a thin, sudden agony. Darkness enveloped his field of vision as the camera was turned on.
"Attention, you motherfuckers. Listen up. I'm the commander of this whole operation now. You have 48 hours to send a rescue team to the coordinates I've sent you. If you don't show up, I'm going to kill this cop here. Understood? Nunes... this one here...!" the insurgent said, her voice cold and imperious, pointing the camera at Nunes. She brought the camera closer to his face, focusing on Nunes's wide, panicked eyes.
"Look closely at him. If you don't do what I'm asking, he'll just be another corpse floating through space. You have until then to save his life. I'm not bluffing." She pulled out a pistol, the cold barrel pressing against Nunes's temple. The faint but real smell of metal and gunpowder filled his nostrils.
"For every hour that passes, I'll make sure he suffers and feels pain. Don't believe me?" Then, with a swift and cruel movement, she plunged the knife into Nunes's leg. Pain exploded, a muffled scream escaping the tape that sealed his mouth.
She ended the recording, and with a harsh tug, ripped off the tape, tearing Nunes's hair.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH?!" he screamed in agony, his voice hoarse with pain.
The rebel burst into laughter, turning her back on him and going to sit in the control room, distant, as if his suffering was the most entertaining thing in the universe.
"Answer me, goddammit. Ah... this hurts like hell," Nunes groaned, his body contorting in grimaces of pain.
The woman sat in the chair, her agile fingers gliding over the keyboard at a hypnotic, cold, clinical rhythm. The ship's internal lighting began to change, accompanying the moon's growing darkness. The automatic lamps powered by the ship's internal generator came on, projecting a purplish-blue glow, like deep aquarium backlighting, and softly reflecting on the metallic plates of the walls. Shadows stretched and danced, making the ship's interior feel almost submarine.
"I know you don't like me..." he groaned again, frowning, trying to control his breathing to continue. "But seriously, please, at least take the knife out of my thigh, it'll get infected and I'll die... you don't want that, do you?" Nunes tried to speak without crying, his voice slurred, pleading.
But she didn't look. She didn't react. It was as if he had died and was now just a faint voice in the air, an echo trying to touch the irreducible—just like in the past.
Outside, the lunar water completely darkened, now looking like pitch, with gentle ripples that broke into silvery foams, visible through the small window to the left.
And then time... slipped away.
Perhaps two, perhaps three hours had evaporated from that place's invisible clock. Or was it five? There was no telling. And the uncertainty gnawed at Nunes from within, like an invisible acid, eroding his sanity.
The ship, strangely, followed the moon's calm rhythm, rocking slowly with the ethereal flow of the alien sea. The insurgent was tinkering with the computer as if she knew exactly what to do, very focused on the screen. He tried to call out to her, curse at her, or frighten her, in the vain hope that her plan wouldn't work out.
"Ma'am..." The silence was cold and cutting, an impenetrable barrier. "Please, talk to me..."
Was it Karma? He looked away, searching for something to distract himself, anything to take his eyes off her and the situation.
Was this because he was a cop?
"This moon. It... it's in the black hole's orbit. Very close to it. Here, time... It's... Distorted..."
She didn't even seem to hear what he was saying. Her agile fingers continued to dance over the keyboard.
"Seriously. You've never seen Interstellar, have you? It's a real-world situation and quite similar to ours." Nunes now stared at her, sitting in the chair, seeking a flicker of reaction.
She kept clicking on the keys, focused on the screen, the dry sound filling the emptiness of the room.
"Remember... In the movie, they lose many, many years on Earth because of the altered gravity of the planet near Gargantua."
...
"We're also on a planet similar to Miller's. But we've already been here for almost a day."
She kept working on the computer without saying a word. She really seemed to hate him, and her indifference was a blow more painful than the knife in his leg.
"We might have already lost 50 years, who knows, or even more... 80?"
...
"Ma'am, I don't know about you, but I have a grandma." He closed his eyes, rage and resentment mixing with his plea, but he controlled himself to speak politely. "And she needs me. She's waiting for me. I need to go back to her, please, we can get out of here together."
The sound of the insurgent typing was louder; an irritating click that made him shiver with real hatred.
"You need me to pilot the ship and get us out of this system. It'll be quick, I swear..."
And then she finally turned her face to him, her eyes indifferent through the balaclava.
"What's the Wi-Fi password?" a calm, low question that hit Nunes like a gunshot to the head.
"What?" He made an exaggerated, incredulous face.
"The password. For the Wi-Fi." she said, completely calm, without a shred of emotion.
"You're kidding me, right?" He smiled, laughing as if he'd just heard the most absurd joke of his life. "And even if I gave it to you, would it even work here?" He took a deep breath, staring at the woman who met his gaze with calm, challenging eyes.
Her expression hardened instantly. She quickly got up from the chair and walked with heavy steps toward Nunes. The air grew heavy with her proximity. Without warning, she grabbed the knife still lodged in his thigh and pulled it out with force, making him scream in sharp agony. With the same knife, she pressed the cold blade against his neck, almost cutting him.