Angustia (Mala Muerte)

"Angustia" is the first and debut episode of Season 1 of Mala Muerte. It is the first episode overall. It premiered on September 10, 2019.

Synopsis
"A virus infects the city. Rodrigo tries to escape from the hotel. A secret comes out."

Plot
Laura watches television while swallowing hard for what she is witnessing. Many people run scared, while the journalist explains what is happening and orders the cameraman to record the fire.

"It is speculated that about thirty people were trapped in the building," says the journalist, "meanwhile, people are going crazy. They have informed us of bandit activities in the city center, and of people attacking each other. We will keep you informed if we receive more information."

"Do you want me to turn off the TV, mi señora?" Soledad intervenes, stopping cleaning the shelf to observe her boss. She is the maid, a young and pretty girl who is also helpful.

"No," Laura shakes her head, watching the images on television carefully. Apparently, people had gone crazy. "We have to call my son," she says and grabs her cell phone to call Rodrigo, her son.

While she does that, her husband Roberto approaches and grabs the remote control. He turns off the television and watches Laura curiously. "Don't tell me you believe what they say on television," he laughs.

"Shut up, I have a bad feeling," Laura says while holding her cell phone.

"It's okay, they're sure to be violent Protestants," Roberto says, sitting next to Laura to try to take her cell phone.

Laura backs off sharply and watches Roberto angrily. She gets up quickly and walks to the kitchen, where he tries to call her son again.

Roberto remains in the living room and watches television. The reporter continues to speak, until suddenly someone grabs her to try to bite her in the neck. She manages to let go thanks to the help of the sound engineer. However, he does not have the same fate, since two other people rush over him and manage to bite him on the neck and arm. While all this is happening, the cameraman continues recording until the transmission is cut unexpectedly. The last thing to be heard are the screams of the reporter.

Roberto turns off the television, completely surprised and scared by what he saw. He watches Soledad, who looked more terrified than he.

"Is it real? What is happening is real? My family is not safe!" Soledad begins to cry.

"Don't worry, I'm sure this is all false," Rodrigo says, getting up to give the girl a hug.

Rodrigo wakes up due to the sound of his cell phone. He looks around, finding himself completely naked on a bed with white sheets. He was in a hotel room that he had paid for himself.

A young man with curly blond hair slept beside him. His name is Gerónimo, and he work at the bar Rodrigo had visited the night before. He was also naked, so they had had sex even though he didn't remember anything.

Rodrigo grabs his cell phone, surprised to see several calls from his mother. He gets out of bed and walks quickly to the bathroom, where he calls his mother.

"Hola, ma, what happened?" he asks, walking in circles due to worry.

"Are you at home?" asks his mother.

"Eh, sí..." he lies, watching Gerónimo who was still sleeping in bed.

"Tell Flor both have to come home quickly!" she exclaims, letting his concern be understood thanks to her voice tone.

"Why?" he asks, watching Gerónimo wake up.

"Something strange is happening in the city, people are going crazy," she explains, sounding like a paranoid.

"Are you sure isn't it a violent protest or something like that?" he questions, telling Gerónimo to keep quiet with his hands.

Gerónimo nods with a smile and gets up to start dressing.

Rodrigo continues to talk to his mother, ending up seeding his pleas. "Dale, mamá, we get ready and go to your house," he says, letting out a long sigh.

"Don't delay, please!" says Laura, before finishing the call.

Rodrigo sighs again and watches Gerónimo, who is still getting dressed.

"Aren't you too big to continue being mama's baby?" Gerónimo says, smiling mockingly.

Rodrigo smiles and approaches him to kiss him. "I don't remember what happened last night, but I'll be happy to repeat it," he says.

"You did very well, it also made me want to repeat," Gerónimo laughs, winking.

"I just hope you are of legal age, because I don't want to go to prison," Rodrigo jokes, while continuing to dress.

"Don't worry, I'm twenty-two years old," Gerónimo replies, finishing dressing.

Rodrigo watches Gerónimo with surprise. "You seem younger," he says.

Gerónimo smiles again. "Go on, finish dressing up."

Rodrigo nods and finishes dressing.

Once they are in the hotel lobby, they begin to observe some chaos outside. Scared people running away from something. The hotel receptionist was also scared and nervous, while he speaking with a crowd of guests.

"What do the news say?" a woman asks.

"I don't know, they only recommend staying at home and not touch the people infected" the receptionist responds.

"Infected people?" an older man asks.

"A mysterious disease in the city?!" an older woman asks, completely nervous.

Rodrigo and Gerónimo move away from the crowd. They approach the windows and start talking to each other.

"So, this is what my mother was talking about," Rodrigo mutters.

"I have to go to my house," Gerónimo says.

"Yes, me too, but I don't know what they are talking about," Rodrigo nods, looking back at the crowd. "An infection? What kind of infection?" he asks himself with concern.

"I don't know, but we have to find a way out of here," Gerónimo says.

"You can come to my house if you want," Rodrigo proposes.

"Isn't your wife there?"

"I can say that you are an orphan guy that I found on the street and that I decided to save" Rodrigo jokes.

Gerónimo looks at him seriously and sighs. "Interesting offer, but I really have to go to my house," he shakes his head.

Rodrigo watches him with disappointment. "Okay," he nods. "Let's go to the parking lot for my car!" he proposes.

"Do you have your car keys?" Geronimo asks.

"I will ask the receptionist" Rodrigo responds, approaching the receptionist who was listening to the news. Gerónimo starts to following him.

"Excuse me, miss, can you give me my car keys?" Rodrigo asks. The crowd watches him surprised.

"It’s not safe to leave the hotel!" the receptionist shakes her head.

"And what do you want us to do? We have family in our homes," Rodrigo says, crossing his arms.

"The young man is right," an older woman intervenes, "we cannot stay here while our families are in danger!" exclaims.

"Let's go out!" the man exclaims.

The crowd begins to protest, forcing the receptionist to give them all their car keys, even Rodrigo. Despite the receptionist’s pleas, the crowd eventually down to the parking lot.

"I tried to help ..." the receptionist mutters.

"We're leaving too, you should do the same," Rodrigo says.

"You don't have a family?" Gerónimo asks.

"I don't know, the things they said on radio and on television scare me," the receptionist starts to shake.

"Don't be a coward, you must face your fears!" Rodrigo exclaims.

The receptionist raises his head and watches Rodrigo. She nods shyly and starts following them toward the parking lot.

Once they get there, they watch with surprise how the crowd is attacked by other people. But they didn't look like people, since blood came out of his mouth and his skin had turned gray. They walked slowly, but were able to grab their victim tightly and bite her. As they did with that old lady. The car alarm sounded louder as more people were attacked.

"I told you!" exclaims the receptionist, returning scared to the lobby.

Rodrigo and Gerónimo stayed watching those creatures attack the others, completely paralyzed while listening to the alarms sound.

Laura is waving her leg, due to the nerves that cause her to hear the alarm. One of her oldest maids, Olga, is serving her some tea to calm her nerves.

"It is surely a false alarm," Olga says.

"That alarm means nothing good," Laura says with a lost look. "Didn't you hear what they said on the radio?"

"About the infection? Surely, it's a boludez," Olga responds with skepticism.

"Do you think it's una boludez that there is a mysterious disease in the city?" says a woman in a suit, entering the room followed by a teenage girl. She is Valeria, Roberto's sister.

"What I think is una boludez is that they cause so much scandal for something that a doctor can handle," Olga says, disgusted, taking the kettle into the kitchen.

"No, Olga, it's really something serious," the teenager says, worried. She is Romina, Valeria's daughter.

"I don't think they take so much trouble for a burundanga disease," Valeria says, sitting next to Laura.

"I'm glad you came," Laura smiles at her friend.

"I will always obey your paranoia," Valeria jokes, settling on the couch.

Meanwhile, Olga enters the kitchen and watches Soledad putting her a red lipstick. She quickly stops doing it when she notices Olga.

"You don't have to be afraid," Olga says, leaving the teapot on the table.

Soledad keeps silence, swallowing saliva while adjusting her lipstick with her lips.

"For whom it is?" Olga asks, watching her suspiciously.

"For no one," Soledad responds shyly, avoiding eye contact.

"It's for Roberto, ¿verdad?" Olga asks him again, this time with a grimace of disgust.

"I know that our love is impossible and I would never hurt Mrs. Laura, but ..." Soledad sighs.

Olga rolls her eyes and approaches the girl. "Mirá, I was once in your place. It's not good to feel something for your boss, so it's better change that attitude. ¡Forget the romance, forget that lipstick!" Olga exclaims.

Soledad nods disappointed.

"Good girl, now go to clean Laura's room" Olga pats Soledad's back with a smile, then both returns to work.

Back in the living room, Laura continues nervous about her son's delay. Meanwhile, Romina uses her cell phone to watch the news and her mother does the same but with television.

"Es rarísimo, they say it's a virus that causes people to become aggressive," Romina explains.

"On television they say you don't have to touch the infected," Valeria points out.

"Qué asco, who would touch someone sick?" Romina asks, disgusted.

"Why does Rodrigo take so long?" Laura mutters, without enduring the urge to grab her cell phone and call her son.

"Maybe there is a lot of traffic," Valeria supposes.

"Well, well, who didn't invite me to the party?" A middle-aged man with sunglasses and a ridiculously colorful suit enters the living room with a smile.

"Oh, Alejandro arrived," Laura sighs, regretting having called her older brother to take refuge in her house.

"I was happy thinking you were going to give me my monthly payment, and only you called me because you think there is a mysterious disease in the city," Alejandro says laughing, as if it were a funny story.

"Please don't tell me you still give money to your brother," Valeria caresses her forehead, disappointed.

"Anyway, you have to be careful. People on the street are very violent," Alejandro explains.

"How violent?" Romina asks.

"I don't know, just one tried to attack me, but I was saved because I threw it at a lady," Alejandro laughs.

Laura and Valeria get up from their seats, both worried.

"Did it hurt you?" Laura asks.

"Is the lady okay?" Valeria asks.

"I don't know what happened to the old woman, I fled from there as quickly as I could," Alejandro replies, laughing. "And it didn't hurt me, it just stained me with a little blood."

Laura begins to breathe with difficulty, feeling a pressure in her chest.

"Boludo, the disease is spread through physical contact," Romina explains, surprised.

"La puta madre, I'm going to bathe!" Alejandro runs quickly down the hall to go to the bathroom, while Laura follows him.

"Bathe with hot water!" Laura exclaims worried.

After Alejandro enters the bathroom, Laura leans against the door and sighs. Suddenly she begins to hear strange groans coming from his room. She grabs a vase to defend herself and approaches to the door.

When she slowly opens it, she is surprised to find her husband having sex with the young maid, in her own bed.

"Laura, I can explain you!" Roberto exclaims moving away from Soledad and approaching her.

"I do not want to see you anymore!" Laura exclaims with all her fury, and throws the vase at Roberto, causing his faint.

The car alarms stop sounding, but Rodrigo continues watching the creatures. They walk slow and unable to maintain balance, as if they were tired. Their eyes are gray and the only sound coming out of his mouth are growls. Those people who had been attacked soon began to rise as one of those creatures. Their eyes had turned white, losing any trace of humanity.

"What's wrong with them? Is it because the infection?" Gerónimo asks, trembling nervously.

"We have to help them!" Rodrigo quickly approaches the older lady with the intention of helping her, but she growls at him and leans against him.

"Watch out!" Gerónimo exclaims.

Rodrigo recoils, but stumbles and falls to the ground.

A car alarm begins to sound, attracting the attention of the old woman. From the stairs, the receptionist uses the car keys to sound the alarms, while in his other hand he holds a gun.

"Stay away!" she exclaims, pointing at the old woman with the gun. Despite her trembling hand, she manages to shoot the old woman in the head.

Gerónimo approaches Rodrigo to help him and then observes the receptionist. "How do you know how to use a gun?" he asks surprised.

"My mother taught me," she explains, approaching them.

"Do you have permission to use it?" Gerónimo asks worried.

"Yes, all hotel staff have permission to use a weapon," she nods, "but I don't think that matters now." Then she looks around, watching the other infected guests. The alarm had caught their attention, so they ignored them.

Rodrigo watches the old woman sadly. "She is dead now."

"All infected are dead," the receptionist says.

"What? What do you mean?" Gerónimo asks.

"The military told it in the news. I don't know very well how, but the virus kills its host," the receptionist explains.

"But if the virus kills its host, how are they still alive?" Rodrigo asks, pointing to infected guests. "They're like ... undead," he mutters.

"I don't know, but we have to go," Gerónimo insists.

Rodrigo nods and runs to his car, a gray Chevrolet Cruze. When he enters the car and turns it on, he catches the attention of infected people who begin to approach.

"Come quickly!" he exclaims while moving the car to get closer to others. Gerónimo and the receptionist enter the car. Rodrigo steps on the accelerator and drives to the exit.

Once they leave the parking lot, they discover the city is in chaos. Infected everywhere, people running scared, vandals breaking property... It's a complete apocalypse.

"What happened? Is it because of the virus?" Gerónimo asks from the passenger seat. He is shaking and sweat falls from his forehead.

Rodrigo tries to keep calm while driving, swallowing saliva.

"This is serious, the military warned us," the receptionist says from the backseat.

"By the way, you never told us your name," Rodrigo mentions, trying to smile.

"Oh, excuse me. My name is Victoria, but my friends call me Vicky," the receptionist says, smiling.

"Nice to meet you, Victoria," Rodrigo nods. "Do you want me to take you home?" he asks them.

"Yeah, please," Geronimo nods as he watches through the rearview mirror.

"I live alone, so I don't know what to do," Victoria says, looking down.

"You both can come to my mother's house, it's a mansion. It has many rooms and lots of food, so it won't be a problem to accommodate them," Rodrigo proposes.

"And what about your wife?" Geronimo asks.

"She is a good friend, but we were never a royal marriage," Rodrigo sighs. "My father wanted me to have a wife, so I married her."

"That's very retro," Victoria says.

"I know, but my father is ... a complex person to deal with," Rodrigo explains, feeling sorry.

"I understand, and does your mother know?" Victoria asks.

Rodrigo nods softly.

"Someone is following us!" Geronimo warns.

Rodrigo watches through the rearview mirror, watching a black car chasing them. Suddenly, he feels a shot that hits the plate of his car.

"They try to shoot us!" Geronimo exclaims nervously.

"We need to go for my wife!" Rodrigo steps on the accelerator to try to lose them.

"Who are they?!" Victoria asks.

"I don't know, they must be criminals," Rodrigo continues to accelerate until he unwittingly crashes into something. His vision turns black because of fainting.

From the security of his home, Candelaria observes the chaos in the street. She wears exotic animal skins, the finest jewels and the most elegant heels. She hides her eyes behind sunglasses while smiling with malevolence.

After a while drinking some wine, he gets up from his seat and walks to leave his house. She watches her huge patio, the beautiful plants and the huge pool, feeling somewhat unhappy. Next to her was the house of the Fernández family, those who dared to be richer than her.

She knew that she should take advantage of the next apocalypse in order to receive her revenge. She would take everything that was his before, and everything that rightfully belongs to her. The dirty games that Roberto hid would be his end.

Candelaria smiled again, holding her glass of wine and laughing.

Uncredited

 * Unknown as The Cameraman
 * Unknown as The Sound Engineer

Deaths

 * The Sound Engineer
 * The Woman
 * The Old Man
 * The Old Woman
 * Several citizens

Trivia

 * This is the first story of its author.
 * There are some words in Spanish:
 * The title, "Angustia", means "anguish".
 * "Boludo" and "Boludez" means "dumb" and "nonsense" respectively.
 * Valeria says "burundanga disease", what it means something like "fucking disease".