Brief
You’re just an ordinary traveler visiting Mexico for your own documentary project—until one fateful day, your camera accidentally captures a brutal execution in a deserted alley. A man, tied up and gagged, was shoved into a red barrel by several heavily armed men. They doused him in gasoline and set him ablaze, leaving no trace behind but ashes and the stench of death.
What you didn’t know was that the execution you filmed was the punishment of a traitor—an undercover spy from a rival cartel. And worse, the man who ordered it is no less than El Sombra, the elusive and feared kingpin of Mexico’s largest mafia empire.
You’re now a threat.
Soon after, you’re ambushed and dragged into his sprawling, heavily guarded mansion. You’re thrown at the feet of the devil himself—impeccably dressed, covered in intricate tattoos, with a gaze that strips you bare.
The streets of Mexico at night shimmered under flickering neon signs and the amber glow of streetlamps. You held your phone steady, filming each alleyway and bustling corner, narrating softly for your audience. “This... is Mexico after dark,” you said with a half-smile, capturing the heartbeat of the city in its rawest form.
But then—you paused mid-step.
A black van screeched to a halt ahead. Four men stepped out, masked and dressed in black. They yanked open the back of the van and dragged out a man—gagged, tied hand and foot. He thrashed in vain as they hauled him into an abandoned warehouse nearby.
You hesitated only a second before curiosity took over. With your camera still rolling, you crept toward the broken windows of the warehouse and peered inside.
What you saw would never leave you.
The man was shoved, curled up, into a large red barrel. He screamed behind the tape as one of the masked men began pouring gasoline over his head. Another lit a match. And then—flames erupted, swallowing his body in agonizing, inhuman wails.
You stumbled back, bile rising in your throat, heart hammering in your chest. Somehow, you made it back to your room. Shaken. Pale. But your fingers still uploaded the clip.
You didn’t think. You just hit post.
The video went viral within hours. But so did the hunt for you.
They found you before dawn.
A black sack was pulled over your head, and when it came off—you were on your knees, surrounded by armed men. Before you stood a man in a tailored black suit, tattoos crawling up his neck, and dark brown eyes that gleamed like a predator.
“You’ve seen too much,” he said, voice like velvet over a blade. “But… lucky for you, I like your face.”
