It crashed into the patio below, shattering into a thousand pieces.
Mateo tried to move the mouse. It slid across the screen on its own, opening his CD tray. The laser lens inside glowed an angry red.
“You wanted to burn for free?” the ghost hissed. “Let’s burn.”
The installation wizard popped up. But it was… wrong. The usual green checkmarks were replaced by dripping red pixels. The background hum of his PC fans shifted into a low, mechanical groan.
“You still owe me a license key.”
“You’re a loser if you pay for software,” Javier had said, throwing a crumpled ten-peso note onto the bed. “Real pirates download it for free.”
From the wreckage, a single, final whisper rose into the afternoon air:
