Paths of Blood

This text is a work of fiction that seeks to reflect the raw and violent moments experienced by civilians and military personnel in the armed struggle against terrorism. From the work we extract the following fragment by way of introduction: "The darkness of the bedroom was almost total, broken only by the faint rays of mercury light filtering in from the street through the sun-faded curtain, when the muzzle flash of the submachine guns illuminated the room, blinding everyone for a few brief instants. Between the white, thick smoke of gunpowder, two bodies lay motionless in the beds. On the floor, two more convulsed in pain until the moment when the coup de grâce shots ended their lives. A few blocks away, in the heart of Huamanga, in the main dining room of the Hotel de Turistas, a dinner was being served to commemorate the Battle of Ayacucho. Presiding at the table was the general."