Tropican Horror Stories
'Welcome to Tropico Hill' – A chilling adventure of Penultimo
After Penultimo comes back to Tropico from his meetings with the Tropican Ministry of International Affairs and Legally Stolen Landmarks (where he does all the hard work for El Presidente, even without a pay rise), he is welcomed by an unusual sight…It is not the Tropico he knows, the whole precious island of El Presidente is covered in fog and… wait a minute… where are all the people? All the beloved citizens that always voluntarily vote for El Presidente?
Penultimo’s fear reaches another level as he steps into what seems like ketchup… but isn’t. Penultimo runs further down the muddy street looking for any kind of help, until he sees a sign that says: ‘Welcome to Tropico Hill’. What could that mean? Penultimo tries to pull himself together and thinks of El Presidente. He must make sure his favourite ruler is safe! As he walks deeper and deeper into the fog, his spine-tingling sensation becomes more apparent. It is clear that the cause for this is not the coldness which has suddenly engulfed the whole Tropican town, but the indescribable, horrifying noises from afar. It sounds like tower bells that express some kind of anger from something, or someone…
Penultimo feels repulsed and tries to shun the sounds but he seems to be getting closer to it, closer to the madness. Hee sees nothing but a foggy Tropico. Are the sounds all just in his head? And suddenly, like his subconscious mind wants to emerge from its furtive hideout, Penultimo’s fears manifest themselves. In front of him, a creature that seems like a regular human, stops him on his journey. On the creature’s head is something rather peculiar – it is not a normal human head but is pyramid shaped. His presence feels like it existed in this world since time immemorial and as it draws nearer, Penultimo is stunned like a helpless lama. With each step, the creature emits a hideous, unbearable sound that scratches the inner mechanisms of Penultimo’s mind.
On the verge of madness, Penultimo notices the face of the creature as it creeps ever closer. On his pyramid mask, it is wearing sunglasses and a blue hat! Only one person in Tropico could wear such fancy and incredibly good-looking accessories – El Presidente! Penultimo sinks into relief, realizing he finally found his leader. But suddenly, the presumptive El Presidente raises his muscular arm! He would never hurt Penultimo… right? Unless, it is not El Presidente! The creature takes off the sunglasses and to Penultimo’s surprise, it also removes its hideous mask. Underneath emerges a smiling El Presidente who just played a Halloween joke on poor Penultimo. However, the two can’t laugh together for long. In the distance, they see a small helpless child wearing a mask with distorted face shapes. Probably just another kid playing some Halloween tricks! Probably…
