I ALSO SEE dead things.

In addition to that damned snake and smoke, skeletons and corpses limped around me when I had a vision. Eerie, damp darkness always enveloped them, obscuring their features —but their attire was clear.

Mayans. Traditional Aztec clothing, in harsh reds and yellows and blues and greens, though everything else was tattered. There was no doubt in my mind that it had to do with my ability, and my ancestry. I had gotten used to the magic, but I could not stomach the terror.

The frequency and pattern of the visions was unpredictable and could not be foreseen —which did not help me with understanding them in the slightest.

"Oh, I wanted to ask," I quipped as we climbed out of the 4x4 and headed to the entrance of the hotel, "are there any others working in directory?"

Valdez seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had been in, and turned to me with a warm yet unsteady smile. "There are," he chuckled. "I wanted it to be a surprise. You'll meet the addition to our team inside."

He led me into the foyer, and proceeded to check me in at the desk. My attention swiftly drifted and focused on the decor. A dark red and gold theme, with plenty of ferns and small palms. Expensive vases plated with gold leaf sat on their marble pedestals —almost outdoing the crystal chandeliers overhead.

I scoffed under my breath and absentmindedly tugged a hand through my ponytail.

"That'll be all," Valdez then said, nudging my arm. I whirled back around.

"Enjoy your stay," the lady behind the desk smiled —though her eyes flittered to Valdez.

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk down the hallway to find the elevator.

But before I got there, the world stopped moving.

A lightly tanned woman in a short figure-hugging white dress stopped in front of me. It suddenly made me terribly conscious about my practical outfit, and how it hugged my less defined figure in a far less flattering way. I then directly met her gaze. The woman's eyes were bright, and a sharp hazel. Curled blonde hair framed her heart shaped face. Then her full, pink lips moved, but I didn't hear the sound of words.

I couldn't seem to recall how to breathe.

"—Maya, right?" her voice then said, her accent beautifully smooth and British. "Hoe-lah," she tried.

Good God, she was British.

I short circuited. "Maya...Gracias," I blurted out. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I mean García," I amended, frowning in mortification. "Maya García."

Shit. Was I suddenly fourteen again?

"And, it's pronounced 'hola' ¹," I corrected.

"Sorry, I haven't had the time to polish up my Spanish." She smiled broadly —her teeth so white and straight. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, though," she said. "I've heard so many things about you —and I was wondering if I would get to see it firsthand."

"Oh," I quipped. "Do you mean...my ability?"

She might have then opened her mouth to say something else, but her eyes lit up as her gaze darted a little way behind me. "Valdez!" she said excitedly.

I blinked as she brushed past me, the smell of cedar wood and honey wafting, and then turned to watch as she threw herself in no way embarrassingly at Valdez Lors and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Beautiful, British...and so terribly straight.

I glanced away as he kissed her cheek. Then my feet started moving in the other direction, desperate to get me out of this situation and up to my room.

"Wait, Maya," Valdez chuckled. "This is the additional team member —Dr. Lorenne Dench."

I froze. Dr. Lorenne Dench was a famous archaeologist from Hertfordshire, England. She had a PhD in the field and had written two successful books. And she was only twenty-eight; had I really just spoken to her as though she were a mere film star on vacation?

"Dr. Dench," I grinned weakly as I then turned back around. Valdez had an arm around her waist.

"Lorenne, please," she offered, smiling angelically.

I swallowed the uneasy feeling that had settled in me. "So nice to meet you. Bye then," I said quickly, moving back towards the elevator.

"But I came all this way to see you," she went on, sounding a little disappointed. "I was hoping that we could have a late lunch and drinks."

I paused. "I —"

—Couldn't possibly have lunch with you.

"...Valdez can have lunch with you," I suggested. Anything to escape right now. "I'm going to lie down. And, I don't drink," I lied through my teeth.

"I meant the two of us," Lorenne said a little softer, her scent suddenly right beside me. I flinched slightly and then turned to look at her. She was half a head taller than me. "...Just us girls, huh?" she smiled, suddenly linking an arm through mine. I stiffened, and to my horror, reddened. "You know we're the only females in the directory? On the entire project, in fact."

"Really?" I mumbled.

"Really," she sighed, steering me back towards the foyer. "Now come on. There will be plenty of time to relax in your room later."

"Right," I said flatly. Then I glanced downwards. "Holy crap, at least let me get changed first!"

I wondered what had gotten into me, as I sat in a stiff, short yellow cotton dress across from Dr. Lorenne Dench at a small café called Dios Mío. ²

Oh my God, indeed.

I couldn't stop fidgeting; couldn't stop playing with the end of the thread hanging off of the edge of the seam at the hem of my dress. Lorenne was staring at me intently as she sipped her margarita, probably disheartened that I wouldn't dare to meet her gaze.

She had this air about her —a shroud of unapproachable confidence, even if she was all smiles and bright eyes. I shouldn't be here. Alone with her.

"Why didn't you come with Valdez?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Aren't you...involved?" I put it subtly.

She laughed, a sound that made my insides twist and roll around in agony. "Maya," she then abruptly said my name. I glanced upwards. "Valdez is a man-whore."

I blinked. "Well, yeah, but that hasn't seemed to stop throngs of women before."

Another heart pumping laugh. "I'm not interested in him," she assured me. "We're only good friends."

That was just part of her personality then —her affectionate touches and glances.

"Oh." I didn't force the next smile. "Sorry."

"That's all right. Look, I said no to Valdez coming along because I really wanted to talk to you without any distractions. I'm really interested in —"

I then cut her off with a gasp, sitting up to attention. A snake was settled on one of the café's decorative cacti. Jade smoke curled along the floor, and the sound of soft rattling came from behind me.

I blinked, and the café and patrons disappeared; now blackened into a hellish volcanic landscape, illuminated with cracks of lava the colour of emeralds.

And I was standing at the mouth, overlooking magma.

¹ hey/hello
² oh my God/gosh

author's note |
2k word goal reached!

and thank you so much for all of the support you've been giving, i appreciate it so much.