The Balam: Rise of the Bolontiku

“I’ve been contained in the Dallas area for the past five months since the outbreak happened. If you can hear this message, I want the truth to be known. My name is David Greystone. I am an undercover field agent for the FBI. Currently, I’m one of the only survivors of this bioterrorist attack that has beset Dallas. There are, what we have come to call, Croats surrounding the building that I’m in. I fear that it is only a matter of time until they get in…” The static from the radio trailed off. I had been trying to get a message to the outside world for the past couple of hours using various radio channels. A loud crash came from down the hall with guttural sounds following behind it. I moved closer to the door to barricade it closed and could hear heavy breathing and the rattle of keys from the other side. The lock snapped open as the doorknob began to turn. The door swung open. As it did, I summoned my power to the ready. After the past two years of fighting and surviving these vile things, I was ready and waited for an attack. I took one last deep, steadying breath prior to attacking first when I saw a familiar raven-haired woman sprint through the door. She was surrounded in a soft light green glow. She quickly turned to seal the door again. That is when she saw me and that I was prepared to attack. I slowly lowered my guard and released my power—something that would usually spell disaster for me. “Oh, my god, David. We all thought you had been killed.” She threw her arms around him and squeezed with all of her strength and planted her lips firmly on mine. She lingered there for what seemed like forever, her lips warm and moist. I missed being around her, and this was exactly why. Her smell, warmth, her eyes, and the completeness that I felt when she was around. “Lydia, why are you here? I told you to get out of the city with the mayor and his security detail.” Lydia looked down at her feet as tears started to fall from her eyes. “The helicopter was shot down as we were lifting off. A couple of us were able to get out by jumping out of the helicopter and landing on the roof.” She sobbed heavily. “I could hear all of them scream as it began to fall to the street, and the fuel ignited causing the helicopter to explode, causing all of the windows on the building to shatter.” I wrapped her in my arms as she broke down crying. The room had filled with the sound of her crying and me trying to soothe her, when it was suddenly interrupted by multiple loud guttural grunts from the hallway. They were edging closer to the room. The door started to be struck from the outside. “Sounds like some of the Croats were following me. I thought I had lost them,” she said through sobs.