Slaves of stone and blood
Guerrero and his companions, Jeronimo and Aguilar, were forced into labor at the construction site of the palace.
The construction had been going on for several weeks. By now, the Caracol Mayans considered Guerrero's group nothing more than slaves.
In the Mayan era, animals like oxen or horses were never used for heavy labor. Instead, human beings themselves were treated as beasts of burden.
Aguilar struggled under the weight of the black stone placed on his head. Despite the pain, he staggered forward and placed the stone on top of another. But he could not carry more than four stones.
As Aguilar stood there clutching his waist in exhaustion, the overseer's whip lashed across his back without mercy.
Later, he was assigned another task—mixing lime with water.
The Mayans took up lighter work such as pottery, ceramic making, and painting, while pushing all the hard labor onto their slaves.
The three men were forced to work almost twenty-four hours a day. They were treated worse than cattle.
Guerrero and Jeronimo somehow managed to endure it. But Aguilar's health began to deteriorate. He was not prepared to ask for rest and receive lashes in return.
So, as usual, he continued working.
Guerrero and Jeronimo carried a massive pillar into the palace. Aguilar followed behind them, holding five heavy wooden planks painted with intricate designs.
Suddenly, dizziness overtook him. His vision blurred, and he collapsed on the spot.
Jeronimo rushed to lift him—but it was too late. Aguilar was already dead.
Jeronimo held Aguilar's body in his lap and broke down in tears.
Guerrero stood frozen, unsure how to console his friend.
Without any funeral rites, Aguilar's body was buried outside the Mayan burial grounds.
They never imagined that the Spaniards would retaliate for this.
That retaliation would come as a blow of death.
(David: We already have tension between us and Vincent. At the very least, we should pretend we're here for research.)
David opened his laptop. To take notes on the Mayans, he opened a book titled "The Mayans' Secret", written by James.
On the very first page, seven lines were highlighted inside a bold box:
The Mayans predicted in advance that George Bush would become the President of the United States in 1995.
They also knew Barack Obama would assume office in 2009.
They even documented the presidency of Donald Trump in 2017.
And they had records about Joe Biden, who is the current President of the United States.
(David: A man can lie… but not on such a massive scale.)
Biula walked toward her room.
The moment she opened the door, she saw Pachama standing inside—motionless, like a statue.
Startled, Biula shut her eyes for a second and opened them again.
The room had returned to normal.
Rebecca said,
"Hey guys… tomorrow we're heading deep into the forest. Sam said everyone should carry a knife."
Just as Sam had warned, the place was dangerous. Everyone moved forward cautiously, cutting through thick branches from different sides.
Sam said firmly,
"Guys, please don't rush. This forest is full of dangerous Black Mamba snakes. One bite, and we're dead within minutes. Please stay behind me."
Before he could finish, Amanda had already moved ahead.
She grabbed what she thought was a vine hanging from above.
It wasn't a vine.
It was a Black Mamba.
As Amanda pulled it, the snake—its head severed—fell to the ground.
Screaming in terror, Amanda ran and hid behind Vincent.
Before Vincent could even warn her that it was a Black Mamba, Amanda had already touched the snake.
Realizing there was no point explaining, Vincent pressed his knife against the snake's neck.
Amanda began to shiver with fear, developing a sudden fever.
Only Vincent knew the truth.
This was just the beginning.
But unknown to him… someone else knew it too.