Accidentally in Love With a God (2012) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff Page B

something…extra.”
    “Extra? Like what?”
    “ That, my dear woman, is all I can tell you without going into a science lecture on quantum physics and genetics.”
    “What? You can’t say something like that and leave me hanging.”
    “ You would never believe me, no human would.”
    “Except—you're telling me I'm not a regular human?”
    “ Even so.”
    How could he treat this so casually? My head was spinning, trying to put the pieces all together. “Does this have something to do with why you’re trapped there?”
    “ No. I am here because I was tracking a group of men—evil men. They found out and set a trap.”
    “And you're sealed inside of some Mayan ruin in the middle of the jungle. Yes, I heard that part before. But how? How can a man be trapped without food or water for so many years? Are you dead? Am I going to find some scary ghost hovering over an old pile of bones?”
    “ No.”
    “Then how?”
    “ Because.” He hesitated, then growled. “ You won't believe me, Emma.”
    “Guy, you either trust me or you don’t. And the fact I’m here—”
    “ Because I am not a man. Never have been. Never will be.”
    GULP.
    “What do you mean ‘not a man?’ Like, as in, you're a woman? Or”— the words stuck in my throat—“another species all together?” I always knew he was something…different, but my rational mind steered clear of anything too outlandish. Hearing him say the words suddenly made everything real, made the frightfulness of the situation undeniable.
    “ Emma, please. No more. You have to trust me.”
    “Why? You're some…thing who was apparently trapped by some men—”
    “ Dark priests, actually. Descendants from the Mayans ,” he interrupted nonchalantly. “ But they’re more powerful and vicious than one might think.”
    “Oh, great. Even better!” I threw up my hands. “And you were hunting them? But, of course, you won’t tell me why. And I'm the only person who can hear or talk to you on the entire planet, so I have to rescue you. Oh, and you're not human. But I'm supposed to trust you. Did I get that right, Guy?”
    “ Yes, you did. And see? I knew you would never believe me.”
    “You're right. I don’t believe any of this.”
    My grandmother sometimes told stories of the existence of another world, but I thought she was just having fun. And, I knew she was a New-Age kind of person who believed in energies and spirits. I could swallow those concepts, sort of. But this? Not a man? What did that mean? Was he an alien? Demon? Monster?
    I stood and began pacing under the tree, kicking small pebbles off the side of the road. I still had to go to him; there was no other way out. Doing nothing meant suffering to the point of insanity. Attempting to free him gave me a chance at a normal life and to find out what happened to my grandmother. Sadly, all roads led to extremely bad places, like this jungle.
    “ Emma, what more can I do to convince you?”
    “Nothing.”
    “ Fine. You win. Leave me to rot for eternity.”
    “Not a chance because I’m not rotting with you.” I opened my mouth to say something else, but then a tiny green dot appeared on the horizon. It was an actual taxi.
    “Ha! See! I am good luck. Admit it.” I clapped.
    The chewed-up lime green taxi slowed and pulled to the side. “Buenas tardes, señor, voy a las cabañas Maya Sol,” I said in my best español to the hot and tired looking driver.
    “ What was that? Klingon? You really need to work on that accent of yours, Emma. It’s embarrassing,” Guy said.
    Arrogant turd. “I guess I’ll never be a master of the universe like you, Guy.” I realized that was a stupid comeback. Maybe he was master of the universe. Anything could be possible at this point, and he did know a lot about history, science, and math. Let’s not forget he spoke almost every language on the planet, according to him.
    “Perdón señorita?” asked the driver.
    “Oh. Um—” I paused trying to think of the