A horrendous roar from around the corner just ahead of them forces a perilous choice for survival. While Imelda grabs hold of his arm to attempt reversing their course, Arvin is pulling against her tug to move toward a small pizza shop near them.

“We can’t go back Imelda, look.” His arm thrust out pointing to the three white creatures bounding toward them.

They reach the door, but it is locked. A sign in the window proclaims the owners can be found at the food festival in booth number twenty-three. Arvin pulls Imelda into a crouched embrace, huddling for impact from one of their approaching attackers.

Daring a glimpse at his certain death, Arvin looks to the street where the three Aswang are nearly by him and his wife, but the runners’ focus is up the street instead of on the couple. Another immense roar echoes from the intersection. Turning his gaze farther, Arvin sees a gigantic monster being attacked by some of the pale creatures that have just passed by. It is easily twelve feet tall, nearly as wide and is swinging a motorcycle around as a club.

The three new man-like creatures join in their comrades attack on this grotesque troll-like monster and enrage it even more. It swings the motorcycle around at them and succeeds in smashing one into the ground with the bike. The strength and motion of the swing causes the pale creature and the motorcycle to disintegrate into each other. The monster grabs another Aswang off its back, bites of its head and tosses the body away.

The remaining pale-bodied mutants jump clear and stand surrounding the hulking brute as it increases in size. Frozen in place with fear and curiosity, Imelda and Arvin look on as several more of the pale creatures emerge from the surrounding streets to surround the giant beast. When the attack begins, the couple realize too late that they should have used the moment of calm to escape.

In desperation, the growing behemoth picks up a small car, swings it at two of his attackers and then tosses it at another one leaping through the air. The vehicle misses its intended target but continues through the air until it bounces off a tree and crashes down onto the Bautistas, ending their flight to safety.

 

10:37AM

Frederick, Colorado

 

The curtain above the sink is fluttering in a light morning breeze. Even with the wind blowing across her face, small beads of perspiration form on Laura Martinez’ forehead while she washes the pans from breakfast. The air is hotter than usual, and she isn’t looking forward to another day full of housework in oppressive heat.

The summer temperatures don’t usually get too high and when they do, they don’t last long, so Laura and Jeff, her husband, decided against installing an air conditioner at the ranch.

“I’ll be damned if I’m going to go through another summer like this,” she whispers to herself.

This house was her childhood home and that also played a role in their decision not to make major changes to the house. The temperatures were never this oppressive when she was growing up, or at least she didn’t recall them as such, so it is primarily her influence that guided them in the decision. Only the last two summers have been difficult with the heat, but increasingly so.

They moved in four years ago after her father, Clay, had to give up farming. He was in an accident with a drunk that was driving a state road grading tractor on a main highway. Her father’s leg and arm injuries were serious enough to make continued farming too painful, and the settlement from the state was enough to allow her parents to quit altogether and travel. She doubted her father would have left the farm even with his injuries, but the emotional suffering and shame he felt after the crash was too much for him to stay around his daughter.

At the time the accident occurred, Laura and Jeff were already looking for a small farm they could buy and raise their three children. Their daughters, Julie and Samantha, were in the truck with Laura’s father when the drunk guided his tractor over the median, knocked their truck into a ditch on the other side and came crashing down to rest on top of her father’s vehicle and its occupants.

Julie was killed instantly, and Samantha suffered severe brain damage that will prevent her from ever leaving the hospital. Clay wasn’t to blame in any respect for the accident.