Purple Heart

Chapter 3
Carry On

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Chapter Description: Dr. Cueves and his assistant find the den, only to be greeted with a horror for one, and heaven for the other.

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Several days later, Dr. Cueves and Jane Doe stood on the edge of the cursed Rejuventud Forest. He turned to her.

“You ready?”

She laughed. “What a question to ask.”

The two entered the shade of trees. The doctor wore shorts and a T-shirt with a backpack. A wide-brimmed hat covered his head, and a pistol was holstered on his waist. His assistant wore a similar ensemble, except she carried a lengthy machete instead of the gun.

“How far in do you think we have to go in?” she asked, hoisting her bag a little higher.

Dr. Cueves retrieved a map from his pocket. Most of it was black, being mostly uncharted, but he pointed to an area that was circled in black Sharpie. “Every attack was recorded in this one-square-mile vicinity. Chances are, the creature’s den will be nearby.”

After a couple of miles of trekking, they entered what Dr. Cueves called “the Hot Spot”. Doe was the one who spotted the scene.

She gagged as they approached the mess of blood and guts that covered the path. The doctor grunted: “Must’ve been the place where Dyers and his squad were ambushed. They had the most bloodshed. Maybe there’ll be some track undisturbed by the recover team.”

He whipped his backpack off and shuffled through it. He retrieved a black light, and with it searched for a trail. A trail of bloody footprints came into view.

“Right here!” the doctor called. His assistant came running and marveled at the long line.

“Amazing!” she said, “It looks very similar to a female foot! Look at the contours of the heel!”

Dr. Cueves started jogging, following the path with his black light. Doe followed.

“I hope the trail’s long enough,” he muttered under his breath so that Doe couldn’t hear him. Blood tended to dry out quickly, and it was being spread fast. The creature seemed to be taking large steps though, so maybe they would reach the den before…

“There!”

He stopped and pointed out the large cave in the distance. The footprints led right to it. If this thing existed, it would be in there.

The doctor and his assistant stood at the entrance, taking in the darkness before them. Dr. Cueves retrieved a flashlight from his waist and shone it in front of him. Doe did the same. They looked at each other, and nodded.

The darkness engulfed them as they made their way into the maw of the Kayamma’s den.

“This place gives off a very comfortable feeling,” Doe noted. The doctor didn’t respond as he flashed the light up and down the walls, revealing fleshy globs and cold rock.

“What could this be?” Dr. Cueves asked himself. They kept walking, finally coming onto a strange, lighted area. The pair turned off their flashlights.

The cavern was huge. The doctor thought that it to be larger than the Sistine Chapel. Hundreds of lighted orbs covered the ceiling and hung on the walls, bathing the area with a soft light. Lined up against the walls, were what appeared to be organic cribs. The doctor walked up to one of them, and saw a Mexican baby boy.

“I think we found it,” Dr. Cueves said. He looked at the other cribs, and saw that they contained babies of other nationalities as well.

“I thought you said they only take those that are familiar?” his assistant asked, rushing to his side.

The doctor didn’t understand either. “Maybe the Kayamma cares for the previous victims as well. It seems that they don’t grow, through reasons currently unknown.”

Doe walked along the cribs, seeing Asian, Indian, even Russian babies gurgling and playing with their feet. “They’re all boys. Figures, since every female is switched. Do you think they’re immortal?”

Dr. Cueves heard something. It was faint, but it was there. Regardless, he answered, “Biologically, perhaps. They all still look very fragile, as all infants are.”

The faint sound turned into resounding thuds. This time, Doe heard it.

“Something’s coming! Where can we hide?”

He looked around, and laughed. “Nowhere.”

The Kayamma came into view.

She stared at the pair, her eyes shining a magnificent yellow. In a moment, her curiosity went into a fierce lust. She had to have them.

“Shoot it, damn it!” Jane Doe gasped, wheeling backwards. The doctor obliged and drew his pistol He fired, retreating as well. The Kayamma screeched in pain as it was hit. Dr. Cueves knew it would do no good though, this was a creature of Anubis, and it would not die.

The gun clicked, having run out of ammo. He looked down for only a second, but that was the second the Kayamma pounced.

She grabbed him, shaking the gun out of his hand. He launched his foot into her torso. The Kayamma screeched again and threw her head back. The nipple tendril shot out and slithered down the doctor’s throat. He gagged as the black nectar filled his body. He felt his body contract as a wave of weakness washed over him. His boots fell off as limbs shortened, just as Dyers’ had.

The Kayamma retracted her tentacle as another screech emanated from her lips. Dr. Cueves fell to the floor, still shrinking. The Kayamma turned, and he saw a machete had been thrust into her back. He stood up, causing his shorts to fall off. The nectar continued to work its magic on him.

Meanwhile, the Kayamma faced her attacker, Jane Doe. She had grabbed the doctor’s fallen gun and was now using it to fend off the Kayamma. The Kayamma observed her assailant, and knew that she was the one.

When she approached, Jane Doe fired at her. She did not feel pain, the lust was too strong. Jane Doe gasped as she grabbed her sides. Instead of protruding the tendril that had been used on Dr. Cueves, the Kayamma froze, as did everything else. The wind stopped blowing, the babies stopped crying, and Dr. Cueves stopped shrinking. It was as if someone pressed pause.

Jane Doe widened her eyes as a glowing figure rose like a gust of wind out of the creature. Her hair flowed down her shoulders, complementing her dark complexion and soft features. She held out a hand to Jane Doe.

“Es su turno.”

The figure rose into the ceiling, and Jane Doe began to glow. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back as her form was drawn into the very creature she was being held by. Her form assumed the role of the creature.

Jane Doe, American Indian-bred woman, is the new Kayamma.

Time resumed. Dr. Cueves, or now, simply Cueves, looked around. He walked forward, tripping over his shoes and losing his hat. Everything continued to get bigger as he stumbled towards the still Kayamma. He kept moving until he grew too young to walk. He sat in his blanket of a shirt, looking up at her. What she did with Jane Doe, he did not know.

The Kayamma looked down at Cueves. She purred as she lifted him out of his shirt, leaving him nude and vulnerable. He lifted his feet in reflex as the Kayamma placed him in one of the organic cribs. Cueves felt warm and safe as she sped away. He had a feeling on who that was, and he felt sorry for her. While he got to lay here and be pampered, she was forced to care for him and the several others here in this cave.

A nipple tendril shot through the crib’s wall and wiggled into its ward’s mouth. Cueves sucked on instinct and was welcomed with sweet-tasting nectar. He theorized that this substance is what kept the infants well-fed and biologically immortal. After several minutes of feeding, Cueves was full and the tentacle retracted. He yawned.

He had come here to prove his theory, and to possibly stop it, but that plan failed. Sure, he knew this thing was here, but no one else did. Still, a life of comfort and pleasure sounded nice. His only regret; that he drug Jane Doe into this. Because of him, she would have to live in that horrifying body and carry on the work of those before her.

Of course, if he thought about it more, none of this would’ve happened if that selfish woman had never sacrificed her kids. So, he might as well enjoy the spoils of betrayal.

 

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