Truly Immortal (On Hold)

Unknown Parasite

Chapter 1- Unknown Parasite

Stepping into the mouth of the cave, I immediately felt an ice cold chill prickling down my back like a thousand needles entering my flesh. It just didn't feel right, but what was I to do? I have no where else to sleep. This would have to make due for the next few hours. There could be King Cobras slithering in the inky darkness that lay in my path and I would not know it.

I have no torch but I could put together a makeshift torch with some cloth from the fabric mother stitched together and some flammable oil I brought from home. I grabbed a decent branch, making sure it had thick bark that would hold both flame and the cloth without burning away. Wrapping the cloth I brought with me around the tip, I dampened it with oil. I then grabbed some flint rocks and went about striking them over the torch until it sparked and caught fire. The entire process took just under twenty minutes.

As I carefully delved deeper into the cave, the orange light from the flame illuminated the damp and moldy cave walls, scaring away the tarantulas that were laid on the rock, waiting for their prey. Advancing further into the cave, I noticed the smell began to change. The damp and musty smell grew stronger the deeper I ventured into the bowels of the unknown cave. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and tore another strip of fabric, the ripping of the material echoed through the cave, and it seemed to echo on and on... and on. The cave was greater in size than I had previously thought. As I wondered what could be in any one of the many chambers, I pressed the cloth to my nose and took cautious steps.

As I was walking I passed dark gray rock that, had I not made a torch, I wouldn't have been able to see the strange markings engraved on it. The markings were all different and was on both sides of the cave walls. I leaned closer to get a better look. The markings depicted some type of warning — that much I knew, but I wasn't that knowledgable in university of languages like others in the villages so I couldn't make out what this warning was of. Stepping closer to these said markings, I ran my fingers across them and couldn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine causing hair to prickle on end all over my body.

The cold that emanated from these markings were baffling. I have never experienced anything like it, nor have I heard about such a thing. Creasing my brows in confusion, I moved to touch the smooth part of the wall above the engravings and it was damp... but not cold. Something was amiss and it feels ominous.

Side stepping down the line of marks to the end, I saw a man laying face down on the ground. Needless to say, my instincts were telling me to walk away and never look back.

Still, I would not be able to safely find another place to lay my head. I need to make sure I'm not in any immediate danger and that entails me venturing even further into the pitch black ahead. Dripping water echoed all around me, the squeak of the bats that hung from the stalactites above my head only made my skin crawl that much more. Spiders as big as my hand crawled along the walls searching for warmth as rats ran past my feet searching for their next meal. After walking for what seemed like forever, I finally reached the bowels of the cave and it didn't go unnoticed that it was eerily silent... too silent.

No bats lurked inside this part of the cave, no rats were scurrying about in search of food, no dripping of water could be heard inside. There was absolutely no sound. I held my torch higher above my head and cautiously stepped into the middle of the room. My skin crawled and itched with a foreboding I could not decipher. My heart rate began to pick up from the cold fear that rattled my bones, an icy fear that I could not shake.

These feelings were instinctual, warning me of danger, and it would be wise to listen to my instincts, but nay, I stayed glued to the middle of the cave like a man with a death wish. When I finally moved, I took a step forward and held my torch high to the ceiling. I was looking at the stalactites but something else on the beautiful rock caught my eye. It was moving at a fast pace, squirming around like maggots on dead flesh.

These unknown parasites were not white as maggots are, and they were not brown as mosquito larva, but they were a bright green. How did I not noticed this when I stepped into the chamber? They glowed so brilliantly, I knew if I didn't have a torch I would be able to see everything. I laid my torch down and stood at my full height of six' four, to get a better look at the beautiful specimen. Upon further examination, the green that shined so brilliantly inside of them was almost pulsating like. It was unnatural for a parasite to look like this and to move at such speed my eyes could not see.

The room started to grow dim but I hardly noticed. I was too fascinated by the parasites above me to even notice that my torch was dying out quickly. They were so beautiful it felt like I could stare at them all day and be at peace, I wouldn't have to worry about getting food, or about the safety of the village. All I wanted to do was watch these parasites as they moved with such grace that my entirety was entranced.

At the time, I didn't know they were the cause of the torches flame to die out and I didn't know they had me entranced by the pulsating coming from within them... because if I had known, I would've fought with every fiber of my being to get out of that cave.

The last bit of warmth from the torch faded at my side, then the mass of parasites began to shoot straight down from the ceiling and straight into my mouth at a speed so quickly even I couldn't have got out of the way quick enough if I tried to. I grabbed my throat and dropped to my knees, the squirming inside of my body grew ten fold with each move I made. Underneath my skin was literally crawling with the parasites, thousands of them glowed bright green from underneath, that's when I started to feel an unbearable agony that I couldn't stop myself as I fell the rest of the way to the ground, rolling in gut wrenching pain... but it didn't stop.

No longer did they glow green, but instead they illuminated crimson red. I felt each and every bite from the thousands of parasites in my body. My body felt like it was being drained of its supplements. My heart rate angrily thrashed against my chest cavity, my ear drums rushed with blood, and I could smell the blood as it pumped in my heart. My body lit a bright red as I lay there unable to save myself. I was a man with a death wish.

I laid face down on the ground as the biting decreased and the pain started to subside, but just as quickly as the symptoms left dizziness took over. All I could do was lay there and pray to the God or Gods above that I wouldn't die like this and so I did. I prayed with everything in me. I prayed for my family's safety, I prayed for my villages safety and I prayed for my mortal life. The wooziness consumed my body, weakness ensued, and spots began to play in my vision and soon enough, darkness took me completely.

AN: I hope you're enjoying it so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. I'll post another soon. Xoxo The-Dark-One