David's mind schemed and plotted. He hung suspended off the ground by a pair of blueish pillars. His intestines hung from his ruined stomach, large blotches of purple and black fluid rose from under his skin. Deep crevasses formed winding trails along his body where muscle and tissue had been eaten away. the sickly smell of rotting and burning flesh hung in the air. David's skin was cracked and torn in many places. The openings sealed shut with a strange black puss like substance. An eel like creature move beneath his skin as it grew and fed on David.
The adult lizard had been watching, making sure David didn't do anything, worried he might have another trick or way to hurt her. But as she watched the fight leave David's eyes and a gray hollow settle over his now dead eyes she gained a sense of confidence that she had won. He baby would finish using him as a gestation vat then consume him entirely.
She began to turn going to grab her injured and useless son. now that the son was injured the chances of him surviving were slim. she could still make him useful. he could be used as a food source for her new baby once it had emerged from its living cocoon.
David watched as the adult Gekkonidae Discerpere turned and began to leave. This was David's opportunity. If he could summon the servo skull to help free him and remove the parasitic larva from his body. Careful to make sure that the adult had left and was not waiting in hiding, David quickly closed his eyes and began to focus himself on summoning the servo skull. He could feel the pressure and strength leave his body. If felt as if something was absorbing his life. Just past the tip of his left hand a servo skull formed out of a small gray cloud. lightning seemed to crackle withing the cloud as it parted and a medical servo skull emerged.
A human skull with cybernetic red eyes appeared from the cloud. Five metal multi jointed limbs dangled from the hollow underside of the skull. Syringes, blades, cutting and stitching tools, a laser for cauterizing and a claw of some kind hung limply from the arms.
The chimes of a notification sounded in David's mind but by this point he was he had fully committed to the servo skull. He no longer cared about notifications, what purpose would they serve besides continuing to tell him he was about to die.
The servo skull quickly set to work moving behind the pillar to hide itself incase the adult returned. medical tools hung from metal tendrils attached under the skull as it slowly hovered in place.
'Ok nothing bad has happened so far. First I need to break free from these bindings then I should be able to get the servo skull to help remove the parasite from my body. How will killing the parasite affect me? Is it not the only thing keeping me alive right now? I will have to find some way to heal myself before I remove the larva.'
The servo skull raised what looked like a small cutting device and began to cut away at the blueish pillar that held David in place. The blade moved through the pillar with far less resistance than David expected. The pillar seemed more like a hardened plastic then the cocoon like substance David originally thought it was. The servo skull set about carefully cutting away the hardened pillar around David's hand and forearm.
Over the next 5 minutes David continually looked between the working servo skull and the area where the adult had left to. Worry built in his mind as every second long he spent trapped was closer to being consumed or being discovered.
Finally after about 8 minutes, David felt the pillar give way to his arm. Realizing that if his arm completely left the pillar he would hand dangling by his other arm. This would cause extreme strain on his already damaged arm and body. He quickly tried to wrap his fingers around the cut groves in the pillar. He stayed there trying his best to hold on as his body weight dragged him down.
The servo skull move to his other arm and began to work on cut him free. 'hurry up, this is destroying me. Ignore the pain, just ignore the pain David. Breath, you can hold on. Just a little longer. Come on already, hurry up you slow thing.' David went through a whole ark of emotions as time seemed to pass slowly. The fingers he had been able to wrap around the groves began to hurt and bleed. The still sharp edges of the pillar cut into his flesh.
All this new activity from David caused the parasitic larva to stir. Pain blossomed in David's back as the now much larger larva began to uncoil itself. His skin once more began to split and crack under the strain of the parasite moving beneath skin. before blood could pour from David's back it was quickly sealed by the black puss that oozed from the larva.
The new pain cause David to spasm and lose his grip. His body weight pulled him downwards staining his still trapped arm. It happened in slow motion to David, as he realized what was about to happen. His partially freed arm wrenched against its bindings as it was pulled through the partial gap with force. The tip of his finger caught the blade of the servo skull and was severed.
David plummeted the few feet to the ground, landing in a heap. His body shuttered, wracked with pain and stain. Blood flowed from David's severed finger and the large gashes on his hands and forearm. Struggling to stand David knew he needed to move, he had to escape before the adult came back.
'Shit where did my weapon go, I need to get it now. Shit this hurts, I can barely walk. I need to get this thing out of me soon or else I'm screwed.'
Slowly and wracked in pain, David began to move from the pillars that had once held him. As he moved the servo skull began to work on his injuries. The servo skull struggled with David's constant movements but It was able to stop a majority of the bleeding from David's hands and forearm. David moved further and further from the horrific fate he was bound to have met.
There was no point trying to find his lost pistol, it had long since been forgotten. How would he even retrieve it? David needed to find a way to escape and get back to his camp. His first obstacle would be the adult and wounded lizards. His second obstacle would be getting down from their lair without falling or injuring himself. The next challenge would be treating his wounds. 'How do I get out of here? The only exit must be guarded by one of the two survivors. My weapons are gone and I can barely move at an sort of decent pace. My organs are hanging out of me right now and the only reason I'm even alive is because this sadistic larva is keeping me alive.'
David slowed and came to a halt behind a small pile of corpses. He lowered himself to try to hide and rest his exhausted body. The medical servo skull hovered quietly, move over his body as it scanned him. It used what tools it had to remove corrupted flesh and seal the wounds. 'with luck the servo skull might be enough to remove the larva and keep me from dying. But I definitely don't have the proper medical supplies or environment to preform that kind of thing yet. Maybe I can find a way to keep the larva in a specific area or cause it to go into a dormant state.'
Having spent a minute resting, David grabbed the edge of the pile of corpses to help him rise once more. Being careful to watch his step, David quietly made his way around the edge of the cavern. As he began to round the first of the smaller nest he heard a screech and the sounds of a fight. David's heart began to pound in his chest. 'What is going on? Please tell me something if fighting the adult. This could be my salvation. Wait if there is something powerful and brave enough to break in here and fight the adult. Then what would stop it from coming after me as well?' David slowly moved to the edge of the nest and looked out from behind it.
The adult wasn't fighting a predator but its own wounded child. From David's point of view it wasn't even a fight. The wounded Gekkonidae Discerpere was getting tossed around by the adult as it fought to drag it towards where David had once been imprisoned.
'This is my opportunity, they are fighting each other I can use this as a distraction to escape.'
David quickly positioned his body to make a run to the next closest nest. He waited till the adult was once more distracted with the struggling wounded. His mind moved to get him to run, but his body had long reached its limits. Unable to keep up with his mind, David's body fell in a heap a quarter of the way to the next nest. The two Gekkonidae Discerpere were far too distracted to even register David's existence at that moment. But David knew that it wouldn't stay that way for long. Using the servo skull like a crutch, David hobbled his way to the next nest.
The larva was still eating away at David and causing his body to deteriorate further and further. David could no longer feel his left leg or right foot. His still functioning arm spasmed randomly. HIs exposed intestines had turned a purple, black and green color and a sticky purple fluid slowly dripped from it.
Reaching the next nest, David collapsed behind it. He could no longer wait he needed to either kill or incapacitate the larva before it killed him. 'This is going to hurt really bad. take a few quick breaths. you have made it through this much already.' David quickly took multiple deep breaths before grabbing his limp dislocated arm and biting down on the shredded remains of the cast he had made.
The servo skull quickly began to burn and cut away the corrupted flesh around the parasite. The smell of burning rotting flesh filled the air as the lazer cut through the corrupted skin and cauterized the puss beneath. With no longer a need to worry about extreme bleeding the servo skull set to work removing the parasites hook like claws from the muscle and sinew. A large peice of skin was still in place above the parasite. Using its claw and lazer the servo skull set to work removing the flap of skin like a band-aid. David eyes watered and body convulsed in pain. His teeth sunk into the remains of his cast and the skin beneath as he fought to keep from screaming.
The exposed larva turned its dripping maw towards the servo skull and lunged to attack it. Using its claw like limb the servo skull grabbed the larva and held it in place as it began to scan it. The added weight of the larva made the servo skull lurch downwards before it slowly raised correcting itself.
The larva oozed a black puss like substance from multiple holes over its body and sickly spider-like webs of purplish liquid hung from its pulsating form. The puss dripped from the body and solidified once it hit the ground. The parasite continuously thrashed around in the servo skulls grasp as it tried to attack its captor.
The now exposed opening in David's body revealed the larva had turned David's shoulder blade and back into a sort of cocoon. The black puss like substance acted as both a sealant and a cauterizing agent. The purplish liquid was some sort of toxic substance designed to slow and numb the body followed by mutating it into the perfect environment for the larva to gestate and evolve.
With the parasite removed from his body, David no longer had to worry about being eaten alive but no he faced something far worse. He was stuck in a cavern being hunted by monsters, with his intestins hanging out, a large hole in his back, and toxic substances flowing though his body. He was the perfect target for disease and infection.
The servo skull used its scaple like attachment to perice the larva, killing it. A chime sounded in David's head informing him he received a notification. He had no time nor the mental capacity to focus on the notification. David was struggling to stay conscious.
His body was a mess, most of his organs were either brused or infected. Large channels had been bore through his muscle and tendons. He began to close his eyes and drift into unconsciousness. He was jolted back into reality by an extreme pain that made him want to vomit.
David's eyes lazily drifted down towards the source of the pain. The servo skull was cutting open the large pusstules on his exposed intestine. As the scaple cut into the purpleish membrane, black and green puss squirted out as if under extreme pressure. Puss covered the metalic limb and turned it into a sticky slimy mess. Purple liquid began to flow from the wound as the claw like limb worked to push the remnants from the inside of the pustule. Once The servo skull finished clearing out the pustule, it began to clean the hollowed-out area with disinfectant before sewing the hole closed.
The pain was the only thing keeping David awake. His mind began to numb to the pain, but the visuals continued to nauseate him. A puddle of puss and liquid began to form in between David's legs were his exposed intestine lay. As each pustule was cut open and cleared, the servo skull would set to work cauterizing and sterilizing the wound. The burn brought tears to Davids eyes. He tried to blink the tears away, but it only caused his vision to blur further. The servo skull finished with the right side of the intestine and worked to put the now cleaned part back inside David's body.
David was startled back into the reality he faced when a rumble shook the cavern. The adult must have dragged the wounded lizard to where he had been imprisoned.
The adult was angry, she had put more effort than she had wanted to into ensuring her new young would be able to survive. She had lost most of her family and the only other survivor had desperately fought to keep from being sacrificed. She was livid with the wounded member of her family. He had not only been too weak to fight off the intruder but also had the gaul to even flee from her once it realized he would be used as food for the new young. Now after finally dragging his worthless body here she only found a broken hold and no incubation vessel.
The adult's fury shook the cavern as she set out to hunt down the enraging gestation creature. David knew he needed to run but his limbs refused to obey him.
'I need to get out of here now. I am so screwed, if only I had never entered this cavern i wouldn't be in this situation. Yeah my life would still suck but at least i wouldn't be in this much pain. My body would still be working and i would still have some sort of future.'
David closed his eyes. He was done fighting; he was done struggling to survive. He was through with the pain and suffering. He just wanted the nightmare to end. He had given up.
The adult scrambled along, following the trail of blood and puss. In the distance she spotted David. He lay slumped against one of the smaller nests. Around him his blood, viscera and a large amount of cocoon and mutating fluid. A floating object moved around his form, working diligently to try and keep him alive.
The adult approached David slowly, cautious. She was worried, although she had removed the loud limb, he had used to kill her family she was still worried he might have more tricks up his sleeve. But what concerned her more was the new creature she had never seen before. She had killed and hunted a few like David before but he had been the first to ever attack.
She began to circle around David, wary about the new being beside him. Her young lay dead beside his body causing her rage to boil. She wanted to rush in and ripped both of the creatures to shreds but she held herself back. She knew what had happened to her family and refused to be weak and die like them.
She let out a call of challenge waiting for them to attack or flee. But they both just ignored her. This caused confusion, she had been alive for a dozen years and had never had any creature just ignore her call of challenge. They would always react either in fear or defiance but never just indifference
Her stalked closer to the pair and let out her challenge once more. Just with the first time the man continued to lay, his chest faintly rising with slow shallow breaths. The second creature continued to frantically move around the first try to help it. She couldn't understand what was going on. All her life there had only ever been survival. If one of her kind were injured they would just use them as food. When she hunted creatures like the man before they would scream and run. Shout about how they wanted to go home or about how they were supposed to be the main character or hero. They would fight, cry, plea, run, scream in despair. This was the first one who ever refused to even acknowledge her.
She was unsure how to handle this; she wanted to study the strange occurrence but also wanted vengeance. She had disabled the last of her pack to give her young food but now this annoying creature had killed it.
She approached, no longer waiting and watching. They had refused to acknowledge her challenge so they would die as prey instead. She set herself in front of the two and raised her tail preparing to pierce both. She would give them quick deaths to honor their courage.