His First Assignment

Chaii stood facing the cave with a map in his hand. Seasonal winds lightly blew in the cave's direction. The boy shivered. Not from the cold, but from the uncomforting feeling from the cave as the winds pushed against the back of his winter coat. He folded his map and slowly slid it into his coat's pocket, then kneeled on the ground, in fear of the wind blowing him into the cave. Chaii pulled the strap of his book bag over his head, while tightly clutching the book bag itself. He opened the sturdy leather bag and scanned over the items inside of it, occasionally pulling things out. The bag held a flashlight, batteries, scissors, tape, rubber gloves, and an empty aluminum container, as well as a plastic container filled with various meats the boy had set aside from yesterday's lunch. With being a zombie and all, he didn't have to worry about eating as much as little to no food for a few days. He hoped that he had brought enough meat to use as bait, and capture a carnivorous plant.

Chaii had taken out his flashlight before reorganizing the rest of the items in the leather bag and then closed it tightly. He took off his soft cotton gloves to get a better grip on his flashlight, then let out an uneasy sigh as he hesitantly took light-footed steps towards the cave.

The entrance of the cave had little light, but just enough for Chaii to notice that most of the rugged ground was covered in moss. He had to make sure that he took careful steps around the cave, for he could easily slip and be eaten by the monstrous plants inside. The thought of this scared Chaii. He had moved his flashlight in every direction of the cave before he entered. 'Surely they wouldn't be hiding around here... right?' he thought, 'Why would they hide near the entrance?' Chaii assured himself, remembering that the plants he was looking for were only in the darkest areas of the cave, but this only made him feel more vulnerable as he cautiously made his way deeper.

All Chaii could hear was the slight squishing sound of every step he took on the mossy ground and the pitter patter of dripping water hitting large rocks. Despite the season, the cave was pretty warm and humid. Chaii's grip on his flashlight loosened from his sweaty hands as he flashed the tool in every direction. Thick vines spread across the smooth and worn walls of the cave, and giant stones with patches of moss and liverworts were scattered here and there. He saw water dripping from the roof of the cave into small puddles of water. Strangely, there were no damp or wet areas where the water dripped from... it seemed to be coming from nowhere.

Chaii stopped in his tracks when a loud splash was heard nearby. He turned his flashlight in the direction of the sound to find a pool of water about three meters in size all around, from what he could estimate. The water's current was harsh, but slowly calmed and became still in a few minutes. When he was certain that the water was completely still, Chaii flashed his light behind him, and then around the water. The boy found a large stone to hide behind, and it was only a few feet away from the pool of water. He quickly flashed his light around once more, just to be aware. His back slid against the giant stone that concealed him from the view of the suspicious pool of water, slightly damping the back of his winter coat from the moist moss on the rock, but it’s not like he cared much about it at the moment. He sat on his feet for a few seconds. He didn’t mind getting his winter coat messy, but he didn’t want to dirty his pants and feel uncomfortable walking back to the school campus… if he were to make it back.

The moisture-laden air of the cave started to get to him, his skin felt sticky and sweaty, so he had decided to take off his large coat before rummaging through his leather book bag. He pulled out the plastic meat containing tub that he kept at the bottom of his bag, and held the container to his chest. Chaii took a peek around the large stone, however, the water stayed the same, motionless. Chaii’s small, and shaky breaths could be heard along with the dripping sounds of the cave. The quietness of the cave brought on an edgy atmosphere, but was later broken by the small pop of a plastic container’s lid being removed.

The meat from Chaii’s plastic tub had a strong odor. He regretted leaving the meat outside of his mini fridge back at his dorm. ‘Can plants smell?’ he thought. He didn’t have much knowledge of plants. Chaii placed the lid of the container down beside his winter coat that had been carelessly placed against the large, damp stone behind him, and took yet another peek at the pool of water from behind the large rock. There was still no sign of movement from the water. Chaii set the container down beside him and reached inside of the leather bag that kept its place on his hip, pulling out his rubber gloves. He swiftly slipped the gloves onto his hands, reached inside of his meat tub, grabbed a small lump of meat and formed it into a ball. Chaii exhaled and tossed the meatball in the direction of the water. His body tensed at the small thud the meatball as it hit the ground inches away from the pool.

Chaii sat there behind the rock, eyes glued to the water and lump of meat near it. Nothing happened for the first five minutes. Chaii didn’t dare to step away from his hiding place behind the rock in fear of being eaten if caught off guard.

“What’s taking so long?” he whispered to himself. He took his eyes off the large puddle of water and gazed in the direction of the cave from which he came. He couldn’t see the light of day, but he knew it wasn’t dark out, for he had arrived at the cave very early in the morning.

“Well, I’m not going to wait anymore,” he sighed out. Clearly, whatever plant that was there, wasn’t going to come out anytime soon. Frustrated, Chaii removed his rubber gloves and took hold of his flashlight, childishly flashing it up and down in the direction of the water pool. At this moment, he felt more annoyed than frightened. His patience was gone. He grabbed the tub of meat from his side in his free hand and stood up. The cave was still very silent, besides the constant “plip plop” sounds that dripping water made. He sighed in irritation before carefully striding over to the nearby water puddle. He was tired of the sloshing of moss beneath his feet.

Chaii stopped at the edge of the water. Looking down into it, he noticed he couldn’t see anything under the water’s surface. The water wasn’t murky, or dirty looking, it just looked extremely dark, like a pool of coca cola soda. As he flashed his light around on the surface of the water, Chaii also noticed that his light had no glistening effect on it. It was strange.

After peering into the water for some time, what brought itself to Chaii’s attention was a small spec of pale pink that gradually faded into a slightly larger, and brighter sparkle. The boy made out a small gasp in surprise as more twinkles of pale pink light slowly revealed themselves upon the water’s surface. Chaii watched the sparkles wide-eyed and struck with awe as they slowly moved into a small pattern. Fading in and out, the small flashes formed into a silhouette of a flower.

Chaii was once again sitting on his feet with the hand that held his flashlight on his knee. The capering glisters only performed within the area of the light his flashlight was shining on. ‘Is this magic?’ the boy contemplated as the twinkles separated and mimicked exploding fireworks. Nonetheless, the water the sparkles danced on was stock-still. There were no swishing sounds of water or any bell-like sounds that twinkles stereotypically made in movies. They just showcased themselves, in rhythm of the plip plop sounds of the cave.

After a good two minutes or so, all of the sparkles slowly faded away, back into the dark and still water before Chaii. The boy pouted slightly when the show ended. As curious as he was, he wanted to reach out and touch the water, but he couldn’t. Something told him not to. Instead of putting himself in jeopardy, he picked up a small rock beside him and threw it into the water. Besides the splash and small natural disturbance of the water the rock made on impact, nothing unusual happened, and the lights didn’t come back either. Chaii sighed and rested his head on his left shoulder, blankly staring at the dark pool of water in front of him. He stayed that way for a few seconds, then moved his head and flashlight in the direction of the meatball on the ground he threw a few minutes ago. ‘What if, huh?’ he thought. Without bothering to put his rubber gloves back on, Chaii picked up the lump of meat and tossed it at the water.

Chaii’s expression changed from interested to shocked within a second. The boy jumped back in surprise at what was just too fast for him to take in. Before the meatball could even hit the water’s surface, he saw something lunge out of the water and grab it. Chaii had slightly hyperventilated at the sudden movement. Now he remembers what he came into the cave for, but he wasn’t sure if what jumped out of the water was a plant.

Chaii dug into the leather book bag strapped around him and took out his scissors and aluminum container. Although he didn’t know if the thing was an actual plant, he would rather be safe than sorry. The zombie boy then reached into his meat tub with his bare hands and made a large meatball with the giant lump he took out of the container. He turned his attention to the dark pool of water again. It slightly swayed from the previous event. He took in a few deep breaths before he started reaching out above the water, meatball in hand. He had replaced the flashlight he held for his scissors. Chaii kept the blades of the scissors separated in his tight hold. He also tightened his grip on the meatball he held, his arm faintly shaking as it slowly straightened out in front of him.

Just like a flash of lightning, whatever rested within the dark water shot up towards Chaii’s outstretched arm. Chaii grunted at the feeling of thin rope like vines viciously seizing his arm. They attempted to pull him in the direction in which they came from, but luckily Chaii pulled back with all the force he could. His eyes watered at the feeling of many needle-like objects piercing and sinking into his skin. The boy yelped as he struggled to keep his arm above the water. He thrust his other arm in the direction of his captured one, and desperately tried to sever away the fierce monster. More savage vines lunged forth, taking hold of his other arm. The sharp objects that now pricked his other arm caused Chaii to flinch and drop his scissors in the water. He panicked as the creature started pulling back with even more force than before. Tears continuously streamed down his face as he felt his skin being ripped, leaving deep tears in him. The thing gave a quick and unexpected pull. Chaii lost his footing in the moment and slipped on the moss on the ground beneath him. His face almost splashed into the water. He was only a few more energy absorbing pulls away from giving up. The feeling of the splitting and burning tears of his flesh was too much.

KKKRIH

The boy had been thrown back by the force of his pulling from a sudden release. He shot up with the rest of his strength to see himself a few feet away from the dangerous pool. The water was bubbling and swishing. Chaii sat in his place with his head down, trying to catch his breath. Exhausted, he brought his arms in front of him. The things were still attached to him. As to be expected, the thing was a plant, but it wasn’t moving. Chaii observed it, still implanted in his skin. The vines were of a dark maroon color, rough, and had some sort of mouth on the end that was attached to Chaii’s abused arms. The other end of the plant was frayed, Chaii assumed that it had torn. The zombie boy painfully pulled the species out of his arm to find, not needles or teeth that had dug into him, but flimsy frayed ends on the mouths about an inch long. Chaii stared at the mouth in disbelief. These frail shredded things spiked his skin? Chaii shook his head and continued to pry the rest of the plant off of him. His arms were a mess. Gashes revealed themselves as he removed the vines from himself. His arms weren’t as bloody as he imagined them to be, then again, he doesn’t regenerate blood.

Chaii set the dead plant by his side, still panting, and reached for the leather bag that had been previously thrown with him. He peered into the bag to find most of his supplies gone, probably lost in the water. All he had left was his extra pair of batteries that had been safely tucked into a zipper compartment. He wearily stuffed the lifeless plant into his book bag. He was surprised. Chaii didn’t expect to get so much of it… it could fill a grocery bag.

“Forget it,” he breathed out. The power of his flashlight was drained out. He wasn’t going to waste his time to put in the extra batteries. He crawled to the nearby stone that he hid behind before things had gone crazy. Chaii grabbed his damp winter coat and lazily stood up. Stumbling in the dark, he eventually found his way out of the cave; it was a one-way path… thankfully. He was back outside. He took deep breaths of the winter air around him. It was time to head back to the dorm. He was only in the cave for about an hour, he wouldn’t be surprised if he ran into almost everyone in the academy on his way back in his abused state. Chaii just couldn’t wait to get back and lie on his bed… and probably get a blood transfusion.