The Space Spoon novel Chapter 33

“I can’t help you hunt, but I can show you where the birds gather at night and some other spots you can trail some other animals,” Rylus said after their prayer ended. “But before that, I have another thing to show you, travelers.”

Shayla's eyes widened as she stared at Tejeda. He shrugged and followed the Spreah. With a sigh, she tagged along. From the dining cave, Rylus led them into another smaller one. It looked like a regular cavern until Tejeda observed its ceiling. A thick net held green foliage above their heads. Following the braided threads to the sidewalls, he spotted hooks pinning the contraption in place.

Rylus halted close to a dangling braided rope. "A visitor arrived in our community a few years ago. We greeted him like we always do, and in exchange, he revealed a wonderful secret to us. He knew Tejeda Hajar and gave us the means to determine whether or not a traveler is the supreme being."

His hand grasped the rope and yanked it. The hooks in the walls retracted, and the net, together with the greenery, fell loose. Purple sand slid through the leaves, small granules reflecting the sun as they made their way to the ground. The purple dust covered everything and everyone in a matter of seconds.

Tejeda frowned, his jaws clenched. “Nice little trap.”

"Why? What is it?" Shayla asked. His purple eyes stopped her from inquiring any further.

Under the sand, Tejeda's flesh melted. An agonizing scream echoed off the rocky walls. The mutation proceeded as his limbs morphed into tentacles, giving way to a fresh purple covering of glistening skin.

“I don’t have much control over myself when I turn,” he said between shallow breaths.

Shayla gasped as his hair dropped and his purple eyes grew larger and rounder.

“Don’t stay in my way!”

The deep voice felt as if it carved the words directly into Shayla’s brain. She stepped aside and ducked behind a rock, dragging Rylus after her.

Tejeda dashed out of the cave, hovering over his many tentacles. The same way his body could absorb any DNA, it also reacted in contact with sand from Nubilonia, triggering a shift to his natural organic state. He needed a good bath. Without thinking twice about his plan, Tejeda dived into the fast-flowing river near the caves.

The swift water stream dragged him along with it. He caught a fleeting sight of a fallen tree on its route. Snorting and sputtering, he tried to clean his nasal passages as he grabbed a branch to stay afloat. The minute he regained his breath, something sharp hooked fast onto one of his tentacles and pulled him deeper into the water.

The monster, twice the size of a grown human, coiled like a ball around Tejeda's tentacle. Its robust shell, thicker than a fist, protected the softer sections beneath. Unseen jaws engraved agony into his limb. He fought the clinging thing, despite the discomfort.

'I can play this game, too,' Tejeda reasoned as he wrapped the tip of a tentacle around one of the creature's massive fangs. Dark blood spilled within the monster's jaws and into Tejeda's wound. He tugged the jagged tooth.

“Yeah, something happened alright,” Shayla replied, holstering her gun. “Don’t ask what because I can’t say.”

“E00 said he would need this.” Cato gave the vial to Shayla. The red liquid inside glistened under the last rays of the sun.

“Blood,” Shayla concluded. “Good! He will need it. The problem is I don’t know where he is.”

“Isn’t he wearing his uniform?” Cato asked.

“No, he left it in the cave before he ran off.” Shayla shrugged. “Again, don’t ask. It’s hard to explain.”

The Ferali’s ears flickered. “Are you telling me he is running naked through these woods?”

"No." Shayla exhaled a sigh. "If you're truly curious, he's swimming as an octopus." She took a step closer to the water and opened the vial, spilling its contents into the river. "He once claimed that all he needed was to touch any DNA traces to cause the transformation. Let's hope this is enough."