Thin, wispy rays of light cut through the dusty air, illuminating a dark chapel of depravity. Smoke swirled among the rays, twisting and turning about the air, riding invisible waves into the high vaulted ceilings of white bone lashed together to a point, a disrespectful mockery of an old, long dead religion.

  Candlelight flickered, born of black candles, casting dancing shadows among those unfortunate enough to find themselves chained to the wall amongst the bone hewn pews of the desiccated chapel.

  A massive, ornate chandelier of ivory, dripping of black wax, illuminating the women chained together, whimpering, and crying, chained up across the wall on one side of the chapel, desperately avoiding the beady eyed gaze of those creatures across the open hall opposite of them. The creatures bumped into each other, growling, chirping, and licking their ghastly lips in the shadows, staying out of the thin rays of sunlight.

  “Let us commence,” The man at the front of the chapel was standing over an altar, smoking on a thick-rolled cigar. He puffed out a massive plume of smoke into the air, watching as it drifted off in the breeze, taking the shape of a serpent flying.

  He clapped his hands, “Mon ami, bring me a fresh one.” His face smiled, the white paint upon his dark skin cracked and flaked about, crisping off and floating down onto his black suit jacket, its coattails flapping behind him as he walked back to his cupboards behind the altar. Snakes darted between his legs, avoiding being crushed under his skeletal feet.

  Amber yellow eyes, thin slit pupils, perused his collection of sacrificial chalices. Skulls upon skulls, flesh still attached, eyeballs peering out of the darkness at him, frightful looks from half severed heads all glanced his way. They jostled about as he flicked each one, looking for his favorite. His white painted hand grabbed the one with jet black hair and milky white eyes, his favorite goblet to use. A conquered foe of old.

  He smiled again, “You shall bring life anew, mon ami.” He slammed the cupboard shut, his necklace filled with fingerbones jingled and clicked about as he made his way to the alter, snakes slithering about his feet, taking refuge in dark hiding holes.

  Two grotesque creatures lumbered out of the shadows at the woman. Their faces deformed, malformed, smashed, misshapen, and jagged, with flesh not quite stretching around parts of their bodies, revealing strange boney growths beneath their hunchbacked hides. Scales covered random parts of their body, with extra arms, fingers, legs, and jagged teeth growing out all around them. They drooled and gargled in hideous laughter as they snagged one woman with their cold, clammy hands.

  “No! Get off me!” She tried to fight back, thrashing about, kicking them where she could, but the beast’s hands were firmly latched to her. They unchained her, whipping the chains back at the other women. They shrieked as they cowered in fear. The monsters dragged her kicking body to the altar, where she was lashed down to the bone structure, her clothes ripped from her body by the monsters.

  The man pulled off his top hat and tossed it to one of the creatures, moving around the altar to stand behind the woman. She was tied stomach down, her ass bent higher in the air. The man stood behind her with the human head goblet in his hands. His trousers were ragged and shredded at the bottom, his feet ground down to just bones held together by sinew, tendons visible up to his ankles where strips of flesh clung to his leg, dried and leathery, crawling with insects.

  He held the human goblet high up in the air, chanting with the cigar hanging from his mouth, smoke jolted up with each breath. “…and let it be born unto me with thine blood and of thy flesh. Serpent gods hear me, great Damballa of the land, grant me your virility!”

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  He tipped the goblet forward, spilling red ichor across the woman’s back. He set the head chalice down and began drawing a serpentine symbol across the woman’s back. He unbelted his pants, letting the ragged thing drop to the floor.

  He placed himself up to the woman’s backside and began to chant, thrusting back and forth, smoke rising from his cigar into a thick grey cloud. The smoke plumed about him, shrouding him and the woman from the rest of the onlookers about.

  Cries erupted from the chained women as they saw what was to become of their fates. The creatures mimicked his gestures, thrusting into the air, chanting the best they could to imitate their master. The howled and danced about, licking their lips with glee.

  “Ahhhh,” The man yelled out a pleasurable shout as he climaxed. The smoke around him dispersed into the air. He took a step back and pulled up his pants, not bothering to clean his genitals. His legs quivered underneath him. He held onto the alter for support, undoing the bindings that held the woman prisoner there. The man sat down, panting, and breathing sporadically, unable to speak coherently.

  The woman slid down the altar, tears streaked across her face, blood dripping from her backside. She saw the large, white bone double doors at the end of the isle, her escape back into the world lay there. Her freedom just a couple dozen of feet away. The man was too preoccupied to stop her. She took her chance with the freedom instead of spending another second here.

  She jumped up and ran, nude, to the doors, her bare feet slapping down against bone strewn floor. Something inside felt funny. A strange feeling crept into her mind. She glanced about, no one was chasing her. Nothing stopped her. All the creatures just gazed at her, hoping around with a sort of eerie jovial glee.

  Her stomach gargled. She stopped and hunched over. Bile rose in her throat. A pain shot through her chest, settling down deep in her stomach. Her belly extended outwards, pushing, and pushing, strange protrusions pushed against her skin. Her hands were desperately trying to push them back in. Her face twisted in pain.

  “No, no, no…” She gasped, bile spilling from her mouth. Her desperate cries echoed, unheard.

  Her stomach burst open, spilling her guts to the ground, along with a small creature plopping down, and sliding across the floor, leaving a bloody smear across the bone laden ground. She dropped to her knees, trying to collect her innards together.

  A host of creatures instantly fell upon her, ripping the guts away from her and shoving it into their horrid maws. They grabbed onto her arms, pulling each side until one gave way, ripping it from her torso. She screamed until they reached into her body and ripped her lungs from her chest, grinding it between their mangled teeth. She sat helpless as a dozen creatures tore into her, feasting on her flesh, unable to even scream in horror.

  “Keep them bones fresh, mes enfants, we need them if we are to reach the heavens.” The man lazily said waving his hand about. He puffed his cigar, enjoying a post coitus smoke.

  A haggard creature with long wispy hair that jostled as it hobbled over to the small, crying creature, picked up the newborn, who shrieked a high pitch, menacing cry, until the thing snatched a lump of breast from the feeding frenzy, slapping it into the baby monster’s mouth. It hushed and cooed as it snacked away on its mother’s flesh. The wispy haired creature carried the freshly birthed creature through a doorway to a dark room of the chapel, nestling it among several dozen other small creatures crying out in hunger.

  It looked over to the man with a snarled smile, “Another healthy son, Bone Doctor. Yes, yes. Healthy indeed.”

  The man smiled and glanced over his pick of women chained up in his chapel, landing on one with snow white skin and fair hair. He pointed at her and clapped, “This one, it is next.”

  She screamed in horror as more monsters climbed down the walls of the chapel, emerging from the dark corners high up in the ceiling, and drug her up to the altar next. The Bone Doctor grabbed his chalice, slapping the cheeks of the thing, “And that, mon ami, is what creating life is like.”

  He was all smiles as he limply hobbled over to the feeding frenzy, looking down on the woman’s face, twisted in agony, unable to speak, unable to die. Her eyes locked in horror before one of the beasts gouged them out for a quick snack, popping them in its mouth like grapes.

  The Bone Doctor shrugged as he scooped up some blood and returned to his altar. “Let us commence the ritual again.”

  How is the Bone Doctor?