Gauntlet (Old)

Part 1: Chapter 2

My eyes opened slowly, followed by a yawn. I instinctually tried to stretch, but felt something preventing my arms from moving. Looking down, barely giving myself a chance to wake up, I saw leather straps tying both my arms to the bed below me. Looking more closely, I jolted back as much as the straps would allow me and I just stared at the empty space where my left forearm was supposed to be.

My mind had begun flooding with the memories of what happened to cause this horror. No. Maybe I'm sleep-deprived and just seeing things. This is all just a dream, and I'll wake up from it, refreshed and ready to look for ano-
I heard a door burst open from behind me as the sound of footsteps came closer. As the footsteps went past the side of my bed, I saw a humanoid figure. It looked female with red skin and black markings.

"Don't worry about your arm," she said, monotonously, "I have a replacement for it, it's right over there." She pointed to a metal glove on a workbench, tools scattered around it. I couldn't see it properly, since I had to look up from the bed I was strapped to. She walked to the workbench and picked a small remote up from the mess. She pointed it at me and held a button in as my whole bed pivoted so that I was basically standing, suspended by the other straps around my torso and legs which I hadn't previously noticed.

"I'm going to release the straps now," she continued, "try to brace for it." Before I could voice my opposition to this idea, the straps loosened and I dropped a couple inches, stayed there for a second, then flopped over onto my stomach.

"Well, did you at least feel that you could support yourself, if just for a moment?" I stayed silent, being able to think of nothing but my arm.

"That was not a rhetorical question," she tried.

"M- My arm." I replied weakly, after a pause, "Where is- Where is my arm?" I could think of nothing else to say.

"Don't worry yourself too much. This new one is much better. I believe you'll adapt just fi-"

"Where is my arm?" I asked, more sternly.

"You're arm is currently providing many insects a lifetime supply of food, but that is no longer your arm." She pointed again to the glove on the table. "It might take some time to adjust, but let us take your mind off of that for a second. You can walk now."

The very statement echoed through my mind as it desperately tried to grasp it, letting go of any worries of my lost arm.

"My- You mean- I can walk again?" It was a sentence uttered with a blissful optimism, accompanied by the smile I wouldn't have been able to hold back if I tried. I didn't cry, but came close. How stupid it was to jump to conclusions and curse life so soon. I'll trade a prosthetic arm for my legs back any day.

"I'll go back to a previous question in the hope that you will answer it this time. Did you feel that you could hold yourself up for a second?" 

The revelation caused an involuntary chuckle, "Y- Yes, I did." The statement was closely followed by me bursting into a hysterical laughter. Not only did I find my loss a much smaller one, the thought no longer crossed my mind, replaced by pure, child-like bliss.

With that I began crying, the tears flooding, just like back then. I was in a very similar position, come to think of it, but for entirely different reasons. No longer was it regret and pain, but relief and gratefulness.

Thank you, life. Thank you for giving me something more to live for and for restoring my faith in you.

"Good, now your mind is in a better state," the woman continued, as void of emotions as before, "let us begin with introductions. My name is Corru, what might yours be?"

"Hunter." It was hard to speak between the bursts of laughter.

"So," Corru tried to speak over me, "why has another human come to Prunc?" This question caught me off-guard, shifting my mood immediately and stopping the laughter.

"I was just driving home and then boom, wormhole opens up and I'm spat out here. Where is here, anyway?"

Corru squinted ever so slightly, then replied, "That's what the others said as well. They also lost a limb, but each lost a different one. Anyways, it is of no concern to you." With that, her emotionless demeanor had returned. "You are currently in no state to begin any sort of training, but feel free to look around, what you'll find is your new home. Quite simply, that wormhole is one-sided. As much as I've tri-"

"Wait, so I'm stuck here!" Life just couldn't decide how it wanted me to feel about it, but whatever the case, that life-changing thought barreled through my mind, snowballing as it did so, and taking the grief of my arm with it. I was not emotionally stable at this point and really didn't need to know that at that moment. I didn't care to follow her instruction, failing to notice much more than the oddly-shaped table to my right.

I was sobbing at this point, going on an emotional rollercoaster in my mind, being shown to the outside world by my reactions to every turn. As I was making a desperate attempt to comprehend everything which had been thrown onto me, Corru rummaged through her workbench, picking up a syringe and a strange handgun.

She loaded the syringe into the gun, pointed it at me and said, "This will help you calm down."
The syringe pierced the skin of my shoulder and overwhelmed me with drowsiness. Without being given a chance to pull it out or inquire about it, I once again fell unconscious.