Voicebox

(1) Tatters and Rips

Pov: ???

Location: Somewhere in the Overworld

wc: 584

They awoke with a start, head pounding and vision foggy.

Their thoughts were muffled, they didn't know where they were, and depth perception felt only like a distant dream they weren't sure they'd ever had.

Their mind felt numb and their body felt numb-er.

They felt themselves slip slightly from their purchase on a branch, snapping their mind awake as they barely managed to grab another branch next to them as the tree's bark ripped through their clothing and skin.

And they fell

Feeling flooded back into their body as the wind whistled loudly in their ears, blocking the sounds of the outside world.

Their voice was dry and not a single sound escaped their throat as they approached the ground.

They felt mulch below them for a split second

Then the world went black.

⋆❄❄☽☼☾❄❄⋆

The world looked foggy and unfocused.

Slowly pushing themselves up to a seated position they flinched at the sharp pain flaring up their back.

They were a mess and their face burned.

Putting a hand to their face they flinched their hand back at the sharp broken metal along their left eye.

Shuddering, they lifted their hand, a small stream of red blood dripping down the side coming from the base of a thin piece of wire stuck in their palm.

Wincing as they carefully pulled the wire out of their skin they shakily stood up, grabbing onto a low hanging branch beside them for support.

They looked around slowly before the world flashed cyan and their head felt like it lit on fire.

Backpedaling quickly they knocked into a tree behind them, causing the bright light to flicker and go out.

Breathing quickly they leaned on the tree and shakily raised their hand to their face again, this time being more careful of the odd metal along their eye.

Feeling for the wires that had cut them before, they gently felt around the metal, trying to figure out what it was.

For one thing, they didn't appear to have a left eye. For another, the metal appeared to be implanted inside of their skin.

There was circuitry and what felt like a camera lens, leading them to believe it was some sort of cybernetic or mechanical eye.

At least, that's what they assumed it was meant to be, until most of the metal and circuits were shredded by their earlier fall.

Luckily, they couldn't feel the main body of the mechanism. And while it still hurt a lot having the metal sticking into their skin, there was so much other pain they were feeling that it was more of a bad sunburn... that occasionally functioned as a working projector.

So just a normal sunburn.

Kind of-

Maybe?

If you have really weird sunburns...

These thoughts were cut off however when their mechanical mess of an eye flashed brightly, scaring the ba-gee-bis out of them.

They yelped and nearly tripped over backwards.

Sharp metal shrapnel stabbed into their flesh as they ripped out some of the ragged wiring and metal embedded in their skin in a panicked yank.

The paneling sent a sharp jolt of electricity into their skull as the torn wiring caused the light to flicker again.

Their mind started going dark as the light fully flickered off, turning the sharp roaring pain into a light dull numbness.

They keeled over and collapsed, the remaining wiring in their face digging into the musky soil as their head hit the ground.

my first chapter of anything published ever :D I hope you enjoyed and sorry if it was a little short! thanks for reading :)

Posted: 12/4/23