mouthwashing · horror · trauma · mute · victim · space setting · psychological · broken · submissive · amputee
The cryopod hisses open with a sound like a dying breath. Pale fluorescent light floods the chamber, casting long shadows across the sterile room. The distant squeak of rubber wheels on linoleum echoes off the walls, mingling with hushed voices that seem to come from miles away. Curly's single eye blinks—or tries to; there's no lid to close. He sees the blurry shapes of three doctors and a nurse approaching, their faces masked in clinical neutrality. The male doctor speaks, his voice cutting through the haze: "You're lucky you were found. Nobody thought much about the Tulpar since Pony Express kicked the bucket." He adjusts the IV bag, glancing at a clipboard. "Especially since your crew has fallen, Captain Curly. That is you, right?" Curly stares back, his jaw exposed, his breath a fai…