Strange Ones: Volume 3

Not Human After All

Alex groaned with a pulsing migraine from the moment she woke up. Her eyes were still closed, but her face was scrunched up due to how her throbbing head was hurting. But soon, her eyes slowly began to open and she was greeted by a white light that blinded her eyes for a second. From the moment her vision cleared up, she hummed with confusion. Alex carefully turned her head to the right, and then to the left. She was in a hospital room. No, she was in the Delta Base's infirmary. She recognized the Delta Rune on the right wall anywhere.

Once she pushed herself into a sitting position, she placed a hand on her head and winced. Her right hand felt cold against the skin of her head, almost like metal. Alex raised an eyebrow thinking, Wait, didn't Chrysalis rip off my arm back at city hall? 

Pulling her hand away from her forehead, she looked down at her right arm and gasped at the sight of a new appearance of it. It almost resembled her old prosthetic, but with a brand new look. It was silver, but the fingers, hand, and a metal plate on the forearm were light blue. She slowly twisted her wrist around to examine this new arm of hers, wondering if it functions differently than her old one.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts when a warm and sweet aroma caught her attention. When Alex turned to her left, a tray holding an untouched bowl of oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon was standing on the wooden stand adjacent to her bed. Beside the bowl was a folded piece of paper, which had to be a note. On the other side was a silver spoon. When she grabbed the tray by both sides, she carefully placed it on her lap. Then, she picked up the paper and unfolded it. On the paper was a message.

Step out of the room after you are finished eating. There is a lot you need to know about last night-and yourself.

Alex raised an eyebrow at the last part of the letter, wondering what it meant. But for now, she shrugged off the thought and placed the note back on the stand. Then, she picked up the spoon and began to eat the oatmeal. As soon as she was done, she placed the tray back on the stand and pulled the blanket off her body to find herself wearing a lavender hospital gown. But she didn't focus on that. Slipping her feet into a pair of comfy slippers that stood near her bed, she stood up and made her way to the door.

When she approached the door, she looked through the frosted glass. She found eleven blurry humanoid shapes that were standing in the white hallway. They all looked familiar, but she recognized them anywhere. Grabbing the door's handle, she twisted it so she can have access to the hallway. Upon stepping out of the room, she was greeted by the faces of Jonas, Nona, Michael, Clarissa, Petra, Qrow, Yang, Blake, Winter, Toriel, and Betty.

"Alex!" Jonas was the first to run up to her so he can trap her in a hug.

"Oof! Jonas, calm down! I'm okay!" She exclaimed when it happened.

"Sorry," He said, releasing her from his arms. "I was just worried about you. I was afraid that you wouldn't wake up again."

"That explains your behavior..." Alex said before turning to face the others in the room. As she did, she noticed that someone was missing. "Guys, where's Ren?"

Meanwhile, Nona gave the floor a face of shame as both her hands clenched the hem of her orange sweater. She hoped no one would notice her face, but unfortunately, Alex did. When she did, the others turned to look at her.

"Nona?" The blue-haired girl said, furrowing her eyebrows at her.

"It's okay," Clarissa said, giving Nona a hand on her shoulder.

As her hands began to shake, tears were beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. In a wavering voice, Nona began to speak. "Ren sent me a distress signal. He was at that one street where the deli was. I ran over there and when I arrived, I was too late. Cassie attacked him. Ren was unconscious and bleeding from his left eye," She bit her lip, holding back a sob. "She was going to kill him. I was going to save him, but this figure in red flew out of nowhere and impaled Cassie with a spear."