CHAPTER 7: The Return of the Lost Hand

CHAPTER 7: The Return of the Lost Hand

Fénix's first thought upon waking was: "Shit, I'm still alive."

The second: "Where the fuck is my hand?"

The cold sheets stuck to his skin as he tried to move. A sharp stab in his neck stopped him. His fingers—the ones he had left—brushed against a rough bandage.

"Wow," he murmured in a hoarse voice. "Seems Darem left me a parting gift."

Turning his head, the emptiness hit him before the pain. Where his left hand should have been, there was only a bandaged stump.

"Great. Now I'm the guy with the one-handed jokes," he snorted, though the smile froze on his lips.

The door opened with a whisper. Enid entered as she always did: heels stabbing the silence, impeccable black suit, a gaze that calculated every one of his reactions.

"Well, what a surprise," Fénix mumbled. "Did you come to scold me for losing a part?"

Enid sat on the edge of the bed without asking permission.

"Not exactly." From her bag, she pulled something that made Fénix blink. "But I did come to return something to you."

In her gloved hands, she held a pale, perfectly preserved hand. His hand.

"Jesus Christ!" Fénix sat up too fast. "Did you bring it as a trophy or what?"

"We're going to reattach it," Enid announced as a medical team entered with a toolbox that looked like it was from a horror movie.

"Hey, no, thanks," Fénix retreated until he hit the headboard. "I'm quite emotionally attached to my new pirate look."

Enid didn't smile. She just raised a syringe.

"It's not optional."

The sedative only numbed him enough to not move, but not enough to not feel.

"FUCK, ENID!" Fénix roared when the first staple pierced flesh and bone. "THIS IS WORSE THAN MY PARENTS' DIVORCE!"

In the hallway, Lucian and Vanessa exchanged looks. The screams cut through the door like knives.

"Is she performing an exorcism or what?" asked Lucian, pale.

Vanessa lit a cigarette.

"Worse. She's helping him."

Inside, Fénix gasped between curses.

"I SWEAR FROM NOW ON I'LL CUT MY OWN NAILS! GOD, STOP!"

Enid didn't flinch. Her gloved hands worked with surgical precision as she murmured:

"Shut up and stop moving. I want this to be symmetrical."

Fénix couldn't take it anymore and due to the intense pain, he fell unconscious...

Hours later, he woke up.

The fluorescent light hit his eyelids. Fénix instinctively raised both hands to protect himself... and stared at his ten fingers.

"Holy shit..." He moved the fingers of the newly reattached hand. Bent his wrist. Made a fist. Everything worked. Everything hurt like hell.

Enid appeared in his field of vision, wiping her hands with a sterile towel.

"How do you feel?"

Fénix smiled that crooked smile that exasperated her so much.

"Like I've been through a meat grinder and then sewn back together." He raised the recovered hand. "But thanks. I guess."

Enid leaned over him, expensive perfume and danger mixing in the air.

"This is just the beginning, Fénix. We have something that could make you... stronger." Her nails caressed the bandage on his neck. "The Uber Lycan serum."

Fénix didn't look away.

"Sounds like a fancy way of saying 'horribly painful experiment'."

"It is." Enid smiled. "But if you behave... there will be a reward."

Silence stretched out. Fénix knew that glint in her eyes. It was the same a shark had when it smelled blood.

"What kind of reward?"

Enid whispered something in his ear that made his pupils dilate. When she pulled back, Fénix cleared his throat.

"Well... when you put the serum like that..."

In the Enid Corp laboratory, Fénix prepared himself mentally as Dr. Armitage adjusted his glasses while explaining:

"Three injections. Right eye for enhanced vision. Shoulder for the nervous system. Spinal column for neuromuscular integration."

Fénix looked at the syringe as if it were a snake.

"Great. First they sew my hand back on, and now they're going to poke me like a voodoo doll."

Fénix took a deep breath, knowing that what was coming wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

Enid watched from the corner, her lips curved into a smile that promised pain... and something more.

Fénix took a deep breath.

"Let's do this."