I woke with a very bad headache. So bad in fact, that It felt like I tried to run straight through a wall. Slightly dizzy I slowly sat upright which send waves of pain through my head. I groaned and held my head in my arms. A normally completely normal action that now brought a lot of questions.

“Why do I feel only one arm?” I said out loud. I was surprised at the raspiness of my voice but it was quickly replaced with an increasing amount of fear and panic. I tried opening my eyes trying to figure out where I am and what’s going on. ‘Tried’ being the keyword here. As instead of trying to do anything I couldn’t even start opening my eyes.

Dozens of questions shoot through my head all at once. All of them could just be summed up with “What’s going on?” Thinking about this made me notice that the skin my head touches does not feel right. It felt rough and… bumpy. Both that of my hand and head. I did not remember what skin is supposed to be like but I just knew that this was wrong. But I did not know why it was wrong, it was just different and I don’t even know what’s it different from. I moved my hand from my forehead to my eyes.

“Ah,” I muttered. That would explain it. It seemed that my eyes just somehow have grown shut. I did not know why they would grow shut. But they did. “Then why did my arm... “ I trailed off. “Who am I even?” I asked out of the blue. I do not remember… anything at all actually. Why do I not remember anything? Now I am just more confused than I was before.

I just sat there with my head in hand I pondered… and pondered… and got bored. I do not know how long I sat there but I thought it was long enough. I want to do something! I wanted to vent some frustration. Something in my mind flashed with that thought and I remembered. It was vague and blurry. But I was excited that I remembered something. So I quickly focused and tried grasping the fleeting feeling

Running

It was a very short memory of just... me running. It wasn't a long memory a second at most. From everything that I could remember I remember running. Not my name or even where I was running because the surroundings were too blurry. Now I still don't know where I am. The very first memory of what I assumed was me did not tell anything about me. Wait... maybe it did, maybe running was just important to me somehow. But that it could also just be something trivial. A random memory I just happen to remember. So it still did not help me. Even if it was short if it were any other memory it would probably answer some of my questions. But this is like remembering that I breathe.

I pouted. But instantly deflated my checks because of the burning pain. I wanted to scream but feared opening my mouth. I could even hear the cracking. My burned cheeks were unable the handle the stretching and tore. My muffled screams were breathed out of my nose. Quickly I could feel the blood dripping down my chin. I just sat there, half crying half hyperventilating. It surprised me, but not any more than it scared me. I sat as still as I could. Fearing any movement would tear my skin. Because I assumed that whatever burned my face, burned my body as well. So I dared not move.

After some time while I sulked my ears perked up at a dropping sound. At first, I thought it was me just imagining things so I continued being very still. But after a couple of minutes, the sound seemed to only increase. I could now clearly make out water falling in the water. I was very excited when I discovered that something was interesting nearby. But when I remembered that I would not be able to see or move to the water, at least not till my body won't tear with any sudden moves. So that excitement died rather quickly.

But the sound didn't seem to stop increasing. Becoming louder and louder with every second that passes. "Where is all that water coming from?" I only had faint clues and memories of what water looked like. But those are so hazy that I could mistake them for a dream. I wanted to touch the water, I wanted to experience water. And I seemed to be growing thirsty. But I did not dare to move, I figured that I could wait for a little bit. So that I won't have to put myself through extreme amounts of pain.

Eventually, I noticed something hot approaching my toes. Afraid to move my body I slowly extended my arm to the sensation. Luckily my arm didn't seem to tear as long as I move it slowly. I did not know what would touch me, especially not something hot and... damp. There seemed to be some vapor coming of what I suspect to be a liquid. It didn't seem to be sentient or at least it hadn't said anything yet so I assumed it was not alive.

My slow-moving hand reached lower and the density of the vapor increased. I almost wanted to pull back because the density of the hot vapor was enough to slightly hurt my hand. But I was far too curious for me to shy away from a little pain. So with my extended index finger, I touched the source and... "Ouch" I hissed through my teeth. I instinctively put my finger in my mouth and started sucking on the burned part. The water was hot... it was boiling. The newly remembered word put a smile on my face. Yet my smile froze. I have not moved from my point, and the boiling water was moving to me. Then something clicked. The water I heard falling is making the water levels rise in whatever place I am. My blood froze over and broke out in cold sweat.

I quickly stood and started moving away from the boiling water. I ignored the pain of my cracked tearing apart. I walked a bit faster when I noticed that the sound of falling water seemed to quickly increase. Hopefully, I would be able to... *slam* I walked headfirst into a wall. I was dumbfounded, stunned. "There has been a wall there, since when?" I surprisedly said. I was about to just walk around the wall when I thought of some horrifying possibility. I quickened my steps and let my left hand trace the wall. I walked and walked and walked... in circles? I was bleeding from the tears that started forming in my skin, but I ignored it. Adrenaline filling my systems.

I started panicking. To make sure I walked even more rounds. "Where is the exit?" I desperately muttered whilst checking every possible nook and cranny for some opening. My breathing quickened with almost the same speed as the water falling did. I could already feel the vapor behind me, I was running out of time. if I wanted to live I would need to do something and quick. But even when the water almost reached me I did not find any way to avoid the boiling water. At first, I thought that I could climb, but I quickly removed that thought. It would never work with one arm.

I mentally closed my eyes. I stood still for a good minute and then sighed. Boiling alive was not something I expected that would happen today. It's not something I could expect. I don't know what happened to me before I lost my memories, I don't know what I did that warrants this type of punishment. I probably wouldn't want to know. Yet just before I was about to give up all hope I remembered the falling water. The reason I will have to go through hell in the first place. If my eyes could widen they would.

There was still a very small chance that I could make it. The water that falls must come from somewhere. Which is probably the exit, where probably the temperature is cold enough so that the water doesn't have to be boiling. And I was not about to boil to death without even trying to live. I just hoped that the water that was falling was cold enough to cool the pool down quick enough. Enough before...

I stood as close as I could to the edge of my confinement. I didn't have the time or means to search for the highest possible location. But I assumed that there wouldn't be many differences in height on the floor. In my earlier examination of this place, the floor felt quite even. Which didn't mean that it was, I just hoped it was. I could only hope that water falling was enough to cool the pool down. But I don't know what's causing the pool to boil, and if that's hotter than the... I stopped. It isn't. I didn't want to think about what happens if it is.

I could slowly feel the area around my feet warming with damp air. And although very hot it didn't hold a candle to the cold terror that was running through my veins. When I thought that it almost reached me, I dipped my toe in the water. I was terrified, not for the pain but for the possibility that it still boiled. I ignored the sound of boi... bubbling water. When my toe touched the water I didn't immediately pull back when it starting burning, I didn't pull back then I heard it fizzling. I only pulled back when I thought that there was still a possibility that it would just take some time to cool down. I blew out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I turned around and faced the wall, whilst being very careful not to touch the boiling water. I started feeling for somewhere in the wall where I could find some grip. Once I did I jumped without hesitation. Luckily I managed to grab the small extension I found without any problems and didn't miss it. I moved my feet around a bit and found a comfortable position to stay in. Now I just had to not slip and fall even when my legs started cooking. I started zoning out, questions about who I was or where I was were put to the back of my mind long ago. I tried distancing my mind from my body. Just not to think about the pain I was about to go through. It was my body's problems, not mine. I was not going to be cooked alive my body was. I assured myself.

I had put my feet on a few small ridges on the wall so holding on didn't take much energy and the adrenaline running through my systems caused me to have a lot of it. So I didn't risk falling off from exhaustion. The problem was that when the water rose enough to start burning my feet. I had to either risk, falling by moving my body up or bite through the pain. Falling would be really really bad, but biting through the pain was not something I wanted either. At least not something I could keep up for long. I just had to hope that it would be long enough so when I finally decide to swim towards the hopefully cool falling water the water there would've cooled down enough. Or would've cooled down enough in the entire pool.

It felt like an eternity before the water finally reached my feet again. And although the sound of bubbling water lessened a little it was still bubbling and thus still boiling. But it gave me enough confidence that it would eventually could down enough. I just wasn't sure if it would be quick enough. When it first reached my feet I screamed. And the higher the water went the louder I started screaming. I don't know how long it took to reach a little under my knees and I didn't care. It was just that at that point I didn't hear the bubbling sound anymore. I couldn't tell if it was because of my screaming or because my screaming turned me deaf. Maybe I even hallucinated it.

What I did know is that I jumped towards the cold water without thinking. The water was still very hot, and I underestimated how deep it was. Somehow, I started screaming even louder than I already was. But instead of running back to the wall, I ran deeper into the water. To the only thing, I thought was that eventually, I would reach colder water. My mind was painted white from the pain. I didn't remember reaching the waterfall but reached it nonetheless. And although the water was colder it was still hot. But this time I was in till my chest.

Slowly the water started rising, till it eventually reached a point where I had to swim to stay afloat. There was just pain, almost no other thought had any place to form, even time seemed to blur. And before I knew it I reached where I thought the water came from. It was a narrow tunnel and somewhere between all the pain that was burning every single brain cell, some found a way to feel elated. If I knew which ones they were I would have thanked them. Since this was the only reason I was able to keep myself from just blacking out from the pain. Or it was the cooling water, probably both. It was still very hot, enough to still burn but far less than it was before.

The water started rising quicker and eventually, I reached the upper end of the narrow tunnel that led straight down. I was too tired from all the pain to properly walk, so with my one arm, I dragged myself over more stone through the flowing water to reach a dry spot. When I felt another wall I slowly pulled myself up in a sitting position and blacked out... again.