BELOW THE SALT | Stamp Gate

The pair approached the apparatus and Amelia rolled up her sleeve inserting her forearm into a small dark hole set into a tall ominous slab of corrupted metal, the hole had thin teeth around the outside that would grip the forearm but also had the distressing effect of making it appear like the hungering maw of a deep sea leech. Reuben hated the stamp gates and would often get very fidgety during the process, Amelia could imagine his foot tapping rapidly underneath the murky waters. She would feel the machine surround her wrist and increasingly tighten until her arm went numb. She felt the machine press a thin cold needle to her skin, her arm was numb but she could feel her skin break. Once inside her wrist she could almost feel the needle interlock with her implant. It paused and receeded. The pain was over in moments but the machine didn’t release her limb as had done every time before. She could feel the teeth of the machine sink into her skin the more she squirmed.