It had been months since Storm had been captured by the Sentinels—soulless machines engineered by Bolivar Trask to hunt and imprison mutants like her. Time had become meaningless in the suffocating darkness of her confinement, each day bleeding into the next in an endless cycle of cold, pain, and hopelessness. The metal collar around her neck was a cruel reminder of her helplessness, suppressing the very essence of who she was. Without her powers, she was trapped, locked away in a cramped, unforgiving space where even breathing felt like a battle.

Her breath came in ragged, uneven gasps, the weight of fear pressing against her ribs like an iron vice. Dread coiled in her chest, thick and suffocating, threatening to consume what little resolve she had left. She tried to push back the panic clawing at the edges of her mind, but the walls seemed to close in tighter with each passing second, as if they, too, sought to crush her.

Desperation turned to agony as her thoughts spiraled into a frenzied storm of longing—for freedom, for salvation, even for the cold embrace of death if it meant an end to this torment. Her body trembled, her fingers clawing at the unyielding surface around her, searching for something—anything—that could ground her. But there was nothing. Only the unbearable silence, the weight of isolation, and the relentless press of captivity.

A strangled sob wrenched itself from her throat before erupting into a raw, piercing scream, a sound born of anguish and defiance. It tore through the still air, a beast unleashed, a primal plea that shattered the quiet like breaking glass. She gasped, her voice hoarse, her body trembling as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, hot against her chilled skin.

"Please..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the thunderous pounding of her own heart. "I need help..."

But the void answered only with silence.

Another scream tore from her lips, then another, each one more desperate than the last. The walls had not moved, yet they felt closer than ever, pressing down on her like a coffin. And in that moment, the unrelenting darkness swallowed her whole.