Star Of Stark

T W E N T Y - F I V E

Wanda sat in the cold, dimly lit cell, her body trembling from the effects of the shock collar. Each jolt of electricity that coursed through her sent waves of unbearable pain, her muscles spasming uncontrollably. Her breath came in ragged gasps, each inhale a struggle, as though the air itself was trying to escape her lungs. Her vision blurred, and she felt a deep ache in her chest like something was tearing inside of her.

The guards' laughter echoed from the other side of the bars, but she could hardly focus on their taunts. All she could think about was the gnawing pain and the feeling of complete helplessness. They'd left her there to suffer, to wither away without even a hint of mercy. And yet, every second felt like an eternity, a reminder of her captivity, of how much power she had lost.

A door creaked open, and she could hear footsteps approaching. The guards entered, their presence suffocating. One of them, grinning sadistically, grabbed her by the hair, jerking her head back sharply. She gasped in pain, but the shock collar around her neck made it hard to even scream.

"You don't learn, do you?" one of them sneered. "You're going to wish you were never born, witch."

Wanda tried to fight back, her hands shaking with the effort to push them away, but her body was weak, her strength drained from the constant shocks. The collar sent another surge of electricity into her neck, and she cried out, the pain searing through her. She collapsed against the cold floor, gasping for air, but all she could hear was her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, drowning out everything else.

As the guard left, Wanda was left alone again. Her body shook, not just from the pain, but from the terror that gripped her. She curled into herself, her knees drawn up to her chest, trying to make herself small, invisible. The tears that flowed freely down her face were a constant reminder of how broken she felt. She had always been strong, and always believed she could handle anything. But this... this was something different. She didn't know how much longer she could endure the collar, the endless torment, the helplessness.

Her breath hitched as another wave of pain coursed through her, the collar forcing her body to react in ways it shouldn't. She screamed, but the sound was muffled by the weight of the despair pressing down on her chest.

"Please," she whispered weakly to no one, her voice barely a breath. "Please... someone... Lexi"

But the silence that followed only deepened the ache in her soul. Wanda's mind wandered in and out of consciousness, the world around her spinning, her thoughts jumbled. She didn't know how long she had been here—hours? Days? Time had lost meaning. She had lost meaning.

She could only hold on to the small flicker of hope deep within her—hope that someone would find her. That someone would come, even though she didn't know how or when.

She just had to hold on.

Wanda's eyes snapped open, her heart racing as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. The room was quiet, sterile, and... peaceful, but she couldn't focus on that. Her breath came in short, shallow gasps as panic threatened to seize her chest. The memories of the shock collar, the burning pain, and the constant fear of being controlled gripped her.

She immediately tensed up, her body instinctively pulling into itself, almost as if she could curl up into a ball and disappear. The sudden movement caused her head to spin, and she let out a soft, panicked whimper, pressing her hands to her chest as if to hold herself together.

Her mind raced—what if they were just waiting for her to slip up, to give them an excuse to shock her again? What if they were going to punish her once more for the smallest thing? She couldn't bear the thought of it. She couldn't risk making the wrong move.