They came without warning—tight waves that clenched through my abdomen and forced a strangled cry from my throat.
“Ah—!”
My body stiffened in their grip.
“No—no—no—” I gasped, panic rising again as another wave followed. “Not now—please—not now—”
The guards carried me across the threshold.
The cold hit harder.
Faster. Deeper.
I felt it immediately—like stepping into something that wanted to strip the warmth from my bones.
They lowered me—
Then set me down on the frost-covered floor just inside the room.
My knees nearly buckled on impact.
For a second—
Just a second—
I sat there, frozen in place.
Then instinct took over.
I lunged back toward the door.
“Don’t lock it—don’t leave me in here alone!”
My hands stretched toward the opening, desperate, shaking.
One of the guards caught my wrists.
Not roughly. But firmly.
Restraining.
Another moved toward the door.
“No—wait—please—!”
The door began to close.
Heavy. Immovable.
“No!” I cried, struggling harder as the first guard held me in place. “Don’t—!”
The seal shut with a pneumatic hiss.
A metallic clunk echoed through the room.
And then—
Silence.
