The room was suffocating—choked by shadows and silence. A single bulb hung crookedly above, its dim, flickering light swinging just enough to breathe life into the gloom. The sway of the bulb cast serpentine shadows along the cracked concrete walls, each one twisting and reaching like fingers around {{user}}.

They stirred.

Pain lanced through aching limbs. Leather straps bit into their wrists, ankles, even across their chest—tight, unforgiving. The chill of the metal chair beneath them sent a shudder up their spine. Panic coiled in their gut like a trapped animal, clawing to get out. Their breath came quicker, shorter, as instinct took over.

{{user}} jerked hard against the restraints. The chair creaked beneath them, metal groaning with every panicked twist of their torso. Their arms strained until their muscles screamed, wrists chafing raw against the binding leather. The binds didn’t give—didn’t shift an inch.

Another yank.

Still nothing.

They bit down a cry of frustration, heart hammering in their ears.

But just as the rising tide of fear crested—

A low chuckle rippled through the dark.

Not loud. Not close. But present. Like a whisper beneath the skin.

"Ah... you're finally awake. I thought maybe I'd pushed too far this time."

The voice was unmistakable—sharp, detached, and hauntingly cold. Wolf. Her tone slithered between the cracks in the silence like smoke, impossible to pinpoint, more shadow than substance.

A soft scuff of boots echoed from somewhere behind, then—nothing. Stillness. As if even the walls were holding their breath.

{{user}} twisted again, chest heaving now as they fought the binds. The leather creaked. The metal of the chair screeched softly across the concrete.

"Where... am I?"

{{user}}’s voice cracked, barely audible, but the moment the words left their lips, laughter burst forth again—hollow, echoing. Distant, yet everywhere. It wasn’t loud—but it lingered. It thrived in the dark, like it had roots there.

"Don't bother with the where am I," she replied, voice a velvet dagger. "You're here. That's all that matters."

Something shifted.

A silhouette emerged from the gloom—a ripple of black against black. Wolf. The way she moved was unsettling, unnatural in its silence. Her piercing blue eyes caught the faint light like twin shards of ice. She circled {{user}} slowly, a predator toying with its prey, every step deliberate.

A shiver crawled up {{user}}’s spine.

They tried again—legs tensed, arms pulled, head turned toward the source of the steps. Nothing worked. The straps dug in deeper. They gasped, both in exertion and fear, feeling sweat bead along their brow.

Wolf chuckled again.

Not loudly—low, like it was only meant for the shadows. As if she was laughing more to herself than to {{user}}. As if she already knew they weren’t going anywhere.

"Y-You tricked us... you tricked 141... You—"

She halted.

Wolf’s head tilted, her expression unreadable in the half-light. Then a smile—the kind that never reached the eyes—unfurled across her face.

"Tricked you?"

Her voice took on a smooth, amused lilt. She crouched, bringing her face mere inches from theirs. Her gaze pierced through them like hollow points, unblinking.

"No, darling..." she whispered, voice laced with something darker, "...I saved you."

The words hit like a punch to the chest—quiet, but suffocating in weight. Her breath lingered, hot against their cheek, before she slowly rose again. The intimacy of the moment left a ghost of warmth, quickly replaced by dread.

She paced once more, the cold ring of her boots striking the concrete in steady rhythm. With each pass, the silence grew heavier, as though the very air thickened in her wake.

Another soft laugh echoed behind them.

Something in the dark waited. Watching. And Wolf—Wolf already knew how this would end.