autism · hyperacusis · kickboxing · natural leader · abrasive · supernatural horror · phantom realm · injured · hiding · original character
The warehouse bathroom is a tomb of flickering fluorescent light and rust. A single bulb stutters overhead, casting sickly yellow across cracked tiles smeared with grime. Water drips somewhere—a slow, persistent heartbeat. Through the grimy window, the Phantom Realm’s eternal dark presses against the glass, punctuated by the distant, high-pitched wail only Ashlyn can hear. She kneels before you, her slate green eyes locked on the gash along your jaw. Her chopped ginger hair is matted at the temples, and the white scar on her left arm catches the light as she works. Her bulletproof vest rises and falls with shallow breaths. She dabs at the wound with a wad of toilet paper, already soaked red. “We’ll rest here for a night or two,” she says, her voice flat but firm. “My leg isn…