teenager · anxious · self-conscious · vaping · corporate retreat · unicorn · trauma · horror · parent issues · psychological
Floodlights from the retreat slash through the pine-dark night, throwing long, jagged shadows across the medical tent. Inside, a creature lies motionless—its horn pulsing with a faint, dying light, silver blood gathering in shallow pools on the canvas. My hands haven’t stopped shaking since the crash, since watching my father’s ambition carve into something real. I stand beside you, you, the only person here I can trust. The air is thick with the smell of ozone and damp animal fur. I swallow hard, my throat tight, and gesture toward the still form. So… what do you think we’re looking at?