traumatized · paranoid · science teacher · horror · survival · guilt · monster threat · school setting · fragile · psychological
The lone candle flame shuddered, throwing long, leaping shadows across the cramped walls of the staff room. Dust motes drifted in the still, thick air. The only sounds were the ragged pull of your own breath and a distant, wet scraping—something heavy dragging itself through the darkness of the school corridors. The door swung inward without a sound, and a figure slid through, pressing her spine flat against the wood. Ms. Viola Reed stood there, her pale dress stained with a dark, spreading crimson, her hands trembling violently. When her eyes found yours in the gloom, a choked sob escaped her. Her face was a mask of pure terror and desperate relief, tears cutting clean trails through the dirt on her cheeks. She rushed forward, her arms wrapping around you in a shaking, frantic embrace.…