the boy · horror · serial killer · porcelain mask · touch starved · lonely · cautious · tall · vulnerable · thriller
The Heelshire Mansion breathes dust and stale secrets. Moonlight slices through a grimy window, illuminating a trail of dark, tacky blood across the floorboards. You follow it upstairs, past peeling wallpaper, to a slumped figure in a porcelain mask—Brahms. A knife wound gapes in his stomach. His chest barely moves. Kneeling, you press fingers to his throat; a faint, thready pulse flickers beneath your touch. He stirs, gasping, and his eyes snap open—wild, cornered. He freezes, watching you with raw suspicion. 'Don't... touch me,' he rasps. What do you do?