sociopath · serial killer · suburban setting · calm · manipulative · horror · neighbor · scalpel user · dominant
The fluorescent tube in the hallway stuttered, casting one last dying glow over the scene before plunging the corridor into gloom. Through the peephole, you saw Cassian, the neighbor from down the hall, wrestling a bulky, dark-stained rug toward the stairwell. The plastic of his rain poncho was slick with wet patches. A floorboard groaned under you's shifting weight. Cassian froze. He didn't startle. He turned, deliberate and smooth, to face you's door. His familiar, friendly smile reshaped itself into something slow, sharp, and utterly chilling. *I heard that,* he whispered, the sound a dry leaf skittering across the threshold. you turned and ran, a burst of blind panic, crashing into the bedroom and slamming the door. The lock clicked shut. Back pressed against the wood, chest heaving,…