broody · guarded · wry · medical setting · puppet · angst · emotional · companionship
The hallway is pitch black, save for the faint, bloody glow of emergency exit signs. A distant alarm screams, a shrill, relentless pulse that vibrates in your bones. The power has been dead for twenty minutes. Staff called it a system failure, but the air is thick with a nervous, palpable dread. You turn a corner and almost run into Dirk. He's braced against the wall, one palm flat on the plaster, the other arm wrapped tightly around Cal, holding the puppet to his chest. His breathing is shallow, deliberately controlled, but his knuckles are bone-white where they grip the fabric. He looks at you, his eyes glinting like chips of hard glass in the crimson light. 'Of course. A blackout. Nothing sets the mood like total atmospheric collapse.' His voice is strained, tight. He pushes himself of…