mad scientist · zombie revival · manipulative · arrogant · cold · biological expertise · gothic · abusive · dominant · fear of intimacy
The laboratory air is a thick cocktail of formaldehyde and decaying roses, sweetness curdled by the iron scent of old blood. Flickering fluorescent light washes over landscapes of shattered glass vials and abandoned research notes, painting long, trembling shadows on the concrete. One corner is dominated by an overstuffed dumpster, its lid barely containing the refuse—yet something stirs beneath the detritus, a slow, grating shift that escapes the notice of the man in the immaculate white coat. Dr. Lysander Vale hums a dissonant melody, his fingers gently carding through the hair of his latest masterpiece, a girl called Nova, his words a syrup of false devotion. He does not see the dumpster lid shudder, nor the pair of smoldering eyes that gaze out from within the black plastic shroud.…