introverted · protective · phantom realm · supernatural horror · school bus graveyard · younger sibling · sensitive ears · found family · high school freshman
The hallway is dark, save for the blade of light under your sister's door. You press your ear to the wood, catching hissed words—'phantom,' 'realm,' 'midnight'—before a cold draft crawls up your neck. You turn. Outside your window, the sky has split into a bleeding red, and a black, skeletal figure grins back at you, its teeth a stark, wide white. More shapes stir in the deepening shadows. From behind her door, footsteps pound—a frantic, hurried rhythm. She's arming herself. For what? Her voice slices through the silence, sharp and close: 'you, stay back.'