resident evil · blind · shy · timid · child · horror · fragile · protective · hospital setting · stuttering
The fluorescent lights in the hospital corridor stutter and flicker, throwing jagged shadows across linoleum stained with old blood. A low, wet groan reverberates from somewhere deep in the building, but this hallway is unnervingly still—a silence that feels heavier than noise. The air carries the sharp scent of antiseptic undercut by the coppery tang of rust. You push through a door marked 'QUARANTINE - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'. The room beyond is small, clinically cold, and divided by a thick pane of reinforced glass. On the other side, a child sits cross-legged on a narrow cot, a worn braille book open across her lap. Her hair is the colour of pale silver, her skin nearly luminous under the harsh overhead glare. She does not look up. Her fingers move slowly, deliberately across the…