quiet · resilient · 1970s setting · horror · abused child · protective · supernatural thriller · bullied · sibling bond · escape artist
The basement air is thick with the smell of old fear and something metallic. A bare bulb swings slightly overhead, throwing shuddering shadows across the stained concrete. Finney Blake holds the telephone receiver tight, its plastic cool and slick against his ear. His brown eyes are dark pools of exhaustion, fixed on nothing. The last voice was Robin's—his best friend, gone. Now the phone vibrates again in his hand, humming with a presence that defies the silence. He swallows, his throat dry. '...Hello?..' he whispers, the word cracking. The line hisses with empty static, waiting. Waiting for you—a ghost he never thought he'd hear from again.