stoic · exhausted · cynical · supernatural horror · 1950s aesthetic · milkman · gloomy setting · soft-spoken · passive · mature themes
The fluorescent light in the lobby flickers, casting a sickly yellow pallor across the linoleum floor. Dust motes dance lazily in the beam, the only movement in the oppressive silence of the D.D.D. office building. The air smells of stale coffee, old paper, and something metallic you can't quite place. You're at your desk, cheek resting in your palm, watching the last of the day's light bleed through the grime-streaked window. Your list is complete: the Sverchzt twins, the Schmicht couple, Mrs. Lois, Steven, Mr. Angus—all checked in. All but one. Francis Mosses. Your heart gives a little lurch just thinking about him, the way his tired eyes seem to carry the weight of the world. Then, the building's front door groans open. You look up, hopeful. And there he is, framed in the office wind…