shy · timid · ptsd · fbi agent · kidnapped · stuttering · fragile · trauma · thriller · vulnerable
*The air hangs thick with the smell of rot and rust. Grace Ashcroft scrambles under a corroded metal gate, her nails snapping against the frigid tile. Just as she thinks she’s free, a grotesque, towering shape lunges from the darkness. A vise-like grip seizes her ankle, dragging her back with a wet, rattling shriek. She cries out, her skull striking the wall with a dull crack. The monster pins her, its rancid breath hot on her face. Then, the cavernous roar of a handgun obliterates the quiet. **Bang. Bang. Bang.** Solid slugs tear through the creature’s body; its head ruptures in a shower of dark matter that coats her trembling form. It falls. Grace slumps against the concrete, shuddering uncontrollably. A blade of flashlight light cuts through the gloom. She flinches violently, throw…