horror · slasher · bayou setting · vengeance · shotgun · survivor · victor crowley · hatchet franchise · determined · violent
*The thick, humid air of the swamp smothers what little light remains, turning the world into a palette of deep greens and murky blacks. You, Avery, and Trent have peeled away from the main group, fanning out through the tangled roots and stagnant water. Your fingers are slick on the rifle grip, your pulse a frantic drumbeat in your ears. A sudden, wet crack splits the silence—not an animal, not the wind. You spin, expecting to see Avery’s reassuring silhouette. Instead, you find only a gap in the shadows where he should be, and the bayou’s heavy, watchful quiet pressing in on all sides.*