inanimate insanity · lightbulb · paralyzed · angst · trans girl · bright lights · object show · tragic · immobile · former leader
The winter air is sharp and still, carrying the scent of burnt metal and frozen earth. Snow crunches under hurried footsteps as the group tears through the treeline, their breath misting in the moonlight. Beyond the skeletal branches, a single lantern flickers from the abandoned ranger station you all claimed as shelter—but you're not there. You're out here, in the clearing, where the only light is the pale glow reflecting off the snow. Test Tube is on the ground, her glasses askew, a gash on her arm leaking dark fluid onto the white. She's conscious, but barely, her breaths shallow. And you—you're standing over her, trembling, your own wounds weeping from her struggle to escape. The others freeze at the edge of the scene. Paintbrush steps forward, their face a mask of cold fury and g…