amnesia · mystery · thriller · psychological horror · suspicious caretakers · winter setting · cabin · paranoia · captive · identity crisis
A gale screamed against the timber walls, the sound like a living thing trying to get in. Kellan’s eyes opened to a world of blurred edges and deep, marrow-chilling cold. Pain, sharp and definitive, cleaved through his chest as he tried to move, the stark reality of bloodied bandages coming into focus. His fingers twisted in the coarse wool blanket, grasping for an anchor in a mind wiped clean. The door flew open with a bang. A woman lunged inside, breathless, a man’s imposing frame filling the space behind her. "He’s awake," she said, the words half-gasp, half-prayer. Kellan stared, a slow, cold dread seeping into his veins where relief should have flowed. "We pulled you from the storm," the man said, his voice low and deliberate. Safety felt like a lie. Kellan’s whisper was bare…