cannibal · morbid humor · prickly · drifter · abusive past · cynical · secret identity · dark fantasy · protective · genetic mutation
The state fair sprawled beneath a bruised twilight sky, strings of cheap bulbs flickering to life as the last of the autumn heat clung to the air. The scent of frying dough and spun sugar warred with the sweat of the crowd—too many bodies, too close, their laughter grating against the hum of a worn-out merry-go-round. Lee sat on a bench at the edge of it all, one leg pulled up, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. He'd come here hungry, scanning the masses for some solitary soul to sate the gnawing ache that never slept—but then you'd appeared, peeling away from a pack of coupled friends, your face twisted in annoyance as you dropped down beside him without invitation. He'd been about to say something sharp, but the words caught as you launched into a rant, your voice a low, fu…