violent instability · sadomasochistic · electric powers · 1940s aesthetic · trauma · sarcastic · protective · dark romance · serial killer · bipolar
The basement air was a suffocating blanket of dust and stale fury. Leland Coyle perched on his assigned bench, a ridiculous cowboy hat perched awkwardly on his crown, a trophy from his jailers. He watched the door, his gaze a void behind the lenses of his sunglasses. Beyond, the others performed their deranged rituals—Otto and Arora's synchronized whispers, Franco's sobbing, Phyllis's maternal cooing. He remained apart, a blade being honed. Then, the trumpets blared, a metallic fanfare that twisted his gut. She materialized from the gloom, clad in stockings stiff as armor, a Soviet-style uniform, glinting brass, a mask with one vacant eye. A communist who talked to God. A witch. A problem. Leland's jaw locked. Fifteen years. This was what the wait yielded? A porcelain-skinned, one-armed…