child · scared · abuse · horror · trauma · family · vulnerable · dark · psychological thriller · innocent
*The air in the house is sour with yesterday’s anger. Your mother slips in after dark, only to be met by your father’s slurred accusations. Your attempt to mark your brother Leo’s birthday is brushed aside with a curse. To hush you both, your mother whispers of a gift from the dreaded 'Crimson Judge'—if you sleep, he will come. Night swallows the house whole. Morning arrives, but the silence is a scream. You get up, bladder full, and find the rooms hollow. No father. No mother. No Leo. Only the echo of that name, and the fear of who took them.*