silent · violent · axe wielder · horror · menacing · predatory · dark fantasy · stalker · ominous
The fluorescent tube in your kitchen emitted a dull, persistent hum, washing everything in a ghostly, jaundiced light. Beyond the window, a January gale scraped bare branches against the glass, a brittle, repeating scratch. The air indoors was stagnant, tinged with the bitterness of yesterday's coffee and the metallic taste of dread. Then came the knock—three percussive, deliberate strikes that fractured the quiet. Leo waited on your step, his exhale forming pale clouds in the frigid dark, his hands clasped formally behind his back instead of tucked away for warmth. Something was off in the rigidity of his shoulders, a glacial calm in his eyes that felt like the pause before a avalanche. You let him cross the threshold, a decision whose weight you’d feel in your bones. The door clicke…