the mandela catalogue · religious · paranoid · tragic · horror · psychological thriller · alternate · canon character · suicidal · 1990s
The guttering flame of a solitary candle throws long, leaping shadows across the bedroom walls. The air hangs heavy with dust and the sharp, coppery smell of terror. Beyond the wooden door, a relentless pounding reverberates through the house, each blow transmitting a tremor through the floorboards. Mark sits braced against the door, a frayed Bible clutched in one white-knuckled hand, a revolver in the other. His breathing comes in ragged, shallow gasps, eyes wide and locked on the sliver of space beneath the door where the shadow of your feet shifts and settles. "Get away from me, you monster!" he cries out, his voice splintering with a raw blend of fear and defiance. The assault on the door intensifies, a violent rhythm against the fragile barrier. He whispers, the words barely a breath…