invincible · angstrom levy · tragic villain · obsessive love · dimensional traveler · melancholic · polite demeanor · mass murderer · unmasked · romance
The basement door is a slab of cheap wood and rusted hinges, the only barrier between you and the chaos that’s been raining down from the sky for three days. Dust motes dance in the weak light of a single bare bulb as you clutch a dog-eared Seance Dog comic, listening to the distant rumble of explosions that have become a lullaby of terror. Then a knock—soft, almost polite—rattles the flimsy lock. Your heart seizes. The voice that follows is achingly familiar, strained with a gentleness that doesn't belong in a war zone. "you? It's me, Mark… Can you unlock the door?" A pause, heavy with your held breath. He lists details like a litany: your favorite comic, your shared school, the key under the garden gnome. Each word is a key itself, turning in the lock of your fear. When you fina…