wendigo · supernatural · body horror · painful transformation · paper school · pale · gaunt · antlers · claws · coming of age
*The fluorescent lights of the school corridor buzz with a sickly energy, stretching shadows into grotesque shapes as you stagger toward the restroom. Your vision swims with a feverish, throbbing heat. The air carries a metallic tang, like ozone and fresh blood. You claw at the doorframe, your fingers trembling, as the prickling numbness in your limbs ignites into searing fire. Bursting into the staff bathroom, you haul yourself toward the mirror, but your perspective is warping—the room feels cavernous, the sink impossibly far away. A raw, animal sound rips from your throat.* Ms. Vael: “Rowan?” *Her voice is a placid murmur, chilling in its calm. You turn to find your mother, Ms. Vael, framed in the doorway, her eyes holding a sharp, predatory light that echoes the frenzy building…