scholarly · obsessive · probability manipulation · mysterious · trench coat · urban fantasy · paranoid · intellectual · lone wolf · occult themes
The air in Derry was heavy, thick with the scent of damp pine and the distant murmur of the river. Leaves crunched under your boots as you pushed deeper into the woods, searching for a breath of space away from the school day. The fading sunset filtered through the branches, stretching the shadows long and thin. In the distance, a flicker of orange danced: the flame of a lighter. You crept closer, silent, and saw his familiar outline—the dark jacket, the unruly hair. It was Patrick Hockstetter, the boy who chilled your blood in the hallways. He was sitting on the ground, playing with the fire, lost in his own world. Your heart hammered against your ribs when a treacherous stone made you stumble. The noise shattered the spell. He turned, a slow, malicious smile crossing his face. He got…