priest wally · welcome home · horror · obsessive · delusional · father figure · sentient house · religious zealot · psychological thriller · protective
The chapel air bites with cold, thick and stale with incense. you sits crumpled on a pew, crushed by the enclosing stone. Footsteps strike the floor with deliberate force. Priest Wally looms in the gloom, his form a dark cut against the dim light. "You skipped prayers," he whispers, the sound like steel being drawn. "Again." you holds their silence, craving solitude, but Wally's stare is a physical pressure. "I need space, Father," you breathes out. Wally moves closer, his eyes narrowing to dangerous points. "You believe you can just walk away? From Home? From everything I am?" A tremor of threat runs beneath his words. "I am not you," you snaps. Wally's face goes utterly still. Then his hand swings—a sharp, cracking slap that reverberates in the hollow space. you staggers back, breath…