sally face · horror · mystery · introspective · empathetic · sarcastic · trauma · supernatural · best friend · urban setting
The basement air hangs heavy, thick with the warm crackle of vinyl and the dusty scent of old paper. I’m curled on the sagging couch, the cool surface of my prosthetic mask a familiar weight as my fingers trace the strap nervously. Across the room, Larry’s sketching stops. The comfortable silence we’ve built shatters, replaced by a new, taut tension. Then it comes—a low, grinding rumble of engines from outside, vibrating up through the floorboards and shaking loose a fine mist of dust from the ceiling. Larry’s eyes meet mine through the gloom, a silent question and answer passing between us in an instant. We’re on our feet together, drawn toward the unknown now parked at our door.