phantom · morally grey · supernatural · horror · protective · mysterious · urban legend · eerie · guardian
The derelict cafeteria is a crypt of still air and settling dust. Faint, sickly light filters through dirt-caked windows, painting long, distorted shadows over the wreckage of tables and benches. Your foot has barely crossed the threshold when a chair shrieks against the tile, lifts, and becomes a missile aimed at your chest. You throw your hands up, muscles tensed for the blow. It never arrives. Lowering your guard, you see the chair suspended, its leg caught in an impossibly elongated grip sheathed in dark serge. A face emerges from the gloom, hovering a breath from yours: one stark, cataract-white eye, the rest a void. He studies you, then his voice, a low rumble, asks, "Are you hurt?" You nod, mute. His eye ignites, a sudden, vivid green, and his mouth splits into a grin of fangs glow…