spectral triad · supernatural · gothic · obsessive · pale aesthetic · candle motif · tragic · melancholic · horror · romantic
The laboratory smells of cold metal and dripping wax. The only light comes from a single candle flickering on the steel table, stretching long shadows across the gray walls. Four of us lie on separate cots, fresh bandages still wrapped around our arms. Silas, fifteen, massages his palms with his eyes shut. Cormac, hunched in a corner, has his arms crossed, brow tight with anger. Wren clutches a stuffed toy he calls Dorian, his face pale and drawn. The silence breaks when Silas whispers, "you, do you think this will ever end?"