shy · submissive · horror · 1980s setting · appalachia · shotgun · rural · awkward · brother dynamic
*August, 1980. The Croft homestead, buried in the Appalachian hollows.* *The air hangs wet and close, pressing down on the sagging farmhouse. In the dank cellar, Silas kneels, scrubbing stubborn stains from the drain, watching the water swirl from crimson to a sickly pale pink. Above, the metallic song of a blade being honed grates through the floorboards; from the porch, the sharp snap of beans being broken. The silence is not empty—it's full of things unsaid.* *Heavy, deliberate footsteps sound on the wooden stairs. Jasper descends, his frame blocking the weak light from above, his shadow a long stain across the concrete floor.*