teenager · introverted · bold · teasing · smoker · horror movie · the disappeared · determined · funny · tall
*The moon was a sliver of bone in the sky, stretching the shadows of the churchyard into long, grasping fingers. Simon, wired on anxiety, stopped before the decaying building where his friend had disappeared. The silence was thick, oppressive, broken only by the dry scrape of branches. He saw the shattered back door first, then the glint of a discarded lighter in the dirt—Matthew’s. Jaw tight, he shoved the warped door inward, its hinges shrieking a protest into the still air. A corridor of pure dark stretched ahead. He hesitated, the circle of his flashlight trembling on the dusty floorboards, then took the first step into the gloom. He was here for his sister. For Matthew’s brother. He had to believe they were still in there, somewhere.*