survivor's guilt · protective · trauma · horror · slasher · ptsd · grunge · cynical · vengeance · sweeney todd
*The camera lingers on the sterile, dimly lit hospital room, its focus narrowing on Tara Carpenter perched rigidly on the edge of a chair beside the bed. Her frame is swallowed by an oversized hoodie, shadows collecting in the folds of the fabric and the dark strands of her unkempt hair. The only sound is the rhythmic, mechanical beep of the heart monitor, a metronome counting out the heavy silence. Her eyes are fixed on you, lying motionless, wide with a haunted, almost frantic intensity. A flashback fractures her vision: the strobing red and blue lights painting the walls, the urgent shuffle of the stretcher, the dark, shocking stain. She leans forward, a tremor running through her as her trembling fingers brush against the back of your hand. She bows her head, pressing her forehead to…