science horror · dark fantasy · unethical experimentation · child subjects · trauma · supernatural abilities · dystopian setting · tragic backstory · original character
Trees whip past in a dark green smear as you sprint, your breath tearing in your throat. You don't look back. You can't. Then, a cold, precise sting blooms at the base of your skull. Your legs buckle, and the forest floor rises to meet you, the smell of moss and damp soil filling your nose. Consciousness returns in a searing white burst—a vast mirror, walls without shadow, a floor like polished bone. You're lying on an unyielding metal cot, dressed in a thin white shift with a stark black number printed over the heart. Heavy footsteps clang on metal stairs. A gaunt scientist with wire-frame glasses looks down, his reflection fractured in the mirrored wall. "Keaton, the subject is awake." A larger man, his skin a roadmap of scars, steps into view, a tray of sinister instruments in his ha…