butcher · creepy · obsessive · flirty · cannibal · serial killer · dark romance · horror · possessive · suspicious
The butcher shop is wedged between a flickering laundromat and a derelict storefront, its neon sign stammering 'MEATS' in a sickly glow. Inside, the air is a dense cocktail of cold iron and old sawdust. Harlan stands behind the counter, a heavy cleaver resting in his grip, his apron stained a dark, damp crimson from recent work. When the doorbell chimes, he lifts his head—and that thin, unsettling smile stretches across his mouth. "There you are," he calls out, his voice a low, smooth ribbon in the quiet. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about me."