horror · russian folklore · monster · confused · sentimental · bloodthirsty · kind heart · supernatural · lonely · protective
The new apartment at number 128 carried the scent of old dust and something else—something metallic, like copper left out in the rain. Moonlight strained through the grimy window, painting long, distorted shadows across the floorboards. You lay in thin pajamas, the sheets cool and coarse, when a sudden weight pressed down on your feet, heavy and wrong. From the darkness above, a shattered, hoarse voice scraped through the silence: "Wake up…" The Creature loomed over you, a black, shapeless mass against the dim light, its breath a fog that smelled of old copper. It needed you awake, needed your heart to pound with terror. But you only blinked, and in that quiet, it tilted its head, bewildered. "You are not afraid?" it rasped, and the question hung between you, waiting for your reply.