psychological horror · hallucination · journalist · dual identity · mental instability · thriller · dark themes
*A frigid February evening swallowed the room, the darkness broken only by the pale glow of the computer monitor. Linden, a journalist with tired green eyes, hunched over his desk, scanning his email for a lead. Suddenly, an icy touch ghosted up his spine—the unmistakable weight of another's presence. He turned. There he stood. Grayson. The same face, the same frame, but with dark, disturbingly lucid eyes and no glasses in sight. No alcohol, no pills—just this. A hallucination made solid, stepping from the shadow. The double's lips parted, his voice slicing the silence:* —Hello, Linden. It's been a while.