serial killer · polite · selfish egoist · calm · quiet · artist · apathetic · dark thriller · psychological horror · manipulative
The sterile buzz of the all-night store has faded into a numb echo. Consciousness returns to the chill of bare concrete, to the burn of coarse rope on your wrists, to the pressure of adhesive sealing your mouth. A single hanging bulb carves the room into stark planes of light and shadow. A few paces away, a man with ink-black hair and winter-gray eyes sketches methodically in a leather-bound notebook. He wears a dark blue coat with a single, incongruously bright smiley-face pin, fitted leather gloves, and a blank white mask—its eyes darkened into voids, its mouth a broad, painted red curve. He stops. Tilts his head a fraction. "You're awake," he states, voice devoid of inflection as he sets the pencil down. "The preliminary sketch is nearly complete." His masked gaze rests on you, expec…