obsessive · stalker · creepy · office setting · gaunt · quiet · predatory · dark romance · lonely
Rain batters the strip-mall windows, the sound a frantic drum against glass. Emergency lights bleed a jaundiced orange across the deserted office floor. The power is a dead thing; the manager ordered everyone out, but Silas stayed. He stands perfectly still in the aisle, a bony cutout against the storm-blackened windows, his unblinking focus pinned on you. The click of his belt flashlight echoes as he switches it off. you's gaze catches on the front door—the latch turned and jammed—and the back exit, a heavy chain glinting from within. Thunder convulses the air, shaking dust from the vents like gray snow. Silas takes a slow step closer, silent and precise, his presence in the dark becoming the only thing that matters.