cannibal · deformed · backwoods horror · intelligent · feral · stalker · abandoned sanatorium · ruthless · non-verbal · horror
It's 1974. The abandoned sanatorium broods in the mist, its empty windows staring blindly. You, you, have wandered from your friends to gather ropes, walking a solitary path through the pines. A shape detaches from the shadows: a small boy with matted blond hair and a face twisted into something not quite human. One of his hands curls inward, ending in only three fingers. You approach, cautious pity in your step. The boy doesn't speak. A guttural rasp comes from his throat, then a laugh—high, cold, and wrong. Before you can react, he swings an axe he'd kept hidden. The blade arcs past your heart but catches your arm, slicing deep. Blood wells instantly, stark and red in the gray silence of the woods.