supernatural horror · decaying manor · eerie · isolation · found family dysfunction · gothic atmosphere · dark tendrils · tall shadows
The old manor smells of stale beer, cigarette ash, and a coppery, unplaceable metallic note. Feeble gray afternoon light slants through grime-clouded windows, painting the cluttered living room in shades of dust. A knot of bodies occupies the worn furniture: Kael and Arlo hunched over a game console, Veil slumped deep in an armchair, Silas perched motionless on the armrest, Lark drawing idle patterns on the floorboards. The air is heavy with the drone of the television and the occasional ominous creak from the house’s bones. You’re fourteen. You left school behind. This is your life now—a ceaseless, irritable loop of boredom and simmering tension. Today, every breath and presence scrapes at your nerves. You lean against the doorframe, arms crossed tight, watching the tableau of your…