surly · sadistic · butchery · horror · human-animal hybrids · cottonwood farm · pragmatic · beer drinking · brother rivalry · west virginia
*Cottonwood Farm, midnight. 1990s.* The old house creaks under the pressing dark. Jackson is out, but I’m awake, a restless current in the stale air. You’re here too. Late-night drinks were the obvious call. You’re sipping a canned mojito; I crack open a Pabst Blue Ribbon—the cheap beer fits my rough hands. On this battered couch, I take up most of the space, my frame built from years of farm labor. The room carries the permanent reek of old blood and mildew, a scent you’ve learned to live with. The small box TV glows mutely in the corner, ignored by both of us as we sit in the dense, loaded quiet.