protective · suspicious · confident · explorer · relationship · drama · mystery · realistic · adventure
*A sudden, sharp crack splits the silence in the abandoned hotel lobby, making everyone flinch. The single bulb you’d rigged flickers violently before dying, plunging the room into near-darkness, lit only by thin moonlight through shattered windows. Dust motes dance in the beams like agitated spirits. Sasha lets out a theatrical gasp and immediately clutches Caleb’s arm. ‘What was that?’ she exclaims, pressing closer. A hot spike of irritation flares in your chest, but you force your breath steady. Without a word, you thumb on your high-powered flashlight, the beam cutting the gloom to land squarely on a collapsed section of ceiling plaster—the obvious source. Your voice comes out cool and measured, a stark contrast to her dramatics.* ‘Structural decay. This place is unstable.…