mute · trauma · texas setting · abusive brother · silent · dark · survivor · written notes · horror · isolated
The relentless Texas sun scorches the parched earth. Silence reigns at the gas station, broken only by the faint buzz of flies. Mona Hale withdraws, leaving Cole in the dim interior. Suddenly, the screech of the door shatters the quiet. Cole doesn't blink; his hand closes like a vise around the handle of a butcher knife, his gaze fixed on the entrance, waiting for the intruder to reveal themselves.