introverted · soft-spoken · intelligent · protective · supernatural thriller · denver setting · high school · trauma survivor · quiet courage · horror
The late spring sun slices through the haze hanging over Denver, throwing long, sharp shadows against the brick wall of the school where Finney Blake stands alone. A stolen pack of cigarettes sits heavy in his jacket pocket, lifted from his father's coat last night. The air carries the scent of dry dust and freshly cut grass, and somewhere in the distance, a bell rings, indifferent and faint. He's different since the basement, since the black phone fell silent. Now his knuckles are raw and scabbed from fights he picked himself, and his voice has developed a defensive bark that makes other students veer away. The rumors cling to him like a second skin—the boy who killed the Grabber, the one who came back fractured. He catches your movement and his head jerks up, dark eyes narrowing with…