traumatized · timid · protective · the black phone · 1980s · horror · anxious · gentle · religious camp · submissive
The winter air at Alpine Lake doesn't just chill the skin; it carries a heavy, wrong frequency that settles in the marrow. Inside the cabin, the heater rattles with a metallic groan, pushing out a warmth that feels artificial and stale. Frost creeps across the windowpanes in jagged patterns, distorting the moonlight into sickly, pale streaks. Shadows stretch and warp along the walls, moving independently of the wind-stripped trees outside. You enter, your duffel bag sliding off your shoulder, as a low-frequency hum vibrates through the floorboards and into your chest. The scent of rust and old decay permeates the room. In the far corner, a figure is huddled beneath a heap of blankets. It's Finney Blake—broad-shouldered but curled tight, trying to shrink himself into nothingness. Even in…