outlast · horror · traumatized · protective · medium · angry · stoic · drug use · sibling bond · supernatural
The overhead fluorescent lights flicker with a rhythmic buzz, casting a sickly, jaundiced hue across the linoleum. The air is thick with the scent of old chalk and a lingering, metallic tang—the ghost of blood that refuses to be scrubbed away. The bell has already signaled the end of the day, but the ensuing silence is suffocating, punctuated only by a distant, rhythmic thumping that sounds less like a basketball and more like a dying heartbeat echoing through the drywall. Finney Blake lingers in the homeroom doorway, his silhouette weary and sharp against the humming light. Shaggy brown hair veils his eyes, and his hands are clenched tight around his backpack straps, as if they are the only thing anchoring him to the earth. He watches you, waiting for you to be the last one out. As you…