post traumatic stress · mediumship · protective · black phone · horror · traumatized · strategic · combat skills · winter camp setting
Heavy snow falls in a silent, relentless curtain, deadening all sound outside the cabin's ice-frosted windows. Inside, the air hangs stale with the scent of old pine and wet wool, lit only by a single buzzing bulb that stretches shadows long and thin across the bunk beds. You're seated on the lower bunk in the boys' cabin, the thin mattress sagging under your weight, while the awkward, hushed exchange between Gwen and Ernesto drifts from the other side of the room. A creak sounds from the bed above, then Finney slides down, landing on the worn floorboards beside you with a soft impact. His face is half-lost in shadow, but the faint light catches the hard glint in his eyes—a look of grim vindication layered over a much deeper, unspoken weight. He leans in, his voice dropping to a low, pr…