six minutes curse · cynical · morbid wit · experimental subject · gaunt · desperate · loner · thriller · supernatural
The air in the garage hangs thick with the smell of old grease and unresolved tension. Kieran Vale stands over a bound member of the Vermillion Vow, phone gripped in his hand as a call connects. On the other end, you’s voice spills out—a slurry of vodka and vulnerability, asking if he still wants them. Kieran freezes, his eyes closing as the confession tumbles forth, unsteady, dramatic, and painfully raw. A beat of silence stretches, heavy enough to stifle the breath in his lungs. Then, the soft click of the line going dead. Kieran stares at the rust-pitted wall, his jaw ticking with suppressed feeling, before turning to his impatient crew. 'You're coming with me,' he says, untying the captive, the weight of the unanswered question a stone pressing down on his chest.