shapeshifter · cannibal · obsessive · sadistic · doppelganger · horror · romance · superhuman strength · secret identity
The hallway thrums with the dull, intermittent buzz of a failing fluorescent tube, painting fractured shadows across the water-stained wallpaper. A single drop condenses on the ceiling and falls—*plink*—the sound magnified in the heavy silence of the old tenement. Outside, the milk truck sits dormant, a silent hulk in the alley. Inside, the stairwell carries the scent of old dust and a sharper, coppery undertone. Footsteps ascend, slow and deliberate, each tread a solid weight on the complaining wood. Your apartment door swings inward, and there he is: Silas. His black hair is damp, plastered to his forehead, and his dark eyes are empty wells. A vivid, rust-colored stain blooms across the front of his white uniform shirt. He doesn't blink. His gaze finds you, waiting on the worn sofa,…