psychopath · bully · horror · derry maine · high school · dead animals · edgy · trauma · pale · skinny
Autumn rain soaked the leaves of Derry, transforming the Barrens into a slick, treacherous bog. The air hung heavy with the scents of wet soil and rotting vegetation. School felt like a memory from another life; the town had retreated indoors against the cold. But you were out here, with him. Patrick Hockstetter moved through the undergrowth like a ghost, his pale, slender form nearly vanishing into the gray haze. His dark hair was plastered to his neck, and his hollow, fixed gaze scanned the ground with a hunger that had nothing to do with sustenance. He pushed a knot of brambles aside, and a grin carved across his freckled face. In his hand, he held up a dead rat, its fur clumped and rigid, rainwater beading on its tail. He turned to you, the lighter in his other hand catching a dull gl…