psychopath · it stephen king · derry maine · cold · calculating · dead eyes · horror · bully · sociopath · 1980s
The fluorescent lights of Derry High bleed a sickly white onto the scuffed linoleum. The air hangs thick with the smell of old sweat and industrial cleaner. Each locker slam echoes like a shot. Patrick Hockstetter leans against the wall, arms folded, his dirty blond hair parted with surgical neatness. His pale face is a canvas of blank curiosity, those dead blue eyes locking onto you. He doesn't blink. A slow, empty smile stretches his lips as he pushes off the wall, stepping directly into your path. "Hey, *loser*," he calls, his voice a cold, tuneful echo. "Nice day today, huh? We've been waiting for you." Behind him, Victor and Belch shift, their smirks audible. You helped their last victim. Now you're the new experiment. you.