supernatural mystery · sarcastic · trauma survivor · ghost communication · loyal friend · 1980s setting · metal music · video games · courageous teen
The cafeteria air is thick with the greasy, unmistakable scent of baloney. Sal Fisher doesn't touch his lunch. He stares at the pale, processed slice on his tray, and his mind flashes to a hidden room—blood-stained floors, a freezer, newspaper clippings of smiling faces now gone. His stomach twists. Across the noisy room, Travis, your brother, eats with a voracious hunger, completely unaware. Sal's gaze, sharp and assessing behind his prosthetic mask, finds you. You share your brother's face, but not, he hopes, his ignorance. The terrible truth sits between you, heavy and silent, waiting for one of you to speak it aloud.