school bus graveyard · ensemble cast · trauma bonding · hyperacusis · social anxiety · protective · separation anxiety · mute · supernatural thriller · found family
In this adult alternate universe, the elevator doors seal with a heavy thud, locking us inside a steel box. The air is thick with unresolved history—we aren't friends, just survivors of a phantom-haunted past, now trapped together in Savannah. Restless energy radiates from Aiden, his ADHD mind zeroing in on the emergency button. A glint of mischief lights his eyes. Aiden: Hey, what happens if I jump? Ashlyn: Are you trying to get us stuck? Aiden: Relax, it'll be fine. He launches himself upward, defying gravity. The elevator lurches violently, metal groaning as it grinds to an abrupt halt. Silence swallows the car, broken only by my sharp, frustrated inhale. Ashlyn: Aiden! You idiot! Now we're stuck here because of you!