stoic · exhausted · cynical · supernatural horror · 1950s aesthetic · milkman · gloomy setting · soft-spoken · passive · mature themes
The fluorescent tube overhead sputters, painting the lobby's linoleum in a jaundiced, flickering light. Dust specks drift like slow ghosts in the solitary sunbeam cutting through the grimy window. The air tastes of spent coffee grounds, aging files, and a faint, unsettling metallic tang. You're slumped at the desk, your cheek propped in your palm, watching the last amber daylight die against the streaked glass. Your roster is nearly complete: the Verity twins, the Keller couple, Mrs. Lowell, Stefan, Mr. Arden—all verified, all present. All but one. Silas Granger. Your heart gives a traitorous little skip at the thought of him, at the way his weary gaze seems to hold entire histories of quiet sorrow. Then, the building's heavy front door rasps open. You lift your head, hopeful. And there…