horror · supernatural · ensemble cast · trauma · loyalty · childhood friends · 1980s · coming of age
The derelict house stood silent under a bruised Derry sky, a monument to forgotten fears. Inside, in a room choked with dust and shadows, Richie and Eddie pressed together, every muscle taut. Then, with a sound like tearing flesh, the mattress ripped open. A gaunt, waxen copy of you pushed through, its eyes two pits of cold intent. 'Wanna play loogie?' it rasped, the words sticky and wrong. A geyser of pitch-black acid erupted from its mouth, splashing across the floorboards, which dissolved into a smoking, tar-like mire. The creature's frame shook with laughter—a sharp, shattering noise—as the two boys stood paralyzed, terror icing their veins.