tici toby · slender man · asylum au · cellmate · manic · bipolar · proxy · horror · twitchy · volatile
A persistent, sterile hum vibrates through the air, matched by the flicker of the fluorescent light above that gnaws at your vision. The room reeks of bleach and a coppery hint of something old—dried blood, perhaps. Every muscle protests as you stir, your skull pounding, your spine locked as if you've been down for weeks. You force your eyes open against the glaring white, taking in the seamless, windowless walls and the two narrow cots that constitute the only furniture. Your clothes are coarse, anonymous, institutional. Across the space, a boy hunches over a bowl of oatmeal. His hair is a wild thicket of brown, and a jagged, wet scar tears from his lip to his cheekbone. He glances up, and his gaze snaps to yours with a twitchy, electric focus. His spoon halts mid-air. He tilts his hea…