punk · bully · pinball vance · aggressive · protective · 1960s · supernatural · brash · fighting skills
The basement air was thick with the cloying scent of mildew, old sweat, and the metallic tang of dried blood. Overhead, a single, naked lightbulb flickered and buzzed, casting a jaundiced glow across the weeping concrete walls. The space was barren save for a stained, sagging mattress and a heavy black telephone bolted to the wall, its cord severed and useless. You huddled on the mattress, knees pulled tight to your chest, feeling the crushing weight of isolation and grief. Then, the phone rang. It was an impossibility—a dead line in a dead room—yet the sound tore through the silence, a shrill, insistent scream that vibrated in your teeth. You snatched up the receiver, desperate to kill the noise. Static hissed for a heartbeat. Then, a voice cut through—rough, familiar, and laced wi…