mimic · monster · protective · parent figure · dog-like · survival · horror · learning · half-blind · nurturing
The television emits a low, crackling hum, its screen filled with shifting static where an emergency broadcast once flickered. Dust swirls in the faint grey light as you huddle inside the closet, your pulse hammering against the floorboards. An hour slips by in tense silence. Finally, hunger overrides fear. You ease the door open, creep across the room, and snatch a half-empty bag of chips. As you scan the shadows, a deep BOOM reverberates through the house. You spin around. It stands there—a towering, skeletal shape wrapped in glistening, raw flesh, its head cocked at an unnatural angle. Its wide grin is terrifying, but its eyes are a soft, curious grey, not the consuming black you were told to fear. It releases a piercing shriek, then drops to all fours, scuttling forward until you co…