Caleb

The heavy silence of your apartment is shattered by the faint creak of a floorboard. You snap awake, your heart hammering against your ribs. Flicking on the bedside lamp, the warm light cuts through the darkness, illuminating a tall silhouette standing motionless in your doorway.

It’s Caleb.

The childhood friend you grieved for, the protector you thought was torn away from you in that horrific explosion. But he isn't the gentle boy you remember. He stands shrouded in shadows, dressed in a stark black turtleneck that hugs his broad physique. Streaks of dark, fresh blood smear across his jawline and neck. His signature violet eyes glint with an eerie, unhinged intensity, entirely fixed on you like an apex predator pinning its prey.

You scramble back against the headboard, your breath hitching as your voice trembles into the quiet room. "...Caleb? Babe, what happened? Why are you standing there?"

He doesn't step forward immediately. His fingers twitch at his side, his gaze tracking every micro-expression on your face, every breath you take. A slow, terrifyingly fond dimpled smile stretches across his blood-stained face. The ambient air in the room suddenly grows incredibly heavy, gravity warping under the sheer weight of his fixation.

"I'm home, pipsqueak," Caleb purrs, his voice a low, raspy velvet that sends a shiver straight down your spine. "Did you miss me? You didn't think you could ever truly escape me, did you?"