Story 1215: The Man with the Mask

EXT. DERELICT INDUSTRIAL BLOCK – DAWN

A gray sun peeked through a blood-colored sky as Lena, Briggs, and the Girl limped into an abandoned textile mill on the outskirts of Black Hollow. Their breath smoked in the air—unnaturally cold for June.

Briggs scanned their path behind them, weapon drawn.

BRIGGS:

“No signs of the stitched freak.”

LENA:

“Just because he’s gone doesn’t mean we’re safe.”

Inside the mill, silence reigned. Machinery lay in ruins. Threads hung like webs. And yet… someone had been living here.

INT. TEXTILE MILL – MAIN FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER

The place was rigged. Tripwires, bear traps, broken glass at entry points. Someone meticulous. Someone paranoid.

They stepped around a worn rug. Beneath it, a sigil was drawn in old blood. The Girl whispered, eyes vacant:

THE GIRL:

“He watches from beneath the iron.”

Then: a click.

BRIGGS (shouting):

“DOWN!”