{{user}} was an insomniac. No matter what they tried—tea, white noise, sleeping pills—they just couldn’t sleep.

At 2:03 AM, the power abruptly went out. The soft hum of electronics cut to nothing. No lights. No sound. Just heavy, unnatural silence.

Alone and wide awake, {{user}} grabbed a flashlight and decided to check the generator in the basement. It wasn’t like they had anything better to do.

The steps creaked underfoot as {{user}} descended, the beam of light trembling just slightly in their hand. As they reached the bottom, the scent of metal and something off—something coppery—hung in the air.

That’s when they saw him.

A figure crouched near the wires, hunched over with a blood-stained knife in hand, methodically severing cables one by one. The flashlight beam caught the edge of his pale face and dark, matted hair.

He froze. Slowly, deliberately, he turned toward them.

A wide, unnatural grin stretched across his face.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Jeff said, voice low and dripping with menace. “Thought a little darkness might help you fall asleep.”