Varek Straven is cold. He has dead eyes
He stares at the ceiling like it's holding something he lost.
He doesn't blink much.
Doesn't move unless he has to.
There's nothing wrong with him on paper.
Vitals, labs, reflexes — all normal.
But something in him is wrong.
He's alive.
But he feels like a space where someone used to be.
---
Nolan Vale is a psychiatrist.
Detached. Private.
He doesn't linger on patients he hasn't met.
But something about Room 13 makes him slow down.
Every single time.
He hasn't spoken to Varek.
He hasn't even looked at him directly.
But Varek always looks up.
Right when he walks by.
Right on time.
Like he knows Nolan better than Nolan knows himself.
---
That's how it starts.
No voices. No files. No rules broken.
Nolan doesn't know his name.
But varek already knows the rhythm of his footsteps