Covens and Proxies

47

The next morning, everyone is practically buzzing. Apparently, there's going to be a big spree soon and all of the killers are ecstatic about it. Except for a very small, grounded few. Jeffery Woods, Natalie Ouellet and Eyeless Jack. The first two for unnecessary aggressions towards both you and Toby, the later for neglecting his job and leaving his targets alive.

Toby sits in his room next to you, staring at his hatchets. He's not happy about leaving. "If you ca-came..." He tries for the fifth time since the order.

"No. Toby, if I go... I just can't." He nods solemnly, understanding the mental chaos you've been facing since the Slenderman incident.

Even he understands that it's dangerous for you to break in any way. "I just don-don't want to leave you here with... Woo-ods." He mutters, running a gloved thumb along the blade. "And Clockwork."

You smile, draping your arms over his shoulders. "Toby? Do you remember whay I can do?" He glances at you, his scarred cheek twitches and he nods. "Don't worry. Dr. Smile is staying, too. Even if they do make a move, he'll fix me. And EJ."

He sighs. Someone practically screeches from the stairs. "That's my cue." He grumbles, standing and sheathing his mini axe.

You hug him tight, knowing he won't be back for a little while. "Be safe. You won't have me somewhere so reachable anymore." You mutter into his chest.

He squeezes you softly, "I know. I'll be fine. Rouge is coming this time. She wouldn't let any of us be hurt."

Hesitantly, you let him go. You don't move as he walks to the door, pausing with a glance at you before pulling up his scarf and walking out. You listen to them all, extending your senses so you can follow Toby to the door where the others are waiting. You can feel them walking out, into the forest, heading for Slender's borders. Beyond that, their presence is mute.

Slowly, you draw back to yourself and head down. Jack is playing against himself at pool while Jeff downs a pint in a single gulp. You can only guess where Clock-face is at the moment. You grab a few bottles to make your drink and head over to EJ.

"Room for one more?" You ask, already feeling your brain shutting down.

After so long of being around Toby so much, it's difficult to just... Let him go. Especially after whatever it was that happened last night.

EJ looks up from a shot and nods, passing the cue to you. "You're stripes." He mutters.

You play against him, losing three out of five games. For someone completely eyeless, he's a good shot. You get tired of losing, so you leave him to play alone again and head for the library. You ignore Jeff, knowing he's following you, until he's walking shoulder to shoulder with you.

"What do you want, Woods?" You growl.

"I want to talk." He replies shortly.

"About what?" You grumble, pulling a book off of a shelf to review it.

"How about you wiping my memory."

You shut the book and keep looking. "What's there to say? You were getting to be too much, I didn't like you enough to put up with it anymore so I took the path of least resistance and removed myself from your consciousness." You explain, tugging free another volume.

"What's different with Toby? He's worse then I am when he gets really worked up."

"He was fully prepared to accept my denial of a real relationship. He knows he's fucked up and lets me help him. He drives me to work harder to be better. You never did." You glare at the bastard, but you see nothing except muted eyes and a blank expression.

"If I were like that, would you have excepted me?"

"Where are you taking this, Jeff?" You sigh.

"I'm just trying to understand what happened."

You glare at him, your anger starting to boil over. "You want to know what happened, Jeffery Woods?" you snap, "You forced yourself on me more times then I could count! You slapped me around for the smallest shit! You beat me for no reason! You tried to suppress my powers! You did NOTHING for me and called it love!" You shriek.

For a moment, his face is hidden behind his shaggy hair before he looks up enough for you to see his smile. "Does that count as provocation?" He asks, though you don't understand at all.

A giggle sounds behind you, drawing you to look over and see Clockwork with her phone camera recording. "Yep."

You look back at Jeff, fear drowning your anger as he draws a knife. Without bothering to think, you turn on your heel and shove past Clockwork, sprinting head-long for the door.

You can hear him laughing as he launches after you. You almost slam into several walls as you head for the lounge, praying EJ or Slenderman or Smile might help you. But you know they won't before you reach the foyer. Because Clockwork has proof of you 'harassing' Jeff.

Instead, you hang a ninety degree halfway across the foyer and nearly break down the front doors. And then your sprinting across the open grass for the tree line. You aim for Cody's toxic plants, hoping Jeff will recognize something there and won't just run through it.

Unfortunately, he's on your heels before you manage to pass the first pine. You jump, casting for light weight, into the branches, and keep going a different direction. He roars in anger below, swiftly changing direction after you.

"Get down here you hypocritical bitch so I can slice you up!" He screams, laughing hysterically.

You try to ignore him, ignore the burning feeling in your gut as you jump through the canopy. He keeps chasing, his endurance and agility impressing you by the minute. Even when your spell starts fading, he's kept pace right behind you.

You prepare to repeat the casting until your foot catches on a branch, flinging you several yards ahead of the smiling murderer and towards the ground. You manage to roll onto the ground, only twisting your wrist slightly before kicking up and away. Your breath is ragged, your lungs feel like they're shredded, your throat dry as a desert. He laughs harder behind you, audibly getting excited about you being grounded.

You keep ignoring the roaring lust for spilling his blood, the burning in your lungs and aching in your legs and feet. Still, you push yourself into a sprint as far as you can. Something distorts the light ahead and you realise you're reaching the edge of Slenderman's territory, the border he designed to keep those grounded inside.

You almost laugh with hysterical relief, jumping into a roll through the barrier and onto the highway. You look back, seeing Jeff is still running and grin. He'll slam face-first into it and you'll be perfectly safe.

Until he doesn't and he jumps. For a moment, he blocks out the sun and you're confused, unable to move until he's pinned you to the pavement, trying to slit your throat. You manage to keep him off with your burning muscles, but your energy is disappearing fast and you don't have enough to cause a simple cough!

You scrunch your eyes shut, waiting for your body to give out and your blood to splatter the highway.