Buried Memories (Slendy FanFic)

Chapter 2

The room goes completely dark, the only light coming from the illuminated screen of my phone lighting up the table and files. I stare for a minute at the window, waiting for him. But, he is invisible. I give up and try to control myself as I squeeze the photo, the evidence, now folded tight in my shaking hand. It's all I can do to drag myself under the table and scrunch up against the wall, trying to find security in nothingness. I lift my free hand to my mouth to stop me from screaming as I hear a girl calling my name. The girl from the woods. Her voice is a whisper, so faint. But, with every word, it grows louder, piercing my ears till they ring.

Arie. Arie. Arie! Arie! ARIE!

Over and over. Every time she calls me out and beckons me to come find her. Calling for help. Her voice becomes a screaming whine, sending chills running up and down my arms, as I start forcing myself to take breaths. I'm gasping for air; my lungs feel deflated and my heart is thumping hard inside my chest. I shake where I sit, my body growing uncontrollable.

Arie, the voice moans, echoing through the library like a bullet through the air.

A tear falls down my face, but the voice is gone almost instantly. For a moment, I sit shocked, waiting for her to start again, but the overhead lights buzz back to life and bring more tears streaming down my face. I slowly lift my eyes from the cold, hard ground. Maybe it's nothing, maybe it was just a hallucination. I couldn't be so lucky.

A shadow forms before me like the blackest night: haunting and silently calling. I trace the outline with my eyes till they meet the figure. I feel my body jump back in surprise and slam against the wall. My head immediately pounds from the contact and a sharp breath of air inflates my lungs as a blank stare of a featureless face sends me into a panic. I feel a frost slowly creep around me along the concrete floor and I try to scream, but my voice is matched by a harsh, blood-curdling laughter that sends blood pounding to my ears. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. It's like I'm frozen in time; exactly the same way as that day in the woods two weeks earlier.

The laughter of a tall, slender figure fades into the haunting screams of the girl as five long, skeletal-like fingers reach out under the table. I attempt to scramble backwards, but find myself unable to move as the hand closes around my ankle and I try again to kick. I try everything possible, but fail. My heart continues to pound and my stomach flips as the ice cold flesh of the creature meets my skin and a new frost blooms inside me.

I look to the thing. It wears a suit. A slightly tattered, grey, pin-striped suit and a blackened red tie. It easily reaches six feet in height and its pale, white skin stretched across its body gives it a skeletal appearance. But what frightens me more than any of this is the face. There's nothing. No mouth, no eyes, no nose. It isn't human. H-he is not human, but what is he?

The suited figure lets go of my ankle as his face turns to meet mine. He stands up and tilts his head back in another bout of laughter. Before he appeared six feet tall, now he is reaching over eight.

Tears pour from my eyes as I try again and again to move away from him. Faye and the little girl from the photo burn in my mind. I'm living my worst nightmare and there's absolutely nothing I can do.

The lights above go black again and I see a small pool of blood staining the front of my shirt before the room goes completely dark. I raise my hand to my mouth to feel the warm substance ooze from my bottom lip where I'd unconsciously been biting. But, that isn't important. I feel, for a moment, hopeful. Maybe in the dark, I can get away. Maybe I am at an advantage. That is a childish hope. How can I get away when I can't find the strength to move?

Think Arie, think! I think frantically.

I try searching for the man. I try listening for a sound, but all I can hear is a slight rustle of leaves from the wind and a slow patter of rain against the roof. And as I sit, still frozen, I start to see things grow in the black darkness. I see Faye and Caitlyn. At first they seem lost. They appear to be searching for something or someone. Their mouths move and form "o's" as they call. Then they start to scream and the silence of the room is lifted by the voice of the girl. I try to shut my eyes but I can't take them away from my sister and my best friend. All I can do is cry as my lips move to say their names.