The Slenderman

Chapter 8

 I called her around 7 A.M. It was a beautiful morning. The weather was perfect, a lovely 70° with a slight breeze. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. She agreed to meet me for lunch at Taco Bell. (I met with all of my friends at Taco Bell.) I arrived there at noon and waited. I waited for over an hour before she finally showed up.

    "It's about time you showed up. Where have you been?" I asked. Then I took a closer look at her. Her face was pale and her eyes were bloodshot, as if she'd recently been crying. She had developed a gray streak in her hair from stress, and she was shaking slightly. "Leslie, what's wrong?" I implored, taking hold of her shaking hands. She was cold, like ice.

    "I saw him again. I SAW him! He was standing over me while I was sleeping. I woke up with him staring at me. I thought I was dead, but he disappeared when I blinked. I've felt sick ever since I saw him. I've been so dizzy and nauseas and my head hurts like hell. Not to mention I can't stop shaking. What are we going to do, Megan? Please, tell me you found something," she begged.

    I cleared my throat and stated, "I did manage to find some information. This creature is referred to commonly as the Slender Man. He's very dangerous and very sly, torturing his victims by showing his presence and causing unrest and insanity before eventually killing them. He has the abilities to teleport and turn invisible, and his presence interferes with electronic equipment, making it easy to locate his presence."

    "Ok," she said. "Now how do we defeat him?"

    "Well,..." I hesitated.

    "Oh please, PLEASE, tell me there's a way to get rid of him. Don't tell me we're doomed!"

    "I'm sorry, Leslie," I sighed. "There's just not a set way that's it's done. There is one theory that states you can prolong your death by staying around people and shutting yourself indoors at night, being careful to stay sane, but I don't think anyone has ever defeated the Slender Man. He's too powerful and too elusive to simple, human methods. He exists outside of our dimension, and there's no way to get at him. All I know to do is stick together and pray for a quick end."

    "But I don't want to die!" she howled, bursting into tears.

    "Keep your voice down, would you?" I hissed. "I know you don't want to die. Do you really think that I do? But what do you want me to do about it? I don't know any more about what we're up against than anyone else who has faced it. All we can do is fight back as best as we can and hope for the best."

    "Ok," she sniffles. "So, what do we do?"

    "We stick together. Never leave my sight, and I'll never leave yours. I've already cleared your stay with my parents, so I'll drive you back to your home so you can pack your things. We'll fight this til the end, whatever it takes," I declared.

    Her eyebrows crumpled in worried thought. "But I'm only here for a few more days. I'm leaving Saturday," she stated. "What are we going to do after that?"

    "I don't know Leslie," I sighed in defeat. "I don't know."