Since the capture of the two trespassers, more and more of Zalgo's soldiers have been seen just at the edge of the borders. Many waited in the bushes to start fights with the patrol. They would attack, scuffle for a minute or two, then disappear back into the bushes. Others just jeered and taunted the patrols, knowing they wouldn't attack in order to save energy. This would happen on every patrol and it's only been five days since the capture.
Already they were burning through their medical supplies and perishable food supplies. Slenderman had to keep all his pastas close to home to protect them, so they hadn't had a chance to go out for more supplies since before the first fight. While they had enough food and water for the pastas with a normal diet, the abnormal ones were running low or completely out. LJ had enough sugar and candy for a day or so, but EJ and Seed were out of human to eat. This would quickly cause problems as the barely tamed Seedeater could easily target one of the more human pastas.
Not to mention how the medical supplies were running low from all of the fights. EJ had to stop bandaging or treating cuts with anything more than soap and water to save supplies for larger injuries. A couple of times one would come home with a serious cut or burn that knocked them off patrol rotation for a day or two. This strained the others as there always had to be a patrol out with no less than three.
They would have sent Ben out for supplies through cyberspace, but Zalgo had somehow gotten a hold of a couple of Cyber Creepypastas. They would block him from going out, fighting him in cyberspace. Since then he had to be taken off patrol duty with the others to guard the mansion from the two from breaking in through electronics or from messing with their ability to contact outside. It was exhausting him being the only one who could stop them as he had to fight enemies that could take shifts wearing him down. Jeff did his best to comfort his boyfriend, but there was not much he could do. Ben needed proper rest.
The proxies had it rough as well. Masky was Slenderman's second, more or less. He handed out patrol duty every morning while Slenderman himself switched between interrogating the prisoners and trying to contact Zalgo. So he handled the brunt of everyone's irritation everyday. Hoodie and Toby stood by his side to help alleviate the pressure, but it was starting to wear him down. The three of them also had the task of stopping the fights that had been breaking out more often from irritation, fear, and exhaustion.
All in all, the last week has been a tough one. Everyone was mad, tired, and hurting. And now the last of the perishables are gone. So someone needed to get more. They needed enough to last until Slenderman's brothers got here to provide back up. Luckily Toby volunteered.
"Alright Toby, this is important." EJ said while handing Toby a list of medical supplies. "I need everything with a red line under it. Anything else on the list would be good to have, but isn't as important."
"Take this list as well." Masky said, handing Toby his own list. "These are the things we need for the house, food wise. Try to bring back as much as you can."
"D-don't worry guys. I-I know w-w-where to get all o-of this stuff." Toby said cheerily. On the outside he tried to give off a cheery vibe, but he was actually very scared. Toby would have to travel alone from the mansion to the portal while a group of the others would distract Zalgo's pasta further down the border.
"Just be careful, kid." EJ said as he went to prepare the medbay for the post fight.
The others were preparing for the fight while a few posted themselves around the house for just in case. Sally was hidden away in Slenderman's office for safety. That left Toby alone with both Masky and Hoodie. All three proxies stood there in silence for a moment.
"Look, Toby." Masky started speaking, voice taking a soft tone to it. "We know how strong you are. We've seen you fight and hunt humans plenty of times. You even held your own quite well in the fight against Screecher. But we need you to be safe right now."
