Slender to None

One

Disclaimer: I do not own Slender man.

The slender man is upon my town. That’s what the children joked as they tried not to worry. That didn’t stop them from disappearing. Getting snatched up in the middle of the night. Five of them so far, soon to be more. I gaze upon the paperwork my father had left strewn across the table. All their information. My brain automatically filling in the gaps with what made them real and alive versus factual ink on paper.

Ruby Marie Hartley. Six years old. She shared the lemonade stand that stood between our front yards with Felicity. They were saving up money to buy a trampoline. She carried a doll around with her everywhere. She was the first to be taken. They knew she was gone when her mother found the doll lying on the forest floor.

Alex Damon Cambridge.  Eight years old. He poured a bucket of mud on me last summer. He was taken one week after Marie. During soccer practice he just seemed to have disappeared. No one remembered seeing him leave, he was running laps around the field and then he was gone.

Steven Jay Long. Five years old. He just got a pool in his back yard last spring, so everyone basically spent all summer at his house. His mother brought him to the park two days after Alex was abducted. She kept her eye on him; there were so many other mothers and children there. It only took her that one second to throw away a piece of litter and when she turned back to see him, he wasn’t there anymore.

Andrea L. Gardner. Thirteen years old. She delivered the paper every morning and was very close to Felicity. She disappeared the same day as Steven; the report suggests that it happened merely a few hours afterwards. She was on her way to our house for a sleepover.

Michael Weldon Foster. Three months old. Reported missing today; three days after Steven and Andrea. I was going to baby sit for him tonight.

My father is a cop. He’s working on this case. I know the details. It’s hard for him to separate his work from his personal life. So I also know that they aren’t any closer to finding the kidnapper. They don’t know anything. The culprit left no trace. No clues to where they are. No signs as to if they are still alive. They just disappear.

"He came from the forest, disguised as a tree.

Abducting our children, for his sick pleasure needs.

To look upon his face will drive one insane.

Dead in the forest, forever in pain."

A soft voice drifted in from the back porch. Felicity was singing her songs again. I wander outside to find her swinging on the bench swing. She is squinting her eyes, staring off at the forest behind our backyard. I try to follow her line of sight, but only find trees. "What are you seeing?" I ask, my stomach twisting at the anticipated answer.

"He's here." She whispers in wonderstruck awe.

“Who?” I ask, my eyes trying to sweep the trees for him.

“The slender man,” she answers. She waves off at the distance. “He wants to play.” She’s walking off the porch, towards the woods.

“Where do you think you’re going?” When she doesn’t reply I start after her. “Felicity, What do you think you’re doing? Get in the house right now!” Grabbing her shoulder, I spin her around to face me.

“He’s lonely. He needs more friends.” She pulls away from me, running full on into the woods.

“Felicity!” I scream.  Running. The sun is going down and there isn’t a path. She’s wearing a red jacket, just out of my reach. My bare legs are getting scraped up by the wild raspberry bushes. I should have worn jeans today. I trip over a log. My face getting stuffed with leaves. When I look up, Felicity is so far away already. She’s so small, holding someone’s hand. They’re walking away. “Felicity!” I scream again, scrambling up to go after her.

She looks back at me and smiles, waving. They’re gone. I run. I’m running. So fast. I get to where they were, I can’t see anything. I can’t keep my balance. I’m crying and I can’t see. It’s so dark. I should have kept a closer eye on her. I knew there was a kidnapper on the loose. She shouldn’t have been outside at all. Now she’s gone. I curl up on the ground.

Felicity J. Smith. Twelve years old. My sister. Ran off into the woods to meet a tall dark silhouette. She was abducted by the slender man right in front of me. Seven and a half hours after Michael was reported missing. Just this morning I was annoyed at her for using all the rest of the milk.