Slender to None

Two

I sit up in my bed, wiping my eyes of dry salt residue. Outside my window the moon is high in the sky. My father had found me disoriented in the woods and then brought me to my room. I’m supposed to be sleeping, but I feel like I’m slipping away into nothingness and I can’t bring myself to shut my eyes in case I really am. I wonder if this is a symptom of Slender sickness.

I could hear the bustling of cops downstairs. They were closer than ever to catching this bastard. I told them what I had seen, that it was a man. That I couldn't see his face, and he was extremely tall. And she went to him willingly.

I didn't tell them that I knew he was the Slender man. The Internet meme. The villain of a video game. The fake pictures and made up stories. A completely imaginary scare tactic to give the world a thrill. I saw him though. He's real.

I grab my black hoodie, deciding that the tracking and killing of such a beast shouldn't be left to such unimaginative and unalert grownups. They were searching for a man. But they would find nothing but a pure evil demon. 

I stuff my backpack full with the contents of my bottom dresser drawer food stash, twinkies and trail mix bars, Gatorade and soda pop. I shoulder it, testing out the weight. If I was going to track down Slender man right away there's a slight chance that I could at least find Felicity alive. It is said that he eats children or their souls or something, but no one really gave a straight forward answer. The only thing agreed on is that he kidnaps children. The bodies are never found. What if he doesn't actually kill them?

I shove the bag under my bed when I hear the door creak open. I turn around to find Ben in the doorway.

"You okay?" He asks.

I nod my head and he walks closer, brushing my hair out of my eyes. My frame goes rigid. I don’t want to do this right now, I need to find Felicity. I need to know she’s safe.

“We'll find her," he hugs me. "Don't worry.  You've been through a lot. Just get some rest now." He gives me a kiss.

I don’t know what to call us. He’s a twenty-two year old cop. I’m a seventeen year old high school student. We don’t talk about it. It’s only really an occasional kiss and light flirting. We don’t even make eye contact when there are other people around. My dad would kill him. The law would kill him. I don’t want to have to deal with this right now.

He trails kisses down my neck. "Not now," I mutter, stepping away. He squeezes my hand.

"We'll find her." He assures me before leaving.

I scramble around my room for everything else I need. A flash light, my cell phone, boots. I sit down trying to think of anything else. According to the mythology he isn’t up front about killing his victims. No knives or guns or chainsaws. But one glance at him and I could lose my mind.

My eyes drift over to the plate of cracker crumbs and bits of cheese from yesterday. I forgot to bring it down to the kitchen after I was done with it, but it might have been for the better. The knife I used to cut the cheese lay idle. I stuff it in my bag along with everything else. Using a weapon against the Slender man would be insane, but to not bring any protection at all? This isn’t a game. I have to be ready for anything.

I quietly climb out my window, down the side of my house. I stay in the shadows; flickering flash lights pollute the woods. I pass through my neighbors backyards, sticking to the tree line. 

I shouldn't have to look for Slender man. He'll show himself if he wants to be found. What if he didn’t want to be found though? I could only hope. But whether I really did want to find him or not, it was hard to say. I got as far away from the police as I could; turning into the forest only when I couldn't hear or see them any longer.

I stare up into the branches at every tall tree. Jumping from fright every once in a while when the wind would pick up and send the leaves scattering and the trees swaying. I click on my flashlight, but use it primarily so I wouldn't trip any more. I find a dear trail and follow it for some time.

How will I find Felicity? What am I going to do once I’m found by Slender man? My vision is limited to the small light I hold in front of me. The ground cover crunching too loud. My chances of rescuing Felicity are growing slim. I never had any chance to begin with. My hopes start to dwindle as the cold begins to sink into my hoodie, stabbing past the fabric like shards of ice. What am I doing?

The crickets still chirp, and small critters that I can't see squirm all around. I am deciding whether or not to turn back when I hear the extra pair of footsteps. I had stopped walking, but the leaves are still talking, warning me of the imminent danger. There is another footstep.

I feel my breath catch. It has to be the Slender man. The footsteps keep coming; I don't dare turn around though. My flash light is heavy and cold. The light shakes as my hands tremble. Should I look? No. I can’t. If it’s him, if the Slender man really is standing behind me, I’ll just go insane. If it isn’t, then whoever it is shouldn’t hurt me. Unless it’s an animal. Or the kidnapper isn’t the Slender man after all. Maybe I should look.

A cold hand rests on my shoulder. It’s much larger than any man’s hand should be. It tries to hold me still as I fidget away. He's going to kill me. Like he killed my sister and every other child before her. I went out looking for him, and now he's found me. I knew this would happen. I knew that I should have sucked my sobs in and went on with life. But I couldn't. And now the slender man is going to kill me.

I can feel his gaze on me. His breath tickles my neck. I try to hold back my sobs, but it is no use. I don't want to die. Tears stream down my face, my vision is blurry and I can’t see. Even if I wasn't crying, my eyes are too used to the light; I wouldn’t be able to see anything anyways. It’s a good thing. At least I can die with my sanity intact.

His other hand knocks my legs out from under me, and I am completely at his mercy now, trapped in his arms. I scream. A blood curdling, high pitched, pig like screech. I did not know I was capable of such a sound. Slender fingers wrap over my mouth, calmly trying to prevent me from screaming anymore. I whimpered as he holds my mouth shut, I can't breathe, my nose running with snot. Everything about this is happening so slow, too calmly. I’m aware of what’s going on, but there is nothing I can do to stop it.

He holds me tightly to his chest when I struggle in his arms. He is so tall, the trees shrink away bellow until I’m in an entirely different world. Completely sky. No ground or walls or ceiling. I’m floating in space and it’s just as scary as I thought it would be. Through my blurry vision I see the twinkle of flash lights in the distance. I hope they didn’t hear my screams. I don’t want them to die too.

A deep velvety breath whispers in my ear. Almost inaudible compared to the white noise. The world around me shuts off, and my eyelids fall. The sound of the wind and crunching autumn leaves died until the only thing I was aware of was his hands enclosed around my body, holding me as if I was a delicate doll, or a beloved baby. And I can't do anything as he carries me off to what is sure to be my death. I can’t do anything.