Forever Alone (Book 1 of the Misguided Killer Series)

Chapter Four: The Search Begins

"Did that article say anything about where they're holding Jeff?" Slender asked. Jack shook his head. The elder Creepypasta sighed.

'This will be harder than I thought,' the man mused, 'clearly the people who have Jeff don't want anyone to know where he is.' That was the least of his problems though. Findings Jeff would be impossible without entering the town where he'd last been seen. For Hoodie or Masky they appeared human enough, Masky more so than his partner. Even Jack passed for human as long as no one looked to closely and his mask stayed on. 'Too bad it isn't Halloween. We would escape notice easily at that point.' But it wasn't, so they had to be careful. Slender couldn't even enter the town without drawing attention immediately.

The three boys left to search the town while he stayed in the safety of the forest. Most of the town was ringed by trees, so it was easy to remain hidden and still search the outskirts for anything suspicious. There was nothing. Not even a hint that Jeff had ever existed in the first place. 'Did he even come here? And if so is he still even here?'

He continued on this line of thought until he saw the boys running towards him. No one was around at this hour so they escaped notice easily. They all paused for breath when they reached him and he waited patiently until he noticed the weapon clutched in Jack's hands. He plucked it away, Jack jerking like he'd been electrocuted. Slender ignored the movement, surveying the object he'd collected. A knife, crusted with dried blood. He ran a tentacle over the blade, wincing as the black flesh was immediately cut. He'd seen enough of Jeff's kills to know he kept his knife sharp enough to slice through muscle and skin with ease, his strength allowing him to even cut into bone. This was definitely Jeff's knife.

"Where did you three find this?" He asked. Jack was silent, unable to explain even if he wanted to without his board. Masky was also silent, apparently not in the mood to speak. It was Hoodie who answered his question at last.

"It was just lying in the street," he said, "half in a gutter. Jack was the one who spotted it." Slender looked at the knife held in his tentacle. The blood, the placement; it was clear Jeff had used the blade before he'd been taken.

'He must have dropped it during the struggle,' he thought. Then, a darker thought crept into his mind. What had the humans done to him in order to take him down and make him loose his knife? The young killer hung onto that blade like his very life depended on it. So why had he vanquished his grip now? Something gnawed at his stomach, dark and violent in its course. "Any sign of where he was taken?" There was a collective shake of the head and he cursed in his own mind. Of course, the humans had covered their tracks well enough it seemed.

"This would be easier with Ben." It took his a moment to realize that Masky had spoken, not used to hearing the boy's voice. However he understood what the younger meant. Ben, while volatile at the best of times, could worm his way between electronics. Ever since his release from his game cartridge he could travel between anything plugged it. Meaning he'd be able to get information inside of buildings without being noticed at all.

'I wonder why Ben chose not to come with us...' The icy boy had walked away from them, yelling back that Jeff wasn't worth it. Jack had been disturbingly silent in his actions. Even if he didn't speak the boy was fairly active. He turned the knife over again before dropping it into his hand. He gripped the handle tightly. "We should keep looking while its night. I'll look around as well." He couldn't hang back anymore. Not this time.

He remembered when he's first met Jeff. The young killer had accidentally wandered into his forest and when he struck the teen didn't run or scream. He swore and fought, freeing himself with a vicious glare and that sick smile. Slenderman had been shocked but pleased, letting the young killer come to the cabin. Jeff had seemed rather shocked to see all of them.

He pulled himself from his memories, looking at Jack who stood beside him. Masky and Hoodie had left already, leaving Jack beside him.

The pair began their renewed search cautiously, always on guard for any humans. Slender felt that he was suddenly on the other side of the food chain. Being hunted rather than being the hunter. Being nearly seven feet tall didn't help the feeling go away any.

The sky was beginning to lighten and they'd still found nothing. 'I didn't expect findings him to be easy but this is ridiculous. It's like he's vanished completely.' He and Jack returned to the safety of the trees. Masky and Hoodie returned soon after, neither looking very happy about how the night had gone.

Slender teleported them back to the cabin and they all herded inside. Ben was nowhere in sight, likely asleep. Jack all but ran up the stairs. He heard a door open and an annoyed protest from Ben before there was silence. He gave a smile unseen by anyone else as Hoodie and Masky trotted away toward their own rooms. He heard a single door open, then close.

He sullenly headed towards his own room, feeling more drained than he had in a very long time. He paused as he passed Jeff's room, peering in. He, Jeff and Jack all had rooms downstairs while Hoodie, Masky, and Ben resided upstairs. Now, alone on the main floor and in the doorway of Jeff's room a sense of loneliness washed over him. He stepped into the room and walked over to the desk.

He stared at the single word etched into the wood. Goodbye. 'Why did Jeff choose to say goodbye? He never seemed the sentimental type. Why did he decide to leave to begin with?' He shook his head at the questions swirling in his brain and turned away from the desk. The word 'goodbye' was burned into his mind. The word wasn't etched as deep as he would have thought. It was as if Jeff was hesitant almost.

He walked to his room and shut the door. He sighed, reaching up to loosen his tie and pull it from his  body. It was discarded almost immediately as he went to shuck off the rest of his clothes. The slipped from his white skin with ease and he tossed them aside, not caring for once where they landed. He clambered into his bed, simply lying awake.

He'd never admit it to anyone, hell he didn't like to admit it to himself, but the young killer intrigued him. Something about that wild spirit and 'take no shit' attitude drew him in despite the fact that it drove most people away. Anger. Amusement. Those seemed to be the extent of Jeff's emotions but Slenderman knew that was a facade. He saw the remaining emotions when Jeff assumed he was alone or when he and Jack were together. So many hidden emotions. Loneliness, sadness, pride, happiness. All things Jeff showed to no one.

Slender sighed, and put his arm over where his eyes would be. He laid in silence for a long while, wishing he knew where the young killer was. Jeff's knife sat on his nightstand, still caked with blood. He couldn't help but wonder who had met the end of that blade. Jeff had definitely gone for a hunt. This time, however, he had done so knowing he wouldn't come back. He had done so knowing that he'd never return to Slender's Forest. But why? Slender wanted to know that answer more than anything.

Eventually he gave up on sleeping and redressed, teleporting out into the forest. The crisp air assaulted his senses but he was use to it by now. He wandered through the trees, his breath fogging before him. 'What am I doing,' he asked himself, 'so concerned over someone who barely tolerates me.' He knew that was a lie. Jeff did more than tolerate him. Ben he tolerated. He actually spoke to Slenderman, associated him without being approached first. In Jeff language that was the same as a human saying 'you're my friend'.

Eventually he came to a stop, staring up through the trees. 'We will find you Jeff. Don't doubt that for a moment.'