"Ma'ma if you don't leave, I will arrest you."
Okay so that didn't go as planned. Twenty minutes ago you had finally arrived at the white and blue police building. The treck there had been close to vigorous, the cold winds biting at all available skin. Your jacket had protected your torso and arms yes, but your hands were nearing the blue color. Sighing in relief and hoping it's warm inside, you pushed through the doors. After standing round the lobby looking slightly lost, a kind officer came over to you. He was tall, some inches taller than you, and had short brown hair and stunning green eyes. He looked to be in his very early twenties, "that uniform fits him well" you thought to yourself.
"Can I help you with something, miss?"
Oh man his voice. His voice was equally as attractive as his face, he smiles at you politely and your heart flutters. "Uh, um, yeah yeah I have a few questions about some...some missing kids." You stutter out. "Some missing kids?" He asks, a worried look pacing over his face. "Is someone you know missing?""Oh, No, It's uh, It's for my criminology class. I have to do a report on missing persons cases and what goes into them, how often they are found, so on and so forth." You ramble, desperately trying to recover and make it seem believable. Relief washes over him and he smiles, to which you smile back. "Alright well, just wait here and I'll be right back." He says, quickly flashing another award winning smile before turning and walking the other way. Once he is out of listening range you sigh and relax, thanking what ever God that is shinning down on you for making him believe you. You pull out your phone and check the time, 12:33 pm, plenty of time before you have to be home for dinner. When you see him coming back you quickly shove your phone in your back pocket and smile up at him, hoping for great news.
"My supervisor said I could answer any questions you have, I just can't show you any files. Private matters and all." He says motioning to his desk near the door where you two stood. He sits down and you follow suit, sitting across the desk from him. You set your bag on the ground and pull out your phone, opening the notes.
"Okay so, this might come across as a little weird but for my paper I'm doing a report on missing children in this town. Yesterday I went to the library to look up old news reports and such and noticed an alarming pattern." You say, hands folded and legs crossed, trying to sound as professional and college like as possible. "I saw that, as crazy as it sounds, ten children go missing in Redwood Park every ten years. To my knowledge none of them have been found. Do you know anything about that?"
Officer Reed stutters, taken aback by your sudden rush of information. "Uh, I, Well, I don't know much about that. I mean kids go missing all the time." He says, notably uncomfortable.
"Kids go missing all the time? That's quite a sour attitude Officer Reed-"
"How do you know my name?"
"Uh, your name tag." You say pointing to his chest, trying to hide a smirk. He mutters a quiet "oh" and goes silent.
"I mean, surly you've noticed the pattern. It's been happening for almost eighty five years." You continue to push. Suddenly you feel eyes on you, you glance around and see nothing unusual. You try again to speak but the feeling gets worse. You look again and this time notice a woman sitting two desks down, the officer with her looks irritated. She's staring at you. She just keeps staring, eventually you force yourself to turn back to Officer Reed.
"Mama, I don't think I can help you." He says abruptly. Shocked, you protest. "But I-"
"Mama. I can't help you." His tone is flat, you stare at him.
"Okay, fine, just answer-"
"Mama, please leave."
"Are you kidding me?! I'm just asking harmless questions, what is the big deal?" Officer Reed looks around impatiently, but you refuse to let this go.
"You're acting like there actually is something going on, I mean come on this is so suspicious!" You say in attempt to scare him into talking. His face hardens and he speaks with a low voice.
"Mama, there is nothing going on."
"Bullshit!" You say back, slightly louder.
"Mama if you don't leave, I will be forced to arrest you." He says, his voice matching yours in level. You grab your bag and stand, outraged.
"This is bullshit." You hiss, before stomping out. The cold wind hits your face as you push through the doors. You stop at the sidewalk, and take a deep breath. Something is definitely going on, that was abundantly clear. He didn't even try to hide it. Suddenly a hand grasps your should and you spin, way too upset to take someone shit right now.
"What?" You ask harshly, before realizing it's the woman from inside. She thrusts a paper into your hand, staring into your eyes.
"You're right. You're right. The Tall Man is real. He takes the children. He takes them all." She speaks low and angrily, pain and suffering soaking her voice. Her face was contorted in such anger, it scared you. She doesn't wait for you to reply, she just turns and hastily walks away.
"What the hell?" You mutter to yourself. You look down, and un crumple the paper. Your eyes widen when you realize what it is, bring it closer to your face. It was a police report, dated back to 2005. On the back, scribbled in ink were these words:
"John
Mary
Lisa
Beth
Riley RECOVERED
Mark
Anne
Sarah
Jack
Chris"
YOU ARE READING
The Tall Man
Short StoryImagine a shadow that swallows children, a threat that can't be seen. Imagine ignoring all the warning signs and hunting the hunter. Imagine finding, Slenderman.