Carrier of the Cold

The Start

A/N: Hi everyone, please vote and comment! Hope you like this horror story, not for the weak minded though.

It’s like living your whole life without looking in a mirror, Amy thought, and suddenly you see your reflection, and you’re a monster – the Emperor’s Code, 39 Clues

Note: Slender Man was invented in a Something Awful forum by the user Victor Surge. He does not exist. When I feel something weird and I can’t explain it, or see a shadow that belongs to nobody, I think of him, though. Lurking.

I started feeling the presence of him when I was very young.  He curled around me, enticing to come out and… play. He held out black tentacles, whispering that he would catch me if I ever climbed out the second story window to play with him. My mom would have been worried, so I always said no. For a second, his grin would turn to a scowl, but then it would go away.

This strange man would come out of the woods next to my house, slinking towards me as if he was a tree that had come to life. Somehow, I wasn’t scared.

He told me about the Multiverse, how it is a netherworld where the Universe resides, among countless others. His smile would turn wider, showing fangs, when I fantasized about what went on in those mysterious places.

He swore me to secrecy that I wouldn’t tell my parents about him.

“I won’t be able to come back if you tell.” He explained. I nodded and for a long time, kept the secret.

Eventually he told me why he was in my backyard, standing next to my window.

“My name is Zaine. Many others have seen me; they call me Slender Man. I’m from an organization that employs children with… special abilities.” He said softly, in that smooth, beautiful voice that enraptured me then and disgusted me later. By that time, I was six, a happy little girl staring at her childhood friend with excitement. Or what I could see amid the shadows, anyways.

“You will have to come back with me eventually, Electra. You’re very special. My organization needs you.” He said pleadingly, though his forever-dark eyes showed no emotion.

“What are my powers?”

“You have an active imagination, the kind that creates your own personal universe. You can dream. And that’s what our corporation needs.” Zaine responded, giving me a respectful look, as if I really was something to him.

“When should I go?”

“Anytime, from now to when you’re an adult. If you don’t come back with me by then, your abilities will fade away with lack of training. You need training to stabilize your powers.”

“But I can’t go! My mom and dad will miss me. My mom said I’m getting a little sister! Is there any chance I can train here?” I ranted, trying to start a fit, the last one I ever did, thanks to what happened next. I stopped talking when I saw one of his tentacles ripple.

There was a stray cat in the backyard. It hissed at my friend, tail raised. Without even bending down, Zaine whipped out that rippling appendage farther, and strangled the cat. It made a gurgling sound, and then died.

Still having the same happy expression on his face, Zaine held it up to the window and made a slit on its stomach with the same tentacle. Guts spilled, even then, I remembered wanting to vomit. He tore out the heart, his white face filled with glee.

“What are you doing?” I cried out, just before he popped the heart in his mouth.

For a moment, there was silence, dark red blood dribbled down his chin and ringed his black-lipped mouth.

“Little mongrels like that cat might have woken your parents up. And then my visit would be cut short. And that wouldn’t be good, Electra.” He quietly explained.

“Do you only do that to animals?”

“Of course, sweetie.”