Why won't you save me? (Book 2 of the Misguided Killer Series)

Chapter Five: Release

Jack looked up in time to move his head away from the knife, the blade catching his shoulder and gouging a line across his chest. Blood sprayed forward, staining Jeff's hoodie as the cannibal fell to the grass and lay still.

"J-Jack?" Ben called softly. The hurt in his voice was painfully clear, and his eyes were focused solely on Jack. "Jack no! Get up! Please get up!" Zalgo tsked from his position, staring down at them.

"How pathetic," the demon said, clicking his tongue, "I'll never understand human attachments." Ben's angered gaze leveled at him, blazing.

"I'll end you," he hissed, energy crackling around him. Zalgo smiled, clearly amused,

"Oh I would love to see you try," he said smoothly, "but first, I'm afraid my little killer has other plans for you." Jeff twisted the blade in his hand, emotionless eyes fixed on Ben. The digital Creepypasta glared, air stirring as his power mounted.

"Move your ass Jeff," he snarled. Jeff stood silent, merely cocking his head a bit to one side. "Fine." Ben lashed out, electrical currents slamming into Jeff's body. The teen cried out, the first sound he'd uttered since they'd found him, and fell to the dirt in spastic convulsions.

"Ben enough!" Slenderman ordered. The other didn't pay him any mind, pushing his energy further into the other Creepypasta. Before he could step in Hoodie grabbed the blonde, breaking his concentration.

"You're gonna kill him," the hooded proxy said. Ben struggled in his grip. But his power had ceased. For now.

"Fuck you," he hissed, squirming. Masky and Toby stepped forward, restraining the boy further. "He can't die remember?" Ben shouted, "none of us can."

"Don't be so sure," Zalgo mused, "after all your little boyfriend seems rather dead to me. Although I do hope you didn't maim my toy too much." Ben froze, staring at nothing. Sadness radiated off of him in waves. "Oh Jeff darling, please get up and continue massacring your friends for me." Jeff twitched a bit but didn't get up. Zalgo huffed. "Ah...seems like you shorted the wiring. No worry. A minor fix." Zalgo hopped down from the tree, striding forward. Slenderman tensed, ready to fight.

"Away...from him." If he'd had eyes, Slenderman was sure he'd have blinked in confusion at the sudden voice. As it was he turned around as his proxies released a stunned Ben.

"J-Jack?" He whispered. The cannibal was indeed slowly getting to his feet, swaying lightly as blood oozed from the wounds on his torso.

"Get...away from him," Jack snarled. If there were any words for how the cannibal looked in this moment, it was feral. If this had been the state Slenderman had originally found him in, he'd never have let the boy live with him. Jack's features were twisted into an animalistic snarl, fangs glittering dangerously. "If you touch him, I'll end you."

"Charming," Zalgo said, "but I don't find you much of a threat." He lashed out at the cannibal, nothing more than a blur of movement. Jack flicked his hand out, catching the demon's wrist.

"I warned you," he snarled. His other wrist flashed out, claws slicing lines into Zalgo's face. The demon roared, stumbling back. "You aren't...the only one with d-demonic powers."

"I'll admit I might have underestimated you," he snarled, "but I'm still more powerful than you." He lunged, knocking Jack to the ground in a pile of limbs. Jack clawed at whatever he could, ignoring the demon's own strikes until one hand found the stab wound Jeff had made. Zalgo grinned, jamming his fingers into the wound in his stomach. "You're all weak. Pathetic even." Bullets fired, surprising the demon. Hoodie stood close by, gun in hand with the other two proxies by his side.

"Don't forget there's more of us than there is of you," Hoodie commented. Toby and Masky darted forward as another shot rang out. Toby's hatchet caught Zalgo's chest and the boy ignored the demon's claws sinking into his arm in favor of slamming the other weapon into his back. Masky followed quickly, knife jamming into Zalgo's side. The demon screeched, throwing Toby back and slashing at Masky. Slenderman quickly pulled his proxy to safety, Zalgo's claws catching the rim of Masky's mask.

"You don't stand a chance!" The demon roared and Slenderman looked around. Jack was rising to his feet again, and Ben's energy was making the air alive with sparks again. Hoodie and Toby rejoined Masky as the being released him, all three prepared to fight.

'They've all grown so much,' he realized, 'They may not realize it, but they'll fight for one another to the very end.' He looked at Zalgo carefully, tentacles lashing. "You'll lose Zalgo," he told the demon. Zalgo grinned, eyes wild.

"But how many of you will I take down with me?" He sneered. For a moment everyone was quiet, tensed and waiting for someone to make the first move. What they didn't expect was for Jeff to sluggishly roll over, knife driving itself deep into Zalgo's leg. The demon howled, vanishing before they could even react.

"Prick," was all the young killer said before flopping back to the grass. Jack ran to the boy's side, concern etched on his face. Slenderman joined him, kneeling on the grass. Jeff shot him a dazed expression. "The asshole fucked up my face." The comment was so flippant sounding that Slenderman couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's alright now," he assured the boy, lifting him into his arms, "we're going to take you home. Rest for a while. When you wake I'll help stitch you back up." Jeff hummed slightly, eyes sliding shut.

'He's so light,' the being though. 'Has he always been so lightweight?' The being shook the idea aside, deciding to ignore it for the moment. "Come along everyone. It's time to go home."

<•><•><•><•>

"Slenderman!" The being awoke at the shout of his name, teleporting towards the source. His proxies seemed panicked, and yet he found himself standing in Jeff's room. Masky was tending to a wound in Hoodie's shoulder, his mask lying halfway across the room. Toby was on the bed, straddling Jeff and pinning the killer's arms behind his back.

"What happened?" The being asked.

"He suddenly f-freaked out-t on us," Toby stammered out, twitching violently. The return of his ticks made him realize that something very wrong had happened. "H-he st-tabbed Hoodie." A quick look showed that any emotion had drained from the killer's eyes, leaving two empty black orbs behind. Footsteps sounded upstairs, signaling that the commotion had woken Ben and Jack.

"What should we do?" Hoodie asked, looking up towards the being. Masky paused, his unmasked face calm, and yet Slenderman could feel the anxiety coming off of him in waves. He looked back at Jeff as footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Tie him up for now," he said, "whatever hold Zalgo had on him isn't gone." Masky and Hoodie raced off, leaving Toby seated atop Jeff's still form. 'So help me Zalgo, i will hunt you down and end you. We all will.' He looked at Jeff again and the boy flashed a disturbed grin.

"This isn't over," Jeff said. And yet it wasn't Jeff's voice that escaped him. Zalgo's voice overlapped the teen's, sending chills down Slenderman's spine. "My link to him might be fading, but here's one last message for you. Your little lover will never be the same. Not after I've had my time with him. And I'll get him back. Then, he'll be my little plaything. Forever." Jeff's eyes rolled back into his skull and the boy fell unconscious.

'No,' he thought, 'I'll keep him safe. Even if that means I have to hunt you to the ends of the earth and tear you apart. I will protect him. I swear it.'