Slender Man : The Arrival

Eight Pages - Part 2

Mai was frozen in terror, her heart pounding in her chest even though she felt like her blood had stilled in her veins. Even in her dazed state of fear, she could feel Naru's grip on her tighten, his nails digging into the flesh of her waist even through the fabric of her top. But even when she realised what had happened, she wouldn't hold it against him. She didn't have it in her with what they were facing.

"Damn..." Naru hissed, pulling her ever closer, which Mai didn't think was possible. But she wished she could just melt away, through the wall and away from danger. They were effectively trapped, Slender in the doorway, and their backs to the corner of the room. They wouldn't even be able to dodge should the monster come closer to them. They'd be skewered before they could even scream. But just as they heard the sharp whistle of a tentacle slicing through the air, a glimmering gold wall appeared before them, a spiritual barrier which Mai knew neither she nor Naru were capable of putting up.

The brunette blinked, shock making her mind slow as she processed what she had just witnessed. It seemed in death, the spirits knew there was nothing to lose and so they had acted as a defence for the living. Just then, another spirit came forward, this one she recognised from the watch tower. it melted into the barrier, causing the gold to solidify slightly.

'You must run.' The airy voice came from behind them and Naru and Mai jumped, standing from their spot in time to see the third spirit faze through the wall, 'He may have taken me from here. But I won't stand for him to take you as well. You must put a stop to him.'

Mai wanted to reply, wanted to make sense of what was going on. but she didn't get the chance as the man from her vision disappeared into the barrier. Through that shimmering wall, they watched as Slender beat against the barrier with everything he had, not resting for a second as razor sharp tentacle after tentacle smashed against the spirits. Mai cried out as she watched it shimmer, rippling after each blow. She could feel the spirits wavering, the pain too much even in the etheral state. But there was nothing she could do. And she could feel Naru holding tightly to her upper arm, refusing to let he go in case the creature made it past the souls protecting them.

"Mai. We have to go." Mai nodded numbly, knowing there was nothing they could do. But also knowing that there was no way out. It was then that Naru turned them around and the room suddenly grew hot, electricity cracking through the air. Before she had a chance to scream, the wall they had been leaning against exploded outwards in a show of light and debris. Large chunks of brick and cement went flying into the surrounding woods, smashing through trees like they were nothing.

Without wasting a second, Naru pulled Mai out of the building, running into the darkness of the trees. It was all they could do. Slender knew they had another opening and would be after them as soon as he was through with the spirits. The two of them tore through the underbrush, branches and low lying shrubs and bushes grazing their skin. But they were numb to everything except the panic that coursed through their veins.

They kept going, navigating through the darkness, too panicked to try focus the torchlight on their surroundings. It was only when the sound of splashing reached their ears that they slowed, taking into account their now wet feet and the smell of moisture in the air, along with something... burning.

"Naru?" Mai questioned, carefully looking around into the shadows when a flicker caught her attention, "There's something over there." Her hand shook in the shadows as she pointed through the tree line, forcing Naru's attention to the light that seemed to hypnotise her.

Together, they changed direction and cautiously approached the source of the light, worried that it was a trap to lure them towards Slender. But when a flicker of pale light flew past Mai, the brunette took off after it, dragging Naru with her.