The Slender Man (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 2)

Chapter 18 - Alle tot alle verfault

Rosalie's P.O.V

"Holy shit!" America shrieked and grabbed my shoulder, hauling me behind him as we all stared at the girl that I thought was dead.
She shouldn't even be alive! I mean, her eyes are missing and she's lost more blood than she should even have! She's partially decayed!
This doesn't make sense!
But then she lifted her little hand towards us. She spoke in a soft, haunting voice that brought me chills. "Follow me."
"Huh...?" China murmured, his face ashen as he stared incredulously at the undead girl.
"I can help you escape," she said.
"Wh...Why should we believe you!?" England spoke up.
She tilted her head at a disturbing angle. "You don't have any other choice, now do you?"
"Yes, we do." England said, now glaring at the girl.
"L-Let's just walk around her, qui?" France suggested shakily, not removing his eyes from the little girl.
Germany nodded, looking pale also. "Ja."
And so, slowly and cautiously, we walked towards the girl, and then around her, never did our eyes leave her for one second.
But...as we're now walking towards the front door, still watching her, she turned around to watch us, but it's like she's staring at me. Just me. Why!?
I heard the front door open.
"I opened the door, now let's get outta here!" I heard Prussia say.
We turned to run out, but then I heard the little girl start tsking.
I looked back to see her shaking her head softly, as if in disappointment.
"Oh, dear Rosalie..." She cooed. "Don't you want to see your precious Romano?"
I jumped a bit, my eyes widening. I stared at the little girl as she stared right back at me.
"Roma...?" I whispered. She knows where Romano is?
Again, she reached her hand out towards me. "Follow me."
"Don't listen to her, Rosalie." England told me into my ear. "It's a trap, I just know it."
I swallowed hard, but then a headache throbbed in my temples, causing me to wince. I looked up a bit, back behind the girl.
Standing behind the girl is Slender Man. The girl only continued to smile and stare at me, her hand raised for me to grab.
A ringing ran through my ears and my vision spun and blurred. I know England is still talking to me, but I can't understand what he's saying.
Then the girl's form blurred and withered away, and replacing the girl, standing there, is Romano.
He's slouched over a bit, like he's in pain. One of his legs are bleeding heavily, staining his tattered jeans. His shirt is torn open to reveal that symbol carved into his chest, dripping with blood. His deep auburn hair was a bit messy and his hazel eyes are dulled as they bore into my gaze.
Standing behind him, still tall and powerful, is Slender Man.
Then Romano lifted his hand, stretching it out towards me.
"Rosalie, take my hand." He told me. "It's okay. Just follow me."
"Romano..." I whispered, finding myself stepping forward, raising my hand to grab his.
I found him. He's a little injured, but he'll be okay. I'm only a few inches from him, now...
Suddenly, my arm was grabbed and I was yanked away.
"Rosalie, run, now!" England shouted at me as he pulled me out the front door. I gasped and looked back into the cabin, but Romano isn't there anymore.
Standing in his place is just the little girl, smiling at me with Slender Man still behind her, watching us with his alluring presence. Then the cabin door slammed shut.
"Go go go!" America shouted, and England kept a tight hold on my arm as we ran. Tears began to fill in my eyes, but I ran along with them, the note we recently found still tight in my grasp.
It was just a hallucination. It wasn't Romano.
The breeze blew through our hair as we ran, and the whispers continued as if we were surrounded by people, their words are hushed as they pass their lips.
"Three more to go," Canada panted.
Only three notes left...

Romano's P.O.V

As I regained consciousness, I noticed that my head isn't hurting anymore, and that awful noise is gone.
Instead of a cold, concrete floor, I'm laying on something that feels like a bed.
I'm back at the hotel?
Wait, was that all just some stupid twisted nightmare?
I sighed in relief and turned onto my side, keeping my eyes closed so I can go back to sleep.
I took a deep breath, but I think I inhaled something because I ended up coughing.
Then I sat up and looked at the bed.
It looks old. Old and coated in dust.
I quickly looked around, and with the help of the moonlight shining in through the window, I can see the room around me.
Drawn on the walls is that same damn symbol and there are torn stuffed animals everywhere.
I quickly jumped off the small bed, ignoring the throbbing in my wounded leg, and looked around. I'm in a bedroom. Definitely not in my hotel room.
"What?" I muttered, then I looked towards the window. I walked over to it and peeked outside.
I'm on the second floor of...a house, maybe.
But in the middle of the fucking woods.
It's not a dream.
I continued to stare out into the familiar woods, looking through it to see if I can find something that doesn't look like a tree. Then I heard something behind me,
I jumped and turned my head to the floor by my feet. There is a small toy in the shape of a box. The little lever on it's side is spinning by itself, so the little box began to play a familiar melody.
"Deep inside the dark forest..."
I jumped again and turned towards the bed, where a girl sat. Her legs are kicking over the edge as she sang along with the melody.
"He watches from the shadows..."
"When the hell did you get there?" I asked, but she continued to sing.
"And when he finds his next victim...He will steal your soul!"
The music box kept repeating the melody, but the music seems to get slower and slower.
"He will be your very best friend, you'll never be alone...And when it's time to play again-"
"Where am I?" I interrupted her little song. The music box abruptly stopped playing, and so did the girl's singing.
Her head lifted so her eyeless gaze met mine. I don't even know how it's possible, due to the fact that she has no eyes, but she seemed to be looking right into my soul.
Her lips tilted into an unnaturally wide smile as she spoke. "You never really left where you last were."
I raised an eyebrow. "You sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm in a different room."
She hopped off the bed, looking up at me. "In a different room, yes."
"Am I in some sort of house?" I asked, keeping an eye on the girl to make sure she doesn't try anything.
"You're at my home," she said, her head tilting to the side as she continued to smile at me, her dark, stringy hair falling to the side.
"Great. I'm getting the fuck outta here," I said, walking around her and towards the door that I can just barely see in this light.
As I reached for the doorknob, the the girl spoke again.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Good thing I'm not you, then." I muttered, grabbing the doorknob and turned it, then opened it.
I quickly walked out of the room, and I found another room across the hall from the one I just walked out of, and then a staircase to my right.
I headed towards the staircase, running down it, careful not to trip with this numbness in my leg, and seeing a door not far ahead of me.
I can see the windows next to it, so I immediately knew that's the front door.
I glanced behind me to make sure that girl isn't following me, and when I was sure she isn't, I ran straight for the door.
I grabbed the knob, opened it, but I didn't see what I expected, at all.
In front of me is a doorway to a pitch black nothingness. Seriously, there's nothing there. No woods, no night sky, no dirt ground, just an empty blackness.
"What...?" I muttered. I closed the door and opened it again. No change.
I blinked several times. What the hell is this?
I lifted my hand and reached forward, almost expecting it to be a blanket or a curtain, but all I feel is ice cold air. I reached farther out, but I still don't feel anything.
At my feet, there's more darkness. I knelt down, ignoring the pain it caused, and tried to touch the ground of the darkness, only to realize that there is no ground. It's like the house is floating in a starless space.
I didn't hear any footsteps, but out of nowhere, I heard the little girl's voice.
"I told you. I thought it would be best that you didn't know, but you don't like to listen, don't you?"
I whirled around to see her standing not too far behind me.
I gritted my teeth and pointed into the blackness, not turning away from her. "What is that!? Where's the woods!?"
She smiled again. "It's there alright, but you can't escape."
"What do you mean by that!?" I asked, turning to look through the windows. It looks completely normal! No darkness, just normal nighttime outdoors.
"It means you're soul is trapped here, just like mine."
I paused when I heard that, then I turned to face the girl again. She only continued to smile at me.
"Wh..." I murmured. I couldn't make any words come.
"He stole your soul, just like he stole mine. Now you're trapped here forever," she told me in a sickly sweet voice.
It took a moment for me to come up with something to respond with.
"H-Hell no I'm not!" I shouted, my fists clenching despite the fear growing in the pit of my stomach.
I turned towards the window again, raising one of my clenched fists and slammed it against the window. The glass is old, so it broke easily. My knuckle busted and began to bleed, but I ignored it as I knocked all the glass from the window, then began to climb my way through.
"You're such a fool," I heard the girl say.
Then, I jumped. But...although I'm on the first floor, I never touched the ground.
It's like right before I hit the ground, I end up falling from the window again, as if I just jumped out again.
It was like infinity falling, but never touching the ground. It scared the fuck out of me, and I screamed in panic.
As I kept falling over and over again, I quickly reached to grab the window again and pulled myself in. As I touched the wooden floor, I stumbled, panting, then stared back out the window with what I knew is an incredulous expression on my face. It still looks like normal outdoors.
"What the crapola!?" I exclaimed, now looking at the girl. She continued to smile.
"I told you, didn't I? You're stuck here forever. There's no escape."
"H-How is that even possible!?" I shouted, my eyes becoming wide as my head spin, desperately searching for some sort of comfort, some sort of idea to get out of here.
She giggled. "You really are a fool. It's amusing."
"Sh-Shut up!" I barked, my voice shaky, though I tried not to let it. My heart pounded heavily and I felt sweat form on my forehead.
Then, she pointed at me. "That symbol, the one on your chest."
I looked down at my chest to see the symbol that damned boy had carved into my skin.
"It marked you. It's the thing keeping you from escaping. Your soul belongs to him now."
I looked back up at her. "Him who?"
Her smile widened, if that's even possible. "You know who I'm talking about."
I swallowed hard. There has to be a way out here somehow. There has to be! I'm not gonna stay here for the rest of my damned life. What about the others? Where are they? Are they okay? And Rosalie? Veneziano?
  "Don't worry, you won't be lonely," the girl continued. "We can be friends! You can meet my other friends, and the voices will keep us company, too!"
I began to feel light headed, but she continued to speak with that cheery tone.
"You won't have to be alone ever again! And you don't need to worry about your other friends. If they get taken too, they'll be here with us! Isn't that great? We can all be best friends forever and ever!"
Forever and...ever...?
"We can play all sorts of games! And the tall man loves to play games!"
I began to shake my head. "N-No. I...I need to...get out of here."
My voice sounded slurred, and I stumbled forward, but it's hard to walk when the room is spinning around me. My eyelids drooped and my vision blurred.
"I told you, we can't leave. You have to stay. You and your brother are trapped here just like the rest of us."
I forced my eyes to shift up towards her. "V-Veneziano...?"
She tilted her head. "Ah, you want to see your brother, right? Follow me!"
Then she began to skip down the hallway cheerfully, her hair flying around as she did.
I swallowed hard again, then I followed her. I'll get Veneziano, and then we're going to find a way out of here.
As we passed by a doorway of what looks like a kitchen, I noticed the faint, but awful smell coming from it.
It's rotten and I resisted the urge to gag, but continued to follow the girl as she skipped over the to door at the end of the hall.
Then she grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open.
"He's in here!" She told me.
I looked in, but the room is pitch black. With the way the windows are facing, no moonlight can shine in, so I can't see anything.
I blinked a few times, waiting for my eyes to adjust, but then I noticed something sitting in the shadows in corner on the other side of the room...
"Veneziano...?"