Mine (Unedited) (Discontinued?)

Chapter 25

Kendra stormed through the trees, tears blurring her vision and the wind was cold against her hot face. She sniffled, wiping her sleeve across her eyes in an attempt to dry her tears. The dark was beginning to settle around her, the animals of the forest starting to stir more as they looked for a safe place to hide for the night.

She glared heatedly at the ground as she walked, the crunch of the undergrowth beneath her feet more satisfying than it probably should be since she was imagining walking on Jeff's stupid face. Jeff was such an idiot, she couldn't believe he had the nerve to ask her what was wrong after everything that had happened.

Kendra pulled back her foot and kicked a rock, letting out a shout of frustration. How could she have let this happen to her? She was just starting to get back on her feet and she let that asshole kiss her! Twice!

Forcing her fingers through her curls, this time ignoring the sting of pain when they caught knots, Kendra groaned. She hadn't been thinking when she ran out of there, and now she once again had no clue where she was. God, how many times was she going to get lost?

Kendra stopped walking, wiping at her eyes to dry some of the tears so she could look for a safe place to hide for the night. She knew the forest wasn't exactly a safe place, no matter what time it was, so she wasn't surprised by the rise of panic when she realized that there was no safe place for her to hide.

God, how could she be so fucking stupid?

Hoping to find somewhere to hide before it got too dark to move around, Kendra started walking again. This time she kept an eye out for a place to sleep, biting her lip through her nerves while she looked. A rustle of leaves not from her made her jump, and she whirled around to see a fox frozen to its spot and staring at her.

Her heart raced as she returned the stare, not daring to move again until the fox darted off in the opposite direction she was going. Kendra remained frozen a minute longer before she realized her lungs were burning for air and she sucked in. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath.

Gulping in air, Kendra resumed her search. She hadn't forgotten about that Rake creature from a few weeks ago, and the thought of running into it again sent a wave of terror down her spine.

She was weak, wasn't she?

Kendra really should've expected this, she was only human after all and what else could she do in such a terrifying position other than cry and hide? Sure, she'd trained with Jeff in the beginning but that felt like so long ago now that she wasn't sure if she remembered anything that he taught her.

Kendra stopped, seeing her alcove again. Relief at being somewhere familiar flooded her, and she instantly crawled inside. When she woke up in the morning, Kendra would start looking for a way home again.

Slender appeared in a different area of woods near Ej's cabin, searching desperately for Kendra's electrical energy. He'd been looking for her since he discovered her missing, and his mind was frayed with worry. What if she had run into a monster he had no control over?

He picked up on her familiar energy, and instantly relief filled him. She wouldn't be giving an energy signature if she was dead. Slender started in the direction he sensed her energy, crouching low when he saw a foot peeking past a large root that was jutting out of the ground.

Kendra was asleep, but also alive and well if not a bit worse for wear. Slender sighed, taking a moment to let the worry drain out of him before he set to work in picking her up. He easily slipped his arms under her sleeping form, but it was a little more difficult to remove her from the niche she had curled up in without harming her.

When Slender had her freed, he used his abilities to materialize in front of his home. Kendra stirred, and he paused to make sure she stayed asleep before he went inside to set her in her own bed, the ridiculous dummy she had built of herself already gone.

After pulling the blanket up around her shoulders, Slender left the room. He took another moment to enjoy the feeling of relief at having Kendra safe before he went to work at telling the others he had sent out to look for that she was home.

Manifesting behind Toby, Slender looked down at the small boy with his head buried in the bushes.

"Tobias, what are you doing?" he asked, his amusement at his proxy's position.

Toby yelped, yanking himself from the bushes to look at Slender with wide eyes and leaves in his hair and his face smudge in dirt.

"Uh, hey Slendy! What're you doing here?" he asked, his eyes filled with a sheepish guilt.

Slender crossed his arms, questioning the boy's actions for a moment before shaking his head and letting it go for the time being.

"I have found Kendra, and she's safe at home. I need you to run and tell the others that they can return now."

Toby seemed to frown, his eyebrows knitting together as Slender spoke.

"Wait, why do I have to be the one to tell everyone? You have the cool poofy powers, why don't you do it?"

Slender shook his head, already expecting the resistance.

"Because I need to look after Kendra, and you were the closest to the house. Were you even looking?"

The boy's guilty look returned, and he started to pick the leaves out of his hair rather than answering. Slender sighed, shaking his head again.

"That alone is reason enough to send you to gather the others, now please do as I asked."

Toby groaned, but got up and began to search for his housemates. He hadn't even wanted to look for someone he barely knew, why should he care if a stupid human got lost?