The Slender Man (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 2)

Chapter 27 - Never Alone

I swallowed hard. "A-Alright, let's hurry and look through the rest of this building already."
Canada followed my gaze and glanced towards the windows, then his face paled. "O-Oui, we should go..."
France nodded. "Let's hurry."
We made our way out of the spacey room and down the hall, quickly looking through more rooms. As we did, I noticed my hands are shaking and my headache is throbbing harder. I just want to lay down and be still, clutch at my head and wish for this damn headache to go away, but I can't do that; we don't have the time.
Then that same ringing erupted throughout my head and the headache intensified. Then I saw the source; Slender Man is standing not too far from us.
"Shit!" America shouted and began running, and, naturally, everyone else did the same.
My legs are still sore and my body is weak, so I had trouble keeping up. My vision swirled and wavered, darkening and then blurring.
I shook my head and blinked hard, then continued running through the different hallways.
I think I lost focus for a little bit, because suddenly, I was running down a hall by myself.
Oh wait, shit, which way did they go? I didn't think as I ran straight into the first hallway I saw, pushing myself to keep running, despite how much I am huffing for breath.
My head began feeling light, my legs becoming numb.
No, don't let him get to you! Keep running, Rosalie! I internally yelled at myself.
Did the others go this way? I don't see them!
Oh, shit shit shit!
The ringing faded and I slowed down, leaning against the wall and panted for breath, trying not to collapse.
I didn't look back, because we all know by now that it's not very smart. I raised my head, and in a blurry vision and weary eyelids, I looked down this long hallway, which connected to more hallways.
I don't see anyone else.
I can't hear anything through my heavy breathing and the pounding of my heart. I groaned, not only at the fact that I may have lost the others, but my headache isn't going away this time.
No matter how long I rest, my body won't get stronger. I've caught my breath, but my legs feel like jelly and every step I took, I end up stumbling.
"America?" I called weakly, and it seemed like my voice echoed through the eerily silent halls.
"England?" I called again. No response.
"Don't panic, don't panic..." I whispered to myself.
Oh wait, I'm already panicking.
"See, what did I just tell you? You're so frightened and pathetic. But with me, you could be brave. Don't you want that? With me, you could find the notes in no time, without any fear at all. You'll get your Romano back, and everything will be okay. All you have to do is give in. It'll be fine."
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath, pushing myself to take a few more steps forward.
No, I can do this...! I have to learn to do this myself, without having to rely on others to keep me from falling apart!
I was wrong with the fact that this airport is small, because now that I'm alone and feeling like shit, this place it like a fucking maze.
Was I in this hall before? I don't remember those hallways being there. I keep thinking I'm seeing Slender Man in the corner of my eye, but when I look, he's not there.
I shook myself and urged to keep moving forward.
My anxiety is going wild.
I need to find the next note, and if I don't, then one of the others should find it.
Shit...
I'm exhausted as hell, I'm lost, I'm alone...
Alone...
Panic began to build more and more in me and my breathing quickened.
What if I don't find the others? What if Slender Man catches me? What if he catches one of them?
What if we don't find the last two notes in time?
What if we never get out of this hell?
What if I never see any of them again? Would I be alone and lost forever?
What if Romano and Italy get killed?
With all these questions running through my head, over and over, tears filled my eyes and I forced myself to move faster, through the hallways, desperately calling for them.
Calm down, Rosalie! My head shouted. You'll be fine! Just calm the fuck down and think!
"Okay...okay....everything will be okay..." I told myself breathlessly. But I know.
I know everything is definitely not okay. I'm lost, alone, pressured by time which I'm almost out of.
"Fuck!" I shouted, my panic immediately replaced with anger and I kicked the nearest trashcan as hard as I could. I watched as trash scattered across the tiled flooring and the can landed with a thud.
"Fuck fuck FUCK!" I panted a bit, but then I felt a presence, just to my left...
I gritted my teeth and my hands clenched into fists, resisting the urge to look at him, no matter how strong the temptation is.
He's just fucking everywhere, isn't he?
I ignored the presence and continued down the hall, ignoring my pounding head, the ringing in my ears, the pain in my legs...I pretended as if they weren't even there.
"Just touch the mirror already!" Snapped sounds impatient now. "It's almost physically painful for me to watch you be so pathetic!"
Shut up!
I just need to find the next note...find the others, search the last two notes, get Italy and Romano, then we get the hell away from the island.
But now I have two annoying things to ignore.
It stored a bit more confidence in me and I was able to take steady breaths now as I walked into another large room.
I bit my lip at the mixture of emotions that are swirling within me. I can make them out...despair, fear, anger, confidence, hope, stress...there's lot more, but I can't make out the proper words for what exactly I feel.
I looked through the room, and again, no note.
I sighed, about to turn and leave the room to go on to the next, but I felt the presence again, behind me.
"Dammit," I muttered. There's no other way outta here, there's no other door. It is a lot more scarier in the presence of Slender Man when there's no one else here with me and there's no way out of this. It's overwhelming, it makes me want to scream, cry, run, curl up in a corner, tear out my ears and eyes, all at the same time.
But here I am, alone.
"No, you're not alone."
No, not now...
"I'm always here, aren't I? And so is he."
He doesn't exactly count as a friend. Or someone I actually trust to be near me.
"But he's still there. You can become friends with him if you tried."
Friends? With Slender Man? I'd either be insane or just straight up stupid to befriend that thing.
"Whatever, your demise."
What do you mean by that?
"There's no other way out of here, Rosalie. You have to turn around to leave, but guess who's right behind you?"
On that little note, shivers went up my spine. Yeah, I know he's behind me.
You don't have to turn around to leave.
That little thought immediately made me remember, back at the hotel...
"What if we walk backwards?" I remembered Romano asking me.
"Backwards?" I spoke aloud.
"You think we can walk right through him, then turn and run?"
I closed my eyes, and, surprisingly, I didn't see the mirror there. "I'm not sure...but we can give it a try."
I took a few deep breaths, thinking about Romano. Imagining that he's here, right beside me, squeezing my hand, reassuring me that we'll get out of this. We just need to walk backwards.
"Alright, you ready?"
I miss hearing his voice...I'm so scared to lose him. It terrifies me knowing that if we fail, we would lose both him and Italy, and ourselves. We might not even ever see each other again. I love him way too much to lose this now.
I took one more deep breath, then nodded.
"I'm ready..."
I kept my eyes closed as I took a step backwards, and then another.
The presence intensified as I got closer, and I began to tremble uncontrollably under the pressure. I felt goosebumps rise along my whole body, and I felt that familiar chill, that darkness...but this time, I fought against it.
I can't let it consume me. Not again...because this time, I may not be able to break free.
I pushed against the dark force while continuing to walk backwards. I ignored the cold chill, but then my headache throbbed harder and I winced.
I tried focusing on thoughts of Romano. His little smiles, his laughter, the warmth of his arms, the emotion in his eyes.
Step, step, step...
The chill and darkness became stronger, and I felt what now feels like icy cold tendrils, wrapping around me.
No! Keep going!
Step, step...
Don't think about it!
But then the mirror flashed behind my eyelids for a split second.
"Just give in."
I kept my eyes shut tightly and my hands clenched. Don't think about it...don't think about Slender Man...
Good thoughts...think good memories...
Like maybe the time when Roma was pissed at Germany for something I didn't understand. I was little then, so I can understand why I don't remember what it was about. But as Germany was sleeping, I had grabbed a permanent marker and drew a mustache on his face.
When he woke up and walked in, Romano and I laughed our asses off, leaving the German confused.
Or maybe when Poland and I both pulled a prank on the Bad Touch Trio. Or when America taught me how to play soccer.
Step, step...
I feel his anger now. The atmosphere seemed to radiate with it.
He's pushing the chill at me, forcing the darkness to tighten its hold, but I continued pushing it away, taking one small step at a time, waiting until I make it past the doorway to run...the intensity of the chill is wearing me out, causing me to feel weak, nauseated even. The voices are screaming at me, screeching in my ears, and my vision is flashing behind my eyelids. Nonetheless, I continued to keep my eyes shut and to remember things to keep my mind off of what is happening.
I remember the time, a few years ago..I was maybe eleven or twelve years old...I challenged Roma to a swinging contest. We were both at a small playground and he was unusually grumpy that day, and I had wanted to cheer him up.
I was surprised when he accepted the challenge, and of course, I let him win.
That was the day I had made him smile. It was a real smile, not a competitive smirk or a small, forced grin. He actually smiled at me, his hazel eyes were soft and his cheeks were a bit flustered, and his face glowed in the warm summer sun.
I let that image stick onto my mind.
I think that day, that moment, was when I realized I was falling for him. Although he can be arrogant, foul-mouthed, short tempered, and even childish, but behind all of that belies his soft soul. I've seen more and more of that lately, and I loved seeing that side of him. I love all of him, of course, but it's so nice to see him smile...
Before I knew it, I realized I no longer feel that cold chill, no longer feel light headed or nauseated.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened one eye, only to jump in surprise.
The safe feeling immediately crumbled away when I realized Slender Man is standing right in front of me.
But I'm out in the hallway. I made it out of the room.
I turned and quickly began running again, only to see a dead end ahead of me, but thank God that dead end has a door.
I opened it and as I ran in, I slammed the door shut behind me.
I panted a bit. "Okay, now where's that note..."
Oh, I don't think any one can guess the amount of happiness and relief I felt when I saw a very familiar sheet of paper on the wall just ahead of me.
Another note.
"Oh my God, yes!" I breathed and ran towards it, but then I paused when I heard something.
It was strange, and it seemed to get louder, or closer....footsteps?
It's coming from outside of the room.
And then the voices.
"Which door do you think is the one that made the sound?"
I blinked. America?
"I don't know, just pick one!"
Prussia?
"Are you sure it could be Rosalie, aru?"
"Who else could it be!?"
A smile broke out on my face.
The others are just outside the room! I won't be alone and lost for any longer, and now, we only need to find one more note.
One more.
I faced the note and quickly read the words.
HE WILL ALWAYS FIND YOU
"Always my ass," I muttered, then grabbed the paper and turned to run for the door.
Then, as expected, the whispers began.
"He knows where you are."
"No matter where you go, he'll find you."
"You can't escape him."
"Never safe."
"Never alone."
"Whoa, what!?" I heard America about.
A gasp. "Rosalie! She must've found a note!"
Right then, I slammed open the door to greet the faces of my friends, and brother, of the other side.
"Like hell I did," I said with a grin.
"Rosalie!" America and England called, stepping towards me, but I raised my hands in the air to stop them.
"I'm fine, I'm sorry I worried you guys, but right now we don't have the time. I have the note, now we need to get the fuck outta here and find the last one," I told them.
"Fuck ja!" Prussia shouted, pumping his fist into the air. "We're too awesome for Der Großmann and-"
"Bruder, now is not the time," Germany told him sternly, his eyes narrowing as they landed on something behind me.
I'm not surprised, but I can't say I'm not scared.
"Let's get outta here!" America shouted, gesturing me to follow, and so then we all ran down the hallway, zig-zagged through the maze of hallways, and finally, finally, found the entrance of the building.
We burst through the doors, each of us letting out a long breath of relief.
But that relief soon disappeared as fast as it came once I noticed that the sky is much brighter out.
It is a light blue, and the stars have all but vanished.
We've been in that building for longer than I thought.
The headache I've been having all freakin' night throbbed more painfully than ever, and that ringing noise just won't go away!
"Oh shit, that's not good." America panted, his face pale as worry and fear swirled in his blue eyes that are almost as bright as the sky above us. I can see, over in the east horizon, a soft, orange glow radiated, illuminating the purple clouds.
"The sun didn't rise yet, we still have time!" England said, then began running ahead.
He's right, the sun isn't up yet. It's dangerously damn close, but we still have time.
"Are you sure you have enough time?"
My hope crumbled away and doubt filled my head.
No way can we find the last note on time.
"And I think I may know where the last note could be," Germany said, looking off into the distance.
England stopped and turned towards us when he heard that, but then I followed Germany's gaze.
I'm not sure, but he could be looking above the trees of the woods in the distance. Somewhere within those woods is a tree taller than all the rest. I know because I can see the tops of it climbing above all the others, and it seems massive.
The second my eyes lay on it, I felt a tug. You know, the kind that tells you to go there, that weird urge that you just have to go there.
That has to be where the last note is.
If we go over there, and the note isn't there...
Then we would fail.
The sun near to the rising point, the distance that tree is from us, the possibility of getting lost...
This is our last chance.
I took a deep breath, my eyes not leaving the top of that tree.
We're coming, Italy and Romano. Hang tight.
It's almost over.