The Bard and the Killer

Chapter 1: Into the Woods

Gamzee slowly peeled his eyes open. The sun had finally gone down and he was ready for some wicked nocturnal shenanigans with his matesprit. She was such a sweet, strange little human. Then it hit him and the corners of his dopey grin turned down a few degrees. He couldn't hear her moving about in the kitchen as she usually was when he awoke at night. He frowned further when he realized he didn't hear her soft breathing in the next room or anywhere for that matter. It was dark out, and he knew she didn't like to be in those kinds of conditions alone.

He pulled himself up from the horn pile he had formed by the couch in her human living room and picked up his clubs from beside the door. He briefly considered not eating any of his pie before he left, being concerned that time may be an issue, but he made himself eat some before setting out.

x

You were indeed scared, stumbling through the darkened forest. You had been walking home when you were jumped by some thugs looking for drug money. They had stabbed you in the back and played with you; letting you get up and run a few feet before knocking you over. You were being hunted. A quiet sob tore from your lips as you stumbled, tripping on a tree root. You laid there a moment, wishing you hadn't need to go to the store to get some things for your own dinner that night. Your groceries were long gone, making your suffering for naught. Somewhere behind you, you could hear rustling in the undergrowth. It wasn't too close, but judging from the speech following it, it was the same assholes who attacked you. You pushed yourself to your feet, feeling for the same tree root that had dumped you on the ground, but not finding it.

"Gamzee..." You whispered to yourself, his name giving you the strength to stand and keep limping. Your back was on fire and you hoped there was no damage. You were a fragile creature, after all. Despite knowing your pursuers didn't have visual contact with you, you still felt as though there were eyes on you, a feeling you had learned to recognize in the past. The fire on your back moved steadily downward. That would be your blood, seeping down your back and staining the Capricorn jacket Gamzee had gotten specially made for you.

You were getting dizzy from all the blood loss. This was surely how the thugs were still tracking you. There was no other way they'd be able to follow for so long through such a dense forest. As you had walked, thinking these things to yourself, you had managed to get yourself lost. You weren't sure where you were at all. Your fear increased. You found a tree with a hole in the base and squeezed in. You could run no longer and needed to rest. Just for a moment. You felt so weak. Tired...

The voices were now loud and clear. "Where did that little bitch go?" One of them swore, spitting on the ground so closely nearby that you heard it hit the autumn leaves blanketing the ground. You held your breath. They were much closer than you thought. A second voice answered, but you weren't sure of what it said. This one was muffled by what sounded like static in your ears. Fuzzy little dots, much like the static you swore you heard crept over your vision. The darkness of sleep called to you and you fought. You didn't want to die, and you were sure that you were going to if you let your (eye color) orbs close. Gamzee...You thought, the act almost a plea for your love to appear and rescue you.

Your eyes closed to the sounds of three grown men screaming in terror. These were cut off as the alertness your body, dissolving into gurgles as you yourself dissolved into nothingness.

x

Somewhere above you, there are voices again and you reflexively shrink away from them. Your eyes opened, but the vision was blurry. The shredded remains of a jacket lay over your chest, as if to keep you warm. For some reason, the sight of this jacket fills you with momentary anxiety. The voices got louder as your vision cleared and you were able to see two figures standing over you. One looked...like an elf? He was wearing some sort of odd green get up. "Look BEN, Slender said that we had to keep her and I'm not going to be the one to show her the ropes. It's your turn with this one, and don't kill her this time or the old man is going to be angry."

Ben sees you looking at him and fixes you with the gaze from a horror movie. His eyes were black where they should've been white, with irises of a demonic red. When his mouth opens you see rows of sharp, needle like teeth. A scream rose in your throat without your permission.

You scramble up the wall, into the farthest corner on the bed that you can managed before you take in the appearance of the other person in the room, if you could even call the first a person. He's wearing long black jeans and stained, white hoodie when you take a look. Your eyes travel upward to the curtain of unkempt black hair framing his impossibly pale, white face. If this wasn't enough to unnerve you, the next thing you was noticed the smile that seemed to be carved into his face. Your midsection twinged and you looked down to see there was a bandage wrapping around your bare stomach. You were shirtless then. Your arms crossed over your chest.

You shivered in mounting fear and felt your stomach twist in hunger. Had you eaten last night? What happened last night? "Please don't hurt me." You found yourself saying. "Where am I? What happened?"

The two figures exchanged a glance with each other. "What do you remember?" The one with the jet black hair and contrasting face asked."

What did you remember? Nothing. "Do we know each other? Do I know you?" Something fluttered behind you, but you ignored it. You were pressed into the wall. There couldn't be anything there.

"What's your name?" Ben was asking you. You considered this and realized you couldn't answer him if you wanted to. You had no clue who you were. You had no clue of anything.

"I...I don't know." You admitted quietly, not ready for the reaction this got.

"Son of a bitch. I'm not taking this one. She's all yours. Tell the old man he can suck it!" Ben yelled, cursing and stomped from the room. Tears threatened. You jumped when the door slammed. This left you alone with the perpetually smiling boy, even if you got the feeling he was actually frowning at you.

"I'm Jeff the Killer and this is the Slenderman's Mansion." You stare at him, not understanding a word his wide mouth speaks to you. When you tune back in, however, what he's saying does pertain to you. "Sometimes going through the portal messes with the memories of humans." He frowned. "Although you don't seem to be human."

You don't know your own name. You're reeling. "So just pick a new one to go by while you're here. Something to strike fear in the hearts of mortals." You look up, startled that Jeff is still talking to you. He's looking more closely at you. "I said you should pick a new name, one that fits a winged killer such as yourself."

Winged? You look behind yourself and strangely aren't surprised to see the wings that you had tucked into your Capricorn jacket. That must have been why seeing it not on you caused mild anxiety. You had wings to hide. "I'm not a killer." You hear yourself as if from far away. Jeff continues as if he didn't hear you.

"Well just think about your name for now. I'll come get you later and show you how we get food and what we do." Jeff left, shutting the door to what seemed to be your new room. You wished you could remember your real one. Your heart was tearing itself in two, trying to remember something that in particular was important to you, but it's no good. This only serves to make you sadder. You bring the partially destroyed Capricorn jacket to your nose and inhale, the scent comforting you almost as much as the wings unfurling and encasing you. You slip it back on, despite the bloody hole in the back that aligns perfectly with the source of physical pain plaguing you. You laid back on the bed, wings folded away neatly under the jacket. You weren't even sure what was happening to you yet, but you resolved that you would feel better about it soon.

x

By the time the sun rose, Gamzee was mad. He was mad, and upset, and on top of that very worried. He couldn't find you anywhere, nor had anyone claimed to have seen you. He had to force himself to go home, but he couldn't force himself to sleep, despite being nocturnal. Not while you were unaccounted for. He loved you so. His miraculous little birdy girl. "(Your name)." He whispered, following this up with a disheartened honk. It was like his precious little mama had just disappeared off the face of the Earth, and without you on it, he felt as though he had no place there either.

An: Let me know what you think...please.