Misery Rose

Chapter Three - New Arrangements

Credit for the drawing of Slenderman goes to BrokenDoll777 on Deviantart.

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We had been playing for hours. Sally had taught me to play dress-up with her, and as much as it had been irritating, it had also been fun. I had been able to release a side of me that I had never even known to exist. As Sally was finally letting me get dressed into what I wear most of the time, I heard the creak of the door to her bedroom. I froze. 'I have to hide somewhere!' I was panicking. There was only a small portion that stuck out from the wall, but...it was just enough. Barely. I rushed over to that section of the wall as quickly as I possibly could, and I heard the mumbling of voices. I couldn't tell what they were saying over my heart racing, though.

I heard Sally's little voice saying something about her having played with someone. 'I'm guessing that she's talking about me...well, shit.' I heard the bathroom door creak open, and I attempted to calm my heartbeat. As someone walked closer to my hiding spot, I jumped out and tackled them to the ground. "Leave me alone, you bastard!" I saw that it was the same one that had dragged me to that...room. He had a plain, white mask with what looked to be feminine black lips painted on. He wore a jacket that looked to be yellow, or a tan. It was a bit difficult to tell in this panic. As he seemed nonchalant about my actions, I decided to run, before getting caught again. "Sally, I'll come back. I promise. I'm sorry for leaving so soon." Sally didn't seem to like what I was doing, but it wasn't like I was paying much mind to that.

As I was panicking, I only saw a window at what I assumed was the end of the hallway. Not caring for who saw me at this point, I ran for it. I saw the man from earlier running after me, which caused more adrenaline and panic to run through my veins. I reached the end of the hallway, bursting through the window, the glass shattering around me. I tumbled through the air, landing on my left shoulder, and feeling as if I had dislocated it, though I had no time to pay mind to it. I hurriedly sprang up, and began to run to where I thought my makeshift home would be.

'How is it taking this long? I should be there by now...' I sighed, as it seemed that it was near nighttime. "I have to go on my hunt...dammit. Maybe I'll find another home shortly afterwards. I can't let them find me again," I mumbled to myself. As I saw an opening, and thought it to be the way out, I ran faster, filled with hope. I ran towards the clearing, only to feel something be wrapped around my waist. 'Shit. Now what the fuck has me in its grasp?' I looked as much as I could towards what was holding me, following what appeared to be a tendril. I looked up to see the one and only Slenderman. How do I know this creature? Folklore. There are many urban legends surrounding him.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" 'I can't believe this. I'm caught by another asshole. Great. Y'know what, fuck it all. I don't even...ugh!' I thought back to my home, and felt the need to fight Slenderman. I thrashed around in his hold, unaware of others appearing by him. As I seemed to lose my fight, I started to notice the others there. One of them was the man...that had held me in that place. "You son of a bitch! Let me go! I'm not going back there." I began to chant this over and over, until I broke down. 'It happened again...why do they do this to me? Liz, I...I need help.' You may not know this about me, as not even those that have taken notes on me know this, but I have voices in my head. One of those voices tends to help me from time to time, but can only do so when I allow it, or if I am in immediate danger. She helps me to escape from dangerous situations, and to keep my head when necessary.

I let Liz take control, and felt her presence resurface, helping me to stay stable in this mess. "What do you want with me?" I demanded, keeping my eyes on the three men around us, only one of which I was faintly familiar with. Slenderman seemed to chuckle at my question. "I see that you have another who helps you with your experiences." I flinched, as Liz seemed to hesitate. It was nearly impossible for someone to know that she was there. "What the fuck do you know, asshole?!" I was fighting my control. I was fighting against my hunger to kill anyone and everything. He seemed to realize what was going on in my head, as he let out a sigh of frustration. "I only wanted to offer you something, child." "And what would that be? To be used? Cheated? Played as a fool? Controlled? My answer to that offer is as follows. Fuck. Off." "Gone through that enough.' Without having noticed, a tear had fallen down my cheek.

After a moment of fighting against control, I accepted that I had lost this battle. At least, for now. "...What...What is that offering you have in mind?" Slenderman appeared to find it humorous that I had a newfound 'interest' in his offer. "I offer shelter, and an ability to kill those that you wish, as long as you become my proxy." Before I could utter a single word, he continued. "Taking the role of a proxy entails completing tasks given to you, eliminating threats that enter the forest, and watching over those in my home as well as your proxy brothers." "I'll pass. I will take shelter, and complete some of the tasks as a proxy would, but I refuse to become your damned puppet. If you accept my change to your own offer, things may work out partially as you wish. I would accept partial portions of your shelter, would watch over those in your home, and would eliminate threats in this forest. However, I do not accept your offer of essentially being used and controlled. Do you accept my alternate proposal?"

Slenderman thinks for a moment. "I suppose so, child. Where would you stay for the majority of your time, when not in my home?" I scoff. "Is that not obvious? Given your supposed abilities, I would think that you would already know that. Especially since you already know about my fucking past." He only cocked his head at my reaction. I was fucking pissed. 'How dare he?!' "I apologize if I offended you in any way, child. Those were not my intentions." I sighed, beginning to calm down. "It's...it happens. I have...trouble with controlling my emotions. It is not your mistake. As for where I would be staying, that is rather simple. If you really cannot understand that, then I would be able to easily enough create a home in a hollowed-out tree or an area in which I could hide my home from intruders, and those that I do not wish to enter." He silently nods at my response. "I see. Now then, I suppose that you should meet those that live in my home, and then we can speak more about this arrangement." "Fine by me, however, it would be rather nice if you could put me down, Slenderman."