The Slender Sickness

Chapter 6: The Feral Other

"It's alright, Matthew. I'm going to save you!" James spoke aloud, in his silent bedroom, quickly opening the drawer by his bed and gazing in at the contents of the drawer for a second.  "I never thought I would have to use this..." James muttered to himself, as he pulled the gun from the small wooden drawer. A dusty 357 Revolver that he had owned for a whole year now at this point.

He always feared that someone would one day break into his house and rob him of things very important to him like his laptop, or his television. Or maybe even murder him. So he always kept this gun around, for safety. And now, he was sure he needed it more than ever. 'The masked man will pay for this.' he thought to himself.

As he made sure the bullets were loaded into the gun, he took a deep breath, trying not to be anxious, but that couldn't calm him down. He is scared, and his phone still won't get a damn signal. Which makes the fact that someone just texted him earlier a bit unnerving. He's probably already caught the disease and is experiencing very vivid hallucinations of that tall, faceless man. He can still see him, clear as day in his mind, that horrible empty gaze...

James shivered, and shook his head, trying to get the image of that thing out of his head, and he carried the gun out his bedroom door, heading straight for his front door.

The 19-year old got into his car, worried for his friend's safety. He wasn't sure where to look first, but just then, he remembered something... When all of this began. The memory of it came back to him like a jolt, and James knew exactly where he was.

The day before Matthew informed James about the illness, an amber alert was on his TV about a missing child... She went missing near Greywood Forest. So... Matthew must be there. In the woods. James looked ahead at the empty road in front of him... Scared. But this is the only way he can find Matthew. No one else dares to go outside. Shit, everyone could be dead, for all he knows.

And even James is infected by the strange virus that started it all. Probably Matthew, too. But... James still had a shred of hope. That he can save Matthew from these weird masked people, and that... monster... that tall suit-wearing man, if he's even real. James isn't even sure now, but he's sure of one thing: He has to help Matthew now, even if that means risking his own life to save him.

And so, James drove to the entrance to Greywood. Parked in front, he got a chill down his spine. It was already nearly midnight. 11:00 PM now, and it was pitch-black out already. The wind blew harshly, howling loudly, the trees swaying in the wind. James hesitated for just a second, before he came to his senses, knowing that he has to save Matthew and that he can't just be scared of whatever may lurk in the dark.

'I have to be a man about this.' James thought, and as he did, he pulled his revolver out and headed into the dark woods.

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ONE HOUR LATER...

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James began to start losing hope, now barely walking through the woods due to his own tiredness. He's trying his best to just carry on now, in hopes of finding wherever the hell these freaks are keeping him. As James grew more and more tired, the wind became more and more severe.

James had a cold now, from being in the freezing woods for so long, and his legs were aching, though he still tried to continue. Trying his very best to resume walking...

But that was when... a twig snapped behind him...

Startled, James looked up with his eyes wide open and filled with fear. Panicked, he felt the cold chill of the midnight air on his neck, sending another chill cascading down his spine... reluctantly, he turned around to whoever was right behind him. Whoever was with him so deep into the woods. What he saw...