Slender

Chapter 13

Light seeps through the leaves above while the chirping birds echo across the miles of forest. The car seat below me is stiff yet comfortable.

I don't remember being in that picture. I don't remember a faceless boy. No matter how much I search my memory for that time in place nothing appears. She isn't me, I know that well enough. But there is one thing I do remember. Something Slenderman had said not too far back. So that's her. She's the reason I'm still alive.

"You saw?" Slender says picking up the photo off the dashboard and looking it over himself before tucking in his pocket.

"Is that her?" I ask. Slender went quiet. "She's the girl I remind you of, isn't she?" I turn in my seat to face him but he glances away.

"... even before I saw you, I knew what I planned to do yet, I couldn't."

There's suddenly a long pause as if it pains him to continue. "I thought you were her, but you weren't."

"Yet you still let me live?"

"...Yes." I look down not feeling well. "About your question..." He starts. "Your'e pleased to do whatever you want in this forest and... I'd be glad if you spent some nights here." He sounds like he's attempting to show fondness.

"Thank you." I say in my normal voice. He takes one last glance at me then suddenly turns around and starts walking off.

"Where are you going?" I yell out to him before jumping out of the car seat. He doesn't respond. I hope he's not depressed or anything. Closing the car door behind me I sprint after the tall being and timidly start walking along next to him; but since he has such long legs it's quite hard to keep up with him. "Slender, did something happen to that girl?"

"What? No." he sounds surprised. Then why is the subject such a hard topic for him? Or at least it seems like it. "Slender, were you maybe... disappointed? to find out that I wasn't her?" I give up on walking next to him and follow behind instead when we both stop walking simultaneously.

"Blaye, do you know how old I am?" I'm suddenly caught off guard. That was the only thing I didn't consider in all this. Slender was a boy in that picture. Proposing he was disappointed wouldn't make sense because she's no longer my age.

"No..." I finally answer. But I guess I could take a guess. Like his clothing he speaks very proper most of the time. On the outside he has the body of someone around the age of twenty to thirty years and yet somehow gives off a childish feel. But for actual age, well he's a demon... so... who knows how long he's been around. Wait, that picture! Why hadn't I thought of it earlier!? He turns around yet continues to let me think. That picture was in black and white. Most likely around from when the first camera was made. Not to mention the clothing of all the children was not really like how kids dress now a days. For Slender to still have the appearance of someone in his twenty's only justifies he's a demon even more. ...That girl, it's not even possible for her to still be alive, is it? How long has he been alive for? Coming out of my daze I look up at Slender. "Slender, has that girl already died of old age?" A few seconds pass before he slowly nods his head.

"So you're-"

"Over a hundred years old." My shoulders tighten up. Slender is... far older than I thought. I kind of admire him a little bit more now but is it because he's wise? or just because I'm supposed to look up to my elders? I realize Slender is gone. Glancing around I see him a few trees away starring outside the fenced area. I sprint over but then slow down to walk up quietly behind him.

"So you age slowly?" I continue our discussion as if he hadn't even teleported away.

"Kind of... When I was born I aged normally up until I was about twenty five then completely stopped, youth wise." Aha! I knew it! "Unlike all the other kids I grew in height much faster and seemed to loose a pound almost every day. Even now I'm inhumanly skinny; It almost makes me feel like an alien at times." Slender doesn't really like his appearance, does he? Now I wonder if my recent paintings made him feel better about himself and I hope not worse. "After that I grew a harsher look with each decade. Yet my mindset never changed. I became emotionless and unfeeling while my love for killing never left me." But wait, that doesn't make sense.

"Did it come back or something?" I ask childishly. "Your sympathy?"

"You could say that but I would never harm Elizabeth, dead or alive." He let her name slip.

"But I'm not her."

"I know that." He pauses but then quickly continues. "Ever since I saw you a lot of emotions have been coming back. It's seeing her again; Your face has brought many human emotions back to me, annoyingly so in fact." He clenches his fists. "I can't even kill the way I used to... the feeling of "sympathy" and "guilt" hold me back." He places his hand onto his stomach. An awful thought shrouds me but I immediately forget it. "The boy you pleaded for; I didn't kill him."

"What! he's alive!?"

"Yes, I let him go." That boy... he's still alive! I'm so glad that Slender has retired from killing for now but, I'm also kind of sorry for him. I remember the analogy he made about his passion for killing and my love for painting. He stopped doing something he loved because of me. I feel... how should I even feel? I know Slender better now but human lives... because of me that boy has a life ahead of him. I'm so happy he gets to live yet what is this feeling for Slenderman as well?

"I'm sorry." It's the only thing I can think to say.

"Apologizing? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Well no, I am but! It seems like your in pain because of it." He lets go of his stomach.

"Not really..." I give out a sigh feeling as though he's being dishonest. I walk up to the fence next to him and grab the wiring with both hands.

"What are you looking at?" I ask for there was nothing unusual out in the distance to look at.

"Nothing." I give out a upset yet interested hum while pushing forward on the fence like a child then pulling it back. The sound of the fence rattling is loud.

My mind slowly starts to recall some uncomfortable memory's. When were these... thirteen? No, younger. When I was twelve, I almost always felt like someone was watching me. Had it been Slender?

"So after you knew I wasn't her, did you visit me in my room? Like you do now?" That last question is kind of embarrassing but I can't take it back now.

"Yes, I did visit quite a bit... So you noticed me after all?" I give out a chuckle.

"Yeah. Yet, no matter how many times I turned around you weren't there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Actually, turns out I wasn't scared. Instead I thought to myself: 'Why would someone spend so much of there time just watching me?' And it somehow ended up making me feel better about myself... I painted a lot of great things that year even though I was so young... And now that I think about it- I was always trying to impress you!" I laugh a little but my smile doesn't fade. "Sorry, I said a lot of unnecessary things."

"Not at all, I like it when you speak." I see his hand flinch after he says that, as If he was surprised by his own words or didn't mean to say them. Most likely both. But that was all I needed. I actually didn't think it was all that "unnecessary" either. I just said that to see which type of response he would give. I thought: If I say something to put myself down, would he oppose it? Knowing that he did... I think I'm officially comfortable being near him, no matter his intimidating age.

I lean back onto the fence.

"Really?" I ask in a serious tone. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm teasing him. I sense his head turn to look at me. Does my slight frown show him that it's a serious question? The sound of crunching leaves grow towards me. I thought I was comfortable being close to him, so why? Why does my stomach still twist nervously?