Tale of a Slenderman Proxy_Shadowed Night

Ⓧ Chapter 17 Ⓧ

Keith was breathing heavily, his feet pounding the ground vigorously. His accelerated heart beat was the only sound audible to him. The forest was silent and even Terror's hasty movement was hushed. Despite Keith's athletic skills and rather profound speed, he was struggling to keep up with Terror. BEN was close behind the speedy creature; he hovered with his front facing Keith, so he could keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't fall behind. "Sorry, man. Having the physical form of a human can still be quite the hassle... Stitches over here, I can't really explain but I can be pretty quick because I'm pretty lightweight." BEN grinned a bit and let out a small chuckle. "You don't weigh a damn thing, do you?" Keith huffed. "Ahh, actually I can. I can kinda manipulate my form to be able to touch physical forms, so I guess I would technically have weight then. Don't worry about falling behind, man. It happens to Jeff too. I won't harass you like I do him, though." Great. Like I wanted to think of that douchebag right now. But I guess... BEN's trying to make me feel better? Keith thought, averting his gaze past BEN to track Terror. It was odd seeing him move so quickly without making nearly any sound at all. The impact of his leaping like behavior only emitted a soft sound, as if a cat was pitter pattering.

"Hey... Terror. What's the status? I feel like we've been running for a while, but we haven't been changing any directions or anything." Keith spoke, his breath wavering. He waited to hear any type of answer from whom he was speaking to, but received none. Keith frowned and narrowed his eyes. What is with everyone and not having the courtesy to give a fucking reply? Suddenly, Terror stopped moving and dropped to all fours, his eyes staring to the fore. BEN halted his movement as did Keith after he got closer to the two. Keith placed his hands near his hatchets clipped to his belt and lowered his torso. He listened and tried to pick up any sounds. There was the faint sound of footsteps in the distance. Keith stepped to the side to hide himself behind a tree and peak out. BEN was watching and caught on, floating further up into the air and placing himself behind one of the trees. "Hey, Terror, you should probably..." BEN began to speak in a low pitch but stopped when it became evident to him that Terror was no longer in his field of sight. He glanced around, trying to spot the odd being. He looked down at Keith, a puzzle expression dressing both their faces. Keith shrugs and returns his eyes towards the sound.

Gazing ahead, Keith could only make out a shroud of darkness. It remained that way for a couple of minutes, even with the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs getting louder. "Oi!" A voice called out from where the stepping sounds were. Keith thought he recognized the voice but wasn't entirely sure since it was far off. Keith glanced up at BEN and saw he had slapped the palm of his hand against his face. Confused, Keith fixed his vision back to the front to try and put together who it was. "I feel that damn annoying static feeling you give off, BEN. This is important, get your ass over here now." Now Keith realized who it was, and he let out a sigh of aggravation. He turns his body around and leans completely against the tree, crossing his arm. It isn't like Keith expected Jeff to stay away forever, but it would have been nice. But luxuries like that would be too unrealistic.

Keith heard muffled exchanges of words that he couldn't make out until BEN shouted, "Keith! It's Night!" Immediately, Keith whipped around and rushed pass the trees and towards where Jeff, BEN and apparently Night were. As Keith got closer, he was able to make out the shapes of BEN hovering right next to Jeff, and in Jeff's arms was Night. "What's wrong? Is she unconscious?" Keith urged as he stopped in front of Jeff. Jeff's icy blue eyes pierced into Keith's and he remained silent for a few tense seconds before answering, "Yeah. I found her passed out on the ground. Something feels really off, what's happened since I left you guys?"

"A lot, dude..." BEN laughed awkwardly, rubbing his hand against the back of his Phrygian cap. Keith glanced up at BEN, noting his peculiar behavior. "Uh, we crossed paths with this guy that I guess Night knew from somewhere. Like before she lost her memory. He knows where Masky is and was going to lead us in the right direction. That's pretty much it." BEN sighed, his worry filled eyes on Night. Keith's brow knitted together, and he crossed his arms instinctively. Why was BEN hiding the detail about their run in with the thing that murdered Night? Obviously, he didn't want Jeff to know about it, but for what reason? Keith decided he wasn't going to say anything about it, hoping it's for the best. Jeff's gaze was burning up at BEN, a noticeable look of discomfort spread across his twitching face. "What did the guy look like?" Jeff prompted. BEN looked taken aback by the quick bite of Jeff's question. He let out a 'hm' sound and tightened his lips. "Dude was wearing a hoodie. The hood was up. It's been nothing but dark, so I couldn't tell you any colors. He had shades on, man. Who the hell wears shades in a da-"