Can't Say

Chapter 15

           You were frozen for a few short moments, registering in your mind if that single chop behind you was from Toby or the victim - you hoped the former. Your current mission was in front of you, though, so you quickly stepped over to the cabinets and shelves of film and began shoving the contents that looked important into your makeshift sack. There were tons of different photographs and film reels dedicated to evidence of Slenderman and his Proxies. You couldn't carry them all. Instead, you quickly scanned through the tabs and labels, deducing each out of what seemed most hindering to your master. Some photos were crystal clear of the tall being, but most were borderline satisfactory. You took only the focused images, knowing how people rarely took UFO sightings seriously because of how recorded "evidence" was always blurry.
            Not once did you hear the footsteps approaching you from the doorway. The flapping and fluttering and crunching of manilla folders filled your ears as you tried your best to assume what was important to Slenderman. The thick smell of blood wafted into your nostrils soon after the hushed clunking of boots stopped nearby. You didn't acknowledge any of this until Toby's voice startled you out of your focus, "You're s-still not done?"
            Nearly dropping your increasingly heavy sack of film, you pursed your lips in irritation of Toby's lack of patience and understanding. "I'm making the best of it. There's too much to take it all."
            "Where's Hood-die?" Toby seemed to ignore your explanation. He probably was just teasing you, anyway, since your situation was pretty obvious. His head swivelled slowly from side to side as he examined the dark room, waiting on your reply.
            You were sifting through files and photos again, one hand's fingers crawling across the numerous sheets, the other tightly clutching the blanket together. "I haven't seen him since we split up," you answered.
            Toby shifted in the doorway, "Gerald's been t-taken care of. F-finish up here. We'll b-be back t-to get you." He didn't even bother waiting for your hum of acceptance to his command before rushing off down the hall.
            Finding the frequency device must have been more challenging than the others anticipated. You're blanket-sack was already over half-full; you doubted you would be able to get everything on your own. Heck, you'd most likely need a separate form of storage - a backpack would be nice. How long should you wait for your teammates before trying to escape the apartment on your own? Were you supposed to just wait there indefinitely? Your brows furrowed in thought as you tried to consider your options and sort through the film and photos.
            This Gerald guy was seriously obsessed with bringing Slenderman to light. You wondered what kind of history he had with your master. Surely something traumatic happened, else he wouldn't be this interested. The idea to question either Slenderman or one of the Proxies about it entered your mind, but you quickly dismissed it, knowing that your master would have explained it if he wanted to.
            Your blanket was just about full when you heard police sirens wailing just within your ears’ reach. At first, you didn’t notice, but they soon registered in your mind that they could very much likely be coming for you. How did they know? Did Gerald Macky have a trigger setup in case someone broke into his apartment?
            It was with that thought you gave up on finding further evidence of your master and gathered your makeshift sack, heaving it over your shoulder. It was much heavier than you anticipated, but you managed to stumble your way to the window you and your team had entered from. You slid open the window, securing it to stay up, and began tying the blanket corners so they wouldn’t splay open upon impact to the ground. Just as you were beginning to shove the sack through the window, a deep, commanding voice sounded around you, “Stop, ____”.
            You turned, still gripping the sack, to see Slenderman reaching out to you with a long hand. Upon contact with your shoulder, the surrounding walls and floor were changed to the orange and black forest you now knew as home. Ticci-Toby and Hoodie were nearby, waiting on further orders. Slenderman retracted his hand from you and held open his palm, expecting you to hand him the sack.
            “What happened?” You didn’t mean to just blurt it out, but the confusion and panic was still on your face, pulsing through your veins. Part of you stressed that you had done something wrong. Still, you heaved the sack of film and photos to your master’s hand, waiting for an answer from someone.
            Hoodie spoke up after a short moment, almost ashamed of what he was about to tell you. “The frequency device wasn’t where we anticipated it to be. After searching the apartment, I realized that the complex had a single source of wireless internet, and that’s where Gerald had planted the device. I had to break in to the landlord’s office. The wifi modem had a tampering alarm on it, but I managed to disable Gerald’s device so master could get us out of there.”
            To this, Slenderman nodded, “It was a variable I had considered. No mistakes were made this mission. I congratulate the three of you.”
            No mistakes? But you knew well that you hadn’t gathered all of the evidence, and that stung at your chest. You swallowed nervously, then shot up your hand as though you were back in school and waiting to be called on by the teacher. This gesture earned you strange looks from your teammates and master. Still, you waited for permission to speak.
            “I already know this isn’t the entirety of the evidence,” Slenderman shrugged his arm that held the sack you had given him. “However, this is still a significant dent in Gerald Macky’s work. I intend to return, myself, once the lawmen have settled and dispersed.”
            “But,” you hesitated to ask, not sure if questioning your master’s motives was a good idea, “but then why did I need to get the evidence at all if you were going to go back anyway?”
            Slenderman raised his head, looking as though he were vexed by your question, though he tried to suppress it. Tilting his head back down to imitate eying you, the tall being answered, “The lawmen will be searching the apartment for any possible answers to Gerald Macky’s death. They will find some of the evidence, but not all. Your part in the mission has decreased the chances of the humans finding clear evidence of our existence. Though the lawmen will not be retrieving evidence from the crime scene until thirty-seven minutes from now, the probability of such evidence being discovered had significantly decreased, thus biding me time. I was unable to perform any of this prior to the mission due to the frequency device.”
            You bit your lip, quickly thinking of other ways Slenderman could have gone about this, but figured he had his reasons – perhaps even some that he simply didn’t want to explain to you. At that, you nodded in acceptance to your master’s justification.
            “The three of you are no longer required,” Slenderman stated. “You may retreat to the mansion until further notice.” Toby and Hoodie nodded in silence before strolling away to clean up. You began to follow, but your master placed a firm hand on your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks. “I recommended that you refrain from questioning my motives again. You are my Proxy, my tool, and you do as I say without question. If your disobedience occurs again, I will not hesitate to punish you.”
            Your blood ran cold. Slenderman was letting your questioning slide this one time, probably because the mission was successful. You slipped out of this mistake, but next time wouldn’t be guaranteed much luck. Gulping down a ball of spit to moisten your dry throat, you nodded in acceptance and replied to your master, “Thank you. I won’t forget my place.” The large, bony hand lifted from your shoulder. Before you could turn your head, Slenderman was gone.
            A nap sounded good right now, but first, you needed to find a way to relax after that rush of adrenaline. In fact, your body was beginning to feel weak from that climb up the apartment building wall – you certainly weren’t used to that. Even your fingers ached a bit from the strain.
            Would it be safe to relax on the living room couch? Was Ben even there on his game? It was a shame that you felt so threatened in your new home, but this wasn’t he average home. You risked a peek into the living room, seeing that the television was off and no one in sight. Maybe you could watch some shows? Did the mansion even have cable?
            Tiredly plopping down on the large sofa, you quickly found the remote and powered up the large television in front of you. It wasn’t long before you figured out how to use the remote, and you switched the TV from its AUX mode to regular channels. Most of them had static and incoherent sounds – very little video. This went on in various ways until you reached a Channel 21. Here, both video and audio were as crisp as the producer put out - which was of low quality. You paused your channel surfing to take in what exactly was going on with the show.
            It was a strange show; something that looked like it was made for children, but something seemed menacing. The currently airing show was of some mascot bear chatting with awkwardly tense children. If there was any trace of acting skills within the characters, you didn't see it. The bear character, who you soon learned was called "Mr. Bear", was the only one who seemed happy about whatever was going on. The children seemed frightened about what might happen next.
            When the show ended, you were left with mixed feelings of confusion and disgust. Something told you that those children were with the costumed man against their will, and this had you fearing what happened to them once the show ended.
            "Fascinating, isn't he?" The smooth, deep voice of your master surrounded your head. It was then that you noticed the lanky mass that was reclining in the sofa next to you. Your startled expression seemed to amuse the Slenderman, though he held his eyeless gaze toward the television screen that was now emitting a rainbow of lines and a steady treble tone. "He successfully entices children to visit his lair with a crude form of entertainment. Then, he doesn't even use the children as sustenance when he no longer desires their life forces."
            You watched your master's pale head stare ahead of himself as though something interesting was actually playing on the TV screen. An air of hilarity floated around him. You dared to ask the question that was echoing within your mind, "W-what happens to them?"
            "He burns them," Slenderman nonchalantly replied. "Alive, of course."
            Memory of the sensation you felt when Ben had set you aflame washed over you. "Oh," was all you could say.
            "I prefer not to play with my food. This has hindered my knowledge of the human youth, however."
            "There's not that much to know about them," you blurted out, immediately regretting your choice of action when Slenderman turned his head toward you.
            For a few tense moments, the two of you stared at each other expectantly. Your master was the one to break the silence when he said, "I assume you plan to elaborate on your statement."
            A brief expression of surprise flashed over your face, but you released a deep breath of relief. From there, you did as suggested. "Well, children like toys and games," you shrugged. "You could even offer them candy and they'd be wrapped around your finger. There are some kids out there who are just plain terrified of other people, but it usually doesn't take long to get on their good side, if you make all the right moves." As you explained what you knew about children and their gullible ways, you watched Slenderman's still form soak in every bit of information. You had a pretty good feeling that he had been dealing with shrieking children for many centuries, and the possibility of him not having to deal with that while trying to eat was all he needed to motivate his interest.
            As you were finishing up your short lecture about how to befriend a human child, a deep yawn escaped your lips. You silently cursed Ben and Jeff for keeping you awake so late last night. It was then that you remembered your original plan to take a nap. Before you could excuse yourself, Slenderman gracefully stood from the sofa and strolled his long legs to a bookshelf. He plucked an old, thick book from one of the shelves and returned to his seat next to you. "Rest without worry, ____. You have earned my protection for a short while." Slenderman cracked open the heavily used literature and made himself comfortable for a long read.
            For a few moments, you blinked in shock, seeing a strangely softer side to your master. Before you could question him, another yawn slipped from you. To this, you took off you mask and placed it on the side table. You then turned in your spot on the sofa, your head resting on the arm of the furniture, and laid back without making physical contact with Slenderman. He probably didn't want your dirty boots on his good suit. As you slowly relaxed, you watched the faceless being read in silence, not minding your presence. Your eyes grew heavy, and soon they were fluttering shut as you drifted off to sleep.