Stay ~TicciWork~

Chapter 11: The Woods.

"Are are nearly there?"

This was the fifth time in twenty minutes Sally had chimed up about them being 'almost there'. She had been swapped around from Toby to Masky as the two took turns carrying her. Clockwork wondered why the little girl had even been invited along, surely it was dangerous for her and probably them because there was certainly no way in Hell any of them would let anyone hurt her, even if that meant risking their own lives. Clockwork exhaled, glancing around at the others with her good eye. These people certainly meant business now, you could tell by their unnervingly stoic expressions. It was hard to read most of their expressions regardless, considering most faces were shielded by mask's or mutilated to beyond recognition, however Clockwork usually had some idea as to how they felt based on body language. But not now. She could barely tell what anyone was feeling or thinking.

"No," Slenderman uttered in retaliation to Sally's earlier question, causing her to groan in annoyance and hide her face against Masky's back. Clockwork moved her gaze to Slenderman, her eye trailing up to where his face should have been. Sometimes she really did underestimate how tall he really was, it was certainly unsettling, having him stand beside her at her significantly shorter structure. She turned her attention back to where she was walking, the leaves and twigs crunching loudly under her heavy shoes. Barely anyone spoke really, beyond Jeff occasionally muttering something to the large dog that trailed at his heels. Clockwork wondered who in this group would really be coming back to the manor afterwards, if any of them. She wondered if any of them actually even could die, she knew she certainly could, most likely Masky and Hoodie too, maybe Toby? But then there were the undead ones, like Sally, could Sally die a second time? She doubted it. Her mind was certainly wandering now.

The sound of a lighter flicking to life pulled Clockwork back to reality, Sally had moved to Slenderman's side, holding onto one of his eerily long hands as they walked. She looked around for the source of the lighter, eyes landing on Masky who had lifted his mask up to uncover his face, a cigarette dangling on his lips. Clockwork was in awe, he was certainly attractive to say the least, but she didn't ponder it for very long. It was rude to stare anyway, especially at someone who went the extra mile to avoid having people see his face on the regular. She turned her attention away, zoning out once again whilst looking at the forest floor, not even catching the unusual rustle of the tree branches about her. Well... not before Jeff did.

Smile dog stopped in his tracks, ears perked up and alert eyes scanning the surrounding area. He barked loudly once, circling Jeff's legs as the man came to a halt and looked up at the brush of the trees with narrow eyes. Something had clearly startled them both, at least enough to grab their attention. The rest of the group halted a moment after, creating a slightly obscure circular shape amongst their dispersed positions. Slenderman scooped Sally into one lengthy tentacle and held her away from the group. The smell of cigarette smoke from Masky mixed into the area before the sickeningly sweet smell of perfume assaulted their senses. Clockwork looked over to Toby, whom already had his gaze trained on her. She gave him a slightly concerned look, gaining a shrug in response before he moved to stand beside her.

Masky grumbled in annoyance before putting out his cigarette and dropping the half smoked remainder to the ground, pulling down his mask once again. "Keep close, just in case." he spoke, Hoodie moving in to his side, Guilt moving to join them with the same grin she always seemed to wear. Jack gave Toby a small nod before looking over at Jeff, who caught his eye and offered another nod. What did they know that Clockwork didn't? She was already feeling a bit left out.

A soft sound echoed off the trees, something between a soft laugh and a sigh of relief. Clockwork looked around at the others with a slightly widened eye, her gaze finally landing on Guilt who's grin had faltered now. This didn't seem very good no matter what it was, the body language of the group was all off and frankly Clockwork was very unsettled. There was a slight 'whoosh' sound as someone outside the group moved quickly through the brush of shrubbery, Clockwork spun around, reaching for a knife hidden in the side of her boot, but as soon as she bent down to reach it she was shoved to the ground by a force she could barely make out. She huffed, a seering pain shooting through her shoulder. She struggled to lift herself again, however the new commotion around her was alerting her that the person had revealed themselves to the rest of the group.

"Finally, you aren't hiding in that manor anymore," the voice was soft but the words were certainly bitter, "I've been waiting months for this chance again!" the voice was forceful now, the shouts of the other filling her with determination as she pulled herself back to her feet, turning to witness a mop of pitch black hair, knotted with crisp brown leaves and small twigs, straddling Jeff. A knife raised above him from their struggle on the ground, the woman's arm merely being held back by his forearm in a defensive stance. Who was she? Clockwork felt a small sense of dread resting in her stomach. "A little birdy told me that Ann was wiped out, you promised me everyone would be safe if I left!" the woman's voice came again. Clockwork felt the urge to do something, and frankly she wondered why no one else had so far. She dug a boot into the ground, ready to launch herself into the fight to break it up, however a gloved hand wrapped around her upper arm holding her in place. She gave Toby a look of annoyance, but he simply shook his head in return, a subtle warning not to get involved.

Clockwork looked back at the commotion, now noticing just how scruffy the girl looked. Her white hoodie was destroyed in a mixture of mud and blood, specifically around her sleeves and the rim of her hood. Her pants were torn in various locations and her boots were heavy and covered in mud. She couldn't really see the girl's face from her position, though she assumed it would look as rabid as the rest of her attire. Jeff scoffed in the girl's face, shoving her to the ground as he got back up to his feet. "Don't you have children to terrorise, Kate?"

He said her name like it was poison, Kate. It was like he would choke on the name if it stayed in his mouth longer than it had to be. He rolled his eyes at her, looking down on her. Now Clockwork could see her face, well, that was an overstatement. The girl wore a mask, similar to Masky's but not quite. There was something even more unsettling about hers, it oozed with black goo from the eyes and mouth, her real blue eyes barely visible in the dark shallows of the eye holes. The girl looked wild in Clockworks opinion. The girl, Kate, seemed to brush off Jeff's comment, getting up to her feet and turning her attention to Clockwork. Her gaze made Clockwork feel ten times smaller than she was, Kate was already taller than her this just made it worse. "Who is this?" she asked, the same venom in her voice as had been in Jeff's. "You're replacing Ann with this?" she said, looking at Jeff and then casting a bitter glare to Masky. "i expected better from you" she spoke, Masky casting his look anywhere but at Kate.

Clockwork wasn't replacing Ann though. At least she didn't think she was. But Kate's tone made her second guess everything she had already known about the relationships between each of these killers. Perhaps Ann made a great deal more to some of them than Clockwork had expected. She looked shyly down at her own boots, kicking a small pebble. Wait a second... who was she to judge Clockwork without even knowing who she was. Clockwork looked up, her single eye training to the other girl. Suddenly it felt like a standoff, Clockwork felt as though it was just her and Kate in the circle now, like it was an organised fight, and she was surging with adrenaline. "Actually, I'm not replacing anyone," Clockwork spoke up, pulling Kate's attention back to her, "who are you to make assumptions about me?"

Kate looked at the girl with what appeared to be a fire in her eyes. "You're talking to Slenderman's first proxy." Well... shit.