Forest of Darkness

Chapter 5

Leaves swirled and fluttered outside of the mansion's doors, skittering along the porch like terrified rodents, as the wind picked up speed and the storm began to transform from a bluster-filled rainfall to a downright monsoon with gailforce winds that rattled even the strongest of window panes.

The wind came howling down the chimney of the mansion, making the fire within the fireplace flicker and flair frantically, a red and black husky -who had been laying peacefully by the fire- growling back at the angry storm.

It was hard to deny that the blustery scene was oddly hypnotic to the onlookers, and it was certainly the case with Frank who was watching the storm unfold from the window.
Rain beat down on the glass mercilessly, seeming to not even spatter individually but almost form a pouring geyser down the windows and on the forest floor outside.
In the mind's eye of the killer, the clear drops had become crimson and sprayed onto the glass from an unknown source.
He felt his hands twitch and absent-mindedly go to the pocket of his jacket where his knife was kept, visualizing someone running in fear from him as he remained on their tail no matter how many twists and turns they took to avoid the deranged teen.
He was closing in, more and more, knife poised and ready to strike, until-

"Hey!! Are you deaf?! Answer me, dumbass!!!"
Frank snapped out of his murderous trance and abruptly turned around to see an impatient AJ scowling at him with a bemused glare.

Ah, that's where he was.
He was in the mansion with her.

"Jus' coming!" he called back, walking towards AJ as she rolled her eyes and went down a hallway lit by chandeliers hanging overhead, along with those wall-torches one may expect to see in a stereotypical vampire film.
Frank was surprised that the Slenderman wasn't hiding another one of his horror-movie friends in a secret passageway somewhere.
He sniffed the air for a second and rubbed his bandaged hands, hoping to get a tiny bit of warmth in his blue fingers; not something he hadn't had to deal with before, but it was nice to at least feel his fingers instead of fumbling around for his weapon with numb appendages.

The two continued walking until AJ stopped by a door and briefly inclined her head at it, signalling for Frank to open the door.
He reached for the doorknob, turning it and creaking open the door to reveal some kind of a bedroom.

It wasn't much to scream about; in fact it was very plain.
Just a window seat, a double bed in the centre of the room with beige covers and a few pillows on the head end of the bed, neatly made.

A mahogany bedside table was beside the bed, a matching wardrobe in one corner of the room, and a door that led to an en-suite bathroom.
There wasn't any bookshelves, and a single light fixture brought light to the room from above.

But the bedroom seemed to be nicely spacious all at the same time, and it was certainly a nice change from sleeping on a cold mattress or half-broken bed in the lodge, as much as Frank had gotten used to it by now.

"Impressive, huh?" Aj hummed, as Frank made his way into the room.
He felt as if he wasn't in control of his body, as if he had blinked and he was standing in the middle of the room.
The only thing that seemed to snap him out of his brief stupor was the voice of the other killer.

"Yeah, I suppose" Frank mused, briefly glancing over at AJ before walking to the side of the bed, his converse trainers making minimal thumps on the carpeted floor.
"Not often I get to be in a room like this, especially with a proper bed rather than just a freaking hard mattress" he added, which made Aj smirk just a tad, in mild amusement.
The smirk then dwindled while she combed her fingers through her messy black hair, all the while maintaining an aloof expression.
It was hard not to think about what happened before, but AJ forced herself to push it out of her mind, just for now, watching the slasher trace one of the ornate carvings lightly with his numb fingers.

His fingers were still blue and looked cold and bloodied, though they seemed to be flushing with life slowly, the more and more time he spent inside of the mansion.
Aj huffed out a brief sigh and stuck her hands in her pockets, trying her hardest not to get too distracted.
She couldn't be too careful around new people, after all.

"My room's across the way, I think you also have Toby, Liu, Masky and Hoodie in the same stretch of corridor as well. Bathroom's down the hall, and if you want to get something to eat for breakfast in the morning, you may have to get up early just in case. But be careful, as some of the nocturnal bunch may still be awake at the time" she told him in a semi-bored tone, as if she'd explained this a hundred times before.
Frank nodded slightly, taking this in as he sat back on the bed, feeling the cool linen under his fingertips.

"Thanks" he started, getting out his knife and putting it to the side of him just in case things got nasty.

"So, just out of curiosity, how in the hell did you get here? Being in this mansion, I mean" AJ enquired casually, idly running her finger along the flat of her bladed hockey stick, her dark eyes showing no readable emotion.
"Hell if I know, in all honesty" Frank responded, not looking at her. He was too preoccupied with taking in his surroundings, using mirrors and windows in the room and hallway to his advantage in case anyone decided to try their luck and sneak up on him.
Memories of gore and guts flashed through his mind, even way before he had been in 'The Fog', and he was thankful that his mask was hiding his sinister smile.

"Guess you can say, to put it bluntly, I'm not really from around here" he replied with a shrug, and AJ rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I figured" AJ drawled with a bemused gaze, as if she was dealing with a petulant and disobedient child.
Frank narrowed his eyes, feeling his lip curl a little in anger before letting the comment go; last thing he needed was for someone to turn on him when he'd not even been in the mansion for one day.

AJ sighed and rubbed her eyes, feeling a slight pounding in the back of her skull as if someone had taken a baseball bat to her head.

"We all have our secrets, I guess" she began, looking at him as he laid back on the bed with his head tilted in her direction, "I can respect that. When you feel like you can tell me, just come find me. If not, then go fuck yourself, I guess" she finished with an attempted apathetic tone, though it made Frank stifle a laugh.
"I'm out! if something really goes tits-up, get Slendy, Writer or one of the two Jacks. If you can't get 'em, get Slendy's god daughter, if you can even call her that. I dunno the connection, but rumour has it that there's more to her than meets the eye. Either that or I've been watching too many vampire flicks. See ya!" And with that, AJ zipped down the hall and rapidly made her way down the stairs.

The new arrival stood from his bed, the mattress letting out a creak from the unexpected movement, and closed the door to his room in an attempt to shut out the rest of the noises of this bizarre mansion.
He looked down at his hands briefly, still clad in his worn-down bandages. They weren't as cold as they once were, plus he could see a little more pink in his skin from the change in heat. Laying in the forest didn't do much good, nor did sleeping on an old, cold mattress every night, no matter how much he was used to the sub-zero temperatures of his hometown.

Aah, yes. His hometown.
His hideout, crudely replicated by the entity to make him and his gang of rebellious criminals feel more 'at home' when going head-to-head with those god damn survivors.
He could see his friends before him; all hyped up -from caffeine or the thrill of the chase, it was hard to tell- with their masks on to show their united front against the survivors who found themselves in their world.
Their laughter filled his ears, and the scent of snowfall mixing with the piercing aroma of freshly spilled blood invaded his nose, almost as if he was there once again.

Letting out a brief yet thoughtful "hm.." in response to an unknown thought, he ambled back to the bed and flopped down on it, looking up at the ceiling.
He took his mask off and gazed at it, running his fingers over the waterproofed surface.
His fingers felt the dents, slashes and bumps of the gauze, paper, cardboard and candle wax against his skin.

Even though he was away from what he knew, what he was familiar with, Frank felt oddly at peace as he traced the bloodied, twisted grin on his mask, placing the object on his chest and letting his hands clasp over it, the lack of caffeine and the jump to an unknown dimension finally starting to take its toll.

With a soft sigh, and one last look up at the dull cream-coloured ceiling, Frank -still cradling his mask to his chest- closed his eyes.