Silent Purgatory
- A Fanfic based on Slender
She should have noticed that something was not right. He was usually waiting for her when she got there, but not today. 'It might not kill me to wait for him this time,' she thought to herself, while placing herself firmly under the destined tree, where they would usually meet. This was the same tree under which they discovered some kind of note at their last meeting. 'Leave me alone' it said. Her conservative parents did not approve of her seeing someone who did not belong to their religious community. They even made her go to 'Jesus-camps' when she was younger, there was no way they would let her have a boyfriend who did not have any particular religious beliefs. Pre-marital sex was of course a no-go too. But she had not told her parents about him, and they would not know of him, as they would always meet up in the woods to see each other late at night. Every precaution that could be taken, they would take twice. The cold started creeping up her back, making her shiver. She focused on the small clouds her nervous breathing formed in front of her face. Listening closely, she tried to make out the sounds of footsteps that would belong to her boyfriend, but all she could hear was the silence of the empty night. Her conscience started blaming her; this was what she deserved for sneaking out and defying her parents' strict wishes. Had they not always been kind to her and made sure she had everything she needed throughout her childhood? How could she justify this kind of behavior – was she really that selfish? Was she really willing to go that far for something that was probably just a temporary crush, and thereby destroy her innocence, her faith and… the trust her parents held in her? This was probably just a test. Her boyfriend was sent by the devil to tempt her, and she had fallen right into his trap by falling for him. He was the devil, and God would shake his almighty head in disappointment, inform her parents and deny her paradise when she would die. She would enter the world of heathens, living a life consisting only of lust and no self-control, never to return to the loving, peaceful society God had let her into as she was baptized…
She pushed herself from the trunk of the tree and took a few steps away from it, trying to distract her mind and her conscience from influencing her mood. All of this happened only because of the fact that she had been the one to wait for HIM for once. A wet, sticky and slightly hot sensation caught interrupted her flow of thoughts as it dripped onto her forehead. Her fingers automatically wandered to touch it. 'Tree sap?' she thought, carefully testing the substance between her thumb and index finger. As she tried to focus her vision on it, a sudden pressure invaded her mind. It caught her off guard, filling her with the feeling of despair and the urge to run. She tumbled back, cracking a few dry branches in the process, the sound of them echoing through the silent forest. Her head hit the trunk, hard. It took her a few minutes to recover. The pressure faded. 'What was that?'
Her breathing had gotten uneven, her vision blurry. She noticed her cream-colored jacket had gotten a few stains and her hand went to rub it in a hopeless attempt to get it off. The texture was the same as the liquid that had hit her forehead. Had she really gotten her jacket ruined by tree sap? Just because she snuck out again this was her punishment? No, this was the punishment of God. This was his attempt to get her on the right path, making her current situation a living hell so she would realize that she had to get out of this before she involved herself too much and was corrupted by this boy. She angrily pulled out her phone to call her boyfriend, not wanting to wait anymore. It was his fault she was being punished like this! Not even a second after the thought was finished, she saw it. A distant silhouette towering between the trees, casting its powerful presence, making her unable to perceive things clearly. "Nick, is that you? Get over here, I am tired of waiting!" Had he been there all the time, watching her, like some kind of creep? Why had he not shown himself, and why had she not heard him approaching? The clear tune sounded in her ear moments later, she just waited for him to pick up and reveal himself as the one standing there.
A horrifying melody pierced the silence and made her jump. It was the ringtone. The pressure once again invaded her sanity, forcing her to look up at the tree. What was that? Something was not right. She held up her phone, casting just enough light to reveal the tree top to her sight. In the next seconds she was petrified. A body. A human body dangled from the tree, the tip of its trunk ripping a giant hole through the stomach. The lifeless eyes that cast their dull reflection of the light back at her. She knew those eyes. She knew who they belonged to. The realization began working its way to her mind, resulting in a scream of terror. "God, why are you punishing me like this? I am still pure, I go to church every Sunday!" she yelled furiously. She quickly turned around, trying to locate the figure she had seen before. It was nowhere to be seen. 'Why? Why is this happening?' her feet started moving without her even telling them to do so. The cold wind and the sleek branches whipped her across her face while she ran. Ignoring the intense cramps that formed in her legs, she forced herself to go on, following the narrow path she had used to get to their place of meeting. She collapsed on the ground attempting to catch her breath. She was almost there, almost at the bigger road where the street lights would guide her home safely. Stumbling to her feet in order to run for the last distance, she saw him. The silhouette was closer this time. It was a tall man. She could make out his deformed body, the unusually long limbs, concealed by a black suit and the face. An empty, pale face. Nothing but pure horror overcame her. Shaking, she took a run in the opposite direction to get away from him. Looking over her shoulder to see if he was following her, she noticed he was gone. Abruptly, she stopped in her tracks and turned around again. Maybe he had fled, knowing she was too fast for him? She tried to locate him ahead, but failed to do so. He had disappeared. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall as relief washed over her. She would get out of here.
Then the pressure assaulted her again. A pained sound escaped her lips and she shook her head to get rid of the morbid feeling. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for the pressure to fade. After a short duration, it did. She sighed and managed to take an upright standing position again. A smile formed on her lips, it was over. A low chuckle emerged from the nothingness behind her. There he was, barely a meter and a half away from her, towering over her with his blank face. Just standing there. A choked sound left her throat and she hastily commanded her legs to carry her further. She took a turn, the street lights were visible through the trees. She laughed hysterically and kept on running, stumbling onto the wider, asphalted road. Her heart raced. She looked up, noticing something was pinned to the tree across the road. Although it was the last thing she wanted, something drew her to rip off the piece of paper, reading the few words that were highlighted with a child-like drawing. 'Can't run.'
She froze. She knew he was behind her, she dared not look. A silent prayer went over her lips as she started moving sideways, with small steps, not wanting to look behind her. As long as she did not see him he did not exist. But of course at this point she already aware of the fate God had lain upon her. She knew Satan had manifested and was going to take her soul to the purgatory. She had ignored the warnings placed by God. He had wanted to save her, but she refused to see that. A brief moment later, the street lights exploded one by one, letting fiery sparks rain upon the road, filling her with utter terror. "No! No I don't deserve this!" she yelled and started to run again, along the road she knew lead to safety. If she could just make it there everything would be good, she was sure of it. He appeared again. His slender figure, just a few feet away from her, forcing her to stop. She was shaking furiously, panicking, crying, and unable to move.
Staring at him in horror, she watched how sleek, dark objects sprouted from his back, stretching and moving towards her. This made her come to her senses, letting her take a quick turn, but it had grabbed a hold of her ankle, making her fall. She fell face first onto the ground, soon getting lifted up by the thing that had taken a hold of her. She struggled, clawing the thing, desperately trying to make it let go of her, but she had no chance. Soon more of the things grabbed a hold of her, forcing her arms apart, and turning her, letting the blood fall from her head to the rest of her body again. The texture felt like compact muscle, coated by a slick surface that reminded her of a snake, a reptile. The form was snake-like too, like strong tentacles, black as his suit and the foggy darkness that surrounded them. "No please! I beg you, let me go! I can repent my sins! I will never oppose Gods words again! Stay loyal to my family, I promise, just let me g-!" one of the tentacles forced its way into her mouth, instantly shutting her up, and making its way down her throat, gagging her. Her breathing was temporarily interrupted, as it filled up her throat, viciously turning and moving around. As it removed itself she threw up in a frenetic manner, letting the matter drip onto the ground. She felt him look at her. Look at her while she emptied her stomach, embarrassingly visible to him.
The open road made her feel even more exposed. A bright light appeared in the distance. The headlights of a car. But he would not let anyone be witness to this. A sharp pressure welled up in her head, making her close her eyes from the pain. As she opened them every sight of the car was gone, and she was surrounded by trees. The grip around her wrists and ankles tightened, making her squirm in pain. The moonlight made the Slender man perfectly visible to her. More tentacles appeared, hurrying towards her upheld form at a swift pace. One of them pushed into her mouth and down her throat again, moving, but not violently enough to make her throw up again. She tried to out-block the feeling, while failing to contain her saliva that trickled down the sides of her wide-open mouth. Her breaths were brief, the tentacle only allowing her enough oxygen to keep her from passing out. She heard the chuckle again. She stared down at him in horror, watching his ridiculously long arm stretch up, reaching out for her. The icy cold surface of skin made contact with her cheek seconds later. "No escape," the words sounded extraterrestrial as they were released into the night, a few muffled, pained sounds the only things that disturbed the horrifying silence. The feeling soon faded as he brought his hand down, replaced by a huge amount of his tentacles, that wrapped around her in every way possible. They easily tore her clothes to shreds, leaving only a few scattered pieces of fabric hanging off of her body. She felt the snaky tentacle grow in her mouth, making it difficult for her body to contain without fracturing from the inside.
Her legs were violently pulled apart, exposing her body to him. She shook her head, just resulting in gagging herself on the tentacle that ravaged her mouth. This was the last battalion. She would be unable to return to the paradise she was born into if this action was to be fulfilled. Slender Man removed his tentacle from her mouth, leaving her gasping for air. But it was just so he would be able to hear her scream. Barely letting her catch her breath, he let one of the tentacles that roamed her body find its way to her purity, the only thing preventing her mental breakdown, her maintaining some of her sanity, the only thing she had left. Her pained scream dissolved into the mists that surrounded the both of them. She felt him tense, postponing any movement, savoring the moment. The moment only lasted a short while - she felt the tentacles pierce further into her body, moving vigorously inside her, stealing every last bit of faith away from her. The ripping sensation she was becoming aware of did not even scare her anymore. Oblivious to the pain, just feeling the numbness, she let him continue. Her eyes locked on his empty face, wanting to reach out her hands for him, but they were still suppressed. There was nothing more than this. There never was. Her blood dripped onto the ground, staining it forever. Mercilessly he kept ravaging her body until she was on the verge to losing consciousness. Lowering her onto eye-level she managed to lift up her face and look at him. A smile appeared on her face at first, and then she started laughing. Her vicious laughter filled the empty forest, soon fading. "Thank you," she said.
He disappeared into the forest, leaving her hanging, bleeding, crucified to a tree, leaving her to die.
