The Slenderman Mystery
"I'm serious, Jared, I could see his figure moving through the trees like a black shadow."
Robby and his best friend Jared sat on the back steps of their cleared-out school, chatting like they always did before leaving for home.
Jared sighed and brushed his reddish brown hair out of his chocolate colored eyes. "Robby, I've told you this a hundred times. There is no such thing as Slenderman. People just like to post photo-shopped pictures of him on the internet and claim that he's real to scare gullible thirteen year-olds like you. He exists no more than the Loch Ness monster does."
"Maybe." Robby's voice quavered as he got to his feet and shouldered his backpack. Dark brown hair framed his pale face as he turned to look up at the gray sky. "It's like he's stalking me, just waiting for me to drop my guard. Then, he'll-"
"Robby, please. This is starting to get annoying. I've kept my eye out for Slenderman, like you asked me to do a week ago, and I haven't seen him anywhere." Jared adjusted his jacket, stood up and strode towards the abandoned playground. It was a chilly October day, and scattered leaves crunched under Jared's feet as he reached the swings.
"Look, Robby, we finally have the whole playground to ourselves. All those annoying little kids are gone. So relax and let's swing for a little while before we go home."
Reluctantly Robby trudged after him, but after a couple minutes of swinging and feeling the air rush against his flushed face, he felt better. It wasn't until he'd climbed to the top of the battered slide that the old fear stabbed him like an icicle.
"Jared," he managed to choke out in a hoarse voice while pointing at the woods surrounding the back of the school. "Look!"
His eyebrows raised skeptically, Jared jumped off the swing and scanned the dark, nearly leafless trees. "I don't see anything, Robby," he said quietly, climbing onto the slide and sitting next to Robby.
"I saw his white face, I swear!"
"Robby, that could just be-"
Suddenly they heard the tell-tale crunching of leaves under someone's footsteps. Robby gripped Jared's jacket and looked like he was about to scream, but as Jared peeked around the corner of the slide's overhang his shoulders relaxed. "It's just a girl," he whispered sharply. "Now, gather yourself together before someone starts to think you're going loony."
"Excuse me, have you guys seen Mark anywhere around here?" a young girl's plaintive voice called to them. Both Jared and Robby clambered off of the slide.
"No," Robby replied to the dark-haired girl, whom he recognized as eleven year-old Kailey.
"But Robby did see Slenderman," Jared added sarcastically. "Does that count?"
To Robby's surprise, the girl's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Kind of..." Jared said suspiciously.
"Then it probably is my brother. He likes sneaking around and scaring people in this old suit and mask he bought last Halloween. He's pretty tall, so he kind of looks like Slenderman when he's in that costume. He doesn't scare me though," she added disdainfully.
"Oh..." Jared exclaimed. He smiled with relief as he looked over at his best friend. "So you really weren't going crazy."
"But why would he keep stalking me?" Robby asked, his heart thumping with surprise. "I've seen Slenderman following me for at least a week."
Kailey's eyebrows raised. "Then he really must have something against you."
"Well," Robby said slowly, "I did report to our teacher a few weeks ago that Mark was cheating on a few of the tests."
"That would do it," Kailey declared with a nod. "See you guys later." She walked back towards the school, calling Mark's name.
"I'm going home," Jared said with a satisfied grin. He and Robby set off through a short-cut in the woods that led straight to their neighborhood.
Suddenly, Robby stopped short and drew in a sharp breath.
Before them stood a tall, thin figure that was wearing a black-and-white tuxedo. Its face shone whiter than snow under a full moon.
Jared, being the braver one, was the first to unfreeze. "We know who you are, Mark," he said with a smirk. Teasingly he picked a fallen stick off the ground and poked Mark in the stomach.
"Jared," Robby breathed. "I - I don't think that's Mark."
Jared gave a yelp of surprise at the stick in his hands turned black and shattered into a million pieces. Seconds later slender, black tentacles erupted from the figure's back and reached towards both him and Robby. A buzzing noise filled their ears and Robby screamed in terror.
Jared's breath tore in and out of him as he bolted straight back to the playground, Robby pounding beside him. The buzzing noise crackled louder and louder and Robby's panic-stricken yelps pierced Jared's ears.
Finally the playground came into sight. Jared dove up the slide so fast his head banged into the slide's overhang.
"Robby, I can't believe you were right!" he gasped, looking around for his friend.
An eerie silence met him.
His pulse racing, Jared turned around and stared back at the path. There was no sign of Slenderman – or Robby.
As dead leaves drifted down from the darkening sky, Jared realized he was alone.