Prologue
Slender's Nightmare
Faith
Blood.
There was blood everywhere. The walls, the floor, the bed, all smothered in the red, sticky horror.
There lied my father, my mother, and Casey, my older brother. What happened? I thought. All I could hear was Casey's horrified screaming.
The front door opened, and Slenderman stepped in, followed by two other boys. His nonexistent face was twisted, and I could feel his shock and confusion.
The boys looked just as horrified as I was. One in a yellow hoodie and white mask, the hood barely covering his chestnut-brown hair, had a hand over his stomach, like he was gonna be sick. The other, standing next to the sick boy in the yellow hoodie, had an orange one on. I could barely see his face because the hood was pulled down far, but I could make out a deep red frown.
Slenderman walked to me and lifted me in his arms. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, and I wanted to hug my mother's lifeless body. But my body wouldn't respond. My eyes stayed fixed on the three dead bodies before me. My mouth was pressed in a tight line, showing no emotion.
"Faith," Slenderman said gently. "Faith, are you okay?"
I managed a nod.
Slenderman nodded, his "face" showing one of concern. Then he motioned to the boys, and they all walked out, with me staring at my unfortunate brother for the last time.
Slenderman
It's been three years since the…incident. Faith is going to turn nine tomorrow. Because it was Halloween night, the children are out trick-or-treating, and I am alone for now. My brother, Splendorman, has informed me that he will be coming over before the kids get home.
"You've never let me see Faith before," he complained. "I'm coming, and I don't care what you say."
I did not argue. I found it pointless. And I figured Faith could use a distraction, to help her move on from her parents' and brother's deaths.
The doorbell rang, and I moved to answer it. I opened the door, and my brother stood there, his face shining with a wide grin.
"Hey! Good to see you again, little brother!" Splendorman said happily. He wore his usual black suit, which was, as always, covered in polka dots of many different colors. He had a matching top hat with it, and a blue flower in the breast pocket of his suit. In his large, gloved hands, he held a bunch of balloons, all colors of the rainbow, a bouquet of pink roses, Faith's favorite flower, a grocery bag, and a wrapped present.
I took the bag, set it on the table, and told Splendorman to put the balloons in the back. I reminded myself to keep Faith out until the morning.
"Hello, brother," I said. "What's in the bag?"
"Decorations."
"What for?"
Splendorman's eyes widened in astonishment. "Don't tell me you aren't throwing Faith a party?!" he cried.
"I…well…" I'd never thought about giving her a party. I didn't think she'd want one.
"Every little girl has to have a birthday party," Splendorman continued. "Do you know anything about children?" Before I could answer, he stopped me. "Don't answer that," he said, annoyed.
"Alright. When do you want this set up?" I asked instead.
"Well, I was thinking Laughing Jack could take Faith out back for a while after lunch. Then, while she's outside, we'll set up. You can telepathically send L.J. a message to bring her in, then we'll surprise her." Splendorman clapped his hands in excitement, his smile widening. "Slender, she'll love it!"
"Alright. I agree. She will."
"I'll put these with the balloons," he said, carrying the flowers, decorations, and present into the back.
The door opened, and there were sounds of kids laughing. The children had returned.
"Slender!" Hoodie yelled. "We're back!"
"Take your candy to your rooms, and hang out upstairs until eleven o'clock. No fighting or trading, Masky!" I yelled back. "Oh, Faith! Come here a moment!"
"Coming, Slenderman!" Faith called, then skipped into the room. She had a black dress on, and her blond hair was in tight curls. She had light makeup on her face, making her look pale and tired. She had plastic fangs in one hand, and a bag of candy in her other hand. She told me she had wanted to be a vampire this year, so I made her into a vampire princess. She loved the costume.
My shoulders slumped, and I sighed and chuckled. "You look so cute," I said.
Faith put her candy bag and teeth on the ground and curtsied. The gesture made me laugh, and I bowed back. "Your royal vampiress," I smiled. She couldn't see it, but I could tell she knew I was smiling.
"What is it, master Slenderman?" she asked sweetly, her tone mixed with the regalia of a princess.
"I want you to meet someone," I said, and picked her up. "My older brother, Splendorman."
As if anticipating the introduction, my brother walked into the room and gasped. "Aww! Look at you! You look so adorably terrifying!" He flicked one of Faith's curls and tweaked her nose. Faith giggled and waved shyly.
"She's adorable!" Splendorman fawned. He pulled the flower out of his breast pocket and handed it to her. "To her majesty, the princess of vampires."
Faith took it, smiling. "Thank you, Mr. Splendorman," she whispered shyly.
"Alright Faith, go on upstairs now," I said, putting her down.
"Aww, let me hug her first. Please?" Splendorman asked.
Faith ran to him and he hugged her tightly. She pretended to bite his neck, and he gasped and choked dramatically. The act made Faith giggle, and he set her down. He flicked another curl, then tickled her stomach. Faith laughed, then picked up her bag and fake teeth, and ran to her room.
"Well, I'm calling it a night," I said, stretching.
"Alright. Sleep well, brother."
"You too. Don't let the children stay up past eleven."
"I won't," Splendorman laughed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Hoodie
Waking up the next morning, I went downstairs for breakfast. I was really happy. Today was Faith's birthday, and I was going to ask Slender if we could buy her presents. I saw something online about a really cute rag doll. It looked perfect.
I walked into the dining room. Faith wasn't awake yet, and everyone was talking. "What's going on?" I asked a tad groggily.
"We're throwing Faith a birthday party," Masky whispered. "But we have to pretend we forgot. Laughing Jack's gonna play with her after lunch, and we're gonna set up. Wanna go get a present?"
"Yes," I whispered back immediately.
"Okay," Slender said. He pulled out a few dollars in cash, and handed it to Masky. "Nothing too expensive, got it?"
"Yes, sir," I said. The doll I wanted to get Faith was only two dollars. It was perfect.
"Go, and hurry," he said, and Masky, Laughing Jack and I raced out the door.
It took us twenty minutes to get there and back with our things. We all had our presents, and Slender quickly took them to the back. Faith had woken up, and we pretended we didn't know it was her birthday. We talked to her like normal, then left her to play. Like any normal day.
Soon, Faith started to get sad. She wouldn't say why, but we knew. She thought we forgot about her birthday this year.
After lunch, Laughing Jack took Faith outside while the rest of us set up decorations. Eyeless Jack put up streamers. Masky set the table, and put the pink roses in the center. Slender placed the balloons around the house and baked the cake. Splendor set things up for snacks and games, and I placed the presents in a clever hiding spot for later, then helped wherever I could.
Once everything was set up nicely, Slender turned the lights off. "Hide everyone," he said quietly.
We all hid, and the back door opened. Footsteps. They're getting closer.
"Where is everybody?" Faith asked.
The lights turned on again. "SURPRISE!" We all jumped up and yelled the word so loud, Faith cried out. Then she smiled and jumped up and down excitedly, squealing in delight.
"Happy ninth birthday, Faith!" Splendorman yelled.
"Yeah. Happy birthday!" Eyeless Jack joined in.
"Ready guys?" I yelled, smiling broadly. "One, two, three!"
We all started to sing "Happy Birthday To You" to Faith, who was so happy, she was laughing a lot.
When the party had ended, the decorations had been put away, and the games had been played, Faith opened her final present: mine. I watched with anticipation as she tore the wrapping paper away. Her eyes widened in joy. "It's the Raggedy Anne doll!" she cried.
"Do you like it?" I asked, nervous.
"I love it!" Faith hugged the doll close to her chest. I sighed in relief. I did it. I got her another good gift.
"Thank you, Hoodie."
"Yeah, no problem. You looked interested in it, so I got it this morning."
"Well, who wants cake?" Slender asked, bringing in the pretty chocolate cake with Faith's name written prettily in blue frosting. We all dug in, laughing and sharing stories until dark.
Masky
When everything settled down, Splendor walked out of Faith's room, smiling. "She's asleep now," he told me. "With Hoodie's little Raggedy Anne doll held close. She loves that thing."
"My brother's got a way with her," I said with a shrug. "Always knows what she wants."
"He's smart. You on guard duty tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to bed."
"Alright. Night, Splendorman."
"See ya tomorrow, Masky." Splendorman walked away towards his room.
I walked down the stairs and checked the rooms on the first floor. Everything was in order. Eyeless Jack was fast asleep, the kitchen intact, etcetera. I figured it was going to just be an ordinary night.
Then I heard the crashing and banging from upstairs.
I ran upstairs and checked all the rooms. When I came to Faith's, I ran in. L.J. was unconscious. The entire room had been trashed. The covers were torn off the bed. And all that was left was a little Raggedy Anne doll, lying face down on the floor, but no little girl holding it. Faith was missing.
"Faith!" I yelled, desperately trying to find her. I saw a shadow out of the window for the briefest of seconds, then it was gone.
"SLENDER!" I screamed. Slender was there in a minute, looking around the room with the same shock as when Faith's family died.
"Faith…" he started. Then he turned to the wall, where a message, written in a black, inky substance, stated: SHE'S MINE.