Fear. Something that controls people better than any discipline; Better than punishments, than sexual desires, better than basic desires such as hunger, even. Fear is said to have no shape; fear is many things. It is losing a loved one. Seeing something that isn't really there. Fear causes the mind to start toying with you; make you see things that aren't really there, or overreact to small bumps in the night.

Prologue

Tree branches creaked and rocked back and forth throughout the dark forest, the stiff wind bringing a cold chill. Frost clung to every tree, every blade of grass, slowly killing off what life was left in the plants. Deep within the forest, a crunching echoed off the still trees, followed by a high pitched wail of fear.

The bushes trembled on the far side of a small clearing, and a small girl burst out, her dark ginger hair knotted and tangled with twigs and leaves, pale blue eyes wide with fear. Tears streamed down her mud caked face, mixing with dried blood and finally dropping onto her once pretty bright pink dress, now torn and tattered and covered with blood.

She stared around wildly for a few moments before turning towards a lightening split tree and running. She blindly ran through the trees, panting heavily, trying desperately to get away. From what? She didn't know; all she knew was that something was in there; something dangerous. Skidding around a tree, she tried to remember how she'd gotten there in the first place.

She remembered playing hide-and-seek with her older siblings; being chosen as one of the hiding people. She had hidden herself beside their momma's patch of berry bushes, just a little ways away from the forest. Papa had always warned her to never go in there. It was too dangerous. Even he didn't like going in there. Which confused the girl the most; she had never disobeyed her Papa's orders; why was she in here? She couldn't remember ever entering the forest, only remembered running…and that she needed to get out of there as fast as possible.

With a sudden shock of pain, the girl cried out as her foot caught on something and she was sent tumbling down a small slope, whimpering as she came to a halt at the bottom where the ground evened out. She slumped there for a few long moments, sobbing, before shakily pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. Throwing a scared look over her shoulder, she saw something moving around in the shadow of the rise; long, black, slithering across the ground as if it were a big snake…

The girl hastily crawled forward a few paces, stopping as a shadow loomed over her, blotting out what little, faint moonlight she could see. Her stomach tightened as fear gripped her, and she began to shake uncontrollably. All her instincts told her to run, screamed at her, but she was frozen in the spot, staring at the frosty ground in front of her.

In the back of her head, she heard something; though it was faint, the girl made it out to sound like the static on the radio when it goes to a channel that doesn't come in clearly. It was slowly getting louder…but that was the last thing on her mind. She could feel this things presence in front of her, feel the death that hung in the air heavily…

Slowly, almost painfully slow, she began to raise her head. He was taller than any person she'd ever seen, almost looking as tall as the trees surrounding them. His arms almost grazed the ground, his long, thin fingers twitching occasionally. As her gaze traveled up, she realized he was wearing a black suit with a crimson tie; much like Papa's business friends who lived in big cities. She wanted to stop looking, to tear her gaze away, but she couldn't.

Finally, she saw his face.

And her jaw dropped in a silent scream of terror…

For he had no face.

It was just…blank. No facial features at all; no nose, no mouth, no eyes. Just…blank white. The girl desperately tried to tear her gaze away, but an overwhelming sense of comfort swept over her. The static sound in the back of her mind was louder now, as she watched the man reach down towards her, his hand outstretched towards her.

"Do not be frightened, child."

The voice sounded from inside her head, drowning out the buzzing for a few short moments. She blinked, uncomprehending what was happening.

"I do not wish to harm you, child. I wish to help you."

His outstretched hand moved closer; his voice was so comforting, and reassuring…the girl slowly, tentatively, reached a hand towards his, grasping it gently. His skin was icy cold, even more so than the ice that had formed under his feet and reached her bare, scraped knees.

"You are safe now, child."

The voice rang through her head as he pulled her up to a standing position. Instead of letting go of her hand, his grip tightened; from his back protruded something long and black, moving closer towards the girl. They looked faintly familiar…but her mind was completely blank, fully engulfed by the man's voice and the static. The things from his back, the black…tentacles (as best as she could call them) wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up so that she was face to face with him, towering above the forest floor.

"Sleep, child."

His voice coaxed gently. The girl's eyelids felt heavy, but she didn't WANT to sleep…Something deep down stirred and she wriggled around slightly, but she was exhausted; she fell limp in his grip quickly.

"Sleep."

His voice soothed, as her eyelids closed. She heard something before a dull pain seared through her, and a faint, wet ripping sound reached her ears through the static, before everything disappeared into darkness, and her last breath escaped from her in a sigh.

AN: Hello dearies~! Yes, yes, this is a Slender fanfic. I'm trying my hand at writing one myself, since I've been caught up in the slender craze. Please, any and all feedback is appreciated! I'm not too sure about how this is sounding already, so I'd love to hear from you guys, see if you like it. If it's liked, I'll continue (Well I probably will anyways, but I want to know if it sucks or not XD)