The Red Tie: Halloween with Slenderman
"This is Halloween," plays itself in my head as I head out into the darkness. My costume is magnificent! I'm dressed as Slenderman this year, even though I'm a girl. I'm 15, so I'm just going to scare all the little kids, namely my siblings who think I'm staying at a friend's tonight. I pieced together my own costume: a morph mask from Halloween City, white gloves, a black suit from Goodwill, and I bought a red tie from Penny's, even though no one ever talks about Slender with a red tie. I thought it was pretty and looked like blood. My costume is complete, right down to the pointy shoes. The only thing missing is tentacles. Of course, those only show up when he's angry.
Well I'm about to give up for the night. I did manage to scare my siblings, but most little kids had no idea who Slenderman was and one girl asked for a hug. I'm walking through the school playground as a shortcut to my house. I sit down on the swings for a minute when I hear a man's voice behind me say, "Who are you?"
His voice makes me jump. I turn and go pale, but he can't tell because of my mask. He doesn't even know I'm a girl, I'm sure. Not that it matters.
It's Slenderman.
There's no way it's a costume. He's too perfect; no mask, long slender hands and arms, and extremely tall.
"I'm Danielle," I say, terrified. My flashlight beam trembles. "I don't need to ask who you are!"
He chuckles and says, "If you had been a boy I would've killed you for impersonating me by now, but this is interesting. I've never seen anyone dress as me before."
"Well you're one of the scariest beings there is," I say, meaning it as a compliment, and he seems to take it that way.
He shrinks in size and approaches me. I fight my sense of flight.
"Why a red tie?" he asks, extending one long finger and touching it.
"Looks like blood," I explain, "and adds a bit of color."
He reaches up and touches my neck. His fingers are cold as he finds the edge of the morph mask and lifts it from my face. My medium-length red hair spills out, mashed minimally.
"You look better with hair and a face—especially with those blue eyes."
Even though he's not human, I blush and look down.
"I'm going to let you go on one condition," he informs me.
"What's that?" I ask, ready to oblige.
"Your tie," he says. He sounds like he's smiling through his words.
"OK," I agree readily, hurrying to untie it.
He takes his tie off and we trade ties. "OK," he says, and ties the new tie on, and I do the same. His is made of fabric like I've never felt.
"You look better with a red tie," I smile.
He straightens my tie for me and hands me my mask. "See you next year?" he asks, "Or sooner?"
"Or sooner," I confirm and smile. He disappears, and I'm left standing alone in the darkness, my flashlight flickering for a moment. In that moment I wonder why I agreed to sooner. That was SLENDERMAN I was just talking to, but then the steady beam cuts through the darkness of the woods, all of my negative thoughts are forgotten, and the woods don't seem quite as forbidding as before.
A/N: I wrote this at school for myself, but it turns out my friends love it, so I wrote a sequel, Proof, which I will probably add to this later once I get it typed and review it.
Please rate and review! I don't care if the reviews are bad, as long as you have a suggestion on how to change it! I'm always open for suggestions.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!