The forest was dark, barely illuminated by what little moonlight broke through the tree branches. The air was crisp, nipping at the nostrils of living beings that inhaled it. The trees stretched high and far, beseeching the heavens to let them have a taste.
Just a taste.
Something to savor until their tongues lost all but memory of the flavor, and they would then cry out for more; but these trees would never get that taste, for the heavens had refused them such. These trees were no longer clean, but soiled with blood and guilt; they housed the very thing that the heavens despised.
A murderer. A child killer. A kidnapper. A torturer. He was all that humanity feared, and this pleased him.
His usual strolls through the woodlands were quiet. Creatures scattered at his presence, yet He had no intentions of ever harming them. Such skittish things, they were. Much more so than the older humans that dared each other into his territory.
Ah, the humans. Their eyes so wide with fear, yet their curiosity was too powerful, and the silly things would soon find what their common sense tried so desperately to avoid. He loved the chase these humans would bring - like a birthday present he never expected. It had been so long since He last remembered his birthday.
The small humans were his favorite, however. It amused him to no end how they so easily trusted him. Children were no challenge to coax into a sense of comfort when they were lost. Finding them in his home was quite the treat! How they took his hand, letting him lead them into what they thought was their awaited safety.
In fact, He heard one now! A tiny human, calling for her dear mother and father as she cried and cried, walking deeper and deeper into the vast forest. His very being would shudder at ever utterance that the child made; and thus, his mind searched his territory until He discovered the girl's exact whereabouts. A seemingly static interference with his image, then – nothing. He was gone. Slender-walking to the child He so eagerly wanted to devour.
In plain sight, He appeared again, a short distance from the child who staggered forward and never noticed the newcomer. He watched her for a few moments, studying her golden blonde hair that was tangled in leaves and twigs and who knows what else. Her tiny, stained, blue dress gently spread around her scathed knees. She was wiping the tears away from her blue-green eyes, smearing dirt from her hands onto her porcelain doll-like face. One foot still had a faithful white sandal strapped to it, while the other had been left barren.
Oh, the innocence that radiated from her was enticing! He could barely contain himself. Nonetheless, He adjusted his darker-than-night suit jacket, straightened his crimson red tie, and calmly drifted closer to the girl.
She noticed Him almost immediately, because He wanted her to, and gasped at the sudden appearance of a finely dressed stranger. Her little feet carried her equally-as-small body backward, begging their master to escape before it was too late. A branch hooked itself under a strap of her sandal, and she lost her balance, falling back on her aft.
Those eyes. Those eyes that gazed up to him and pleaded for mercy – He wanted to pluck them out and hang them in his forest.
He reached out a welcoming hand, its white and boney features reflecting the moonlight ever so gently. Barely having to lean forward, his long arm stretched out to the girl enough to place her shivering hand into his steady one. He pulled her onto her feet, and his other hand curled a beckoning finger.
Little child. Dear child. Sweet darling girl. Come with me to everlasting comfort. I shall lead you away from here.
With wide, wondering eyes, the girl nodded curiously as she willingly followed the Tall Man, gripping a single long finger. She watched his abnormally rangy legs stride along the autumn forest floor, yet He glided with a ghostly air around him. She shivered as the cool air tickled her skin, though the Tall Man's warmth flowed through her from his finger.
"Do you know where my mommy and daddy are?" The young girl's crackling voice hiccuped some of her words. She was no longer crying, yet the sadness within her lingered.
They wait for you, my sweet. Let us go meet them further ahead. His voice so soothing, like warm milk after a dark dream of ice and bone-chilling fear. The sounds of his false promises melted into the girl's heart.
Predator and prey traveled further into the forest until they reached a clearing. Here, the moonlight seemed to glow its brightest as it attempted to give hope to those who are lost. Though it was late in the fall season, the grass grew thick here, and its bed of emerald-green blades felt wonderful against the sore, bare foot of the girl.
This was it.
This was his dining room – the grass was his table.
The anticipation had Him salivating, though He did not dare part his lips – not yet. First, He must set the table.
"Where are they?" The girl's disappointed eyes gazed up to the Slender Man. She worried that He had lied to her, but couldn't understand why someone such as himself would ever lie to an innocent child.
Soon, my dear, they shall come to join us. Now, rest here in the moonlight while we wait. You must be tired. He pulled away his finger from the tiny hand that gripped it, then pressed his hand against the child's back, urging her to walk to the center of the clearing.
Timidly, the girl did as the stranger bade and He followed at her pace. She laid herself down at the center where He stopped, and felt the warmth of the grass fill her chilled body as she gazed up to the sparkling, night sky with its massive, prized pearl dangling in the center.
He stood there for several minutes, his stark white head imitating the moon with its shadows of the features He so lacked. Gazing down, He waited in an effort to test his patience. How long could He withstand the temptation before Him?
Until she closed her eyes.
The child's lids hid her soul from the world soon fluttered shut. She was much more exhausted than she had thought, and the grass was much more comfortable than her bed at home. No longer could she see the stars and moon above her; no longer could she hear her own breath slowly moving in and out of her airways, nor the faint hoots of owls in the distance.
There was nothing, but her slumber.
That is, until her body forced itself awake to the pains of her mouth slowly tearing at the corners. It was all that her senses would tell her, at first, and then her eyes finally flashed open to find that there were no stars, the moon had become much darker, and it seemed to have a red carpet dangling from below as though greeting the girl to a door she could not see. From behind this dark moon reached multiple appendages, two of them slithering their way into her mouth. Deeper and deeper down her throat, feeling around inside her chest cavity as they pierced and shredded all organs but her heart. The corners of her mouth ripped more and more, and she tried to scream, but the snakes that seemed to absorb all light blocked her esophagus, and her lungs no longer had power. The only thing she could do was cry and force the tears from her eyes as she was lifted up, the salty liquid dripped down her cheeks to mix with her iron-flavored blood as it all dripped into her wide mouth.
She tried. Oh, she tried to fight back with her arms and legs, but her lack of oxygen and the internal bleeding had weakened her greatly. Her eyes rolled back, unable to tell up from down anymore as more of the tendrils wrapped around her body to hold her in the air.
A third appendage snaked its way down her throat, joining the first two of its brethren, then wrapped around something the girl had never felt before. It pulled with ease, plucking whatever it had grabbed out of her body, and slithered back up through her mouth.
He watched, loving every failed breath she took, every contraction her throat made around his tendrils. He shuddered at every effort her body made to squirm under him. His stark face began to crack, tear, shred open where his mouth should be, just as his prey's mouth had done, revealing a dark abyss.
Here was the missing door, the missing entrance at the end of the moon's red carpet. It invited the girl inside.
She emerged from her own mouth. First, her wrist, gripped by the third appendage that had entered her. She glowed with a light that shamed the moon. Second, her shoulder emerged, followed by her head and the remainder of her body. She gazed, weary and confused, at the man she had mistakenly trusted. How had the pain stopped? When did the stranger have a mouth? Why did she feel so much lighter, so nude?
The Slender Man grinned at his prey, then opened his mouth wide as He pulled the girl's soul up the red carpet and to the black door that waited. The tendrils around her body pushed her into her new home.
Into nothing.
The flavor was powerful – splendid! A mixture of all good things into the perfect meal. Oh, the taste of innocence was worth its wait! How rare such a child was. His body trembled with delight, and his appendages dropped the child corpse, retracting into his back as they melded with the funeral suit. The dark opening to his mouth began to seal itself.
Once again, the entity's head resembled the moon. Once again, He was alone, left to his thoughts that roamed through anyone's He could reach. Tonight was a good night. One that rewarded Him with a child's body and soul.
Carelessly, He reached a long hand down to the lifeless body of his prey, plucking it up by the front of its dress, and raising it up to eye level. The girl's permanent smile reminded Him of someone He knew, and this amused Him – it always did.
Never mind that, though. It was time to scatter the corpse. Such wonderful fertilizers they made. The flesh provided nutrients for his dining table – for the bed of his prey. The Slender Man ripped the girl apart, shredding it as He strolled around the clearing and tossed bits and pieces of the body onto the ground. He need not worry about wild animals intruding on such a tainted area and stealing away with his fertilizer. It was as He fed his grass, a charming tune hummed from his wake; a tune that He so loved. Its soft melodies echoed to the moon.
Dear child. Sweet child,
Fear not tonight.
Here, with me,
You are safe from fright.
A promise. Oh child,
I promise to you:
To lead you away where
You have not a clue.
Sleep now, my child.
Rest your wide eyes.
Dream of sweet things
That dance in the skies.
Dear child. Sweet child,
Hush your labored cries.
Just a bit more,
And you will be mine.
What'd you think of my song at the end? I know it's not perfect, but it still works well.
I had read that Slender Man was known for stealing away children to eat their souls, and thought this would be neat to try and describe. Not sure I did that great. :/
Reviews are greatly appreciated!