Chapter 1: How It All Began.

~Slenderman's POV~

"Jeffrey, stop that!" I yell at Jeff, who's standing across the hall, throwing knives in my direction and hitting the wall beside me. Jeff snickers.

"Well, I'm bored, and it's not nighttime yet," Jeff says, "So I can't go out killing, now can I?"
I groan. Why did I ever let this fool into the Creepypasta realm?

"Just... Go play video games with Ben or something..." I say. I have been standing in the hallway, looking at some old pictures on the wall, and then Jeff came along and started bothering me. At least his knives didn't hit any of these photos and newspaper clippings. Jeff sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Fine." he says, "But I'm tired of playing video games with that kid, he always wins! Stupid hacks..."

"Well, it'll be nighttime soon, and then you can go killing." I say, "Just don't get in my way while I go out as well. There's a young boy I've been hunting down lately, and I'm planning on ending him soon."

"Yeah, yeah..." Jeff says, rolling his eyes and walking into the other room. I sigh. Jeff is 15 years old, one of the most wanted men in history, and yet he still continues to act like a child. I look at the old newspaper clippings, trying to take my mind off of Jeffrey.

"7-YEAR-OLD GIRL STILL MISSING" reads the headline of one of them. If I had a mouth, I'd be smirking. I remembered the look on her parents' faces when she vanished before their eyes, and how they caught a glimpse of me before I vanished with their daughter. As far as I know, they're in a mental asylum today. I chuckle.

"Pathetic mortals..." I mutter, shaking my head.

"Uh... Slendy!" Sally calls me from the end of the hallway, "Someone's here to see you!"

I'm shocked. Who could possibly be here to see me? Another Creepypasta perhaps? Or one of those annoying fangirls who constantly bother me?

"Who is it?" I ask.

"Some lady with button eyes!" Sally says. Oh, no... Is it who I think it is? Oh, of course it is, who else has button eyes?

"Oh, no..." I mutter, then I speak louder, "Alright, I'm coming."

I teleport to the front door. There, standing in the doorway, is the Other Mother.

"What do you want?" I ask, crossing my arms. If I had eyes, I'd be glaring at her. She chuckles.

"Oh, no need to be so rude, Slenderman." she says, "Anywho, I need your help with something."

I scoff.

"I thought I banished you." I say, "Why would I help you?"

"I still don't understand why you banished me..." the Other Mother says, "After all, you and I have quite a lot in common, don't we?"

"Need I remind you that you WANTED to leave?" I ask, "I perfectly recall that you said that you wanted to leave and create your own world. And you know perfectly well that once you leave this place, you are NOT allowed to return!"

"Well, that may be true, but..." the Other Mother says, and, although she doesn't sound like it, she looks weak, "I've failed..."

"Failed what?" I ask.

"She escaped..." she says, "That little brat ESCAPED ME!"

I chuckle.

"So you lost to a child, I presume?" I ask.

"It is NOT funny!" the Other Mother says, stomping one of her feet, "I've been starving for the past YEAR, it's a miracle I'm even ALIVE! Because of her, my world is destroyed!"

I think for a moment. How could she, one of the previous Creepypastas, (and one of the best, at that,) be defeated by a child? Of course, I have learned to never underestimate children, but one of them escaping one of us? That's nearly impossible! Who is this child?

"Who's this?" Jeff asks, walking in and twirling his knife in his fingers. Oh, that's right, he's new here...

"I'll explain everything later." I say, turning to Jeff, "Anyway, this is the Other Mother, AKA, the beldam. A former Creepypasta."

"Hello there, dear." she says to Jeff, and Jeff glares at her.

"Call me 'dear' one more time, and you're dead." Jeff says, tightening his grip on his knife. The Other Mother chuckles.

"Jeff, get back in here!" Ben calls from the other room, "I'll kill your character while your not looking if you don't hurry!"

Jeff sighs and walks back into the other room.

"Ugh, anyway, who is this child?" I ask.

"She's an 11 year old girl with blue hair and hazel eyes." the Other Mother describes her, and I suspect that she'll be telling me the girl's name soon, "She's my daughter, I'm her other mother. Her name is Coraline... Coraline Jones."

~Coraline's POV~

"Coraline, would you stop reading that dumb story and listen to me?!" Mom snaps, tapping her foot impatiently. I look up from my computer screen. I had been trying to read a Creepypasta, and, of course, everyone just HAS to interrupt me.

"What?" I ask.

"Okay, first of all, what exactly are you reading?" Mom asks, crossing her arms.

"It's a Creepypasta." I say, "It's called 'The Rake'."

Mom sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Ugh, if only you had normal interests..." she says. I feel a twinge of hurt in my gut from that remark, but I ignore it. I know she's in a bad mood, and I'm guessing that's the only reason she's being such a jerk-wad.

"Oh, if only~" I say in a fake-dreamy voice and a fake smile, and then my face turns serious again.

"Coraline, don't back-talk me, I've had a hard day, alright?!" Mom says, "And I need to tell you something, so would you please listen?"

"You could've told me sooner, I've BEEN listening." I say. Mom looks like she could stab me, but I know she wouldn't... Would she?

"Well, I wanted to tell you that Wybie called yesterday and said that he can't make it to your 12th birthday party this Saturday." Mom says. What?! Wybie can't come?!

"What?!" I ask, my eyes wide, "Why not?! Did he say?"

"He said that he was sick and couldn't make it." Mom says. Sick? How could Wybie be sick? He's been fine for the past few days!

"Sick? With what?" I ask, worried. How could he have gotten sick so quickly?

"Well, I talked to his Grandma, and she said that he's been throwing up, feeling dizzy, his ears have been ringing a lot, and his vision is blurry a lot, too." Mom says. Oh, man... I hope he gets better soon.

"Dang..." I say, looking down, "I wonder what's wrong with him..."

"She's taking him to the doctor tomorrow." Mom says, "He should be fine... I hope."

Mom added the 'I hope.' part quietly, but I still heard it. What kind of sickness is this? Suddenly I feel a twinge of fear. Lately there have been a lot of disappearances of children that I've heard about on the news, and the police say that they've all had those symptoms before they go missing. Oh, God... I hope this isn't what I think it is.

~Wybie's POV~

Grandma takes my temperature as I lie down on the couch, my stomach aching and my ears ringing.

"This is strange... No fever..." Grandma says, sounding worried. I gulp.

"Well, it sure feels like I have one!" I say, louder than I intended, but I honestly felt like I could die at any moment. Grandma sighs.

"Don't worry, Wybourne, I'll take you to the doctor's tomorrow, okay?" Grandma says.

"But all those kids on the news- *cough cough* had the same symptoms!" I say, trying to keep myself from coughing more, "Am I gonna go missing, too?"

Grandma looks down, a sad look on her face.

"I don't know, Wybie." she says. I feel my heart drop. Well, what did I expect her to say? She has to be honest, and I'm glad she was. What I'm really worried about is if Coraline will be okay. What if after the thing gets me, it comes after her?

"What if after I go missing, Coraline goes missing, too?" I ask.

"Wybourne, don't say such things!" Grandma says, "You aren't going to go missing. I'll make sure of that."

I sigh, because I know that there's nothing either of us can do. Mental note: Ask Coraline to research this. I need to know what the hell is going on with me.