It was the 9th of June when everything was abruptly set into motion. There wasn't a single person in that small town who could've anticipated the events that would soon take place on what was meant to be such a perfect day in the state of Washington. The sun shone brightly down on the small neighborhood below, undaunted by the puffy white clouds that took up most of the sky. A warm wind blew gently through the suburbs, rustling the dark green leaves on the trees and causing the grass to sway ever so slightly. The birds soaring through the air chirped excitedly as they hunted for food to feed their young, and the squirrels and chipmunks chattered to one another while foraging for supplies to build a nest. The street was packed with the cars that weren't able to fit into one particular house's driveway and showed no sign of dispersing any time soon. Said driveway and the yard it led to was packed with people from all over the state, and a banister that hung between two trees near the mailbox read;
Congratulations Dwight!
North Bend High School, Class of 2012
Two friends sat at a wooden picnic table that had been rented for the open house. The first, 17-year-old Dwight Thompson, was the man of the day. He'd graduated only two days before his open house, since not only was he eager to get through both events, but most of his family could only make it to one or the other due to distance and work schedules, and having them so close together was a way to make sure that most of them could be there for both. He was taller than most teenagers his age, standing at 6'0", and featured a rather stocky build. His hazel eyes contrasted slightly with his dark skin and short hair, and he wore khaki shorts and a light blue short sleeve dress shirt, as well as a cheerful grin as he joked with one of his best friends, Aaron Ross. At 15 years old, Aaron was the second youngest member of their little group, but he made up for what he lacked in age with maturity and attitude. He was only slightly shorter than Dwight, standing at 5'9", but he also had a semi-muscular build. His skin was an even mixture of pale and tan, and his dark brown, ear length hair was the exact same color as his eyes. He simply wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and on his right hand's ring finger was a silver class ring featuring an oval cut peridot, his birthstone. Unlike many of his peers, he'd decided to buy his class ring during freshman year.
"So, how's it feel to finally be free from that school?" Aaron asked.
"Pretty good, although I'm not exactly free. I still have like 13 years worth of medical school to go through… not really looking forward to that," Dwight responded.
"It'll be worth it man. College will be over before you know it, and then you'll be making more money than all the rest of us combined."
"Maybe, I'm still not entirely sure which program I want to go into".
"You'll figure it out. Hell, you should be a combat medic. I'm gonna enlist in the military in a couple years, maybe you and I can be in the same unit."
"I think I'll pass, and I really think you need to rethink this whole military thing. I get that you want to fight for your country, Aaron, but…"
"It's more than that man. Every other day it's the same story in the news. Whether it's terrorist attacks in Afghanistan or some psychopath running loose in New York, I have to sit here completely powerless to do anything about it and I hate it. Joining the marines will change that."
"I see where you're coming from, and believe me, I understand, but you need to take your loved ones into consideration. What would they think if you got hurt, or god forbid, killed somewhere overseas? Your mom, your dad, your little brother and sister… What about us? What about Kelsey?"
"They'd understand, and so would you guys. Kelsey's known for a while now that I want to do this. And believe me, I've taken everybody into consideration. To be perfectly honest, I'd just feel irresponsible being safe back at home and knowing that I could be out there protecting them and so many others."
"Aaron, that's the dumbest shit you've ever said to me. You can protect the people you love just as good here as you could over there. Trust me, staying here is what's best for everyone.
"Whatever man, it's not like…" Aaron began, before letting out a loud sigh. "This isn't the time or the place for a conversation like this. Come on, enough future talk, let's just enjoy this party for what it's worth."
"I couldn't agree with you more," Dwight replied, taking a drink from his soda.
"Besides, we have more important matters to attend to," Aaron began with a smirk. "Like those two going ham with the PDA over there," he finished, gesturing over to two more members of their group. The 18-year-old couple, Luke Greene and Lily Smith, had both taken residence on a cushioned bench under the shade of a few trees. Luke sat upright with his right arm resting on the side of the bench, the other wrapped around his girlfriend, her head resting on his shoulder. He wore a simple pair of long black shorts as well as a gray tank top, and Lily was clad in dark blue skinny jeans and a white sweater. They were both rather tan, and Luke's sandy blonde hair contrasted heavily with the shadows they sat in, as did Lily's long amber hair. Luke had a semi-stocky build, while Lily's could only be described as petite. Their eyes were both different shades of green, with Lily's being only slightly brighter than Luke's.
"Can we have an actual conversation now, or are you two not done making out yet?" Dwight shouted to them.
"Luke responded by flipping both Dwight and Aaron the bird, causing Lily to chuckle."
"Well fuck you too, pal," Aaron laughed, returning the gesture.
Luke grinned before responding; "Better watch your language or you're gonna get in trouble with Gavin for cussing in front of junior"
"Too late," the 19-year-old said from beside Aaron before smacking him in the back of the head. Aaron retaliated by slugging Gavin in the arm as he sat down at the bench.
"Give me a break, Ethan's only two years younger than me and he probably says and hears worse things on a daily basis," Aaron grumbled.
"I know, I just wanted to smack you," Gavin taunted.
"Take notes, kid, your brother is a Grade-A douchebag," Aaron said to the 11-year-old watching their banter with an amused look.
"Mom, Dad, please stop fighting," Ethan joked. The boy was the spitting image of his older brother; a lightweight build, pale complexion, and shaggy black hair included. The biggest difference other than their age gap was their clothing. While Gavin wore blue jeans and a brown jacket, Ethan wore sweatpants and a blue long-sleeved shirt.
"All I get for protecting you from Aaron's potty mouth is 'please stop fighting'? Thanks, bro, I'm really feeling the love," Gavin said, his voice dripping with amused sarcasm.
"It was a good attempt, but it's too little too late dude," Ethan laughed. "Oh, hey! I just remembered, weren't we going to take Dwight to hit some baseballs at that crappy old school's field? The one where Gavin used to go?"
"Yeah, Pinewood Elementary. The place has been closed down for a good seven years or so. It's a real shame too, I have some good memories there," Gavin answered.
"Hey Gavin, do you think we'd be able to get inside that place? I've been wanting to explore it for a couple months now," Aaron said.
"Probably, although it's up to the man himself," Gavin said.
"I'm up for doing both of those things," Dwight mused, "But you guys owe me a round of baseball first. I'm not gonna be able to play anymore once college starts, at least on a team anyway. I won't have any free time anymore."
"Alright, sounds like we have a plan," Lily piped up. "I get to be a team captain though since I played softball in high school, and none of the rest of you played either one."
"Oh, you think you can take me just because you broke a school record or two?" Dwight challenged.
"You're goddamn right I can," Lily responded, growing cockier by the second. She was a very competitive sportsman.
Just then, Luke caught sight of a car attempting to pull into the driveway, but its attempt to find a spot was to no avail. After a comical amount of time spent struggling with the parking arrangements, the passengers piled out and the driver drove off to find a place to park. "Hey Dwight, isn't that your cousin Jordin?" Luke asked, pointing at a boy slightly younger than Dwight who'd come from the car.
"Oh wow, that is Jordin. That kid's gotten tall since I saw him last. I'll be back in a little bit guys, gotta say hi to my family."
"You might be getting back a little later than you think. Looks like more people are showing up, and not very many are leaving," Aaron commented.
"Holy shit, I've got a lot of greeting to do. I'll meet back up with you guys in a little while."
"Alright man, just don't feel like you have to entertain us the whole time. These people came from all over the place to see you," Gavin said.
"Well, in that case, I'll come find you once the party's over. There's only like an hour and a half left before this thing ends."
"Sounds good, just don't forget about our game," Lily smirked.
"Not a chance," Dwight laughed. He then proceeded to head off in the direction of his new visitors, leaving his friends to socialize amongst one another.
(X)
"I told you that you wouldn't be able to beat me, I'm the king of this sport," Dwight bragged to Lily.
"Whatever, we just let your team win the competition because this is your day," she teased back at Dwight and his teammates, Gavin, and Luke.
"If you really cared then you would carry this bat for me," Dwight said with a smirk.
"Shut up," Lily laughed.
"Hey Dwight, are you still up for some urban exploring?" Aaron asked
"Sure, you don't think we'd get in trouble with anyone for being in there though right? I mean, aside from the Klan members that probably live in this dump."
"I think we'll be fine, just bring the bat with you in case there's a crackhead or two in here," Aaron joked.
"I'm way ahead of you," Dwight said, twirling the bat in his hand as they all headed toward the school.
The ancient elementary school stood ominously against the dark treeline, it's shattered windows and flaking paint giving it an almost apocalyptic atmosphere. Vines crept up the sides of the building, and the lawn clearly hadn't been mowed in years. Miraculously, all of the doors were still intact and appeared to be locked, and several of the windows were actually barricaded by rotting boards, but most of them were wide open, just begging to be climbed through.
"So, where do we begin?" Luke asked.
"That one," Gavin said, pointing toward a window near the back entrance of the school. "That'll take us right into one of the old kindergarten rooms. We can make our way to the main hall from there."
"Hey guys, let's hurry this up, alright. I really don't want to be in this place after dark," Ethan said, nervously eyeing the setting sun.
"I think we can all agree with you on that one. This place gives me the creeps… always has," Gavin said.
"I thought you went to school here?" Lily questioned.
"I did, and it was a fun place to go, but there's just something about this building that hasn't felt right ever since those fourth graders went missing in the woods. I think that might've been the reason this place shut down."
"It wasn't the only reason, but it was certainly part of it," Luke said.
"Can we stop with the spooky ghost stories? You guys are gonna make Ethan piss his pants before we even get inside," Aaron said, glancing at the notably nervous boy standing beside him.
"Just stick with me kid, I'll protect you," Dwight said, giving Ethan a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"I'm perfectly capable of keeping my little brother safe, thank you very much," Gavin said to Dwight.
"Yeah, but you don't have a baseball bat," Dwight responded.
"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Gavin said, approaching the window he'd pointed out earlier. The rest of the group followed him, taking turns climbing through.
"Watch the glass," Gavin advised.
Soon enough, all six of them had made their way inside the room. It was surprisingly lighter than they'd expected it to be, but they knew it wouldn't stay that way for long due to the sun's gradual descent below the horizon. The few rays of sun that remained illuminated threadbare carpets, dust-covered shelves, several broken chairs, rotted tables, peeling wallpaper, and wires hanging from the ceiling.
"Damn, this place looks just about as shitty as I thought it would," Luke commented.
"Yeah, and keep in mind this is only the first room," Aaron muttered.
"Hey guys, look at this creepy-ass thing," Ethan's voice piped up, already across the room. He was staring at an old teddy bear that was impaled through the neck on one of the dozens of coat hooks. The bear was tattered and torn, missing ears and limbs, as well as an eye, and stuffing spilled out of its many 'wounds'. Ethan promptly reached up and plucked the bear off of the hook, holding it by its remaining arm.
"Oh god, Ethan, put that thing down! It's probably crawling with lice!" Lily commanded.
"Gross!" Ethan shouted, flinging the bear aside and checking his hands for bugs.
"Well, this is off to a great start," Gavin said.
Soon enough, the group left the room and entered the main hallway, noting that not much was different aside from the cracked tile floor and rows of lockers on either side of the hall. They took their time exploring the rooms, making idle chit-chat as they went along, disappointed to find out just how boring the place actually was. Room after room went by, and nothing interesting came of it up until the very end. After checking over the gymnasium, which was small even by elementary school standards, Gavin pointed out that there was one room that they hadn't checked out yet; The library. They made their way to the library's ancient double doors, and Gavin pulled them open, revealing something that they hadn't quite expected.
"What in the goddamn shit is this?" Aaron spluttered, barely able to believe what he was seeing. All of the windows in the library were obscured by black tarps draped over aged boards nailed into the walls, and the only light in the room came from the now-open double doors. The room wasn't in nearly as poor of a condition as the rest of the school. The carpet was dirty but in a relatively good condition, there was no sign of inhabitation by animals, and the only real damage to the place was a few missing ceiling tiles. However, the main point of interest was not the room's good condition. Most of the bookshelves had been emptied of their contents and pushed up against the walls, clearing up a considerable amount of floor space in the center of the room. Dozens of unlit candles had been placed on the now-empty shelves, and the melted wax evidenced their previous use. Several long benches had been placed near the center of the room, and a wooden podium that held another unlit candle stood at the front. A small subsection of the room branched off to the right of the benches, appearing to be what was left of a computer lab. Oddly, there was little to no evidence of any computers. Instead, the area had been used to discard broken furniture, the books that had been stripped from the shelves, and several unused bookshelves that actually did a pretty good job of blocking the room off from sight.
"What the hell is this place?" Dwight asked.
"I don't know man, but you might have been right about the whole cultist thing after all. Check that out," Luke said, pointing to something behind the podium.
"Lily, do you have your phone on you?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Use its flashlight to shine behind that podium," Luke instructed.
When Lily turned on her flashlight, a collective gasp rang out as the dark splotch on the wall became clear. It was a massive mural of a pale, skinny, humanoid figure wearing a black suit and tie. Eerily, the figure had no hair or facial features of any kind, exhibiting only a blank stare. What appeared to be black branches extended from its back and spread to every wall, ensnaring the entire room in its painted grasp. Just to the side of the ominous painting was a phrase that was barely legible; "Gorr'Rylaehotep".
"Uhh, guys is it just me… or is there a big-ass painting of Slenderman staring at us?" Aaron asked.
"It's not just you… what the hell is going on here? Is this supposed to be some kind of church?" Gavin asked.
"Hey, Gavin, who's Slenderman?" Ethan said to his brother.
"The Slenderman is basically an online urban legend," Gavin responded. "He's supposed to be this supernatural creature that abducts children and drives people insane. I don't really know much about it other than that it started when some guy calling himself 'Victor Surge' posted a couple of pictures of him as an entry for some photoshop contest".
"So, this thing isn't real then?" Ethan asked.
"No, but the dipshit who set this room up clearly things it is," Aaron said. "Slenderman is nothing more than a meme gone viral. There's all kinds of fake stories and YouTube videos saying they caught him on tape or that he's haunting someone. It's all bullshit."
"Yeah, don't sweat it, kid. The big bad bogeyman isn't gonna hurt you," Dwight said.
"Yeah, but whoever was dumb enough to make an altar for this thing might if they come back and find us in here," Lily commented. "I'm going to take some pictures of this place to show the police and then let's get the hell out of here."
"I'm starting to like that plan more and more," Luke said.
"Same," Aaron commented, but suddenly his attention was shifted to a book that stood out from all the others, set atop one of the benches.
"Gorr'Rylaehotep… what does that even mean? It sounds like some form of Egyptian…" Lily wondered aloud as she took a picture of the painting."
"I don't know about that, but I could use that flashlight again, Lily," Aaron said, picking up the book. As Lily came over and shined her light on it, Aaron got a much better look at the tome. It was a black A6 bonded leather notebook, complete with an elastic band to hold it shut. It looked relatively normal, except for a strange symbol scratched into the front cover. It appeared to be an elongated diamond with two straight lines drawn inside of it. One line was vertical and the other was horizontal, and both connected to two of the four angles within the diamond, intersecting inside of a circle drawn at the symbol's center. Eager to know more, Aaron slipped the band off of the front cover and opened it up to the first page. A title had been handwritten in cursive on the front pastedown; "The Collective Knowledge".
Before Aaron could investigate any further, his blood ran cold and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He slammed the book shut and stuffed it in his front pocket, motioning for everyone to hide behind the debris in the old computer lab. They all followed his instructions without question, as they'd all heard the marching footsteps approaching their location as well. Ethan quietly shut the double-doors before joining them, and they all sat in silence behind the ruined furniture and bookshelves, dreading what would happen next.
Seconds seemed like hours as the footsteps grew closer and closer before they finally reached the room. The double-doors were thrust open, and a group of cloaked individuals entered the room. The hooded robes they wore were pitch black and covered their entire body except for their hands. Their faces were obscured by white masks that all looked the same, and as the strangers began going around the room and lighting candles, the hidden teenagers realized that they were wearing Guy Fawkes masks that had been completely painted white. "Oh man… talk about drinking the Kool-Aid," Aaron whispered. After several minutes, all of the candles had been lit, and seven of the hooded people took their seats on the benches, leaving one to stand at the podium at the front of the room and begin the sermon.
This man appeared to be a higher ranking member of the group, as a violet cloth slung across his shoulders made him stand out from the others. Then, he began to speak; "My brothers and sisters, I thank you for your warm welcome. I apologize for the short notice of this meeting, and I am pleased that those of you before me were still able to make it here. Your fellow members who are currently absent will face no punishment, as this was a last minute request."
"Thank you, Archvassal Hendrix," a woman near the front of the room said.
"Consider it a common courtesy. Now then, I come here today bearing news regarding the Harbingers plaguing our brothers and sisters in the New Jersey Chapter of our Order, as well as information regarding The Second Cycle. But first, let us commence our gathering with a canticle I'm sure you all know well," the Archvassal announced, motioning for his followers to rise to their feet. They did so on command, and their leader began an unintelligible hymn, quickly being joined by his fellows in an eerie, yet somehow soothing song spoken in an unknown tongue.
"Lily… are you getting all of this?" Aaron whispered.
"Yeah… this is really creepy," Lily said as she filmed the ceremony from her phone.
"These people need to leave so we can get the hell out of here," Ethan whimpered.
"All we can do is wait them out. If we try to leave now, who knows what they'll do to us," Gavin whispered back. And so they waited for what felt like hours as the cultists finished their song and the Archvassal began his ceremony. He spoke of a great number of things that the friends didn't understand; the actions of two "Harbingers" in the East, the coming of the Second Dawn, The Fourth World, some sort of dimensional rift, and much, much more, including some sort of future process ominously titled "The Harvest". They did mention one thing that could be easily understood, however. They spoke of The Slenderman, or as they called him; "Gorr'Rylaehotep", as their master. It appeared that they worshipped him as some sort of Ancient Egyptian deity, but nobody other than the cultists understood anything further than that. Then, at long last, the black mass spoke their final words and rose to their feet, swiftly extinguishing the candles and leaving the room.
"Holy shit, I can't believe that just happened," Aaron said.
"Who do you think all those people were?" Lily asked, putting her phone back in her pocket.
"Who gives a fuck, let's get the hell out of here," Aaron responded. He received no arguments from any of his friends, and they all stealthily made their way to the double-doors, listening for voices or footsteps outside. Hearing nothing, they opened the door and stepped through into the darkness. The sun had long since abandoned them, which is perhaps why they walked right into that trap.
"Don't move another inch," a loud voice commanded, making them freeze in their tracks. Suddenly, a lantern illuminated the hallway, revealing that they were surrounded by the cultists. Standing at their front was Archvassal Hendrix, holding the lantern. His eyes were fierce behind his mask, and his followers were just as furious. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice our missing tome?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" Gavin stuttered.
"You know exactly what I am referring to, and we will see that book returned one way or another, regardless of what we have to do to get it," Hendrix said, his voice full of venom.
"Look, man, no one took anything. We were just exploring this place and found your little 'worship room' by mistake. We never even had time to take anything because we heard you people coming as soon as we walked through those doors and hid behind the bookshelves," Aaron lied.
"I wouldn't tell lies if I were you, boy, unless you want to be the first to go," a female cultist said.
"Oh go fuck yourselves, all of you. You think you're some kind of new world order or something? Yeah, you guys sure are intelligent, worshipping somebody's art project. Smart, real smart… idiots." Aaron spat back.
"Woah, Aaron, calm down," Luke said, shocked by his friend's sudden outburst.
"You're gonna get us killed," Ethan whimpered.
"Hold your tongue, worm, before I cut it out," the Archvassal snarled, pulling a wicked blade from his robes and sending most of the teenagers into a panic.
"I've got one too, asshole," Aaron taunted, pulling a switchblade from his pocket, glaring into Hendrix's eyes.
"Put that bat down, now!" another cultist commanded.
"No, I don't think I will," Dwight said, casually twirling his weapon in his fingers.
"Guys, seriously, this is a bad idea," Lily trembled. "Come on, Gavin, say something! You're the oldest, so make them stop," Lily pleaded. Gavin, however, was incapable of giving a response, as he was petrified with fear, wholeheartedly believing that he was about to die.
"I would listen to your friends, outsiders. You might just make it out of here alive… if I decide to change my mind," Hendrix said, brandishing his knife. The other cultists suddenly broke out into an eerie chant; "Mortem Obire… Mortem Obire… Mortem Obire…" they continuously repeated while glaring at the intruders. Aaron and Dwight glanced at each other and gave a sly nod, before beginning to lower their weapons.
"Yeah, I guess we panicked a little and got carried away. I apologize," Aaron said. "It's just not every day that you come across something like- NOW!" Without hesitation, Dwight turned to his right and cracked one of the two cultists blocking their exit over the head with his bat, and Aaron stabbed the other one in the shoulder and threw him into the Archvassal.
"Fucking run!" Dwight shouted. Quickly realizing what had just happened, their stunned friends joined them without a moment's hesitation, and they all ran out of the back door before the cultists could process what they'd just done.
"You four, run them down and slaughter them all!" Hendrix shouted, pointing at four of his uninjured followers, who followed his orders immediately. "And you, help me get our wounded brothers some medical treatment," he said to the remaining cultist, as they each assisted a fallen comrade.
(X)
"Nice fucking plan, you two. Now we can die in the woods instead of in a goddamn crackhouse!" Lily shouted.
"Hey, me and Aaron just saved everyone's lives! If we hadn't kept them talking long enough for us to find a way out, who knows what they would've done," Dwight responded.
"I think we know what they want to do now!" Luke yelled, glancing back at the four cultists chasing after them, weaving through trees and fallen branches.
"Well, then you two come up with a plan next time! And maybe if you'd all shut the hell up they wouldn't be able to follow us so easily!" Aaron argued.
"Good idea, but I've got an even better one. Split up and go with a partner if you can, if we do it fast enough they won't know who to follow! Once we lose them for good, meet up back at Dwight's house so we can call the cops," Gavin instructed.
"Good idea. Everybody grab someone and go! And stay quiet!" Luke commanded. And so, their group of six became three groups of two, with each pair splitting off into different directions with whoever they were closest to. It worked like a charm, as the cultists were far enough back that they had heard nothing of their conversation. Unfortunately, their main target had been paired with the loudest member of the group.
"Aaron, I don't want to die!" Ethan sobbed.
"Listen to me buddy, you have to be brave right now or we're both going to die. If you don't calm down you're going to give away our location," Aaron pleaded with him. "You have to be quite or- Oh shit!" he gasped, looking back.
"What?" Ethan whimpered.
"Just keep running kid. Run as fast as you can," Aaron said, starting to panic after seeing all four of their pursuers closing in on them. "Ethan, just pretend this is one of your track meets, okay? Do that for me and we'll make it out of this, I promise you that!" he pleaded with the boy.
"I can do that, just stay with- Aaron!" Ethan screamed as his friend's footfalls landed too close to the edge of a stream, and he was sent tumbling down into the water below.
"Ethan run! Run and don't look back! I'll catch up to you!" Aaron spluttered, blinking through the cold water dripping from his hair. Ethan followed his instructions without question, and as Aaron stood back up in the ankle-deep water, the four cultists caught up with him, looking down at him from the stream bank.
"One of you kill him, right now!" the female screamed, and one of the cultists jumped down into the water with him, and the other three took off to pursue Ethan.
"You leave him alone!" Aaron shouted, intending to pursue the other three. But the fourth cultist kicked him in the chest, knocking him back into the water.
"Not so cocky now that you're flat on your ass with no way out," his assailant taunted.
"At least my girlfriend doesn't make me look like a bitch in front of my buddies like yours just did, or is that just the kind of thing you're into?" Aaron taunted back, stealthily digging his hand into the wet sand. With a furious roar, the cultist lunged forward, but Aaron flung a fistful of mud into his eyes and took off running back into the woods.
"You wretched little pissant! I'm going to cut your fucking throat out and nail you to a goddamn tree!" the cultist screamed, filled with a burning rage like never before. He quickly removed his mask to wash out his eyes with stream water, and then replaced it and followed the sound of Aaron's footsteps.
"Yeah, good luck with that. I seriously doubt that your stupid ass could handle a butter knife, let alone one that could do some actual damage. I say we start you off with a toothpick and work our way up from there," Aaron taunted, attempting to trip up his enemy by way of infuriation. Unfortunately, when he looked back, it appeared that he'd accomplished the exact opposite of what he'd hoped. "How the hell are you moving so fast in those robes?" Aaron panted. The only response he received was the cultist pulling a hunting knife from his cloak. Aaron knew that he couldn't run much longer. Even with all of the added adrenaline, his lungs were burning and his legs were starting to give out. "Just… a little… further…" he said, starting to slow down. His heart started pumping faster, and his eyes widened as he heard the cultist closing in on him as he rounded an oak tree.
"Aaron, duck!"
Aaron hit the ground like a stone and heard a hard thud as Dwight drove his baseball bat straight into the cultist's face, knocking him off his feet. He stood there posed to strike again, but the cultist did not move. "Thanks for that… but where are the others?" Aaron coughed out, panting and shaking on the ground.
"Gavin managed to get Lily and Luke back to the house so they could call the police. I stayed behind to find you and Ethan," he said, extending a hand. Aaron accepted the offer and was pulled to his feet, glancing down at his would-be killer. "You don't think he's dead… do you?" Dwight asked nervously.
"I doubt we're that lucky," Aaron responded. "But that's not important, we need to find Ethan right now. We got split up at the stream and he has three of those bastards following him."
"Shit, grab that guy's knife and lead the way back! We can follow their footprints!" Dwight commanded. Aaron did as he was told, and together, they ran off to rescue their friend.
(X)
Breathing hard and growing exhausted, Ethan stumbled into a small clearing and hid behind a huge stump in order to catch his breath. He did his best to stay quiet, but it wasn't long before his pursuers burst into the clearing as well.
"Come on out before we drag you out, kid," a woman snarled. Ethan began to tremble as he heard their footsteps approaching his hiding spot, but suddenly, they stopped and were replaced with astonished gasps.
"It's him!"
"It's a miracle!"
"I wish the others were here to see this!"
Ethan had no idea what they were talking about, but he dared not do so much as peek at what was happening behind him.
"Please, my master, take us to The Fourth World!" someone pleaded excitedly. There was a short pause, and just as Ethan was considering making his escape, goosebumps shot up his arms and he began to tremble as agonized screams and the horrible sound of tearing flesh rang out through the forest. He didn't know how long he sat there with his eyes closed and ears plugged, trying to drown out the horrid noises. Then, a good five minutes after they'd finally ceased, Ethan stole a glance out from his sanctuary and nearly vomited at the sight of blood-soaked grass, the shreds of black robes, and pieces of white masks littering the ground. It was when he finally grew brave enough to investigate the carnage that he felt a dark presence behind him. He slowly turned around with tears welling up in his eyes, and let out a shriek when he saw the creature from the painting rise up from behind the stump and tower over him, its featureless face staring into his very soul. At first, Ethan felt dread, but then there was something else; comfort.
"You… saved me…" Ethan said. The Slenderman crouched down to Ethan's height and extended a pale, bony hand. After hesitating for a moment, Ethan took his hand, and they both vanished without a trace.
Author's Note
I'd like to extend a massive thank you to Aruspice of the SCP Unity Discord server
and member/modeler of the game's staff for designing the new story cover for me.
When I asked for my first Patron Office prop to be a hardcover book of this story, I knew
it would turn out awesome, and the fact that you sent me the cover image to use makes it even better.
If you ever find yourself reading this story, I sincerely hope you enjoy it for what it is.
Definitely check out what the guys over at Aerie Gaming Studios are doing, you won't be disappointed.