Notes

Chapter One

She quietly snuck down the stairs for her leave. Raine grabbed the pack she prepared earlier that day. Equipped with a pocket knife, camera, flashlight, and a few other goodies, she left out the back door. Under the dark night sky the darker silhouette of the Woods underneath is barely visible.

I got a few days to look. Got a few days to do this. If I get proof of him... or anything really... it could be a mutant, a giant something, not necessarily an amazingly tall, dark, suited man. I just really hope that's what it is. Raine kept her thoughts moving, dreaming of capturing a simple rumor, an internet meme. If she knows what she seeks is known as only that, then why is she on this chase?

. . .

"What? Evil Noodles?" Raine spoke to herself. It was about 1 A.M. and she was on one of her early morning internet-surfing binges. "I've heard about this," she mumbled. "Well with such a silly name... it's probably not that scary," she said as she read about the site. The brunette girl began clicking around and skimming.

"Slen.. der... man.. Slenderman," Raine found the word to her liking. After searching the name she began clicking on images. Trees, grey and skinny, but that one's real bent... like a man walking with robotic tentacles... wait, it is that isn't it? The face is nothing but a white blotch. He's so thin and his height... he's kind of cool looking but... eerie.

After scanning the dark pictures she continued on to videos. A male's voice began along with one of the same pictures she analyzed earlier: "Slender Man. A dark myth originating from... whzzzzt," the laptop made a sound like something was spinning and scraping. Raine made a face and squinted at the screen, but then passed the sound off as a part of the video. These crazy Evil Noodle people. The man continued: "...It has been known to take young ones away, capturing them and dragging them into the forest, never to be seen again. With no face, there is no emotion, nothing but terrifying actions with no seen reason... whaaaaaZzzzzzzt," the static started again. A strange, drone undertone beneath it. Now goose bumps rose on her pale arms, she shivered. This reaction occurred when something unexplainable happened and made her look towards paranormal explanations. A gut feeling, a sign, but she continued to listen, looking up around the living room, scanning. He continued: "Don't go searching. Don't even think about it. Because the more you think, you fantasize, you dream, your thoughts surround it, and when the thoughts consume you then... WhiiiZzzzzzzzt, Whiiwhiiiwhiiizzzzzzzzzt!" The sound was almost violent now. Tears started to form in the corner of Raine's eyes, she shivered, the strong reaction she got to what was happening terrified her. The screen fuzzed then came back into focus on the picture: "...it becomes real... WhaaaaaZzzzzzzt," the video disappeared and she found herself staring at her computer background. She shut the laptop down.

Raine was shivering and scurrying herself up the stairs as quietly as possible. Every shadow in the hallway was a monster now, every window had that expressionless face. She made it to her room at the end of the hall and leaped into bed, pulling the covers up over her head. She thought to herself: What was that?! Those sounds like static! They couldn't be because of some mythical man in the forest. That video must have had a virus. It's what I get for just clicking on stuff... And "it" can't be real. Why is He an "it"? He's just a really tall man I bet. He can't be real though. Everyone knows about Him from what it looks like. So, everyone knows He's just some internet meme... She started to drift off but she was still thinking about Him.

Raine thought about that dark suit, the incredible height, the white face, those long appendages protruding from behind him. She thought about what it would be like to see him in the distance, in the Woods, standing in the line of the trees. What it would be like to get closer. To inch farther and farther down the trails to the Woods, just to get a better look at Him. Then that man from the video's voice warned: "Don't go searching. Don't even think about it. Because the more you think, you fantasize... you dream."