To Be A Proxy
ncalkins; I don't own Masky or Hoodie or Facebook, crack
"Creepypasta is the best thing out there," James said.
"It's about killers," the girl in front of him said as she put down the printed out story James had been told to bring to class as an "ice breaker".
"Well, yeah, but there's a reason their killers," James said. "And it's not all killers, it's horror stories ranging from supernatural beings to aliens."
"That still torture and kill people," the girl said.
"Yeah, but it's fiction," James said. His brown eyes looked for support among his peers. "It's horror; it's cool."
"It just doesn't sit right with me," the girl said. She shook her brown curls. "Killing is killing, and reading about this stuff will lead to bad actions."
"What?" James whispered to himself as he squinted at the girl.
"It's not that bad," the boy next to James said. "Some of the stories are kind of lame though."
"You're lame," James said. He frowned at the boy.
The boy laughed. "Nice comeback."
James's cheeks burned. He took back his copies of his favorite Creepypastas and buried his face in them. He pulled out his phone and tapped the Facebook app. He looked at the comments of the Creepypasta community he participated in.
I wish I was a proxy.
Do you guys think killing is fun? What do you think it's like?
I'm not like other girls. I like Creepypasta, and hate pink.
Jeff I ssssooo hot!
Why do people like Jeff the Killer? He's so lame.
I hate my parents.
James rolled his eyes at the comments. Why couldn't they talk about their favorite stories instead of all of this crap?
After school James went home. While he worked on his homework he heard the front door slam, and snatched his headphones off of his floor. He plugged them into his computer and turned up his music to drown out the fight, it happened every night, but still the screams and yells pierced his ears.
He pulled his headphones off when his door creaked open.
"Hey, Honey, do you want to go out to eat tonight?" His mom asked.
"No, thanks," James said.
"Okay." His mom pulled the door closed.
"Oh! Hey, mom?" James called.
"Yes?" His mom's brown eyes blinked at him.
"Can I have a new phone?"
"What?" His mom's jaw dropped. "I just bought you a new phone last week!"
"Yeah, but I dropped it and the screen cracked," James said. He showed his mom his phone.
His mom took the phone and messed with it. "Does it still work?"
"Yeah, but–"
"I'm not buying you a new phone," his mom said. "You need to value your stuff more."
James groaned as his mom closed his door.
"You're ruining my life!" He yelled.
"Yeah, yeah," his mom's muffled voice reached his ears. "Love you, honey."
James crossed his arms and pouted before he got up to wander around the empty house. Alone at last. He can watch anything on the living room TV, he can listen to music as loud as he wants, he can play video games, but truthfully he's going to surf the internet.
He powered up his computer when a tap at his window caught his attention. A pale mask with black lips and raccoon eyes stared back at him.
"Oh, shit," James said. He rushed over to the window and opened it.
"You're Masky," James said. He ran a hand through his hair.
Masky climbed into James's room, followed by Hoodie.
"And you're Hoodie," James said as he stared wide eyed at the two criminals.
"Not the brightest bulb of the bunch is he?" Masky laughed as he pointed his thumb at James.
"I always knew you guys were real!" James blurted out. "Wait, are you here to kill me?"
James took a step back, but calmed down as Hoodie waved his hand.
"No," Hoodie said. "Not tonight. We're looking for new recruits. Slender wants more Proxies, so you in?"
"Wait, so I can hang out with all my favorite Creepypastas?" James said. "Live in a big mansion, and do whatever I want."
"Well, no," Masky said. "I'll be frank with you. Hoodie and I didn't want to be proxies. It was forced on us by the Observer who drove us to insanity, then delivered us to Slender, who uses us for his bidding."
"And it's not so much as a mansion as it is a run down shack," Hoodie said. "And if you mean hang out as ignore each others' existence besides the occasional fight and team up, then, yeah, you can hang out as much as you want."
"But I can still do whatever I want right?" James asked.
"Well," Masky drawled out. "As long as Slenderman approves."
"So what are the perks of being a Proxy?" James asked.
"You can get away with stealing and killing, steal and kill," Hoodie said. "The drawbacks are as followed: no real bed, no real roof over your head, paranoia, insanity, no baths unless it's in a cold river, no hot meals, you have to steal everything, no internet, no phones, no video games."
"Really, the only hobby we have is killing people," Masky said. "And even that is monitored by Slenderman and if we don't do it in a way he approves, he tortures us."
"So why would I join you guys?" James asked.
"You'll belong to a group with few members," Hoodie said. "You'll be a special snowflake with no will of your own."
"So what would I have to do?" James asked.
Masky and Hoodie looked at one another. Hoodie took a knife out of his pocket and handed it to James.
"You must cut all ties with this life," Hoodie said. "Your first mission is to kill your family."
James looked at the knife. His reflection stared back at him. He thought of his parents and how they always ordered him around. He thought of his school where he stood out like an oasis in a desert. He could end all of his pain.
"So," James said. "No internet?"
Hoodie and Masky nodded.
James sighed before he handed back the knife. "Yeah, no, I get bossed around enough by my parents."
"Is that your final answer?" Hoodie asked.
"Yep," James said as he turned toward his computer.
"Shame," Masky said, his voice deeper than before.
James saw in his black computer screen Masky reach into his pocket and pull out a rock then everything went black.