Anja jerked awake, sweating and crying. She was back in her room, just like she had been before she left to go call Destry. "Did he bring me home?" She decided to talk to him at school to figure out exactly what had happened the night before.
She got to school early, so rather than sit and wait for Destry, she went to look for Professor Dent. Arriving at the door to his office, she took a deep breath and entered with both a smile and a look of genuine concern on her face. "Oh, hey Anja. Didn't know you got to school this early. What's up?" Professor was in warm, slightly childish spirits, as he usually was. "Hey Professor; I don't usually get here quite as early, but this morning I found I had a question that needs to be answered." "Well, shoot." He rested back in his office chair and adjusted his purple necktie to be more comfortable. "It's about that picture you showed the class the other day… where did you get it?" Despite his preparation, the Professor tensed up. "W-why do you need to know? I explained before I put it up that I saw it in a dream, and it fit the lesson I had planned. That's it." She noticed the beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he shifted back and forth. "Here's the thing… I saw the exact same note – I mean picture – in my dream before class started yesterday." He looked up at her, frightened. "What? You… I… what?" He had to stand up to keep from falling over in his chair. "You're kidding, right Anja? Please tell me you're kidding…" "Not kidding. And – never mind." She decided to keep the previous night under wraps until she talked to Destry. "Listen, Anja, if you have ANY more dreams like that, I HAVE to know. This is extremely serious if we're talking about the same thing, and if we truly are then you're in danger." "I'm not sure I understand…" The Professor quickly pulled open his personal laptop and rapidly typed into a personal files search bar. "Anja, have you heard of a being called the slenderman?" She stirred, but decided to play dumb. "Never heard of it." "Look at this." A picture was on the screen, an image of a field with a forest around it, all black and white. "Am I supposed to see something…?" She was confused. "You mean you don't? Look at the broken glass." In the bottom left corner was a decrepit, old house with broken windows facing the camera. "I still don't –" "LOOK" He interrupted loudly, startling her. She stared at the glass until her eyes almost glazed over. Then she saw. In the reflection and in the distance, the figure. The one who was in the forest with them last night, just standing there. "Oh god… there it is…" "Yeah. There have never been any direct pictures of him, just pictures like this, or where he happens to show up in the distance of the image. Have you seen him before?" There was no use in hiding it anymore. "… yes." "I thought so. How often?" "Just twice. And only recently." The Professor seemed to relax substantially, but still had an air of anxiety. "Alright, remember what I told you. It is extremely important." "Got it." He smiled, returning to his normal self. "Now get outta here, I've got some work to do. See ya in class, Anja!" She smiled and said goodbye to the Professor, and headed to the classroom.
Destry was waiting in the room when she got there, much to her relief. Instantly, she slung questions at him, catching him off guard. "What happened last night? Where did you go? Did you pass out too?" He stared at her, confused. "Anja… what are you talking about?" She stopped. "What? After I called last night?" "You never called." Her head was spinning now, what did he mean? It suddenly hit her with full force. "It was… it was all a dream…" From the point where she woke up and called Destry to when she passed out from that strange being, she was in actuality asleep. "Oh shit…" He stood up and put his arms around her shoulders reassuringly. "Anja, get it together. It was just a dream, don't worry." "That's the thing, Destry; it's not just a dream. I have proof." She started to turn to leave the room. "Wait. Please. Tell me what happened in the dream. I want to know." She stared at him for a minute before sitting down, sighing, to tell him the story. "So last night, I fell asleep…"
Anja finished the story just before class started. Destry, who had listened intently, was pale-faced and in disbelief. The Professor broke the silence by shouting, "3-D ART. How the FUCK do they do it?!" The Professor had no bounds about using what is typically considered 'foul language' in the classroom, and that made him fairly popular among his students and pissed off the other teachers. He didn't care. Anja quickly walked over to the Professor before he had a chance to go on. "I need to talk to you after class. It's important." He nodded and gestured for her to return to her desk. An image came into focus in the front of the room, drawn with multiple perspective lines. The image was that of a field with a forest around it. Anja looked at the Professor, and he put a finger over his mouth, motioning for her to 'be quiet' about the image. A student in the front of the class called up, "Hey Professor, is that the cameraman?" "Where?" The student pointed. "There, the reflection in that broken glass. He's just kind of standing there, without a camera or anything." Anja and the Professor shared a glance before he bullshitted the kid. "I've never noticed it before. Nice going. Problem is, since I don't really know much about this picture, other than that it's good for 3-D examples, I can't answer your question. Believe what you want, after all." Anja chuckled. Total shit.
The bell rang and class ended. "Alright Anja, what's up?" "It was a dream. I thought it was real, but it was a dream." The Professor stopped her. "What are you talking about?" "I went to sleep last night, thought I woke up, and I saw 'him'." "The slenderman?" "Yeah. And Destry was there too. And saw him." He stopped and looked into Anja's blue eyes with worry. "The Destry in your dream saw the slenderman?" She nodded. "Okay, you need to let me know if he has the same dreams. This just became ten times more serious, Destry is in as much danger as you… and me." The bell interrupted their conversation. "Now, you need to go to your next class. Don't be too late." She smiled. "Thanks, Professor." "No prob."
School ended, and Anja took off for the street corner. She wanted to beat Destry there so she could prepare to talk to him about what the Professor had said earlier that day. Much to her surprise, he was already at the corner with Axie. "Hi Anja!" "Hey Axie, what's up?" "I didn't have club today, so I get to hang out with you guys!" Her girly attitude was very different from Anja's serious, partially depressed outlook. Anja liked it. Destry gentlemanly held out his hand, and in a 'fancy' voice asked, "Shall we go?" Anja took his hand, replying with, "Certainly, sir." The three of them laughed and walked to the Clampes' family home. When they arrived, Axie quickly dashed upstairs. "Anja, there's something I wanna show you!" "Alright." Anja turned to Destry. "I need to tell you something, alone. And today." "O… kay?" In a split second, Axie was hopping back down the stairs with a paper in her hand. Anja paled; surely Axie had the damn note in her hand. "Lookie, lookie!" Axie held the paper out to her. It was a drawing of different colored stick figures holding hands. Under a pink figure were the words 'Anja Liefsditter' and under the black was 'Destry Clampes.' Anja was both shocked and relieved. "Axie, what's this supposed to be?" Destry asked, referring to the building in the background. "Oh, that's the church!" "Church?" "Well duh, marriages are in churches!" Both Anja and Destry instantly flushed, glanced at each other, and immediately looked away. "Axie, what are you thinking?!" "You guys are in love, right?" Anja gasped in surprise. "We… uh… no… um…" She was flustered and unable to speak clearly, her emotions running wild. Destry was able to calm down enough to tell Axie to go back upstairs to do her homework quietly. "That was…" "Yeah." "Mhmm." An awkward quiet moment passed, and Anja almost whispered, "So… we're alone now, and –" Destry cut her off. "W-what?!" They both flushed again, and Anja had to explain. "N-no, I meant we're alone, so I can tell you what I need to." He sighed, exasperated, and set himself up to listen. "Professor told me that you're in danger." "WHAT?! How?" "Remember how I said you were in my dream? I think it has something to do with that." He tried to comprehend what she had told him; despite believing what she had said up until that point, he did not understand how he was in danger from it. "Can you figure out exactly how I'm in 'danger'?" "I'm sure Professor will tell me tomo-" "I need to know tonight." Anja quietly thought about her options. "Isn't the Professor's home phone listed on the school's website?" "Yeah, but you know I don't have a computer, Anja." "Then I'll call him once I get home and then call you." Destry nodded in agreement as Axie came running down the stairs. "Destry! I need help with my homework!" Destry stood and turned to his sister. "Alright, give me just a second." Axie smiled and ran back up the stairs as he turned back to Anja. "Guess this means you've got to go… sorry about today." She had a confused look on her face. "The Axie thing… her drawing…" he explained. Suddenly remembering the drawing, she blushed and smiled. "It's… it's okay." They made their way to the door, and upon opening it stood for a few seconds before Anja finally stepped off the porch and onto the sidewalk. "Thanks for being there for me, Destry. I appreciate it." She smiled warmly as she said this, pulling her jacket closer to her cold body. "Glad I could help." He returned the smile. "See ya later." The door closed, and she started her walk home in the chilled October air.
The dial tone sounded three times before there was an answer. "Hello?" "Professor?" Anja heard what sounded like shuffling papers for a minute before he answered. "Anja, why are you calling?" "Destry wants to know why he's in danger, and so do I." He took a breath before he explained. "I haven't told you the full story. It's called 'slender sickness,' and it affects your mind. Your dreams will feel intensely real, and that man will pursue you relentlessly. If someone in your dream sees him, they get 'slender sickness' too. You saw him, in my dream. Destry saw him in yours. This is spreading at a horribly rapid rate, and it will drive you insane. That's the beginning phase." He stopped for a second before going on. "If it continues, he… he pursues you in the real world. He will kill you." At this point, Anja was in tears of fear. "Why?" "I don't know, Anja. I'm sorry." "… It's fine. See you tomorrow." She hung up the phone before he had a chance to respond. Lying down on her bed, she stared at her ceiling for five minutes before calling Destry, so she had a chance to calm down and dry her tears. She opened her phone and typed the familiar numbers to call him. The dial tone sounded only once this time before he answered. "So?" "There's a problem…"
