Day 6 - Slenderman

"Guys? I think we lost him again."

Beast Boy's voice echoed around them as it bounced between the dark trees surrounding them.

Robin growled from behind him, "This is the third time this week that he's gotten away!" His shoulders fell and he sighed as Starfire touched his arm, in an attempt to calm his rattled emotions, "C'mon… let's just go home. We'll meet up with Raven and Cyborg and go over what we've got."

A soft kiss against his cheek before Starfire gave his hand a squeeze, "Fear not, Robin. We will stop him."

He nodded slowly, "I know, Star… it's just… frustrating is all."

She reciprocated his nod, understanding his irritation. Red X had been evading them for the entirety of this past month. He enjoyed toying with their team, or more specifically, Robin.

But, simply because he had helped them out on the odd occasion, it did not give him a free pass when it came to the crimes he'd committed; theft or not.

"Hey, can you guys quit the mushy stuff, already?" Beast Boy teased, grinning at Robin's pink tinted cheeks,

"What is it?" His leader grunted,

"Well, you said let's go. Which way is out?" Beast Boy queried,

Robin lifted his head and was surprised by their ominous surroundings. The ground was littered with pieces of chipped bark and wood from the dark, dead trees in every direction. The fog was what got to Robin most. It was ridiculously thick; they couldn't see anything beyond the trees that were barely meters in front of them. It was white and smoky looking and no matter how much Robin narrowed his eyes, his vision failed him.

It was impenetrable mist and Robin hated that kind the most.

"Uh…" Robin stammered, at a complete loss.

"You do know which way we gotta go, right?" Beast Boy squeaked, fear laced within his tone,

"No, but I do have a communicator that will show us the way. We'll be fine."

However, as Robin pulled it from his belt and clicked a series of buttons, his heart started racing. The only response he got was static. Not good.

"Cyborg? Raven?" He tried, holding the device at all angles, to see if it did any good.

Beast Boy whined and threw his hands up in dispair, "Great. Now, we're lost and we'll never get out. I'll never play video games with Cy again. I'll never see Rae again… oh my gosh. I'll never see pizza again!"

Robin rolled his eyes at his friend's dramatics, "Will you stop? We'll be fine. It wasn't hard to get in here so I doubt it'll be that hard to get out, either."

"Star, can't you fly up above the trees and see where we gotta go? Or I can do it-"

"Don't." Robin said, grabbing Starfire's arm as she lifted into a float, "Either of you. On the way in, I saw some wiring cast overhead. And in this mist, you won't see it. I don't want us getting hurt."

Starfire dropped back down and Beast Boy threw his head back with a groan,

"This is some kinda Slenderman deal. We're just gonna waste away here and get murdered!"

Robin furrowed his eyebrows, opening his mouth to tell Beast Boy to be quiet but Starfire beat him to talking,

"Please… what is this… Slenderman?" She asked, hesitantly.

Beast Boy blinked and hurried to walk beside the alien Princess, "Slenderman is one of the scariest creatures out there, Star. Legend has it, he's this… demon of sorts. He lurks in the shadows of forests, just watching and waiting for people. He's freakishly tall and dresses all in black. The creepiest thing is… he doesn't have a face."

"What?" Starfire shrieked, her eyes wide,

"He has a head but no facial features. No eyes, nose, lips; nada. It's just blank and white."

Starfire swallowed, "And… wh-what does Slenderman do?"

"If he sees people, wandering like we are… he waits, bides his time and then he pounces, grabbing you with his long arms while you scream. If you look at him properly, they say you can't escape him and-"

"Beast Boy, enough. You're freaking her out. Stop it." Robin scolded, feeling Starfire's nail digging into his arm.

"Is… is that true, Robin?" She queried,

"No, Star. It's just a stupid story, made to scare people." He replied, narrowing his eyes at Beast Boy who looked set to protest.

They dipped into silence as they started walking down one particular path that Robin had somewhat chosen at random. As long as they kept going forward, they would find an exit.

Or at least, that's what Robin was telling himself.

There was a sudden squawk from a nearby crow; once, twice before it went dead silent again.

Starfire frowned. There was a faint buzzing almost that she could hear. It sounded very much like the static of the communicator before except… this time, she had no idea where it was coming from.

She released Robin's arm, turning her head to scan the area.

There was a brief flash of black behind one of the trees.

Starfire sucked in a startled breath, wondering if it was Red X trying to hide from them.

Or was it… something else?

For some reason, her gut was telling her it was the latter. Starfire's heart thumped in her chest. She froze, standing still and focusing on the tree she'd seen movement from.

"Star?" Robin called, confused as to why she'd stopped.

"Apologies… I thought…" She trailed off, turning her head back towards the spot she'd been watching. She was waiting for something but she didn't know what.

"Starfire!" Beast Boy yelped,

Starfire spared him a glance, only to see his face of terror and pointing at something beside her.

She gulped; feeling its sinister presence beside her. She closed her eyes, her blood pumping in her ears.

Slowly, Starfire turned to look at the monster, her heart feeling like it was going to burst out of her ribcage.

She saw the blackness before her. Tilting her head up, her eyes found his bleached white face and she screamed.