Chapter 7

I refused to believe a word of what Marcus said. This Slenderman thing was too…it didn't seem real. I stayed for only a few more moments at his house before deciding to leave, giving him my email so we could stay in touch. (I didn't use my cellphone that much; just for emergencies and texting friends to ask questions about school work or something.)

I hurried home, practically sprinting the rest of the way home as it came into view. Slamming the door shut behind me, I instantly went for my laptop and spent half of the night doing research on Slenderman, trying to prove…Hell, I don't even know.

After seeing many topics relating back to the Something Awful Forums, I buckled down and went to check it out myself. I read everything, even posts that didn't have anything to do with Slenderman. Every page, every post, every word. After reading the majority of the forum, I sat back and rubbed my eyes. So, Slenderman was thought up on this forum, for some contest…Hm. Which meant he wasn't real.

Right?

I closed my laptop and rested my arm over my eyes, settling back against the couch, a sense of uneasiness creeping up on me. Why would there be so much talk about this if it wasn't real? I had to admit, the whole story and idea of Slenderman was rather intriguing, but…Marcus told me that the Slenderman was real, and that he was following me. Was this just some kind of sick joke he played on people? Or is it just me, because I'm obviously gullible enough to believe it?

A sudden bump from behind the wall made me jump to my feet, eyes wide and heart pounding. Oh God. What the hell was that?! From the corner of my eye, I saw mom's door open, and she shuffled out towards the bathroom. I sighed and visibly relaxed, dropping back onto the couch with my head in my hands. I was overreacting. I need to calm down, before I give myself a heart attack or something.

I looked up towards the second floor, which disappeared into a thick darkness. I hadn't dared to sleep in my room since the first nightmare. I felt childish, like a small child getting scared by the 'boogie man' and running to sleep in their parents room. I stood up and, very slowly, made my way up the stairs, gripping the handrail so tightly my knuckles turned white. God, it was so fucking dark up here…

The moment I reached the top step, I flicked the hall light on, and ran down the hall as quietly as I could, almost slamming my bedroom door open in my haste. I turned that light on as well, and leaned against the wall. Nothing was there, but the window was cracked open, and I shivered. I didn't remember opening the window…Maybe mom did? I shrugged it off and shut it, locked it, and drew the curtains. I turned to my bed, neatly made and looking very comfortable, and fell onto it, falling asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.

The first thing I noticed, when I awoke, was that it was pitch black in my room. My first reaction was that I huddled deeper into the blankets, covering all but my eyes and nose, and shuddered. Why was it dark? I fell asleep with my light on, and the hall light was on as well…Slowly, shakily, I shook the covers off, reaching towards my nightstand for the flashlight.

It wasn't there.
I sucked in a slow, deep breath, and stood up. Fear welled up in me as I looked around the dark room, and the fear threatened to reduce me to a curled up ball of tears and screams on the floor. No. I refused to be daunted by this silly fear. Shaking, I easily leapt over a pile of clothes and threw the curtains to the window open, sighing loudly. Though it was the middle of the night, the snow reflected what little moonlight shone, and gave off enough light to at least see my bedroom door. I stood up and looked around, stiffening; not a single one of my flashlights was in here.

With my hand moving along the wall, I made my way through my door and down the hallway. I tensed, shuffling my feet across the floor as I reached the spot where HE had been. To my relief, he wasn't there, and I swiftly jumped down the stairs two at a time.

Maybe it's just a power outage, I thought meekly as I looked around the living room. But it couldn't be; usually mom would already be up, lighting candles around the house. But her bedroom door was ajar, and I somehow knew she wasn't there; a cold wind swept through the house, and I shivered.

I'll go to the neighbors, I decided, starting towards the door. I heard footsteps behind me, and smiled slightly. "Oh thank god, Mom, I was starting to freak o-" I stopped midsentence, my stomach tightening.

Nobody was there.

I turned on my heel and bolted towards the door, throwing it open. My jaw dropped, and I had to snap my teeth together to keep from screaming.

It was absolutely, utterly dark. I couldn't even see a few inches out of the house. I slammed the door shut again, trying not to hyperventilate. Oh god. Something was wrong; REALLY wrong. I wanted to scream, I wanted to holler for someone, ANYONE.

But I knew it'd be useless.

In a last, panicked attempt, I ran into the kitchen. I heard footsteps behind me, but I just sped up, grabbing the first drawer I found and yanking it open. I felt weak with relief as I wrapped my fingers around the cold flashlight, and flipped it on. The footsteps ceased immediately, and I swung the light around the house.

With a sudden rush of adrenaline and anger, I squared my shoulders, and screamed. "SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING COWARD!"

I had no idea what – or who – I was yelling at.

But oh. They heard me.

The voices started as a whisper; I guess I put it off as the wind. But now, I could hear them; distorted, faint, indistinct voices that murmured in my ears.

"…Coming…"

"Can't run…"

"…Kill…"

I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly, surprised as I saw it puff in front of my face in a cloud of moisture; I hadn't realized the temperature had dropped so drastically. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned round and round, trying to find the source of the voices. They were growing increasingly louder, and I covered my ears as they reached screaming pitch. With the flashlight still in hand, I covered my ears and thrust my shoulder against the backdoor, slamming it open and bolting away from the voices, my eyes shut tight.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to curl up on the ground and wait for comfort, but I knew that would be useless. I kept running, blind to everything around me, only stopping as the voices faded until they were just distant echoes on the edge of my mind, then disappeared to nothing. I panted, doubling over and putting my hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath.

The rustle of bushes made me look up, and, with a jolt, I realized I'd run straight into the forest. I looked around warily, shining the flashlight around the trees. Which way had I come from? How deep was I? Taking a few short breaths, I turned and headed in the opposite direction than I was facing. What the hell did I get myself into now?

I rounded a bush, looking around before continuing on. There was no hint of where I had come from; no crushed grass, no stamped down shrubs…nothing. I heard something behind me and sped up, panting with fear.

Finally, I came up to a line of trees, too close together to get through. I quickly turned around, beginning to hyperventilate.

And then I saw it.

Standing between two trees up ahead was him; black suit, red tie, face shrouded in shadows still. If I thought I was scared before, I could've laughed. I felt my heart stop, and my breath caught in my throat, making it hard to breathe. Oh god oh god, it's him. He's going to kill me. This man, the one who killed Eliza, the one-

"Why do you fear me?"

The voice resonated inside my head, sounding oddly familiar, but I couldn't remember where from. I backpedaled a few paces, my back hitting the tree line as I stared wide eyed. I could literally feel my pupils dilate as he stepped closer. He was going to kill me; I was going to die in this damned forest, and-

"There is no need to fear me."

I was more than just fearful; I was scared shitless! He'd moved even closer, standing only a few yards ahead of me. At that exact moment, my vision blurred and faded to black; as if something had covered my eyes. A shriek tore from my throat finally. Something grabbed my shoulders and I twisted and turned, writhing around, hoping desperately that whatever was holding me would let go. I had to get away, I had to get away, I had to-

"Sierra!"

"I opened my bleary eyes to see my ceiling. Mom was sitting in front of me, holding my wrists, staring at me with a worried and concerned expression. I was drenched in sweat, and shaking with fear.

"Are you alright? You were screaming in your sleep, and thrashing about like-"

"It was just a n-nightmare." I cut her off, stuttering slightly. Her expression hardened, and she frowned.

"No, it's more than that. I'm calling Dr. Hatten today to see if I can get you in to see him." Without another word, she stood up and left the room. I sat on my bed, staring blankly at the wall as I slowly calmed down, thinking about the dream. Maybe Slenderman was real; it isn't a coincidence that I'd had two dreams about him, as well as seeing him for real…

And suddenly, the voice; HIS voice, hit me; I know where I'd heard it from.

It was the voice of my father; the man who had been dead for seven years.