Hey!
Well, this is the last chapter D:
But there is an epilogue!
So, voilĂ !
See you at the end!
Come, Little Matthew
Chapter Nine - Death Upon Us All
Matthew could feel it. The aura SlenderMan had was of pure anger. He was furious of his brother. Of his murderous pranks and twists and turns in his words.
"The world would be better off without you.", SlenderMan stated coldly to his brother. "Matthew, on the other hand, is the most sweet and innocent child I have ever met. The choice is not so difficult, if you consider the circumstances..."
Matthew could see a drop of sweat run down SplendorMan's face. The older brother was panicking; he knew not what to do. But, a little light bulb lit up in his head. Surely, he wouldn't tell nor show his younger brother. Not just yet...
The forest was quiet. None of them had acted yet, and Matthew was getting rather sleepy. Suddenly, SplendorMan's laugh boomed into his skull.
"You think I'm the only murderer here, brother? It takes one to know one, as the saying goes."
Matthew did not react, which surprised SplendorMan. The boy knew SlenderMan had done those things, as in killing, but he also knew his friend was going to change for the better, unlike SplendorMan.
Again, the silence awoke. It was getting old. Action needed to be executed. Blood needed to be shed. All three knew.
Tired of the silence, SlenderMan charged first, leaving Matthew hidden behind a tree. He gave it all he could. Against his brother, he had to. If not, he would die.
SlenderMan open his mouth wide and shrieked. It was a battle cry, a determined one. Afterwards, he let out his fifteen tentacles. What were not shown until now were his hands. They grew as sharp as his tentacles and teeth. 'This is serious.' Matthew thought. 'All I can do is watch and hope SlenderMan will be okay.'
The fight had begun. The younger charged onto the older one. It was the same thing as earlier, but taken more seriously. This was now a matter of life or death. For the three of them.
At the end of it all, more pieces of clothing had been ripped off, but the bites had gone deeper into their skin. Now, both of the brothers brawled with their fifteen tentacles.
'But, doesn't SplendorMan have 20... Oh no-', Matthew yelled soon afterwards.
"SLENDERMAN! BEHIND YOU!"
But it was too late. The snakes had attacked their prey.
SplendorMan's laugh boomed in the outside, even making the trees shiver in fright. He had his tentacles around his brother's last human part; his heart. The last thing that kept both him and his brother alive. And know he was going to rip it apart, and eat it delightfully.
SlenderMan was slowly panting, taking in and out long breaths. He was on one of his knees, squeezing his suit where his heart was situated in his body. Unlike humans, he did not bleed; they didn't know why. Now his brother had him, caged. He turned to face Matthew, and saw the emotion of his face.
Matthew was horrified, traumatised, frustrated, and crying heavily. He tried to make the less noise possible, but the sniffles, tears and slight cries slipped out. He still hid behind the tree, feeling his nails grip into its trunk.
"Brother...", SlenderMan whispered loud enough for all of them to hear, "You let your guard down."
"Hahahahahahahaha! What are you talk- argh!"
SlenderMan, even though he had a severe wound, lashed three tentacles into SplendorMan's chest, slicing his heart in three. SplendorMan instantly dropped to his two knees, falling face first on the ground. And soon after, he turned into dark ashes, floating away into the ground.
SlenderMan felt the weight the tentacles had on his heart disappear, but one of them had scratched his last human part. He knew... It was going to fade away.
He fell against the tree where Matthew had hidden while his brother and him had fought, retracting his tentacles and fingers. Matthew came out from behind, and ran to the left of SlenderMan. The boy put his head on SlenderMan's chest, hearing a faint heartbeat.
"Mat... thew...", SlenderMan tried to articulate.
The 10 year-old, still feeling tears fall down his cheeks, brought his head closer to SlenderMan's face, since his friend was speaking to him directly.
"I would like... I would like for the forest to be... To be a place where everyone can be happy... Happy and peaceful. No... More... Fear..."
Matthew whimpered a bit, knowing SlenderMan's end was near.
"Matthew... Will you promise... To protect this forest..? Make it... Blossom peacefully.", SlenderMan asked, running out of breaths.
Matthew nodded, sensing the time has come for SlenderMan to pass.
"I will. I promise", he said between chokes of tears.
"Good.", SlenderMan breathed out. "Now, go back... To your parents. You don't want them... To be worried...".
"But I want to stay with you! Please, don't die! I don't want you to..!", Matthew cried out.
"We will... Meet again, Matthew." And for the first time, SlenderMan smiled.
Matthew wiped his tears away and smiled sadly, hugging his passing friend around the neck. SlenderMan surprisingly had enough strength to put his arms around the boy.
He spoke his last words:
"Go, little Matthew."
SlenderMan slowly disintegrated into whites ashes, unlike his brother, and flew up into the sky, and landed and every tree as if it was snowing.
After his friend passed away, Matthew noticed a black tie had been placed in his hands. He hugged it tightly, and smiled:
"Thank you, SlenderMan."
'For being my friend.'
All them feelz D':
So, next up: epilogue!
See you on the other side...
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Sincerely...
Hatsu Haruko -xxx-
