Dinner is finished and everyone has settled down for the evening. However, two young men will relive incidents in their lives that are both painful and tragic. Many people know how Jeff became the man he is today. Tonight, Avery will know his story, and Jeff will know how Avery became a proxy.
Thank you for being patient while I was away. Since I'm off on my break, I'll be working more on the following chapters. The updates will be a bit infrequent but there will be at least a chapter or two a week. Consider this an early Christmas present, guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
NOTE: I had went back and read Jeff's stories so that this chapter would be as accurate as possible. I don't think there was any indication of where he lived but I'm placing his life before the murders in Wisconsin. It was pretty much a random decision but choosing the city required a bit of searching. Mind you, I've never been to Wisconsin so if the setting doesn't fit right, I'm sorry.
Also, Jeff may sound a bit out of character in this. Many of his stories say that he's unable to or can't remember to feel regret. In this, he shows it a little bit but, afterwards, he's pretty much the usual Jeff. Just thought I'd let you know.
Avery sat on the edge of his bed as Jeff stood in front of his book shelf. There were mainly classic novels, most of which were George Orwell's works. The book Jeff bought Avery was placed in the spot that once held Avery's first book. He imagined Avery had picked up where he left off before it was ripped up, and finished reading it.
Avery nervously fidgeted with the hem of his hoodie, waiting for Jeff to tell his story. He wasn't sure what to expect. It could be anything from once having the perfect family to living in a hell hole that would eventually lead him to his life as a murderer. Just like the other proxies, the possibilities for Jeff's story were endless.
Jeff sat down hard onto the bed, forcing Avery away from his thoughts. He looked up at the serial killer and noticed that Jeff seemed just as nervous about revealing his past. Avery assumed that maybe he was forcing Jeff to remember things he's tried to bury away in his mind. He also started thinking that maybe Jeff's life wasn't a very pleasant story after all. But, he said he'd tell Avery about it so it may not be as bad as the young proxy assumed.
"It may be hard for you to believe, but I had a good life growing up. I had two loving parents who never divorced and a little brother I loved dearly. His name was Liu."
"Did you two get along okay?"
"Yeah. He was practically my best friend."
"I see."
"When I was 13, we moved to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was further away from where Liu and I grew up so we had to change schools and leave our old friends behind. It was kind of hard for us but we learned to deal with it."
Jeff smiled contentedly as he remembered his life growing up with his brother. Avery realized that Jeff had very fond memories of Liu. However, he could tell that something happened to disrupt that happiness. Jeff's brows perked up into an annoyed expression as he continued with his story.
"The first day we moved in, my mom wanted to make a good impression on the neighbours. She decided, without our say, that we would go to this little kid's birthday party that weekend. Obviously, I wasn't too thrilled because I was too old to go to those things. Liu didn't complain much. He was always like that. He let things happen with little protest so as not to cause any trouble. He would've made a great man out of himself."
A remorseful smile spread across Jeff's face. Avery became a little more curious as he heard Jeff say the word "would've". He could only assume that Liu was now dead or in some sort of horrible condition that made it hard for the boy to function on his own.
"The next morning, Liu and I were waiting for the bus to take us to school. We were so anxious about starting over and meeting other children, we didn't expect to meet the douchebags that lived in our neighbourhood.
"His name was Randy. God, how I hated that kid. Without even knowing us for three minutes, he demanded we give him our money. If that didn't make things worse, it was his two minions, Keith and Troy, threatening us with knives."
"Seriously?"
"I'm not joking. They were desperate little shits."
"So, what did you do?"
"After they stole Liu's wallet, I tried asking them to return it. We all know that didn't do much. But, there was this weird... feeling nagging at me. I had felt it when we arrived to our new house but I wasn't sure what it was. But, at that moment, when those kids were being real jerks, I realized it was the desire for violence.
"I started beating on them and was eventually able to get one of their knives and cut them up a little. Oh, it felt so wonderful to inflict pain onto them. It was especially good because they deserved it.
"Before I could do any more, the bus had arrived and we knew we'd get in trouble if the driver saw what we did. So, we ran to the school. We were almost late but we managed to make it to our first period classes without the teacher complaining.
"The day was pretty good. I hadn't felt so alive in a long time. At the time, I knew it was wrong to feel this way. But, I felt that Randy learned his lesson so I wouldn't have to beat him or his little friends up again. I was wrong."
Jeff's face became grim as the thoughts of that day circulated in his mind. Avery waited for Jeff to continue as it became evident that his next words were unpleasant for him.
"The next morning, my mom called me downstairs. Obviously, our little fight didn't go unnoticed and the police were asked to investigate what happened. I mean, I beat those kids up pretty good and Liu and I left with barely a scratch on us. So, they assumed we were the ones that started it all. They just needed one of us to confess to it.
"I loved my brother dearly and I didn't want anything to happen to him. So, I told them the truth. But, before they could take me in, Liu came out with a knife, saying he was the one who caused the fight. I guess he heard everything because he was somehow able to bruise himself to where it looked like he was in a struggle.
"That was another thing about Liu. He couldn't stand to see me in pain just as much I did with him. But, Liu was also a very convincing person. He could talk his way into and out of any situation. But, he only did this when he felt he absolutely needed to. And, unfortunately, he decided to do this at that time.
"I tried telling the cops that Liu was wrong. They didn't believe me. All they saw was the knife in his hand and the scratches and bruises all over him. No matter what I said, they still took Liu away to the Juvenile Detention Center."
Ah, so Liu's still there? Is that what happened to him?
"This devastated all of us. My parents didn't know any better but I wished they had taken me instead. Although, if not for this, I may not have turned out into the man I am today. Who knows?
"After a few days, Mom woke me up to go to that little kid's party. I could barely bring myself to get out of bed and yet Mom thought it was a good idea to go to a birthday party. But, I couldn't really argue with her.
"When we arrived, the kid's mom told me to play outside with the other children. It was a cowboy themed party with plenty of plastic cowboy hats and toy guns to go around. I ended up going along with it and enjoying myself."
Avery raised an uncertain eyebrow at Jeff. He couldn't see this homicidal teenager wearing a cowboy hat and "shooting" at little kids with a plastic gun. The idea was almost comical to the boy.
"It was the first time I could really take my mind off Liu and his situation," Jeff continued. "But then, fucking Randy and his lackies arrived. Now that I think about it, I have no idea why they were even there. Maybe they wanted to ruin a six-year-old's birthday party or bully the little kids out of boredom. I don't know.
"Well, one thing led to another and we ended up fighting. I didn't really want to at first because of what happened to Liu. But, I kept feeling that urge to hurt him and it was stronger than ever then.
"I killed Randy. It wasn't that I set out to do this; I just couldn't control this urge anymore. His two friends had guns with them and they tried to shoot at me when I went into the house. Thankfully, they couldn't aim worth a shit and missed me completely.
"I ended up having to kill them too. I was pretty banged up after the fighting but things became much worse. I was soaked in vodka and bleach from struggling with them, and I didn't know Keith had a lighter on him. It was his last move before he died and I was almost killed by the flames. But, the paramedics rushed me to the hospital on time and treated me as much as they could. I was in bandages for several weeks because of this but I was at least still alive. Even better, since Randy couldn't keep his big mouth shut, he ended up confessing to putting Liu in Juvie during our fight. Most of the parents there confirmed this to the police when they arrived and Liu was released soon after. Things were slowly becoming good again."
"How long did that last?"
"Until the day my bandages were removed. I knew I'd receive some form of scarring from being burned. We were all expecting something different about my appearance.
"When the doctor removed my bandages, everyone in the room was shocked. So, out of curiosity, I went into the bathroom to see what happened. I couldn't understand why they reacted that way. My face was so beautiful."
Jeff smiled maniacally once he remembered his burned face. Avery simply stared at him and wondered how his skin turned out ghostly white. Most burn victims were discoloured or had a reddish-brown blemish across their body. He considered looking into this later.
It was plainly obvious when Jeff's sanity broke from this much of the story. Whatever this "feeling" Jeff kept mentioning was it seemed to be more than a simple urge to commit violence. Avery theorized that it was a sign that the boy's sanity was beginning to slip away. The added stress of being separated from his brother along with Randy's mischief only sped up this process. Who knows how long Jeff could've gone without this "feeling" taking over him?
"I loved my face. It matched me so perfectly, this experience was more like a gift rather than a curse. I couldn't help but to stare into the mirror at this beautiful face. That's all I did when I came home. I just stood in front of the bathroom mirror for hours, marveling at this masterpiece!
"But, after a while, I grew so tired. I couldn't stay awake long enough to see my face. I wanted to stay up longer to look at it. I looked around the bathroom and then the house for something to keep my eyes from blinking. Eventually, I decided on cutting them off. I grabbed Mom's kitchen knife but I realized I'd make a huge mess by removing my eyelids this way. I remembered my dad would always leave his lighter in the living room and figured that burning them off would be better.
"It took a while and, damn, this shit hurt like hell. But, now that my eyelids were gone, I could continue to stare at my face. I didn't think of a response to tell my family when they saw this. In fact, I thought this made me look better.
"After about an hour, my mouth started hurting. It could be because I didn't smile that much up until this point but it was really starting to hurt. I still had the knife with me. Even though I knew Mom would get mad at me for making a mess in the bathroom, I decided to 'fix' this little problem of mine. As you can see, I made myself smile forever so that it won't hurt anymore.
"Mom walked in while I was finishing up. She was so amazed at my face she was nearly speechless. But, I figured out she didn't really like it. She was going to shoot me. I beat her to it, though."
"You killed your mother?"
"Mother and Father. It wasn't that I resented them. I loved them both. They just couldn't accept their son's beautiful face. I had to kill Liu too. He didn't really like my face before I 'improved' it. Besides, he would've found some way of making me feel guilty for what I did."
"Did you?"
Jeff looked over at Avery who was staring at him with curiosity. It was a little odd that Avery didn't seem fazed by Jeff's story. He appeared content with knowing how Jeff's face ended up the way it is rather than horrified. This reaction made Jeff a little curious.
"Sometimes. If I remember what regret feels like I'll have my moments. Most of the time, I put these memories in the back of my mind. No use getting worked up over something that happened years ago."
"I guess. What about Jane?"
"Jane?"
"Yeah. How did you two cross paths?"
"You know? I don't really remember, actually."
"Seriously?"
"Well, when I get the urge to kill, my mind sometimes goes blank during it. I get so in the moment that it doesn't matter who I get my hands on. I know what I've done but I can't put a face to my victims. You kind of understand what I mean?"
"Yeah. I get it. So, you don't even remember Jane?"
"Nope."
"But, you said she's chasing after you because you killed her parents. You told me this after she appeared at my school."
"That's what she said. I don't know. It may be true. I've never seen anyone this stubborn to kill me."
"So, how did you two meet?"
"That's kind of a long story; one that may take a while to explain. But, I'll shorten it by saying she pretty much stalked me a bit before trying to kill me."
"Oh, okay."
"Your turn. What's your story? How did you run into Slendy?"
Avery paused for a moment and ceased playing with the hem of his hoodie. It always made him nervous when talking about his past. It wasn't so much dark as it was traumatic. He understood that most of the proxies shared similar histories but it still filled Avery with fear whenever he thought too long about it.
"I'm not like most of the others," Avery began. "I was not targeted by Master nor was my abduction planned. Master found me completely by accident.
"I was 10-years-old when it happened. I was like you. Two loving parents and an older brother. The only difference was we stayed in the same town and I had negative feelings for my brother."
"You hated each other?"
"No. Steven just found joy in seeing me cry."
Now it was Jeff's turn to raise an eyebrow. From his first month of training Avery, he's always seen the teenager angry or expressing little emotion. It was hard for him to envision Avery with tears in his eyes or sobbing uncontrollably. This made the killer interested in seeing what Avery was like before coming in contact with Slenderman.
"I was a very sensitive boy. It was easy to frighten me and make me cry. Steven always took advantage of that by telling me ghost stories or playing tricks on me. My mom always got onto him for doing it and would try comforting me. She kept telling me not to listen to Steven. Sadly, I was too gullible to his words to follow that advice.
"One day, Steven convinced me to go into the woods with his friends. He was always at his worst when his friends got involved. Together, they gave him ideas and coaxed him into doing things that would've taken him longer to figure out. Alone, Steven was only half as bad.
"We went pretty far into the woods; further than our parents would've liked. When we finally stopped, Steven told me to stand against a thin tree in front of us. As I said before, I was a little too gullible for my own good, so I did as he asked. As soon as I did that, one of his friends grabbed my arms while another took some rope from his backpack and tied my wrists together. Very unfortunate for me, the boy was an eagle scout and knew how to tie a knot properly. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't slip the ropes off.
"While my scared 10-year-old self tried getting out of the ropes, Steven and his friends started telling me a story about a creature that lived in the forest. They weren't talking about Master. The creature they described was something out of a Goosebumps book. I can't remember what it was or what they called it. All I recall is that the creature needed the sacrifice of a 10-year-old boy in order to be appeased. That, and how much I cried and begged to be released."
"Your brother sounds like a sadist," Jeff interrupted.
"He was. From what I've seen regarding siblings, even on a bad day, they still care for one another. Almost anyone who's ever had a brother or sister had loved them regardless of who they were. I too was foolish enough to believe Steven somehow loved me, but expressed it in a different way. Really, the only thing Steven loved about me was seeing me upset and full of tears."
"I'd love to see what he's like today."
Avery paused for a moment before muttering, "Me too."
"Anyways, what happened after that?"
"They made up a little ritual for my 'sacrifice.' They started dancing around me and chanting to this made up creature. I was so terrified of what would happen, I swear I almost wet myself.
"When they were done with their chanting, they decided to leave me tied up to the tree. I don't know if they were going to try to scare me by making weird noises, or leave me to my own overactive imagination to freak me out. They... didn't get the chance to do either."
"What do you mean?"
"I assume he appeared right when Steven and his friends decided to leave. Usually, they laugh or make jokes after messing with me. They became very quiet when they left. I looked up to see what happened and the first thing I noticed was the abnormally tall man in a suit. He gave off a slightly benign feeling but I was still frightened by his appearance. What scared me even more was that Steven and his friends were just standing there, staring at him."
"Weird. That was not the impression I got from him."
"Well, Master makes children feel safe so that it's easier for them to come to him. Some children can be more aware than others to where they feel uncomfortable around him. Anyone older than their preteens will become afraid whenever they see him."
"Okay. It's still kind of weird to me."
"So, Master had his victims before him and he took no time in taking what was his."
"You mean he-"
"Yes. Before my very eyes, Master killed my older brother and his three friends. The moment he revealed his tendrils, I knew something bad would happen. Everyone was somehow frozen in place when his tendrils came closer to them. He wrapped one around each of their necks and pulled them up into the air. I watched for an agonizing five minutes as they slowly suffocated.
"After the last boy fell limp, Master extended a tendril out to me. I was able to regain my senses long enough to start begging again. I realized it wouldn't do me much good to simply ask for my life. In a last ditch effort, I bargained with him. I told him I'd do anything he asked me to, anything at all, as long as I could live. Even if I didn't like it, I'd do just as he told me to. After a while, he said he'd test me out to see if I would live up to my word. However, there was something else I had to keep up on my end of the deal."
"Which was?"
"I could never return to my hometown. It made sense after a while. I mean, how would it look if five young boys went into the woods and only one came out? There would've been a lot of questions raised and suspicion around what I did or didn't know. Even if Master returned me with my memory wiped clean, it would've been difficult. So, keeping me in this house and forcing me to stay away from my hometown was for the better."
"Have you ever tried to go back?"
"No. I was too afraid. Still am. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know where to go."
"Do you miss your old life?"
"Every proxy does. It's normal to feel nostalgic for our life before this. We learn to deal with it and value our role as Master's slaves."
"What about you, though?"
Avery turns to look up at Jeff, his face expressionless.
"There's a reason I'm still alive. If Master didn't need me, he would've disposed of me long ago. For that, I am grateful. But, as far as my old life goes, it would be nice to return to those times. But, I was very naïve and a huge crybaby back then. I wouldn't have lasted in this world if Master didn't find me. It was best that this had to happen to me."
They stared at each other for a moment before Jeff smirked and burst out laughing. Avery continued looking at him with very little expression to his face. The only indication showing his reaction to the laughter was a raised eyebrow.
"I don't know who's more screwed up: me or you?" Jeff cackled, loudly.
Avery sighed before turning away from Jeff, his face relaxed.
"I guess it doesn't matter either way," the younger teen stated.
Jeff slowly decreased his laughter before placing a hand on top of Avery's. The proxy jumped slightly and quickly turned his head to see Jeff's smirk again. This time, he seemed more amused than mischievous. Avery could also sense that the older teen was a little more understanding now that they both knew the other's background.
"It probably doesn't," Jeff whispered.