Chapter 13

Our plans went to shit about…four days later. I guess, from what Marcus said, Sadie overheard us, and told his mom about our plans to go into the forest. We then had to come up with an excuse, which was that we were planning on going to scout a place for a party. Probably wasn't the best idea, but better than telling her we were going to go hunt something down that will end up killing us. So he was grounded for god knows how long, and we have to reschedule that.

To add on to that, Andrew left to visit a family member in Oklahoma, and the gash on my arm wasn't healing properly. The doctors did another x-ray and said they found a small piece of the knife in my arm, and that I had to get surgery on it.

Just fucking great.

Anyways, about three weeks after that whole ordeal, I was out of the sling. My arm was still bandaged up, and I had to be careful with it, but I could already see a huge scar forming on my arm where I was stabbed. Oh joy. A constant reminder of how Slenderman fucked up my life just a little more.

I was heading towards Marcus' house, my hands tucked under my armpits to keep them warm, watching as some neighborhood kid ran across the street after a basketball. Looking around self consciously, I sighed inwardly. Why can't life just be as peaceful as it was when we were little kids?

Apprehension crept over me as I continued, and I glanced over my shoulders every couple of seconds. Was he here? I couldn't tell if I was being paranoid, or if he was watching me… "Watch it!" Someone almost yelled as I bumped into them. I backtracked a pace to see a girl about my age standing there, her dark ginger hair pulled into a tight braid and her green eyes narrowed. I recognized her as Jessie Woodson, Eliza's bratty older sister. Oh goodie. Just who I wanted to talk to.

"Sorry." I muttered, attempting to walk around her. Jessie stepped in front of me again, and I stopped, balling my hands up into fists. "What do you want?" I finally snapped, rolling onto the heels of my feet. This was just getting annoying now.

"You're the one that was attacked by that…Katie chick, or whatever." She stated, crossing her arms. I nodded.

"Good job, it was only on the news for a week. Now if you'll excuse me -"

"I'm not finished." She spat, moving in front of me as again I attempted to walk around her. I huffed, taking a step back. "What made her go crazy?"

"I don't know." I said tiredly, looking up at the sky. God forbid I can have a peaceful morning…

"Somebody said that she saw something and she just went bat shit crazy." Jessie continued, tossing her braid over her shoulder.

"Maybe." I growled. What the hell was she getting at? She was quiet, watching me with narrowed eyes. "Is that all?" I snapped, walking past her. "Because I have somewhere to be, and I really don't want to -"

"She hated you." I stopped dead in my tracks as Jessie spoke again, again balling my hands up into fists.

"Excuse me?" I asked scathingly, turning and glaring at her. She was smirking.

"I said, she hated you." She chided, her smile widening. "I talked with her after school one day when you were hanging out with that loser bunch of wierdos." She shifted her weight to one foot, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And just what makes you think I'm going to believe you?" I asked, my voice hissing between my clenched teeth.

"Believe me or don't, I know what she said." Her eyes widened and she put her hands up to her face, looking scared and worried. "'I'm so worried about her! I mean, I've seen what she's been doing, looking up that Slender whatever…and she's been so distant! Maybe she's sick?'" She said, mocking Katie's voice.

"Katie didn't say that." I snapped, turning to walk away again.

"Well, it's too bad she's dead now. She could've gotten rid of you if the cops were only a few seconds late."

That was it.

Without thinking, I turned and punched her square in the nose. She shrieked in alarm and stumbled backwards as I heard a satisfying crunch. She fell onto her ass, holding her nose with both hands, blood trickling down her arms. She stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "Y-you punched me!" She screamed, her voice muffled by her hands.

"Maybe you should've fuck with me, then." I snarled, turning on my heel and walking. I could hear the sound of laughter and yelling die away, replaced with people running and asking if Jessie was okay. She was now crying hysterically, blubbering on about how bad of a person I was. Cute. Too bad that everybody would fall for her little trick, and I'd get blamed for it. It was worth it, though. It felt good to punch her.

Something grabbed the back of my shirt, and I jerked away, rounding on whoever. "Aww, did you get a boo-boo?" I chided, smiling as Jessie glared at me with all the hate she could muster. Her nose was cocked to the side more than usual, looking very awkward on her once 'pretty' (in everybody's opinion) face. Blood covered her face, staining her teeth as she gritted them together. "You know, you really shouldn't let that get on your clothes. Blood stains really badly, and nobody would want your pretty little d -"

I didn't finish my sentence. Jessie's hand made contact with my face, and I staggered back a step, glaring at her. "You ruined my face!" She spat, advancing on me. I stepped back again.

"And you said that Katie should've killed me!" I spat back, about to punch her again. Murmurs spread through the group of kids that had formed around us, their gazes flicking around nervously. Jessie looked around, fear and remorse showing in her eyes for a brief moment before disappearing again as she looked at me again.

"I'm covered in blood!" She shrieked, about to punch me again.

"What else is new?" I asked, backtracking again as she swung and hit nothing. Again she advanced, this time managing to slap me upside the face. Interesting.

Funny thing is, though, that Cameron and I used to fight. Not actually fighting, but he taught me to defend myself. (Upon request, after a girl only two towns away was raped and murdered in the middle of the night walking home.) From the looks of it, this girl had never actually had a fist fight – probably not even a cat fight, or anything – and it was easy avoiding her hits. She swung around uselessly, becoming angrier and angrier every time I evaded her. I got in another hit, a slap on the back to tease her, while the crowd around us cheered on.

Finally, she landed a hit; she managed to grab my arm, and raked her long fingernails down it, right across the scar. I screamed and jerked backwards, again punching her in the face. This time, one of her teeth fell out. I stumbled backwards, blinded by pain, ignoring Jessie as she freaked out about her tooth. Fresh blood was welling up on and around the scar, and it was throbbing with pain already. There was a yell from the crowd, and I looked up just as Jessie swung her arm again.

My head jerked backwards and I felt blood welling up in my mouth, and again I stepped backwards. I spat out a mouthful of blood, rounding on Jessie again. Despite the blood staining her face and her nose cocked to the side, she was laughing. "Maybe you shouldn't start things you can't finish." She spat, crossing her arms as she was about to walk away.

The crowd 'ooh'd' as she turned, and I stood up again. I stalked forward, grabbed the back of her shirt, yanked her around, and punched her face again. Her scream of pain split the air, but I didn't care. I swung and hit her in the gut, then again in the back. Finally, she was left lying on the ground, and I cracked my knuckles, wincing a little. I'm pretty sure I've broken two fingers from this.

Jessie moved feebly, trying to get up, and I prepared to punch her again. Before I could, though, a pair of hands grabbed my arm, and another began to pull me away. I tried to jerk away from them, tried to hit her one last time, but it was useless; I was tired and there was…either two or three people dragging me backwards.

The people dragging me backwards swiveled me around, and I was standing face to face with Marcus. He looked both pissed off and upset. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He spat, grabbing my shoulders.

"Sh-she started it!" I spluttered, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

"I don't care who started it, you aren't supposed to just punch someone in the face!" he said exasperatedly. He was starting to sound like some parent scolding their child.

"You would've too!" I growled, standing to my full height. "She was talking about Katie; she said that Katie hated me, and that Katie should've gotten rid of me! I had a right to punch her in the face, and even then she started the huge fight up again!" I continued, my hands shaking. It took me a minute to realize that hot tears were streaming down my face; whether it was from what Jessie had said, or the stress of everything, or…I don't know. I seemed to be crying a lot lately, huh?

Marissa, the one who was holding my arms back, let go and walked around to stand in front of me, looking confused. "Why the hell would she say something like that?"

"Because she's a stuck up little bitch who gets everything she wants." I snorted, glaring at the crowd again. Two of the people, two tall, thin ginger haired boys (twins, to be more precise), were helping Jessie up, casting glares over their shoulders at me.

"What's on your shoulder?" Sarah, who I guess had been standing a little ways away, asked curiously, coming up behind me. I shrugged, pulling my jacket up to hide.

"Birthmark." I stated, wiping blood off my mouth.

"No…it looks like -"

"I said it was a birthmark." I snapped, rounding on her. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I was made fun of it in Kindergarten and first grade, so I'd hid it ever since.

"I want to see!" Marissa said, grabbing my jacket and yanking it down. Jeez, was I allowed no privacy? There was a long moment of silence, and Marissa stumbled back to Marcus' side and whispered something to him. Oh, so they can have secrets but I can't?

"What?" I asked, dragging the word out. "It's just a birthmark, okay?"

"Are you…sure?" Sarah asked, looking scared. I looked at her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Am I sure that the mark I've had ever since birth is my birthmark?" I tapped my hand on my chin for a moment, thinking. "Hmm…well it makes sense…since I've had it since birth…and it's a mark…" I snapped my fingers. "That's why they call it a birthmark!"

"I don't think that's just a birthmark…" Sarah mumbled, biting her bottom lip. I sighed.

"Are you sure that it's been there since birth?" Marcus inquired.

"Well, for as long as I can remember." I said, rolling my eyes. "Though I didn't really have any good memories until I was about five." Marcus cocked an eyebrow, and I looked over my shoulder at the mark. Sloppy looking circle shape with an 'x' through it. Just as I remember.

"That's…that's not a normal mark." Marissa said, her voice quivering a little. I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"That…That symbol."
"It's nothing, it's just -"

"The Operator Symbol." There was silence for a moment.

"The what?" I finally asked, feeling uneasy.

"The Operator Symbol." Marcus said. I could see his hands shaking. "Y-you don't know what that is?" I shook my head, and Marcus blinked. "It's…"

"Slenderman's symbol." Sarah stated bluntly, her eyes wide and blank. "He's known as the Operator in some cases…" I bit my bottom lip, looking between the three.

"B…b-but it's been there since I was little…!"

"That can only mean one thing, then." I turned to see Duncan leaning against the tree just behind us, his face dark. "He must've appeared somewhere in those five years of you having terrible memory, because you're marked."

"Marked." I repeated, my voice high pitched with fear now. "…What does that mean…?"

Marcus, Sarah, and Marissa exchanged glances, before finally Marcus spoke.

"That means…you're a target."

"But we already know this!"

"No. All we knew before is that he's been following you, and watching you." Marcus stated. "You…you have his mark. That means that he's going to kill you. There's no running, or hiding or anything." I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep from shaking. Duncan stepped forward, looking somber.

"It's your death sentence."

AN: Just gotta love it when you get so pissed off you punch someone, right? X3

Plus...DUN DUN DUUN. THE PLOT THICKENS..

Don't forget to R&R~!