Chapter twenty-six! I'm sorry to tell you guys, but in about ten chapters or less, this story will be coming to an end. I hope I entertain you guys enough for you to stick around till the end. Enjoy, and please review! I own nothing but the Stranger and the other woman, who you will learn the name of next time.
What about my parents? I demand quietly, doing my best not to wake them up. The other woman kneels next to them, pressing two fingers to their pulses. She looks up at Stranger, and something passes between them, somehow, without a word.
They are drugged. The SCP already know you are here, and they have taken steps. Stranger picks me up, and I fight her. It doesn't do much.
I am not going anywhere unless you help my parents too, I say, crossing my arms.
Actually, you will. Stranger turns, and the other person lays a hand on her shoulder. Another silent conversation follows, and the other woman grips my parents' hands, then vanishes. My mouth drops open.
She Slenderwalked. For someone who knows so much about us, I would think that you would recognize it. Stranger starts moving, and once again I feel that if I got motion sickness easily this would not be a pleasant ride. The white hospital walls blur around me, and I catch sight of a few startled faces.
Stranger curses quietly, and I'm about to ask why when the ground rumbles beneath us. The sprinklers go off, the fire alarm rage, and a frail plume of fire comes up from the elevator shaft. Stranger jumps over a partition and runs for the stairs.
Are my parents okay? I screech, and her hand goes over my mouth again. Something presses against it, and when she pulls away I find that she's duct taped my mouth shut.
They're fine. She swears again as people rush past us. I didn't want to Slenderwalk with you, child, but I have no choice. Don't open your eyes until I tell you to.
I squeeze my eyes shut, and everything goes cold. Unlike going unconscious, it feels like everything is thrown into sharp relief. I feel every frozen breath of wind, hear every long wail and moan, sense that I was not meant to be here.
No real living thing is.
Keep your eyes closed, child.
I feel sick. I hear things. Feel the rush of blood in her heart, know that it should be drenching the ground. Blood is pretty. But I shouldn't think that. Or want to rip the mask from her and carve into her face, letting it spill. I feel sick.
She lets me down, and I run forward blindly, puking my guts out and tormented by the images in my brain. Something howls, I scream, and her arms wrap around me. One almost choking me out, the other restraining my arms and keeping me from moving.
The transformation is beginning. I apologize, child, but it seems the choice is no longer yours.
I open my eyes, choking on my saliva, before spitting it out. It's laced with blood, and shines against the dead black grass of the fifth dimension.
I grossly sob, fighting against her hard arms, wishing to die. Eventually, I slow, then stop, and she lets me turn and sob into the soft jersey of her hoodie.
After a while, I hear footsteps. Another person takes me into their arms. The other woman smells different. She feels different. Younger, definitely. Maybe less powerful than Stranger.
She walks with me, cradling me against her. The tears fall in a steady stream from my eyes, and I'm left dry sobbing when my eyes run dry. The last place I want to be is where I'm going. I wish I had called the police when I met you. I was just another one of those teenagers who couldn't see the truth.
I was wrong. They are monsters. Stranger is a monster. You're a monster.
I'm a monster.