TJ's Perspective
We reached the forest quicker than I expected. We set down our bikes, "Who has the knife?"
"Who do you think?" Sophia asked pulling out not one, not two, but five different kitchen knives.
We began to walk through the woods, and didn't stop until we found a nice thick Oak to perform the ritual.
"Do you guys remember what we have to do?" Sophia asked.
I nodded, and James shook his head.
"We need to carve the Operator Symbol on a tree, and sing two verses from the Slenderman song," Sophia explained.
James nodded, seemingly relieved by how simple the ritual was.
But she continued speaking, saying something that would make cold, dread fill me.
In a soft voice, icy cold and merciless she whispered, "Also… We're going to need a blood sacrifice.
James turned pale and backed up five steps. I burst into action.
"Not me, DO IT TO JAMES NOT ME! AHHHHHHH!" I screeched, running away.
Sophia caught me by the hood and threw me to the ground.
"You will do perfectly," Sophia whispered in my ear dragging me away.
"James, start carving the Operator Symbol," She ordered.
He stared at her blankly.
She sighed and explained, "It's a circle with an X through it. Make it small, go!" She said.
She produced a small vial and yanked me to my feet.
"Hold out your hand," She ordered.
Me, not wanting to get my hand chopped off, violently shook my head.
She growled with annoyance, "Hold out your hand, TJ. Or I swear I'll chop it off. I didn't come here at three in the goddamn morning to play in the flowers," She said.
Whimpering slightly, I held out my palm. The knife flashed into view, and made a long cut in my hand. Quickly, she held the vial, and caught a good amount of my blood.
When that was done, she bandaged it and said, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
My response was a very manly, "OWIEOWIEOWIEOWIEOWIEOWIE!" As I clutched my hand to my chest.
"OK I'm done" James said, turning an interesting shade of pale green.
"Oh, no. No one leaves until the deed is done," Sophia said, sounding so ominous and so unlike herself.
Well, now no one could leave even if they wanted to. Knives have many different, fascinating uses, and I'm sure that Sophia, in her current state, wouldn't be hesitant to demonstrate for us.
We all turned to the tree which, surprisingly, had a decently carved circle with an X through it. She smiled, but it wasn't her normal, warm smile. It was cold, calculated, and psychopathic. Whatever was happening here, it was going badly wrong.
Well, whatever was going on, it was too late to back out now.
Sophia pulled out the vial, poured some on her finger, and painted the carved tree. Soon, the oak was glistening dark red.
"Gather around the tree," She ordered.
We did what she ordered, we were terrified to disagree. We did not know what she would do.
"Hold hands," She ordered.
Normally, we would've protested this embarrassing action, but none of us had a death wish. We all held hands, surrounding the tree.
We all knew without her saying what we had to do next.
I took a deep breath and began to sing, "Slenderman, Slenderman, All the Children Try To Run. Slenderman, Slenderman, To Him It's all Part of the Fun. Slenderman, Slenderman, Dressed in Darkest Suit and Tie. Slenderman, Slenderman, You Most Certainly Will Die," Our voices combined with the howl of the wind to create something haunting, and slightly unnatural.
Long after we ourselves stopped singing, our voices were still echoing around the forest. But the sound was modulated and distorted. It wasn't a sound any normal humans could make.
The voices abruptly cut off, and a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest. I watched, paralyzed with fear, as branch whipped around and caught Sophia right in the side of the head.
She collapsed to the forest floor, and the wind cut off. It was over as soon as it started.
Of course, we had bigger things to worry about than the weather. James and I both rushed to our fallen friend.
I shook her shoulders, "Hey, hey! Sophia! Wake up!" I shouted in her ear.
She stirred slightly, "TJ? James? What happened?" She asked, groggily sitting up.
We both sighed with relief, and James helped her stand up. Once she was on her feet, and had a better view of our surroundings, she frowned with confusion.
"What are we doing in the middle of the woods?" She asked.
James and I exchanged a worried look, "Uhhhhhhh…" I said, trailing off.
"Don't you remember?" James asked, with a look of shock.
She turned pale, "What did I do?" She asked.
There was a long silence.
Then I said, "You kinda got possessed by a demon."
