CHAPTER ONE
The Arrival
Nick sat there in his apartment, leaving the PS4 on by accident while he was on the phone. He was up late at night, playing Slender: The Arrival. On the other end, his girlfriend Natalie was scolding him for staying up at this hour. Somehow it was as if she knew he would be staying up past 1 A.M., maybe she was psychic.
"We still got finals to study for!"
"The last of mine ended yesterday. I'm just killing time until we have to move out."
"That doesn't mean you stay up all night."
"But you're up this late as well, you hypocrite."
"That's because I still need to study!"
"See? We both have our reasons."
"Except mine's good, and yours is bad."
"What's wrong with relaxing after a stressful time?"
Their squabbling and lack of sleep was making Nick's pulse rise a little, which unintentionally caused a few minute sparks of the New Game Plus energy to emit from him. It wasn't noticeable, as they fell onto Nick's controller, causing a reaction that would mean nothing but trouble.
Slender Man was walking through the woods, still not knowing how to fix the situation. The quietness of the area wasn't helping as much as he had hoped. He wondered just how the Skin-Taker got so lucky with his own television program, and while asking him for help could possibly do good, the skeleton would more likely brush Slender Man away for making a mockery of himself.
That was when something caught his eye— figuratively of course— just past a few trees in the distance. An intruder? A newcomer that wouldn't last a day? Slender Man drifted towards the bright, blue light, and soon saw that it appeared to be a rift, a tear in the reality. As he poked one of his limbs inside of it, Slender Man saw that there was no harm done to him, indicating that this void was safe. Just on the other side of it, he could see a young man as well.
A regular, young man, an outside source that had somehow come into contact with them. Was it possible to touch him? Reaching his tendrils further, Slender Man slowly wrapped around Nick's ankles, able to feel that his legs were indeed solid. Nick snapped out of his phone call, looking down at the floor.
Feeling something, Nick looked down, and in shock, followed the black line towards the tv, where Slender was looking right at him. "Uh, Natalie, you're not going to believe this, but Slender Man is leaking out of my tv."
"Seriously, that's the best you could come up with….Nick…..Nick?"
Nick dropped his phone, trying to make a break for the door. Slender Man saw this and made his tendrils taunt, making Nick trip. Falling, he was able to grab the doorknob and open it, but his grip was losing fast. He knew he couldn't call for help as it others could get dragged into this. Thinking fast, he grabbed a book near him and tossed it between the door and the door frame, propping it open so Natalie and the others could get in. Letting go, he was dragged into the tv, where Slender Man was looking ominously. "BRING IT ON!"
"Wait, what, Nick? What did you say? Nick, answer, come on!" Not liking the silence, despite the call still connecting, Natalie prepared to go to Nick's room, where she hoped there was a simple answer.
In the middle of the forest, Slender Man was amused. This human was not giving in to his fear, and was struggling to break free. He was looking forward to breaking him, but not until he got the answers he seeked. "How are you - ?"
BOOM!
Slender Man was knocked back by a rocket to the face. His grip weakened, allowing Nick to squirm out. Nick got up to continue his attack, only to see his RPG destabilize and disappear from his hand. Looking up, he realized that the blast only stunned Slender Man, barely any damage was done. "Oh, crap." Was all he could say as Slender Man ensnared him again. "Your power will be most useful. Yes, Polybius will be most pleased." Nick's glared intensified at the mention of that name. He hoped that Natalie would figure things out quickly, or he was most likely done for.
Natalie grumbled on the way to Nick's room. Her lack of sleep was bad enough, but now Nick is in trouble. Or something. She didn't know, and that was what was bugging her. Reaching the room, she paused to see that book holding it open. And in a sloppy manner. She knew that Nick was carefree, but not downright lazy. Looking around, she saw Nick's cell on his bed, still in call mode. Not liking it, she around some more until she laid her eyes on the PS4. Looking upon it caused her "special" senses to go off. Picking up the controller, she got the PS4 out of rest mode and looked at the most recently played game. Seeing what was played and remembering what he said, Natalie started to fear for what was happening to Nick. Using the residual aura as a conduit, she focused her power, and formed a small portal. Locking on to fixed coordinates, Natalie stepped through to Lastation, hoping to find information on Nick's location.
However, the area of Lastation Natalie had arrived at was a bit different. Had this been here before? It must have, but she had never seen it until now. A small building, slightly run down, almost like an abandoned factory. A quick glance at the sign above, and Natalie some old, faded letters. The area clearly used to be an old memory card factory, as obvious from the few faded letters spelling it out, but they were now replaced with something new and shiny.
"PlayStation VR," Natalie muttered to herself. As she entered the building, she noticed that it must have been under reconstruction, since some new wallpaper was being added. Why they didn't just tear the whole thing down and replace it with something newer, Natalie didn't know.
Come to think of it, the wallpaper was a little ugly. Did someone not realize it was so bad looking? Or was it on purpose?
"Hi there!"
Natalie's thoughts were interrupted, startled by a women standing in front of her. She appeared to be around her age, just a few years older. She was quite tall, having dark, messy hair that had a hint of blue coloring in it. She wore a dark tank top, rather small shorts, and had sandals on, as well as a vest. The most notable feature was definitely her tanned skin, rather chubby look, and…
To put it bluntly, rather large chest that was probably making her shirt scream from being stretched out, because it looked way too small on her. What stood out besides that, were her clouded eyes. That combined with the white cane she was holding pretty much told Natalie that this woman was blind. A light poke against Natalie's legs told this woman that her visitor was a human.
"Do you own this building?" Natalie asked.
"I'm in charge of helping for Noire, so yeah!"
That explained the hideous wallpaper and the shady exterior then. "Helping Noire? With the VR stuff?"
"I'm Oculass, the VR expert! Noire's Playstation VR is technically my business rival, as well as inspiration, but I like to help her anyway because she's still a bit unfamiliar!" Holding her hand out, the woman smiled. "I don't think we've met before, what's your name?"
There was a level of irony in the fact that a blind person was a VR specialist, but Natalie wouldn't comment on it. She shook the woman's hand politely. "I'm Natalie, I'm not from here—"
"Oh! You mean you're those gamers from outside? Noire and Uni told me all about it, that's so cool!"
"So that means you've seen Nick, right?" Natalie then caught herself. "I mean, bumped into him?"
"No, I don't think so. It's been quiet in here just about all day."
"It's nighttime actually."
"Huh!? Oh geez, I always forget to keep track!"
I guess that's what happens when no one is around to tell you when it's getting dark out. "Anyway," Natalie continued, "so he hasn't come to Lastation at all, or do you just not know?" Oculass pondered for a moment, crossing her arms, twisting around the cane between her fingers.
"I think if he did come here, Noire would have called me about it. I may not be able to see, but my hearing is absurdly good to make up for it!" Oculass declared. "I definitely would've heard a ringtone go off, and my phones are never on silence. But yeah, she wanted me to meet him, so I don't think he stopped by here at all. Why do you ask?"
"He just kind of vanished, after he said," Natalie then sighed, realizing how stupid this sounded. "Slender Man was leaking out of his TV." For some reason, the name made Oculass' clouded eyes sparkle.
"Like, the monster?"
"He's known here?"
"Of course! The Arrival used to have Oculus support! But it was, um, for older things. It doesn't work on the latest Oculus stuff." She explained. "But we've never met him, television and movie things are not a part of Gamindustri, the same applies to internet horror things. I don't think Slender Man could uh, pull him into Gamindustri. If anything, I imagine he would get pulled somewhere else."
"Somewhere else?" That only worried Natalie even more. If Nick had accidentally unleashed a pulse of New Game Plus energy onto a game that didn't connect to Gamindustri, it would take him elsewhere? To a place where a frightening monster such as Slender Man existed? No way in hell did that sound good.
"Maybe he went to a place where not only Slender Man is, but other scary internet legends!" Oculass said, almost in a cheerful way, confusing Natalie further. "Wait, I mean, that would be bad, yeah. Um, you better get to your friends and tell them what may or may not have happened." Turning around, Natalie quickly planned to make her exit out of Gamindustri, but at the last second, Oculass began to follow her footsteps by sound. "Wait, actually, take me with you!"
As much as Natalie wanted to tell her not to, it was probably for the better to have a Gamindustri resident around to help her, and explain this better to Michael and Caela. It was late, but there wasn't much time that Natalie could waste, for Nick's life could be at stake!
—
Slender Man had suffocated Nick to make him go unconscious for a while. Not hard enough to cause any damage to his brain, thankfully, he just needed the young man to rest for a while. At least until Slender Man brought Nick back to Polybius. "This young man, he was able to open a rift outside, and I could pull him into our world. He appears to have a power, not present in regular, mortal men." Slender Man explained. "While I am not completely certain, I have a feeling that he could be the solution to our problems if we question him and look into this."
"Question him?" Polybius wondered. That would be an easy enough task. Some methods against his sanity would surely get this man to speak. "Give me a moment to summon the others forth, they will most definitely help him talk. In the meantime, awaken him." Using little signals from his hands, Polybius was able to contact the rest of the creatures from afar. Slender Man wasn't sure how he could wake Nick, as he remained unconscious and bound by the tendrils.
Thankfully, Nick's consciousness was returning naturally, feeling his feet not able to touch the ground first, which confused him. He couldn't move his arms or legs, and as his vision became less blurry, several shapes could be seen approaching him. As Nick began to wake up thanks to a few nudges against his head, he remembered what had happened earlier.
What he saw before him, were several creatures.
A statue that resembled an uncanny version of Link, a humanoid monster on his fours with long claws, a tall woman with a hat and dress, a girl with no lower half and arms that resembled chicken legs, a skeleton with a cape and hat made of a leathery substance, a zombie trying to pry itself out of the ground, and many more.
"The hell!?" Nick shouted, attempting to struggle, but soon realizing that it was pointless. Summoning a weapon or changing form wasn't possible… but could making himself intangible work? His intangible form was his human form, but it was only intangible in Gamindustri, apparently. He was helpless, and he knew it.
"Doesn't look like much of anything at all."
"You don't look like anything much as first glance either, Ben."
"Can it, Buryman."
"I say we grind his skin right here."
"Mortal man, I suggest you explain yourself. The powers you have, and your ability to tear a rift into this world, are ones that will not go ignored." Polybius explained. "Failure to elaborate, and you may be tortured until you are driven to insanity, turned into a monster by one of us." This was reaffirmed by the hungry look in the zombie's eyes, as well as the skeleton glaring with a certain intent.
"Hey! WA→it up!"
Nearly every monster there winced in pain from the loud chirping noise. Nick found the noise familiar, sounding akin to the screech of a glitching video game, which happened every time he decided to tilt the cartridges on Michael's games while he was playing them. Even Slender Man, out of pure reflex, ended up dropping Nick by accident from the obnoxious chirp.
Running towards the group was a character, a bit similar to the Link statue, but much more mobile. He wore a lavender tunic, a red hat, had purple hair, but pale skin and orange eyes. It was like when a character sprite changed colors upon corruption, but in living form.
"Sen! You made Slender drop him!" Polybius shouted.
"What are you things!?" Nick demanded to know, running towards a corner. If only he could escape right now, but it seemed the power wasn't on his side. "Answer me! Or… I'll blow you all to the next realm!"
"A normal man like you would do no such thing—"
"Hold it, Rake," Slender Man interrupted. "He has shown himself to be capable of violent defense methods, not a helpless victim. It is best we play by these demands if we wish to get what we want."
"Us!? Play by the demand of a human!?" The Rake hissed.
"Wait, Rake? Like from that weird game on Steam that Caela was playing?" Nick asked, noting the appearance of the clawed creature. "Come to think of it, we have that, and Slender Man, a statue from the Legend of Zelda, a weird recolor of Link… Is this a world of gaming horrors!?"
"You're a bit off. Horrors birthed online, not just video games." Polybius answered.
"Like… a creepypasta?" Nick shuddered, now remembering all the weird stories he would sometimes read in his off time. He wasn't as into it as the others were, but he was definitely familiarized with some of it, particularly the time when he switched to SyFy, and caught a view of Channel Zero's take of Candle Cove.
"You are in a world where horrors are created, and strive off of fear to survive. Somehow, you have entered this world. Care to explain how this was possible?"
"Well, 'entered' is such a strong and misleading word. 'Kidnapped' is a more accurate term I would use….."
"Enough!"
Sen ran and pushed Nick to the wall. "A→nswer us or know true suffering!" Nick grabbed at his arm, trying to pry it loose. While doing so, he felt a familiar reaction from the contact. Realizing that it was NGP Energy, he concentrated on his arms, changing them to Cole McGrath's. He then proceeded to unleash a shockwave, causing Sen to fly and crash into his fellow freaks, getting them all tangled. Making a break for it, he was almost at the door when he fell flat on his face.
"Stupid tendrils." He didn't even have to to turn to see Slender Man's tendril reaching out from the pile of horror, latching on with pinpoint accuracy. Using the tendrils and his limber form, Slender slithered out of the pile and life Nick upside-down. "I grow weary of your tricks. You will speak now, or - "
"Woah, woah, woah! Take it easy, especially since this is all pointless, in a sense."
"Your nonsense will not save you."
"It's not, seeing how this is mainly an Internet world, with its own rules of physics, then the New Game Plus is effectively useless to you."
"The New Game Plus?!"
"...I do not like the sense of familiarity that was in that shout."
"You know of it, Polybius?"
"Yes. How long has it been since I last heard of Gamindustri…."
"Weeeeeeellll, I've obviously overstayed my welcome. If you'll let me go, I just get out of your hair and never bother you again…."
"No, you are staying, and are going to tell us everything that has transpired in my old home. For if a way for fleshlings to enter our world has appeared, then the time for my return has come."
"Me and my big mouth."
It was too early in the morning for it, but Natalie was going to try to call her friends anyway, just to meet up and tell them what had happened. Of course, first she had to guide Oculass out of Nick's room, seeing that her white cane might bump into some of Nick's PlayStation consoles. Once they left, Natalie called Michael first, just to get it out of the way.
A few seconds passed, Natalie knew it was probably the slow start-up of having to wake at such an early time. He finally picked up, and Natalie could hear his groggy voice on the other end. "Nat, why are you calling me at this hour?" Michael asked.
"Michael, I know this is going to sound crazy, and you probably want to go straight back to bed, but this is actually a big problem. Nick hung up on me, and he got dragged into another realm because of the New Game Plus!"
"What? You mean Gamindustri?"
"I already looked there! He's nowhere in Lastation, and the woman I met is suggesting that because of the last game he played, it took him somewhere else that's really dangerous." She didn't dare mention Slender Man, otherwise Michael would probably brush this off as a nightmare that Natalie had. "We know where he might be, and I know we have our finals, but—"
"I get it, I get it. I've already seen the crazy stuff that happened in Gamindustri last time, I believe whatever it is. Just gimme a few, alright? I need a pick-me-up." Michael said, the sound of his creaking bed on his end. "You're calling Caela too, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"She's not gonna pick up."
"Why not!?"
"She wanted to stay up late to team-up with Angelica at the arcade, they're trying to get a high score, or something. But I dunno, she should have been done by now. She told me to not worry because she would be in bed by 3 A.M." Worried, Natalie promised to get back in touch with Michael, and ran off to the arcade, Oculass tailing behind carefully.
Being in a public area with someone like Oculass, who was solid for the time being… well, Natalie didn't have the time to try to dress her in something a bit more modest, and hopefully it was too dark out for anyone to get a close look at her. No one needed to have the fashion police arriving at this hour in the morning.
—
Angelica was a friend of the group of four, a buddy that had been around since childhood, and preferred arcade games the most. Usually she would be hanging out there, and had a love for either fighting games, 8-bit classics, racing, and shooting games. Natalie had great memories of playing House of the Dead with her.
The fact that Caela had been staying up late to play with her was really reckless, it was like both her and Nick didn't have a proper sleep schedule at all. Although, once Natalie arrived at the arcade, she could see the real reason as to why Caela didn't come back home sooner, since it was 3:15 now. It wasn't that she was being held up by Angelica, rather, someone else was on her way out.
Standing there, blocking Caela's path, was a man. He appeared to be around Oculass's age most likely, had rather pale skin with brown hair and brown eyes. Glasses covered his eyes, and his shirt looked… a little sweaty, which was rather gross. Sweat was already rolling down his face, and for whatever reason, it was rubbing Natalie the wrong way. She and Oculass had to stop it, before it went on any longer.
"Caela!" Natalie called out, urging her friend to pull herself away from the man.
"Sorry, I gotta go!" Caela said to the man, her discomfort turning into relief once she saw Natalie. "Thanks for showing up. Once Angelica left, I kind of got cornered and—" Caela's eyes then laid upon Oculass, and the closer inspection made her do a double-take. "Uh, who is this?" She asked.
"Hi! I'm Oculass, main force behind VR!" Caela was unsure what to make of her, especially with the vibe she was getting from her. "She's from Gamindustri." Caela turned in surprise. "And I think we're going to need her help in finding Nick."
"What happened to Nick?"
"He was dragged off."
"To Gamindustri?"
"No, to another world."
"There are more worlds?"
"Yes, and this one is bad news."
"Why?"
"Because the one who took him was Slender Man."
Caela turned to Oculass. "What?"
"He was taken by Slendy, and now he's in the world of Internet Horrors!"
"Are you serious?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but when I went to his room, there was residual NGP Energy on his PS4, and the most recent game that was played was Slender: The Arrival. And last I spoke with him, he said that Slender was coming out of the tv."
"Sounds like the late night just got to him."
"There were signs of a struggle. And his cell phone was left in the middle of a call, abandoned. I know how crazy this is, but this is the only lead we've got."
"...Michael is not going to believe this."
The three of them went back to the dorm, planning to meet up with Michael and try to reenact what happened in order to find their friend.
"Ah, so that is what has happened. They have been busy since I have left." Nick was just getting done explaining all of the major events that have happened in the gaming world. "But what is the New Game Plus?" Polybius turned to Skin-Taker. "A powerful relic that has the power to change the world of Gamindustri as the user wishes. A relic, whose power is now a part of this man." Polybius pointed to Nick, who was wondering if this realization increased his odds of survival or not. "We will see how the energy bonds with him, even if we have to dissect him." Nick put said odds at an all-time low. "But what purpose will that serve?"
"It is simple, Buryman. By unlocking the very key to that world, we will be able to invade and take it over. And use the destruction and newly acquired power from that world to spread our horror, using the gaming industry's very influence to make our presence in the outside world known tenfold! We will bring a new age of horror, and rid ourselves of potential enemies in one fell swoop!" And tremendous unison of roars and ear-scratching sounds lit up the room, threatening to make Nick's ears bleed. "And do not think that I did not notice that your powers are weakened here. Without the proper atmosphere, your gaming powers are meaningless." Outnumbered, outmatched, and his secret was out? Nick could do nothing but wish for a miracle.
"You," Michael rubbed his eyes, being dragged to Nick's apartment once Caela had been found. His tired brain, after taking in a bit of caffeine, was trying to process what Natalie and Oculass had just explained to him. "What?"
"Look, we just have to try it, even if it seems absolutely ridiculous." Natalie said, turning on the last game that Nick had played. Michael was too tired to object, but in a few moments he would be waking up more no doubt. A rift began to open from the little sparks of New Game Plus from Natalie's hands, revealing a dense forest.
"Uh, Natalie? I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but that place looks… kind of chilly?"
"What do you mean?"
Caela then averted her gaze to Oculass, and Natalie understood what she was getting at. "Right. Good idea, I nearly forgot about that." Digging through Nick's closet really quick, Natalie tossed the largest coat she could find, one that would actually fit Oculass. "Put this on."
"Huh? Why? This feels too heavy and warm!"
"For one thing, you'll be vulnerable to a bunch of monsters that will want to impale you. The other thing is, you might freeze in there if the temperature is low." Natalie explained, not willing to point out that Oculass' fashion sense wasn't exactly good.
"Aw, I'm so used to it being stuffy in the VR quarters," Oculass sighed, sliding the coat on. With that, the four of them began to enter the realm, uncertain of what horrors could really lie ahead. Hopefully they would find Nick, and fast, before something terrible happened.
The woods were full of dead trees, fog surrounding the area. It was like a chilly autumn, making Natalie glad that she dressed Oculass in better clothes. The cold air was enough to wake Michael up a little more, as he was now in awe at everything around him. "No way," he muttered to himself, unnerving for the snapping twigs under everyone's footsteps.
As one would expect, there was a sound of footsteps that didn't match up with theirs. It sounded faster than the rest, and while they didn't notice it at first, Oculass did. She halted, startling Michael who was behind her. "Someone is here," she muttered, "someone is wandering around here, watching us right now." Oculass turned her head to the source of the noise, and when the others did the same, they caught a peculiar sight.
A woman with only an upper half. Chicken legs were attached to her shoulders, and she ran around almost like an ostrich. The fog made it hard to see her face, but one could easily spot those unnatural legs and uncovered torso. "What is that thing?" Natalie wondered. "Should we go after her?"
"No," Michael answered.
"Yes!" Caela retorted.
"I'm getting mixed answers here," Natalie sighed. "If that thing there is harmful, we'll have to try to fight back. That creature better have an answer!" Tailing after it, the group of gamers plus the blind woman began their pursuit. The monster was aware of the presence of humans though, as it turned its head back slightly, before picking up speed. The fog began to fade away, but the trees became thicker, not as dead as the ones in the woods which belonged to Slender Man, and these trees blocked the creature's way.
Eventually, after nearly tripping into a ditch, the monster looked back all the way, and Natalie was mortified by her face. Large, bulging eyes that didn't blink, nose pushed upwards to show her nostrils, her naked disembodied torso, and her wide smile… it was shaped like a "V", stretching from ear to ear, almost resembling a bird, if a bird could smile. Black, disheveled hair that was standing up.
Natalie couldn't help but scream as the monster, rather than continue running, came up to her face with its mouth slowly opening. Michael panicked, but was unable to summon any items due to the power of New Game Plus being weakened. Oculass though, merely tapped the monster with her white cane. Distracted by the action, Oculass took the chance to feel the female monster.
"Ah," Oculass started, "no lower half, chicken limbs, must be Momo!" The monster, named Momo, did not attack in spite of her terrifying appearance. "She's actually harmless, so long as one doesn't fall for her tricky mind games over the phone."
"Harmless!?" Caela exclaimed.
"She's an Ubume." Oculass continued, gently patting Momo's head, which confused everyone. "A Japanese yokai, which resembles a combination of a woman and a crone. The story goes that an Ubume is a woman that had died while giving birth to a child, all they mostly do is pull pranks, by tricking people into holding a baby, which is actually a large stone."
"Oh," Caela responded, a hint of sadness in her voice over the story.
"Ubume aren't meant to be feared in spite of their appearance, some come to bring offerings to statues of Ubume in order to have a successful delivery!" Oculass carefully prodded Momo's talons with her cane, taking note of an object being clutched in between. Snatching it up while the Ubume was distracted, Oculass held up Momo's smartphone. "This one, is only threatening with influence, so the stories go!"
Passing the phone over to Natalie, Momo squawked like a bird, surprised to have been tricked so easily. "Thanks, but what am I going to do with her phone?" Natalie asked.
"I dunno, maybe she texts other monsters?" Oculass suggested.
"That's probably one of the dumbest things I've heard." Michael replied.
"In that case, it's worth a shot." As Momo attempted to get the phone back, Oculass tried to hold her back without any fear in the world. However, being that she did appear out of shape, Caela brought it upon herself to help, even if Momo's appearance was still freaky to her. "Well, what do you know, Oculass was right." Natalie said, scrolling through various messages. "I guess she's a rather social bird… thing."
Indeed, there were various messages sent between parties, one of which in particular caught Natalie's eye. One look at the name displayed made her mouth hang wide open.
Polybius?
The arcade myth? Out of pure curiosity, Natalie found herself checking Momo's messages with Polybius, and coincidentally, found the answer she was looking for.
Did you find anything where Slender found that young man?
More humans!
What do you mean more humans?
More humans from the sparkly portal
Please bring them to me, if possible. They're probably looking for their friend.
"So, Nick is with Polybius." Natalie announced, although Michael was a little distracted at the moment. Momo eventually gave up, leaving the phone behind and not wanting to push these humans any further if they were angry. She trotted away, and Natalie, with the phone in her hands, felt uneasy.
She should find out where Polybius was hiding. Quickly entering past navigational feeds seemed to suggest that Momo's sense of direction wasn't perfect, so she often needed a guide on how to get to Polybius. Surely that would work, and it did, as Natalie activated the GPS. "Alright then, let's find Polybius and save Nick!" Natalie declared.
"Yeah, okay, but before that," Michael started, still peering down the ditch. "We should get out of here, as soon as possible."
"Why is that?" Natalie and Caela then looked down the deep ditch next, and they were absolutely mortified, more at this than they were at Momo. Oculass covered her nose, able to smell something dead, as well as charred.
In the fifteen-foot ditch, were sixteen bodies, which were burned skeletons. Not old enough to be adults, given their height and their bones, made them realize that the victims were unfortunately children. Normally the gruesome didn't bother any of them, but the fact that these were innocent kids was absolutely disgusting. Who could do such a thing?
Unfortunately, the answer was right behind them, in the form of a man inside of a bear suit.