Chapter 9: The killer

Slender Man is a thin, tall man with no distinguishable facial features who wears a black suit, and is said to stalk, and traumatize people. The character originated in a 2009 SomethingAwful Photoshop competition, and creepypastas were written shortly afterward. According to most stories, he targets children. The legend also caused a controversy with the Slender Man stabbing in 2014.

I read the words that were displayed before my eyes on the screen of my laptop. I was searching the Wikipedia to find more Slenderman.

Yes, I know that goggling about him was bad, last time was an example. But then… I just couldn't get this curiosity out of my mind. I kept seeing sight of him! And don't get me wrong, I sometimes told myself that I might be paranoid. But after multiple encounters, I didn't know if it was my imagination or if it was really him anymore. So now, I fucking had to go search on the Internet about this. Even I had to question why I kept feeling afraid about a person I didn't even believe in!

I suddenly let out a yawn. Looking at the clock while rubbing my eyes, I realized that it was almost 11 PM. Damn, did I stay up that late? I better slept or else I would fall asleep in the middle of class. Trust me, some people found it comfortable to sleep in class, but to me, it was one of the most embarrassing things in the world.

I turned off my laptop and pulled the blanket over my body. Overwhelmed by sleepiness, I soon felt my eyelids getting heavy and my eyes closed. I found myself fell very tired pretty fast as I rarely stayed up this late unless I was studying for exams.

As I snuggled into the warmth of the blanket, something sent shiver down my spine. Telling myself that I was just being paranoid again, I chose not to be bothered by it. But then I heard footsteps, and they were getting louder and louder toward my bed. They were quiet, but sounded scary at the same time. Oh God, was that a thief? If they snuck in just to steal my stuff, I better pretended that I was asleep so that they wouldn't hurt me. Then, when they were out of my room, I'd try to call for the police.

I expected the footsteps to pass by my bed, but no, they stopped right by the edge of my bed. Despite my fear, I tried to stay still. Maybe… they were checking if I was really asleep. I secretly hoped so.

A low voice then whispered. "Go to sleep."

My eyes shot opened to see a sharp knife right above me. The intruder then aimed it downward to my chest. I didn't have time to scream for help or even react.

Expecting my death to come, I was surprised that the knife didn't dug into my flesh but was sent flying toward the wall and dug into it instead. Sitting up, my eyes doubled in size when I saw Slenderman standing right in front of me and the intruder was sitting at the wall far away from me. He was probably pushed away by Slenderman. I looked at him. He looked… young, and had pale skin, long black hair, black eyes and was in a white hoodie with black jeans and black sneakers. But the scariest features on him were his burned eyelids and a smile that was cut deep into his cheeks.

Getting up, the young boy chuckled. "Well well, look at who we have here… It's the Slenderman himself."

"I can't believe it's you again, Jeff." Slenderman said.

"I didn't expect you to be here either. Honestly, I lost count of how many times we encounter." Jeff pulled his knife out and moved his finger along the blade. "Oh… I think I know the reason why you came here… Isn't it about the little girl who is sitting on the bed behind you?"

I saw Slenderman fisted his hand. "It's none of your business."

"Is that so…?" Jeff chuckled again. "Whatever you say, Slender. But I'm just telling you that I have no mood to fight with you today." He started walking toward us, and Slenderman took an inch backward. "Except… this!"

With that just being said, he dashed forward at the speed of the light and stabbed Slenderman's chest with his knife. Slenderman's knees fell to the ground and I panicked.

"Slenderman!" I shouted as I got out of my bed to be by his side. He was gripping his chest tightly with his hand.

"Ah… that felt good, real good." Jeff said, he seemed to be very satisfied. Crimson blood was dripping from the blade of his knife and onto the floor beneath us.

"You… fucking… bastard…" Slenderman groaned.

"Welp, gotta go now. Buh-bye!" Without any more word, Jeff jumped out of the windows.

Where he went, no one knew. But I didn't even bother about that, because now beside me was a Slenderman who was bleeding quite badly just to save me. I looked at his wound and got very worried. It looked bad.

"God, are you alright?! Do you need me to do something?!"

"L… let me just… do this…"

I didn't quite understand what he was saying, but then I did afterward. Once again, my eyes doubled in size as I saw his wound getting smaller and smaller. It soon disappeared right before my eyes without any treatment. I stared in awe.

"That's better." He sighed in relief. "That rat bastard… Oh, hey, are you alright there?"

Snapping out, I realized that he was looking at me, and I was suddenly stuttering. "I- uh, I'm f-fine. T- Thank you for s- saving me. But…" I looked at his wound again. "A- are you really okay now…? I mean, you h-healed pretty fast, but still…"

"I'm fine now, thanks for my healing power..." He said before getting up. "I'll be going now."

His body then started to fade away. But before he could disappear, I got up and wrapped my arms around his waist. I rested my head on his back, since he was way higher than me. Probably surprised by my action, he froze in place.

I didn't want him to leave, not at all. I didn't want him to continue leaving me in confusion. I wanted to know the reason why he was doing all of this. I needed an explanation for all of this.

"P… please…" I begged. "Stay…"

He stood still.