I would like to note that most of these characters mentioned are not mine (i.e. Slenderman, Ticci Toby, and the likes), even though later on I may add a few of my own.

Uploads of the chapters will be sporadic due to my schedule.

The category isn't exactly right - I couldn't figure out what category to put it in.

Please comment on the story. Thank you!

Bitte äußern Sie sich über die Geschichte. Danke!

Por favor, comentar la noticia. ¡Gracias!

Veuillez commenter l'histoire. Merci!

Clockwork

It was quiet in the woods. Not a peep, not a whisper. No birds sung, no crickets chirped, and only the wind rustled the leaves. It was as if not a single living thing resided in the shadowy forest.

Well, that's not quite true. There were at least two living things, arguably even a third. Hopefully a third, else the trek out to these parts would've been a waste of effort.

In a small clearing, tied to a bland metal, foldable chair, sat a young boy. A gag had been shoved into his mouth, and thick rope secured his arms, legs, and torso to his seat. Streaks down his cheeks bore evidence of tears, accompanied by a runny nose. On his upper right cheek was a blossoming bruise, and his arms had decently fresh cut marks, along some of which there were still small beads of blood. And yet, the boy made not a single noise; instead, he simply hung his head, whether from an overwhelming lack of hope, or unconsciousness that usually presented itself upon the occurrence of blunt-force trauma and blood loss.

Meanwhile, sitting in a stolen silver 2007 Honda Accord, bored out of her mind, was Clockwork. After sending the picture to the Doc, the girl had retreated to the car as planned to wait for Seedeater. Around her neck hung a special amulet Smiley had procured for her, and one which he had explicitly instructed her to wear while dealing with the bird/human hybrid. Made of a heavy, tarnished bronze metal and with a sinister yellow and orange eye painted in the middle, the amulet supposedly helped to safeguard the wearer against being attacked by monsters. Their hope was that it would placate Seedeater long enough for Clockwork to sell her pitch to him (no doubt the otherworlder child would help this). For while Seedeater could not permanently kill Clockwork, he could certainly injure her and throw a wrench in her and the doctor's plans.

Clockwork let out a huff, fiddling with the amulet as she tossed one of her knives up and down. It was already dark, yet the beast had yet to show up, and the properties of the amulet were making her fidget. For a moment, the girl wondered if that meant she was a monster - then decided she really didn't care. Instead, she pulled out her phone and began to play a game that involved a lot of shooting, death, and gore. The girl was so engrossed in her game that she didn't notice the disappearance of the boy, nor the dark figure stalking up to the car.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

With a soft yelp, the girl jerked away from the window, dropping her phone as she withdrew her knives, green eye flashing as she stared at the driver side. Before her was a hideous creature, all black except for its bony white mask...face...thing. It resembled the skull of a cow, but only one eye was open - if you would define an empty black socket as being "open". Surrounding the mask was a shaggy mane of black, matted hair. The creature peered at her curiously for a second, before slowly holding up a piece of bloodstained paper and pointing to it.

Here's a nice lil gift for ya, it read. Come to the silver Honda when you're done feasting. Got a lil thing to discuss with ya.

"Alright, alright, move away from the door and I'll come out," Clockwork told it, stowing her knives. The creature obediently backed up, giving her a sarcastic bow. Rolling her one eye, she popped open the door and stepped out, slamming it shut. Slowly raising her hands, the girl took two steps forward, then bowed low, never breaking eye contact. Normally she didn't give two rats about being respectful to other monsters, but Smiley specifically told her to do so in order to help bring him to their team. While not as ancient as Slenderman, Seedeater was still fairly old, and was known to be touchy about not receiving the respect he thought he deserved. "I come in peace," she told him, snickering on the inside. Clockwork had always wanted to say that.

Resisting the urge to add, "Take me to your leader!", the girl instead asked, "How was your treat? My partner and I figured you'd enjoy it, considering your hunting's rumored to be...running dry." The clock in her socket glinted in the moonlight. Seedeater sat on his haunches, staring right at her in silence. He, like Slendy, relied on others to communicate for him, though unlike Slendy it was more so to act as a mouthpiece than as a translator. In order to do so, he had to invade the target's mind and completely take over - something which the amulet around Clockwork's neck prevented. For a moment, she experienced a faint sensation of gratitude for the ugly piece of jewelry. No one got to control Clockwork. No one.

Even so, she could still understand the gist of the beast's intentions. "Well I'd hope it was delectable, that kid was special." She nodded to where the now-empty chair lay toppled over, rope slashed. "In fact, he is not only a demonstration of what we're capable of, but also hopefully something to convince you to join us." Her one green eye glittered with a sort of manic glee, betraying her otherwise calm demeanor. "You see, we've discovered a way to attain a corporeal form on the other side... Oh? Who's the 'we' I keep referring to? Well, mainly myself and Dr. Smiley, have you heard of him? No? Well don't tell him that, he might get upset. Anyway, for the most part it's just us two, but the Harvester loaned his Rake to the doc, so there's that."

A slow smile creeped itself onto her face, heavily exaggerated by the stitches on either cheek. "But yes, you heard right. We can go over there. We can cross the damned veil! Though, sadly, not for very long. It varies based on how weak your prey is, what time of the day, how strong you are, things like that. Smiley and I, we're working on a way to fix that, and then- Well, then we can stay over there for as long as we like, and feast on humans more plentiful than these bland, two-dimensional figments." Clockwork's entire face was consumed by a crazed expression, eyes sparkling fanatically. "So what do you say, Seedeater? Tick tock goes the clock, friend. You gonna jump on the bandwagon, or stay here, a fifth of your former glory?"

Seedeater reared up, eliciting a bloodcurdling screech. Her smile stretched; that was all the answer she needed. "Excellent," she whispered.