Home

This is going to be the chapter where the feelings start so I'm going to make it pretty long, or at least try. I'm pretty sure my posts have been long enough but tell me if they are not. Slender is not mine ;)

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Home...for some reason it felt odd to say that word but that's all I thought as I walked down the road, with a slight limp, towards what that very place. Last night I had talked to a very distant Slender, he didn't make the usual 'Humans are pathetic' or 'You are so very stupid' comment so I just answered the one question he asked instead of prying, besides why would I care? He says he's going to kill me so...yeah. (Flashback to last night) "...In your journal it said that the one thing that kept you going sometimes was that you had a home to go back to...I thought that you had left that behind." "Just because I'm not in the house that I grew up in doesn't mean that it can't be a home, a home is somewhere where you go when your seeking refugee, solitude, or just somewhere to stay out of the weather." He didn't say a word but he just made a comment about humans not making sense then he left.

(Present) I knew he was watching me now but I didn't let my thoughts linger on that slightly disturbing fact, instead I let out a sigh of relief as I saw my shack, my home, come into view and I would've ran to it if not for my ankle. As I neared the front door I looked around and saw that a few dead were lingering behind my house so I crept to the door and opened it as quietly before slipping inside and locking it for the night, I was going to go take a bath but never mind, it's too dangerous with the dead around right now. I slung my book bag onto my bed and checked my generators fuel, it was a bit low but if I made a run into town tomorrow to get some more than it should be ok. I grabbed a water from the small fridge and laid down on my bed beside my haphazard stuff, I should feel lucky that I had life a bit better off than most, but at the same time my life...well...sucked ass. I mean, being haunted by the Slender man and almost getting a concussion withing the course of two weeks? And not to mention I almost broke my damned ankle because of that bastard. Actually now that I think about it I couldn't feel any of that creepy feeling shit whenever I knew he was watching me, he must've went to hunt or whatever. I looked outside and saw that there was still a few of the dead moaning and walking around so I grabbed my silenced pistol and my machete, a change of clothes, some shampoo, conditioner, and body wash I had taken from a store, and walked outside to take my bath.

I sliced the heads off of the walking corpses with moderate ease, only stumbling once when I had put a bit too much pressure on my ankle then I made my way down the creek. I was happy that it had a shallow and a deep part making it easy to wash clothes and take regular baths so I didn't smell like death 24/7. I looked around carefully before stripping down to my panties and sports bra before testing the water, I shivered as it was a bit cold but nothing I couldn't handle. I waded in a bit before taking off the rest of my clothes and I made my way over to the deeper end and placing my toiletries on a rock jutting out of the water while I wet my hair. I quickly ducked my head under the water and let it soak through my hair and wash off all the dirt and grime from my skin, cleansing the past few days from my body. I stayed under the water until it felt as if my lungs were about to burst and I had to come up for air, I gasped as I resurfaced and I rubbed the water from my eyes before laying back and enjoying the calm of the day.

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I pulled out my guitar as I sat on my bed and began to strum the cords softly, I knew that it was risky to make noise but I could never stand to be without music for long periods of time. I shifted through my head and searched for a song that would be soft to play, finally settling on Hazy by Rosi Golan. I began to strum the first few cords softly and sang quietly, "I watched you sleepin, quietly in my bed. You don't know this now but, there's some things that need to be said...it's all that I can hear...it's all that I can bear. What if I fall, and hurt myself? Would you know how to fix me? What if I went, and lost myself? Would you know how to find me? What if I forgot, who I am? Would you please remind me oh, cause without you things go hazy..." I let out a breath as I sang, sure I wasn't the best singer but who cares? No one could hear me. I went on to sing the rest of the song for what felt like an eternity before I let the final chord go and it echoed a bit around the room, making my spirits lift a bit. Music always seemed to give me a bit of a lift when I needed it, especially when I felt alone, which was odd considering Slender usually made himself known just before 9:00 a.m. So that he could set about to make my day harder on me, but I didn't feel his presence at all. "Hmm, that's a bit odd.."

I shrugged it off and shook my head as I got ready to go into town to get some gas today, and possibly grab a few other things while I was there. As I walked towards Winterport I noticed that it had been awfully quiet, and it looked as if most of the kills on the road were fresh...and brutal. Whoever killed these dead must have been enraged or crazy, they were unnecessarily pummeled into nothing and the smell permeating off of them was awful and made my nose crinkle. I ignored them all the way there and only stopped every now and then to take down a straggler with my machete, no use in drawing more of them with gunfire, I didn't need the trouble. I sighed as I saw the town sign and I rounded the corner to come face to face with the small town I had visited many times before, but what I saw was far from what I ever expected. Pointed pike like sticks were put up around some barricades and there was writing on the church with red spray paint reading 'He does nothing as we die, why should we repent?' and there were a few bodies of what looked like actual people that used to be alive and were taken out by someone not the dead. I sniffed and narrowed my eyes as I looked around for any sign of trouble, making my way to the small gas station near the center of town. I was glad to see that it wasn't sucked dry so I began to pump some into my container quickly, all the while I looked around to make sure I wasn't being snuck up on. After that I decided that I needed some writing supplies so I put my gasoline by the front of the town and quietly crept towards a small office and art supplies store, sighing in relief as I made it over without any trouble. I wasn't surprised to see most of the inventory still here seeing as not many people try to defend themselves in an apocalypse with paper and pencils. I grabbed a sketch pad and a lot of number 2 pencils along with a few new journals and erasers, can never have too many erasers for I make too many mistakes. I made sure I had everything in order when I went to leave, but what I didn't notice was a figure watching me from atop a large building as I walked away.

I puffed a bit as the gasoline container weighed me down a bit but I carried on, determined to have some power tonight. I was about 5 minutes from my home when I heard them...footsteps...except these weren't the same from when I was in the forest. They were heavier...and as I tried to ignore them and walk a bit faster they picked up in pace as well, making me panic. I tried to run but my ankle still couldn't handle all the weight and my foot gave out making me stumble and drop to one knee. I put the gasoline can down and panted lightly, still hearing the footsteps approaching me with every second passing by. I growled lowly and pulled my rifle from my back while turning around swiftly, but there was nothing, not even a shadow. "I know you're there so come out." I raised my voice so that whoever it was could hear me but no one came out, I walked forward cautiously, looking behind cars and slightly off road in the brush. After about 5 minutes of pointless calling out and searching I turned around and headed back to the gasoline...big mistake. I heard the footsteps a split second too late and as soon as I tried to turn around all I saw was the swing of a bat towards my head and my world went up in stars...

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I awoke feeling groggy and a bit disoriented, not knowing where I was or why, only knowing that my head was throbbing on account of that hit I took to it.

I lifted my head a bit as I faintly heard the sound of water dripping onto the floor and a bit trickled and hit my hand, confirming my assumption that I was on the floor.I tried to see and look around but it was too dark in the room and there wasn't even a crack to let in a sliver of light, further frustrating me and annoying me. But my real problem was finding out who had done this to me, they must've been the one to do all those things to the town then they followed me down the road and ambushed me...bastard. I paused in my wonderings as I heard the groaning of a metal door and I looked over to see it open and light poured in, momentarily blinding me and preventing me from seeing the figure standing there. "Why hello there miss traitor, how nice of you too join me." I blinked a few times at the familiar voice and as my vision cleared I glared at the man I had seen a few weeks ago on the road, looking at me with an insane looking grin on his face. "What the hell is this you freak? Some sort of sick joke?" He chuckled a bit and took a step forward, making sure to keep the door propped open so he could see, "Oh no my dear, this is what I call a bit of revenge and karma. Since you didn't care to help my girlfriend and I I decided that you should only know how that feels too." I thrashed a bit as he pulled out my machete and ran his finger along the blades sharp edge, slightly cutting his self but he didn't seem to mind at all as he neared me, propping the door open with a small bucket.

He ignored my stares and subtle warnings as he pressed the tip of the blade to my jaw line and ran it towards my chin, making me hiss in pain as it created a thing cut and warm blood ran down my throat. I went to move away but he pressed the blade more securely to my neck and grinned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, this blade is very heavy and very sharp. It might slip from my grasp at any moment..." I growled lowly and ignored him as he continued to press it against my throat and then backed away, watching me for a moment and putting the blade against the wall. "Don't worry I'm not going to kill you just yet, I want it to be memorable. He pulled back his hand and whipped it across my cheek, stunning me in surprise and making me spit out a bit of blood seeing as he split my lip. "Your just a sick crazy man who couldn't take the death of someone he loved..." His lip curled and his fist tightened so much that I thought that his bones would break through the skin and he got down to my eye level, practically spitting venom at me through clenched teeth. "I loved her more than the world, you don't understand! You took her from me, you did! And now I'm going to make you feel how I felt...still feel...like a cold empty shell...a husk." I winced a bit at his severity and prepared for another strike, but instead he surprised me by going over to some box on the wall, unlocking it, and flipping a few switches before closing the box again and walking over to the door. "I've been able to power this room enough to activate it's freezing mechanism, I'll be back to talk again in about half an hour.
I haven't set it cold enough to kill you but it won't be a comfortable ride." He chuckled darkly and grinned like the cheshire cat as he left the small light on and slammed the door shut, making a few chains that hung from the ceiling shake. I twisted and turned to try and get myself into an upright position but I was tied to a pipe on the wall nearest to the ground, I became frustrated as I felt the temperature drop and I wished that I could find some way to get my machete back...then I might be able to get out of here. My teeth chattered as the minutes ticked by and within about 10 minutes I could barely feel my face, I was surprised at how cold this got so quickly and it made me slightly afraid at how bad this situation had gotten in so little time. I just looked at the door and waited for the time to go by, trying to occupy my mind with strategies of how to get out of here or how I was going to kill that deranged fool for doing this to me. As me thoughts drifted towards the obviously insane man I thought about what he had said, how he felt like a cold empty shell...did it really feel like that to lose someone you truly loved more than life itself?

Sure I was devastated when my family had died but I knew that I had to keep myself alive for them, that it's what they would have wanted and expected of me. But to say that you were now a husk because someone had been taken away from you, I wouldn't know. No one had ever really loved me like that nor I them, I just didn't get along so well with guys mostly because they didn't want to respect my actions, but that's the past. My train of thought was broken as I looked up to see the door once again creek open, had it already been half an hour? I had lost track withing the first few minutes. " I see that you're still alive, good. Now what do you say we get this little show on the road hmmm? You can tell me where you live and you're going to bring me there, we will switch places. You being the lost and hungry survivor and me being the selfish and traitorous hunter, how does that sound?" I merely ignored him and turned my head, earning a harsh kick to the ribs that left me gasping for air and in pain. "We can do this my way or...well...my way is the only way so either way." I simply sat there without talking because I damned sure wasn't willing to give this guy the kind of satisfactory responses he wanted, whether it killed me or not I would take his anger to my grave. He gave an angry sounding growl and moved towards me with a gun in hand this time, pressing the barrel threateningly to my temple roughly. "You know what? I will not hesitate to pull this trigger and blow your pretty little brains all over this floor, know one would know and no one would care about a nobody like yourself. Why do you think I haven't been stopped so far?" "Because there's nobody left! I'm just someone trying to survive and your a physco maniac trying to kill me for something I didn't do!" "But you did! Don't you see the cause and effect that some actions have? Think about it." I just wanted this putrid man to get out of my face, his breath smelt rotten and every second he was near me I felt myself slipping into the insanity with him. He must've noticed that I wasn't paying attention for he smacked me in the face with the butt of his pistol, effectively bringing tears to my eyes, "It's time I taught you a lesson." He cut the rope that held me to the pipe but not the one that held my hands together...smart man. I had a bag place over my head and he practically drug me to another building, throwing me onto the floor carelessly and cutting all the binds from me this time. I quickly tried to pry the bag off my head as I heard him close a gate and open some other door.

Finally getting the bag off I looked around and saw him looking down at me from a type of observers box with a smirk, "I have a friend that I want you to have a little sparing practice with...just for some fun." I looked over to a dark entrance and waited for one of the dead to come lumbering through, but to my immense surprise instead of the dead another person walked out...a boy no older than 18. He was brandishing a bat and he had on an emotionless look, I decided to speak up, "Where the hell did you find him? Did you kidnap him like you did to me? And for what, to play some sick game of yours." "Ah but that's where your wrong dear Ella, see Tyler here just wants shelter and food as much as I do for his little sister and he's told me he'd do anything to get it." I felt my eyes widen with the realization and I dodged a blow to the head as Tyler ran at me with the bat, yelling in a type of rage. "Tyler stop! You don't have to kill me!" He swung again and again, a look of pure danger in his eyes, "I have to do this for my sister, it's the only way." I just kept dodging every unskilled swing, trying to tire him out so I could buy some time, but apparently our supervisor had other ideas as he slid the glass window to the side a bit and pointed out his gun, "Dammit hold still!" He fired off a shot that barely missed my thigh and I tried to get behind Tyler without much succes, I tried to move in time but I ground my teeth in pain as I felt a bullet pass through my shoulder painfully, some of the shrapnel exploding. "Ahh!' I fell against a wall and gripped my bleeding shoulder tightly, hissing at the pain and looking up at the deranged man as he pointed his gun at my head. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut waiting to hear the shot rin out but all of a sudden all the light disappeared from the room, "What the fu-" His words were cut off with a gurgle and I hear the disgusting tearing sound of flesh, something was going on and I had to get out of here. "Where are you you bitch! I'm going to find you!"

Tyler yelled like a crazed man and I could hear him moving closer by the second, but just when I thought that he was going to take a swing at me he cried out and gave a strangled scream before he went silent. I looked around blindly in the darkness, not sure where to go or where an exit was, so I felt blindly along the wall and started to search for an exit. Trying to move as quietly as possible for fear of what was in this room with me, but just as my hand grasped a door knob something roughly wrapped around me and lifted me off the floor, making me gasp in pain as it touched my shoulder wound a bit. "Get the fuck off of me!" I thrashed around wildly, trying to escape the grasp but it only loosened a bit instead of letting me down. Then I heard a voice that actually made me relax, one that I had become accustomed to. "Orella stop, it is I. Stop moving or you are going to harm yourself further." I stilled and for a moment all that was heard in the room was my labored breathing, but it slowed down enough to where I could actually speak, "Why are you here? I had thought you left." "I never left...I just needed some time to myself. Why can you not stay out of trouble young hunter?" I shrugged as best I could and winced a bit as the pain in my shoulder flared up, making me whimper slightly. "We need to leave this place, you need medical attention." "W-where are you going to take me? To the cabin?" There was a prolonged silence and I could have sworn I heard him let out a sigh before answering,"No, I am going to take you home."