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"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" CR bellowed in grief and agony, collapsing to his knees before the Slenderman. The Slenderman towered over him, above even the tallest of the trees standing within the forest that they were currently inside of. While CR began to sob, clutching his head and on the verge of insanity, the Slenderman only looked down at him, totally silent and motionless."What do you want from me?!" CR repeated a few seconds later, voice far softer, weaker and more frightened than before. What once had been a scream of raw anguish had become a whimpering cry of a frightened child. He was still on his knees before the godlike creature, unable to look up for fear of what might happen if he did. Slenderman, meanwhile, continued to stare impassively down at CR. However, he finally replied."I think the better question is, what do you want from me?" he said and CR retched, the horrible sound of Slenderman's voice unspeakably hellish. It was grating and silky all at once, soft and commanding, ethereal. It managed to somehow fill the entire forest around them, and be inside CR's head, right in the very foremost part of his being. It was coming from a place deeper inside than his brain, his heart, or even his soul. It was as though Slenderman was speaking from the core of his very essence, and there was nothing more violating than that."What do you mean?" he whimpered, shaking violently and clutching his ears in terror, knowing he would have to endure Slenderman's deathly hiss once again. For a second, though, the entire forest seemed to tremble gently. The earth shook and the air itself seemed to undulate. A static filled CR's body from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Suddenly, he realized, Slenderman was laughing at him. This monster was so powerful that his laughter rocked the entire forest! CR had never felt more insignificant or exposed in his whole life."What do I mean?" Slenderman repeated. Although his voice was a drone, CR could hear a note of pure amusement in his sickly coo as he mocked CR's question. "Oh, my dear, sweet, petty, little boy!" he continued cruelly. "Is it not obvious? Do you not know by now that I am not a mere bogeyman? Nor am I a devil? Nor a demon? No. I am an angel, a god!" for a brief second, the forest around them took on an otherworldly aura and CR began to wonder if Slenderman weren't telling the truth after all... But then...?"Then why are you here?" CR repeated meekly, still shaking hard as he stared at the ground, unable to look up and face Slenderman outright. "If you are a god, then what business do you have here with me?""Foolish, ignorant child," Slenderman said almost reproachfully. "How very little you understand of the world! Do you really think I am some sort of avenging angel? Or a devil come to take your soul? Or a demon here to punish you for some petty little sin you think you've committed? No. I have come for a very different reason. I have come to answer your prayer...""My prayer?" CR choked out."Surely you must know!" Slenderman scoffed again. "You did not come here because of me. I came here because of you." CR couldn't even comprehend this statement, let alone come up with a reply. Slenderman seemed to understand this, because he pressed on, not waiting for a reply."It was not I that brought us here together tonight. It was you. So now I must ask you, what do you want from me?"For a moment more, there was only silence. Then, when CR began to realize that nothing at all was going to change until he mustered up the strength and courage to reply, he managed to force something out."I want you to leave me alone," it was bold and powerful demand, but the tone with which CR spoke it was anything but. Instead of coming out as a demand, or even a request, it came out as a plea. His voice was soft and weak, a child whimpering for mercy, not a man making a request to his god. Slenderman uttered another harsh, horrible laugh that rocked the forest to its very core. CR clutched his head even harder, panting like a dog."Is that so, boy?" the monster demanded."Yes?" CR whimpered, only able to formulate questions, having no authority of his own to issue statements."I think not," Slenderman replied."What?" CR felt his stomach drop. Was Slenderman calling him a liar? Would he soon be punished for some perceived deceit upon his part against Slenderman? CR suddenly felt desperate to the point of insanity. He was willing to say, to do, anything he could to survive this encounter and to get Slenderman to understand that he was not at all trying to defy or stand against him. But how could he when Slenderman was in disbelief of his request? What was Slenderman expecting him to say? What did Slenderman want him to say? Because he would say it! Surely he would! Slenderman just had to give the word and CR was his!"I think not," Slenderman repeated slowly, but before CR could beg to know what this meant, Slenderman pressed on again. "If you really wished for me to leave you alone, I would have done so by now, so surely there must be something else that you want from me, even more than my departure from your life. For if my departure was all you wanted of me, then I would not be here right now. But seeing that I am, there must be something else lurking deep within you that calls out for something more. Tell me, CR, what is it? What is it you really want? Tell me. And then, perhaps, we may both understand why I am here tonight. Then, we can figure out a solution and we can both go home..."At the thought of being able to go home and leave this nightmare forest behind, CR dared to look up, just a little. He stopped when he was looking at what one would consider to be Slenderman's torso. It was impossibly thin and bony, covered only by a simple black suit. He wore a white shirt under that suit, but the white was mostly obscured by a large black tie hanging from his thin white throat. CR didn't dare look higher than the top of that tie. He knew that to look into the face of Slenderman was to look into the eyes of Death, and no one who ever looked into those ever looked away again. Trembling, but almost hopeful, he spoke up again."What is it? What do you mean? What else is that I could possibly want from you?" he pleaded frantically."I don't know," Slenderman replied calmly. "You tell me.""But I don't know!" CR gave a despairing wail, fearful that he may never leave this nightmare if he could not please Slenderman or answer his question. Panic set in as he wracked his brains, trying to think of what it was that Slenderman wanted to hear him say. He just wanted to go home!"Ah, but you do know!" Slenderman interrupted and CR ceased his panicking at once. It was impossible to speak over someone was powerful, ethereal and authoritative as Slenderman. If he was indeed some sort of god, if not The God, then no mere mortal could ever stand against him."You do know, CR, you do know, and if you will not confess it yourself, then I shall drag it up out of you for you to see, and then I shall shove it back down deep inside of you, where it will boil and fester for all of eternity!" the threat was so harsh and horrific that even though CR had no idea what this even meant, he began to panic again, sputtering apologies and begging for mercy, or a second chance, or whatever it was to please the Slenderman. Nothing worked. Instead, even though he insisted that he had no idea what Slenderman meant, or wanted, Slenderman only began to shake his head again. Then, he began to speak."Very well, CR," he said, with a sort of finality that made CR's blood run colder than ice. "If you won't do it, then I shall..." then, he began to speak. This faceless, mouthless creature spoke, while CR felt his own face freeze up at once. To his utter repulsion, one of Slenderman's long, bony white hands reached out and touched his chin. CR had never felt so violated before. The feeling of those cold, clammy fingers on his warm skin made him want to puke, or scream, or cry, or jump, or any combination of all of those things, but he was totally immobile, helpless as Slenderman slowly tilted his head up until they were face to face. CR's eyes became nightmarishly big and wide, then they went totally white. Those cursed fingers slithered under his chin and around his neck, immobilizing him even further. CR felt himself gag in horror and disgust, shuddering at the feeling, but all he could do was stare, stare into that empty and eternal abyss of a face, stare into the eyes of the Devil..."No, not of the Devil," Slenderman said, inside of CR's head now. "You are looking into the face of God!" then, as he said this, the view suddenly shifted, and CR was nowhere near Oakside Park. This was where the true torment of Hell began.CR saw visions of his life, reflected in Slenderman's face. Through his glazed and glassy vision, CR could see remnants of his past, flashes of his present, whispers of his future, and fragments of every dream, thought, feeling, fear or desire that he'd ever had in his whole entire life. As he sat there, on his hands and knees in the dirt, face fixated upon Slenderman's, he saw everything. He saw himself, being bullied as a child because he was so scrawny. He saw himself as a teenager, being harassed because he was far more interested in educational pursuits than sexual or physical ones. Then he saw himself, being rejected by the girls of his dreams. Maybe romance was not the fixture of his life, but it was still there, but none of his stories ever ended happily. Then he saw all those late and sleepless nights, the darkness of his own mind making the midnight sky look like daytime in comparison. He saw all those helpless, hopeless thoughts. He could see anguish, agony, guilt, grief, loneliness and anger.He could see humiliation and neglect. Parents who did not love him. Friends that he always wanted yet never had. He could see backstabbing and betrayal. He could see heartbreak and fighting. He saw a little boy staring up at the stars, longing for a better, cleaner world. He could see, now, his own present. He could see long black tentacles wrapping him up in an eternal tomb of death and despair. He could see flashes of Her face. Kate's face. He could see her anger, her distrust, her fear, her pain. He could see her, crying, screaming, begging for him to stop. But he didn't. He wouldn't. He couldn't. He could see Lauren's wary, disapproving, distrustful gaze, cutting him deeper than the bone. He could feel her chiding presence, no friend of his. He could feel Slenderman's presence, watching him. Around every corner and through every window, just beyond his line of sight and at the fringes of his waking life. Slenderman was there. He had always been there. And he always would.But this time, the visions morphed. He could see himself, strong and brave, free and powerful. He was standing atop the tallest tree in all of Oakside, Kate's hand intertwined with his own. Their faces were distorted, twisted beyond recognition into nightmarish masks of what they used to be. But it was still him, and it was still Kate, he could feel it radiating through his hallucinations. A long shadow stretched over them, but it was not a threatening one. It was a protective one, encasing and shielding him and his beloved Kate. It was Slenderman. As CR and Kate reigned over Oakside, hand in hand, as the king and queen of terror and blood, Slenderman was there, watching over them, giving them the life that they had always wanted. One where they were free, and together. A bloodred sun was rising over the park in a flaming sunrise. A new dawn. A new era."Do you see it now, CR?" Slenderman hissed. "The life you always wanted? The one you came to me, hoping for?" slowly, the vision faded, darkness creeping back in once more. "Do you see it now, CR? What you really called me here for? And I can obtain it! I can give it to you, if you like!" Slenderman's hissing became higher-pitched as he slowly released his hold around CR's neck, allowing the boy's head to droop away from his face again. The rippling hallucinations that had moved across his pure white visage ceased, and his face became seamless once more. As CR's head finally dropped away from Slenderman's, he began to shudder and retch again. As reality set back in, the sickly warmth that had come from those twisted visions let him feeling cold and hollow, like a dying tree within the park. He shook violently, gagging a little."Don't you see it, CR? Everything you could've ever wanted! And I can provide it!" Slenderman continued enticingly, his long black tentacles sliding out of his back, twisting through the trees and dirt and towards CR. Like the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, one of the larger tentacles rose up until it almost seemed like it was looking at CR."Well? CR?" Slenderman demanded softly, the one tentacle waggling in front of his eyes while the others twisted around his back, ready to scoop him up and pull him into his eternal resting place. CR was hypnotized, eyes still slightly glazed even though the hallucination was over."Remember, I am no Devil nor demon, but a god, your god, ready to deliver you into paradise. You need only to accept me into your heart, and I will provide..." for a moment more, there was only silence. Then..."Remember, CR, you have seen the Lord's angel in me. You have looked into the face of God. Now, get up and follow Him. Follow Me."CR, absentmindedly, looked up in response to this statement. What he saw horrified him, repulsed him, scarred him... broke him. It was something he could not quite fathom or comprehend, and it was certainly nothing he could ever put into mortal words. All he knew in that moment was that to look into the face of God when unprepared or uninvited was to surrender the last of your humanity. That one little accidental peek sent CR over the edge and what he saw in Slenderman's warped and twisted countenance, though it could not be stated by mere mortal words alone, was enough to shatter his very soul to the core. His own face contorted in sheer terror as he saw the Truth and he sprung up to his feet with a power he had not ever felt before. He turned tail and fled, faster and faster and faster. Through the endless rows and rows and rows of long black trees, all of which looked just like HIM, CR continued to run, to flee. Screaming and crying into the night did he run.Slenderman only watched him go. CR would not escape him. This forest literally had no boundary, no end. This was no real park of any sort, but a hallucination all wrapped up in CR's mind. CR's only way to escape would be if he could find the strength to wake up, but at the rate things were going, he was going to remain trapped inside of this nightmare for a very, very long time indeed. So Slenderman watched CR go, getting both further away and nowhere all at once. He could run, screaming into the darkness, and he would make no progress in this landscape. Not in the paradise that Slenderman, himself, had created.But, CR would find a way out eventually. He would wake up, eventually. Find himself back in his own bed where he had been this whole time. But this was fine with Slenderman. CR would find a way out, but he would still not escape, not after tonight, not after this little encounter. For this one little encounter had left a very deep mark upon CR's soul. One that only Slenderman could fill. Now, no matter where CR went, Slenderman would always be with him. In waking or in sleeping, in action or in rest, Slenderman would always be there with CR, for CR's little encounter with them had tied them both together forever, and there was no escape from that. Or rather, there was only one escape from that. The only way to escape a god was through death. But a god was immortal. That meant only one individual could hide behind death's veil. Upon that night, the veil was very hot and very bright, red and orange. This time, though, the flaming light did not end in a new dawn, but rather, a sunset.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Kate hid in the corner of her room, scrunched up in the tiny space between her desk and the wall. Sitting in a ball on the floor, clutching her head in her hands, she panted and cried, uttering a strange little prayer to a god who might not have even been there to listen, let alone answer, but in times like this, Kate was desperate enough to try. Panicking, and switching back and forth between prayer, apology, crying, begging and planning, Kate hyperventilated. The night was calm and quiet, the air was still and soft and warm, but all of this beautiful serenity was but a mere mask for the true terror that she knew would come to meet her tonight."He's coming. He's coming. He's coming!" she shrilled to herself, convulsing. Already, she could see Him in her mind: a tall, thin humanoid in a simple black suit, eight long tentacles protruding from his back like snakes. Faceless and near-omnipotent. She could see him, towering over even the roof of her mansion. She could hear him, voice whispering and seductive, but tinged with a horror to last across the eons. She could smell the musty, musky aura of death that followed his bony, ethereal specter everywhere he went. She could feel him, drawing ever closer to speak with her, and to bring his pale white face to look into hers. Then, she could taste his name on her tongue as he made his arrival."Slenderman!""I have been watching you, Kate," he greeted formally. His voice sent chills down Kate's spine and her hyperventilating doubled. Right before she could pass out, however, the air in her bedroom became painfully cold and she felt her heart beat and lungs forcibly slow down. The realization that he was causing this, that he was literally controlling her very bodily behaviors, would've sent her pulse skyrocketing again, had he not been forcefully making it slow back down to a more normal tempo."Now, now, Kate," he admonished cruelly. "Come. Listen to me!" and Kate was forced to obey."What do you want?" she pleaded weakly, wanting to gasp, but because of Slenderman's powers, her lungs were functioning steadily."To speak with you," he replied simply."But why?" Kate pleaded, sanity slipping the longer she could feel his presence. At the moment, she could not see him, but she knew full well he could be right there in her bedroom with her. He could warp reality itself, and cause hallucinations. Who was to say he wasn't right there with her, but cloaking himself with the visual hallucination that he wasn't? Kate would never know either way, and it was part of what was driving her mad! He was not a mere bogeyman, but Kate very much wished that he were."Feel me, Kate!" Slenderman insisted. "Let me in! Do not deny me any longer! The longer you fight, the longer you suffer. The longer you repress, the slower you die! Do not ignore me any longer, Kate. I am here. Answer my call. You cannot hide from me forever. I will get a response from you some day! Feel me! Just let me in! Acknowledge me now! Make things quicker and easier! Stop trying to hide me!""No!" Kate managed to choke out over his seductive plea, clutching her head and whimpering. "No! No! No! Nononononono! NO!""It will be so much better if you give in. There is bliss in surrender, in acknowledgement," Slenderman continued calmly, ignoring Kate's petty attempts to keep him out of her mind. The walls to her emotions, to her soul, were just as useless as the walls to her home.Why wouldn't Kate just submit to him now and make it easier? Why did she insist upon fighting? It was a lost cause! Surely she knew that! What sense was there for her to keep ignoring him? When surrender made so much more sense. It would happen one way or another, so why not now? Why not tonight? Why not just... give in? Go quietly? What did she have to gain in denial, except for more pain and grief? He was trying to make it better for her, trying to be the one and only friend she had in her nightmare. But she wouldn't listen. She was blocking him out. It was because she was afraid. He understood. But this was no excuse. Look what she was making of him. Now, he was a burden she could not bear. Not for much longer, at least. Not at the rate she was going."Nononononono," but despite all common sense, Kate continued to resist and rebel. Slenderman only continued to pursue her, insisting..."I have seen your life," he insisted. "All those sleepless, solitary nights," he hissed out all the 's'es, voice creeping deeper and deeper inside of Kate's very essence. She began to scream, but because she lived alone in that old mansion, there was no one who could hear her."You stare into the dark," he taunted her coldly. "Not even able to dream of an escape..." then something flashed through Kate's mind. Even though her eyes were clenched shut, Slenderman had ways of making her see, even through that. He forced the images right into her brain and all she could see was darkness. An empty room, an empty bed. She could hear her own feet, pacing up and down an empty hallway. It was just like he had said: she was not even able to dreamof an escape. At the end of that hallway, another empty room. Another empty bed. Her mother. Dead. Now sleeping six feet under in a cemetery a few miles south. This house was totally empty. Her mother was gone now. All those sleepless and solitary nights...As Kate felt his voice, still piercing the most vulnerable pieces of her identity, she could only writhe, finally leaping up from her spot in the corner of her room. She tried to run, but it didn't matter how many halls she sprinted through, she was somehow no closer to an escape than she was before she started trying to run. It was a no-end house."Didn't I tell you? It is fruitless to try and escape. I'm learning all your tricks! I can hurt you from inside! So just let me in!" Slenderman chided, having not moved an inch during Kate's dash through her house, screaming for the people who were completely unable to help her, whether it was because of time, or space, or the veil that hung between life and death.Kate finally collapsed in her living room. There was upturned furniture everywhere, half the lights weren't working and the other half flickered on and off, the same way her grip on reality slipped in and out of her control. Psychotic drawings of Slenderman lined the walls, and they all seemed to be speaking to her. While Slenderman waited upstairs in Kate's room, he caused the drawings on the wall to speak to her, a hive-mind of voices, all speaking in one chilling unison. They taunted her, a ceaseless drone of haunting remarks about the futility of life. Especially her own. All the pictures she drew came alive. The stick-shaped trees swayed, and the faceless monster in them all writhed at her, speaking to her. The pages she drew came to life, the pictures upon them moving and shifting, swaying hypnotically. They all surrounded her as she lay in the waste and ruin of her own destruction. She could only stare in complete and utter helpless horror as those countless pictures each taunted her in their own turn.Slenderman didn't need to move at all. Instead, like a spider, he had crawled into the cracks of Kate's house and Kate's mind, and now he only needed to calmly wait for the fly to realize that her days were numbered. There was nothing that could save her, for his disease, his obsession with her, his Slender Sickness, was fatal and spreading. He was inside the house. He was inside her mind. It was only a matter of time now. And he had cast this brilliant, sadistic web of his so incredibly wide that he had snared the whole sniveling world inside of it. The unlucky lot, such as Kate, were the ones who were going to be devoured by him, but it was all for the best because it left a terror in all of those who were not eaten alive by him. The people would fear the creature who could save or end a life based on where he chose to place his hunting grounds.It was a brilliant strategy of his. Terrorize the masses and kill a few. It was such a glorious game! But it wasn't the fame that really excited him, nor was it the thrill of the kill. It was just knowing how much terror his name could strike into the hearts of the world. Sometimes, people would pray to him, as if he were some sort of god, or angel of death. He did not consider him to be that sort of mythological creature. He was no religious figure or deity, but he was definitely some sort of ancient and powerful monster. Kate could attest to that for sure!"Surrender, Kate. Give in. Let us in. Let us in. Feel us. Don't deny us," the pictures scattered across her house all chanted. She was still screaming and crying hysterically, but because there was literally no escape for her, she could only lie there and take it. Finally, Slenderman decided to acknowledge her, even though she would not grant him the same courtesy. Finally exiting her bedroom, and slinking down the stairs, he paused to peer down at her from his place on high. When she saw him, finally making himself visible to her, waiting for her atop the stairs, she began to scream again, beyond hysterics to see his tall and mighty stature looking down at her, lying helpless on the carpets below."LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed, but he only continued his slow decent down the steps, making every step shake the entire house. Then, he reached the landing and stared at Kate. She began to back up frantically. He teleported right behind her, and she bumped right into his long, bony leg. Uttering another shriek, she lunged forward. His response was to teleport in front of her so that she was now on her hands and knees in front of him. Beyond the brink of despair now, Kate only gave a soundless cry as she realized that no matter what direction she tried to go from this point onward, Slenderman would already be there. Waiting. Watching. Just like always.There was only silence. Silence and motionlessness. Kate, on her hands and knees, barely even moved to breathe. Though she was beyond terrified, such a heavy weight of despair and defeat had settled over her that she was totally still and silent. Towering above her, head touching the ceiling of the living room, was Slenderman. He did nothing and said nothing as he peered down at her, waiting for her to make the next move. For what felt like an eternity, they remained like this, Kate staring at the floor through her burning tears while Slenderman waited for her to respond. He stood there. Towering over her. Watching her. Looking down at her. Waiting. He was right there in front of her. Silent. Motionless. Waiting. Gone.Without warning, he was gone. Kate looked up. He was gone. There was nothing. All the pictures on the walls were still and silent again, only drawings. They were not moving nor speaking. The trees weren't swaying, the monsters weren't hissing. The night air outside was warm and soft. A sweet and gentle breeze encased the house. Stars twinkled serenely overhead. A half-moon shone by their side. There was no noise. No light. Kate got to her feet, soundless, expressionless, emotionless. Eyes glazed, she moved like a zombie back up to her room. Empty. Quiet. Dark. The window was shut. No one was there. She was all alone. She went to sleep, but not of her own free will. She had sunken onto her bed, still in a haze. She didn't remember closing her eyes. She didn't remember pulling up the blankets. She didn't remember falling asleep.He was back. Without warning, he was back. Everywhere all at once, he was back. He stood in Kate's living room, looking at all of her many drawings. He was in her bedroom, watching her sleep, their faces inches apart. He could see her breathing. He was outside, staring through her window. He was in the driveway, looking up at the house. He was in the forest, hiding behind the trees. He was on the stairs, looking back and forth between the front door and the upstairs hallway. He was in the hallway, facing her door. He was in her mother's room."I will keep quiet," he promised. "You won't even know I'm here. You won't suspect a thing. You won't see me in the mirror. But I crept into your heart, and you can't make me disappear. Not until I make you," he said.The next morning, Kate woke up. She hardly remembered anything. She woke up still in somewhat of a trance, and walked out of her room and down the stairs. All the lights were working and her furniture was erect again. The drawings still littered her wall. She didn't even notice when some of the figures upon those drawings seemed to follow her as she walked into the kitchen. She also didn't notice the figure staring at her from right outside the living room window. He watched her make breakfast. He watched her leave the house for work. He waited for her to come home. He watched her drive back into her garage. He watched her return to her house. He watched her make dinner. He watched her get ready for bed. She didn't see him closing in, but she could feel him. She could feel his constant presence. He was going to make her suffer, bubbling right underneath her skin, but she had no idea what to do except hide."Don't let him in!"
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Lauren woke up to find herself back in the Kullman Mines. This time, though, all the lights were on. It was still very quiet, the generators weren't humming, but the power had been fully restored to the facility. What?"Come now, Lauren, you cannot still be so surprised by what I have the power to do, can you?" a leering voice hissed out at the frightened girl. It was coming from somewhere deep within the depths of the mine, and deep within the depths of her mind."What do you want from me?" she demanded, voice and body shaking as she struggled to sit up. She was covered in burns, bruises and lacerations. Her whole body ached. She was sick. She was tired. She was scared. She was grieving. She was stressed. And she was mad. Focusing on that piece of her present situation, she managed to grit her teeth and sit up, despite the pain she felt in trying to do so."What do you want from me?" she repeated, this time louder than before as she stared into the darkness, struggling to see the devilish fiend that had been responsible for all of her suffering these past few days."To tell you that you performed just as well as I thought you would," came the sickening and sleazy reply."And what is that supposed to mean?" Lauren demanded."Oh, what an impudent child you are!" was the scoffing reply. Lauren only grit her teeth, not in pain this time, but in anger. Although this monster, whom she knew to be Slenderman, and who was no mere bogeyman, terrified her like nothing else ever did, could, or would, she still was so fed up at this point that all of her fears had since turned into outright anger, and a desire for justice. No. A desire for revenge."And that is exactly what I hoped!" Slenderman hissed, seeming to read her mind. His voice was low and high at the same time, billowy and powerful. It filled the whole mine shaft, and Lauren could feel his words reverberate through her whole body. It made her feel very exposed and vulnerable, and she shuddered in disgust and horror as the feeling continued. She hated the fact that he could get into her head so easily, and so literally! And she hated how smug he sounded. She hated how his rumbly and droning voice seemed to coil out from the darkness and into the very depths of her soul. She hated how his voice sank into the pit of her stomach, the message within his words as a tough gristle to try and digest. She hated everything about Slenderman."And that is exactly what I hoped!" Slenderman repeated. Then suddenly, he was only a centimeter away from Lauren, teleporting out of the shadows and right in front of her. She could see her reflection in his shiny black shoes. For all her courage, and anger, even Lauren wasn't prepared enough for this to not be frightened half to death. She yelped and threw herself backward, hissing in pain when she felt a few of her scars reopen and start to bleed with all the other injuries that crisscrossed across her skin. She could suddenly hear a weird echoing sound fill the mine and she realized that Slenderman was laughing at her. That impossibly low drone that made the air itself tremble was his laughter. And he was laughing at her pathetic display of fear. For all of her guts, she was still quite the coward, and he relished it. She despised it."What do you want from me?!" she demanded for a third time, anger returning in spades as it combined with the shame and grief she felt for all that she had lost during these past few days. "Isn't it enough that you've tormented the two people I love most into an early grave? How much longer must I suffer before you grant me the same mercy? Haven't I done enough yet?!""Yes," Slenderman replied simply, and the answer was so frank and honest that Lauren couldn't help but be caught off guard... again."Wh-what?" she stuttered. She felt another low rumble. Another laugh."Yes," Slenderman repeated. Then he explained."You have done just enough," he said. "And that is perfect. You have done no more and no less than you were supposed to. And that is exactly what I wanted. You see, Lauren, my dear, foolish child, your exploits and adventures over these past few days have been nothing more than me, controlling your every action. Don't look so surprised! Did you really think that you were the one to solve all the clues to all of my puzzles? Do you really think it was you who survived every trial I sent your way? No. You were merely a conduit for me. A character for me to control. A puppet playing right into my hand. It was I, the whole time. It was I, who was truly in charge.From the second you received that phone call from Kate, asking you to come and help her sell her house, I have been playing you, controlling you. Your every action was mine. I guided you right into my hand. Did you really think it was you who survived that fire? Or you that managed to find all eight pages? Or you who managed to survive the test of the Kullman Mines? No. Silly little girl. It was all I. I was the one who protected you from the flames and kept you from choking to death. I cleared a pathway for you so you could reach the radio tower. Every other path was blocked off by flame. Why do you think that is? Because I needed you to go to the radio tower in order to take the next step in my journey. So I made it such that it was impossible for you to wander anywhere else.And the eight pages. You know I have the power to teleport myself, and anything else, wherever I please. Did you not realize that your endeavor in that part of the park was a lost cause from the start? It was only by my own decision that you were able to collect all eight. I could've teleported you, and all my pages, right into my hand the moment you started playing the game. But I didn't. Why? Because I needed you to take the next step in my journey. So I let you live just long enough to find all eight.And as for the Mines. Who do you think it was that kept the proxy from killing you every time it caught up to you? I. I told it not to kill you. But believe me, it wanted to. It was only at my command that you survived each of its attacks, long enough to escape. But even from the start, Lauren, you were but a plaything for me. Even from the start, your destiny had been foretold, controlled completely by my hand. It was not through your own merit or skill that you survived my game, or that you made your arrival. It was through my doing. Every single clue you found, every single step you took, every single ordeal you conquered. All of it was created by me, and it was I who helped your through them all, or at least allowed you to live long enough to beat them yourself..."Slenderman finished his speech and Lauren gulped. She had since started to shake again as she realized that he was right. All of her magnificent achievements, all of her glorious triumphs. They had all been little more than luck on her part. She had tried to chalk it up to her own daring and wit, but after hearing Slenderman speak, the truth became painfully and embarrassingly clear. Not a single event of the past few days had been done, or completed, by her. Those victories had always belonged to someone else... She had not lived because she was good, she had lived because Slenderman had wanted her to. He had kept her alive all of this time because there was more he wanted to show her before she perished."But why?" she pleaded, voice suddenly sounding very small. "Why me? Why protect me for so long? What was it that you really wanted to show me? Was it how horribly you tortured my friends? Why me? Why did you want me? Why did you watch me? Why? Why? Why me?" Lauren could only blubber now, tears suddenly streaming down her face in a river as the true helplessness of her situation finally sunk into her brain. It was not only terribly demoralizing to hear that she hadn't been in control of her life, her choices, or the outcomes thereof, but it was also quite terrifying to think that Slenderman had been paying such close attention to her."Why you?" Slenderman interrupted Lauren's crying with another chilling hiss of laughter. "Because, my dear little one, you are special. Powerful. Dangerous. Angry. Cold. You are everything I have ever wanted. And I have wanted you for a very, very, very long time...""And just what is that supposed to mean?" Lauren demanded warily, suddenly feeling very violated at the thought of Slenderman having watched her even before this whole ordeal began. Slenderman gleefully obliged to explain."You know I hunt through bloodlines. I need people in order to survive, and bloodlines are the best way to ensure that constant supply of prey. I found Kate's family through Charlie's, and I found you through her. That's right, Lauren, I've been watching you ever since the very first time you ever met Kate. From that very first moment on the swings in Kate's front yard, I had been watching you, and even back then, pathetic though you were, your devotion to her intrigued me..." Slenderman paused and allowed the horror of his words to sink into Lauren's mind.So. He had been stalking her. And Kate. Since birth. And he'd been making plans for them, for this, when they were both still only toddlers. So. It had always been about this. It always would've boiled down to this. From their very first years on this earth, their last ones were already being written. From the start, their lives were meaningless, already consigned to someone else. To Him. It made Lauren retch in despair and disgust. From her first breath, her life was over. From her first step, her life had been given away. From her first interaction with Kate, she'd been stalked and groomed into everything that this cruel monster had wanted. From the very beginning, she had been at her very end."You were a very weak, cowardly child," Slenderman continued at last, clearly eager to tell this story even though his voice was still an ethereal drone. "You were scared of everything and had no other friends, except Kate. That was perfect. I liked you. Immediately, I did. You set yourself up for failure the moment you stepped into the grounds of her house. But you loved her. You were devoted to her. You were willing to do anything in order to keep her close to you. Because you were so scared, and so weak, and so insignificant. You could not imagine a life without her, because she was your only source of friendship and validation. She was your only connection to a normal life. She was your only connection to any sort of in-group. Without Kate, you were nothing. You made it so, from the very first time you promised her that you would never, ever leave her side. And I only helped you follow through with that promise! Even after she had her first brush with me, and then started to drift away from you, you remained like her loyal pet, a stupid mutt forever waiting for her owner to come home and give her a bone, because you knew full well that no one else could ever want or love you! So you were dependent upon Kate, your whole life contingent upon her. Stupid little mutt!"Slenderman continued his cruel attack against Lauren's character, but instead of growing enraged, she felt herself wilting in shame. Every word he said was true. Lauren did have a bit of an inferiority complex. It was part of the reason why she'd clung so desperately to Kate all across their lives. Kate really was all she had. And to hear Slenderman point this out to her as though it was that obvious made Lauren feel like her skin was being ripped off, layer by layer, exposing all the shiny red secrets that lay beneath. It hurt just as badly."From that very first time you called Kate your friend, I had been grooming you. Controlling you. Bringing you up to be her savior and hero, her champion. I took what you gave me, your love for Kate, and amplified it. I have been haunting you for years, Lauren, waiting and watching, seeing how you interacted with Kate and modifying it, to make you fall more and more in love with her every single day of your life until you could not possibly survive without her! I have been watching you for a very long time, Lauren, it just was not within my plan to make myself known to you until the night of Kate's disappearance. I was an invisible force in your life, until I needed to reel you in," the creature finished at last, tilting his head. The silence that hung in the sooty air between them was deafening."So," Lauren began at last. "You mean to tell me that my whole life has been nothing but a lie? Nothing but a sick, twisted experiment that you've been controlling? My whole life has been nothing but a story you've been writing this whole time?!" Lauren's tirade had started off soft and slow, but by the time she was done, she was shouting, and the tears were falling harder and faster than ever before. "You mean to say that after all this time, it was all ordained and controlled by you?! Nothing I did was my own!? And you manipulated my relationship with Kate from day one?! We were both only just kids!""Yes," Slenderman replied calmly, frankly, honestly."But WHY?!" Lauren screamed."Because," Slenderman replied, but his verbal explanation was over. Instead, he reached out and pressed a clammy, slimy white hand to Lauren's chin. Lauren hissed and yanked her head back reflexively, but Slenderman didn't need to do much before his smooth white skin was pressed against her sweaty, bloody face once more. The feeling made her want to scream, but before she could, he had tilted her head back so that their faces met.In her last few seconds of consciousness, Lauren finally realized what made Slenderman's face so morbidly powerful. Even though it looked smooth, white and empty from afar, when he was forcing her to look at him like this, she could see his face begin to ripple like a pond. She almost thought she could see her own face, transposing over his. Was that why his face was blank? Because it was a blank canvas? Or an empty mirror? Just waiting for someone else's face to fill in the gaps and tell a story?Lauren was instantly was swept away into a mass hallucination of her whole life. All of her darkest secrets and desires, most of which she'd intentionally forgotten, were laid bare now. She saw a chubby five-year-old, awkwardly approaching the lonely-looking Kate in hopes of making a friend. She saw that friendship bloom, even though Kate actually had not been lonely at all. Her circle of friends just hadn't been present at the moment. But through dumb luck and childish openness, Kate accepted Lauren as a friend and the bond was struck. Then Lauren saw that same chubby little kid swinging on Kate's swings, laughing in delight until Kate fell off her own swing and scraped her knee. As it bled, Lauren watched her younger self panicking. She really had been so squeamish and scared as a kid...Then the scene shifted to middle school, when CR moved into town and into Kate's good graces. Lauren suddenly remembered how jealous she had been of him, perceiving that he was stealing Kate away from her. Envy and bitterness rose up like bile in Lauren's throat as she watched the scenes of Kate and CR unfold before her eyes in this fever-dream of a hallucination. She saw herself, watching CR with distrustful eyes. She had been too afraid to join them on their ghost hunts, even though she wanted to go along just to be with Kate. She saw herself scowling when CR dared to ask Kate to prom. She could feel the grief and envy that had threatened to drown her on that night when she walked in on the two making out on Kate's couch when Kate had invited CR and Lauren over for a bonding night. Lauren could remember the mean insults from her classmates, calling her a Third Wheel, or an ugly or otherwise unlovable loner. All the laughter and the teasing. The shame and the self-loathing. The name-calling and the insults. The rumors and the fights.As the hallucination continued, her own thoughts and feelings became warped beyond recognition. Her envy of CR turned into an outright hatred, and suddenly, as she watched him dancing with Kate, she couldn't help but wish him dead. The scene flickered over to his charred corpse, still lying against the rusty walls of the radio tower. This time, when Lauren saw it, she smiled. She smiled as she imagined all of her other cruel classmates suffering a similar fate. She smiled as she imagined herself being the one to light the flames, burning them all, including CR, to the ground. She smiled as she imagined the warm glow of the flames. Kate would be the only one left alive, and her skin would glow radiantly in that red-yellow light. She and Lauren, together, just like it always was, and always would be, and always should have been.Anger, bitterness and a desire for justice, for revenge, began to swell up into Lauren's heart and mind as the hallucinations carried on. Slenderman, who was right there with Lauren the whole time, only watched. If he'd had a mouth, he would've been smiling. They were all the same, these petty little people. They had their petty strife, but all of it pointed to one far more universal and underlying issue: the dark side of humanity. The inherent and inner evil of mankind was never too far below the surface. It was always just beneath the skin.Though humans liked to think they were above such basic and primal instinct and cruelty, Slenderman knew better. After eons of roaming the globe, and witnessing the rises and falls of empires that stretched across all nations and generations, he knew better than anyone that people didn't really change. Maybe the outer package did, but the contents within were always the same. Anger, envy, lust, pride, greed, sloth, gluttony. The sins always remained the same. The desires never changed. It was how he managed to win them over, time and time again. He was the same monster he always was, but that was only because the game never changed. All humans were guilty of this inner darkness, but that was because it was inherent to their very nature as humans. If it weren't natural, it would've been removed after a few thousand years, but because it was still a recurring issue even in this 21st century, Slenderman had to conclude that all humans were naturally fallen. He'd seen this story before, many times.Lauren was no exception. Courageous and selfless though she was, it was all only in the name of these sins. She was not virtuous or heroic. All of her daring acts had been done with the selfish hope that, when all was said and done, Kate would be returned to her. Returned to her, as though she owned the other girl. But in her mind's eye, she did. So lonely, possessive and desperate was Lauren that she was willing to do anything to get her friend back, her one shred of validation and love back, her Kate back. That had really been what propagated this whole entire quest. It wasn't just concern for Kate's life, it was concern for Lauren's. How would she live without her Kate?That was when Slenderman switched over the hallucination to one final scene. It was a college frat party. The first and last Kate ever attended before dropping out to care for her sick and ailing mother. Kate had been dead drunk, but Lauren, only slightly tipsy. She took that opportunity to kiss Kate, sweet and deep. It had filled her with a sick pleasure back then, to finally get a kiss from the girl she'd loved for so very long. But there was something that Lauren had repressed deep down in her memory that Slenderman was now bringing back up. Aside from being a false kiss, Kate too drunk to think of it as anything more than good, clean college fun, she hadn't really kissed back. Lauren's lips had moved forward to catch Kate's, Kate had not reciprocated. And Lauren knew it. But she had lied to herself every day since that party and convinced herself otherwise. Then when morning had come, both girls had remembered the incident, but because Lauren didn't want to hear Kate's rejection, she lied and pretended that she had been too drunk to recall. She could remember every single second of that kiss, but she never let Kate know that fact.That hallucination slowly shifted into back into reality, and Lauren was dragged through the past week, or so, of her life. She and Kate hadn't spoken in quite awhile. Lauren now knew it was because of Slenderman. And then Kate had called Lauren, asking for help. What a jubilant moment that had been for Lauren! But the moment she took her first step into Kate's empty house, her fate had been sealed. And now here she sat."You been trapped since the day you were born, Lauren," Slenderman said softly as Lauren was returned to the Kullman Mines, though now that she thought about it, she began to wonder if the mines weren't also a hallucination. How else could the power be on, but without the generators?"I see that," the girl admitted through gritted teeth, that last vision having brought up some severe baggage for her."But it doesn't have to be that way!" Slenderman continued, persuasive. "There is another life. One of power! Control! It's here for you," he extended his bony white hand to her again, but this time, he was waiting for her to give her consent. "Just... reach... out..." he murmured, inching his hand ever-closer as he said this. "And take it! You'll be free, Lauren. Surrender! There is freedom in surrender, after all..."For a moment, there was only silence. Lauren slowly lifted her head back up to face Slenderman head-on. Again, she could see a vague reflection of her own face in his. It was a dark, grim face, smiling coldly. She could see herself, and everything she could ever be if she accepted his offer. If she joined his service, she would become far stronger and freer than she could ever be as she was now: a mere mortal, stuck in mortal trappings and bound by mortal law. She could see, in Slenderman's face, a wild brute of a girl, but one who was unbound by the cares of the world. She could see someone happy and free, not someone like herself right now. All she had to do was say yes to him.In the back of her mind, though, right before Lauren shook Slenderman's extended hand, she thought she could hear Kate."It's like facing your shadow!" she could hear the girl screaming in her memory. "Everything dark you've ever feared about yourself!""Everything, Kate?" Lauren asked her memory. "Everything dark? Everything you fear?" and without even meaning to, the young woman began to see the world from Slenderman's perspective. There was no good or evil, no shadow or light. There was only substance. What made that difference, that dichotomy, was what happened when other things, specifically people, interacted with the substance. They would either deem it good or evil, and be done with it. There was no room for nuance, or a non-binary way of thinking. It was either good or evil. There was no possibility for the two coexisting. But as Lauren continued to think, continued to muse, she began to realize what a flawed lens this was.Aside from what Slenderman had been telling her about the true nature of good and evil, and the true nature of humanity, and how the two intertwined, Lauren, herself, was beginning to realize that she was no saint either. Her "dark" side looked an awful lot like her "good" side. They also behaved and thought in the same way. The only thing that stood between them was the public belief. One Lauren was deemed good because of how much she was willing to sacrifice for someone else. The other one was deemed evil because of how much she desired for herself. The good Lauren was the one she was right now (supposedly). It was the one willing to risk life and limb to be with her best friend again. The evil Lauren was the one she saw when she looked into Slenderman's rippling mirror of a face. It was the one that admitted to wanting Kate all to herself, and being quite willing to do just about anything to make that wish come true. Both Laurens looked very much alike."Because they are!" Slenderman urged hungrily, hand still awaiting Lauren's. "You've seen that all humans carry light and dark inside of them together! It is only your petty conception of civility that leads you to cast the dark side away and condemn it as evil, or animalistic. But why? Animalistic is what you are. A human is an animal. Why are humans so obsessed with casting off these supposed flaws, or sins? There is no such thing as the Original Sin, or Sin Nature. There is only animalistic nature and tendency. Return to your roots, and find the courage to admit that these "old instincts" are still very much alive within yourself, and all of the rest of this rotten world. There is no truth except for this one..."Then, Slenderman flicked his head a little. From the shadows, loping up from behind Slenderman, was the proxy that had battled Lauren down here in the mines just a few days ago."The Chaser!" Lauren breathed. The proxy suddenly jerked its head as Lauren named it."The Chaser?" the mine rumbled again with the laughter of Slenderman. Lauren understood at once that he was mocking her for giving the proxy such an uncreative name. She grew defensive despite herself."I didn't exactly have much of a chance to come up with something scarier or more original, now did I?" she demanded."Perhaps not," Slenderman allowed. "But it already has a name, and I think you would be quite interested to know what it is…" Slenderman gestured for the proxy to remove its white mask. Lauren's jaw dropped when she saw the face waiting for her on the other side. Kate.For a moment, Lauren had forgotten all of Slenderman's words in a fit of rage. Seeing what he had done to her beloved Kate set her into a fury beyond comprehension, and she wanted nothing more than to murder Slenderman for what he had done to Kate. But when Slenderman only raised a long white hand for silence, Lauren suddenly obeyed. She wasn't sure if it was because he had done something to make her obey, or if it was because her own instincts knew that it would be best not to ignore such a direct command, all she knew was that she ceased her protests for Kate's sake the moment Slenderman raised that hand for silence.Once Lauren fell quiet, Slenderman obliged to explain. Yes, he had done horrible, terrible things to Kate to make her like this, but no, she was not suffering anymore. On the contrary, although it had taken awhile, she seemed happy enough with her new life. After all, like Slenderman had told Lauren, serving him was not necessarily succumbing to your inner demons, but instead, acknowledging them and learning to live with them, instead of only ever hiding from them. Kate had come to see this, or so Slenderman claimed. He said that although Kate looked a mess, she was far freer than she had ever been in life, and Lauren could be the same if only she accepted Slenderman's ultimatum."After all, didn't you come here to find Kate?" he asked cruelly. "Well. Now you have! And you can have that reunion you so desperately crave! All you need to do is let me in. Let your dark side take over. You know that there is nothing shameful with the animal you have become! So let it be. You and Kate can be together now, forever, just like you always wanted…" and finally, Lauren agreed.For the first time in a very long time, someone looked the epitome of basic human instinct in the "face" and came out fully sane. For the first time in a very long time, someone looked the epitome of basic human instinct in the "face" and did not die, but instead, became enlightened. For the first time in a very long time, someone looked the epitome of basic human instinct in the "face" and smiled. For the first time in a very long time, someone looked the epitome of basic human instinct in the "face" and saw their own reflection, and accepted it. No fear, no shame, no guilt, just acceptance. Lauren looked into the eyes of death and lived. Lauren looked into the face of truth and didn't shy away. Lauren was one of the very rare few who saw Slenderman's extended hand, and shook it willingly.A month later, two blood-stained young women could be seen laughing and shrieking as they ran through the autumn-kissed Oakside Park. The twisted, withering trees were raining leaves the color of fire, and the two girls ran and played in them, throwing the leaves at one another like school children. One wore a white hoody and mask, the other wore a teal hoody, and a scarlet smile. They sang and danced in each other's arms, laughing deliriously as they cavorted through the trees. What they were running away from was a small campsite, now littered in blood and human remains. Some of the parts had been devoured, the rest was left to rot.They cared little for what they had done, however, having come to embrace their inner monster, their "Sin Nature" and relish it. They felt nothing for the victims they were leaving behind. They felt only for the future they were running to, and it was one where they were together, and where they were truly free, from ALL mortal trappings. No more fear or guilt or grief or shame, just acceptance. Just happiness and truth. Their dark sides had taken over, but that was not such a bad thing. Darkness could be very liberating, and after all, darkness was inherent within every person. It was only a matter of finding the courage to embrace it, as Kate and Lauren had.Slenderman watched them from afar. There. Another two girls to add to his ever-growing collection of enlightened individuals. He would feast like a king, and they would come to understand life through a new lens. The years would roll on and the numbers of these enlightened people would grow. It would only take time, but time was definitely on Slenderman's side.