Table of Contents

“I told you already.” Jeff’s voice was low and trembling with barely restrained anger. “I. Didn’t. Fucking. Do it.” He gazed out at the police officer before him with a rage he’d never felt before.

Jeffrey Woods sat across from two police officers. He’d been here for the past four hours. Arguing with these two idiots. They’d been the ones to find him in the forest earlier that night. Found him cradling Liu’s bloody, massacred corpse. Being the geniuses that they were, they arrested him on the spot. He was detained for the night at the station. And now had been spending his entire day arguing on his own behalf.

“Look, kid.” The older of the two officers, a man named Officer Wilson, leans against the table. Jeff could tell this guy was tired of all this. “Things are going to go a lot easier for all of us if you just fess up. Now, there’s no point in lying to us-”

“I am not lying.” Jeff gripped the table and leaned forward, getting back in the cop’s face. “I told you ten times already. I didn’t kill my brother.” Those very words threatened to make Jeff sick. He hadn’t even been given an hour to grieve for his brother before these assholes were breathing down his neck. He was having to convince them that he didn’t kill him. The very idea made his blood boil.

“Yeah, you keep saying that.” Officer Chalski, the younger of the two, piped up. He had a pen and notepad in his hands. Clearly documenting every last thing Jeff said. “But we’ve got more than enough evidence to say otherwise. You were found with the body-”

“With a weapon in hand.” Officer Wilson chimed in.

“-With a weapon in hand…. Not to mention the people we’ve been talking to around school.” The younger officer flipped back a few pages in his notebook. “Is it true that you and your brother had a fight earlier that day? A big one?”

“Yes. We did.” Jeff forced the words out. He hated having to agree with these pigs.

“And is it true you shouted, in that moment, that you wanted to kill him?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything.” Jeff crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I know my rights. Bring me a lawyer.”

“Shouldn’t need one if you’re innocent, right?” The older cop asked with a raised eyebrow. “If you’re telling the truth about not killing him, then where’s the harm in telling us what you know? If there’s a real killer out there, telling us the truth could get us off your back, and on theirs.”

Jeff felt his eyebrow twitch at their disgustingly plain and obvious attempts to get him to spill his guts. He knew these two fully believed him guilty, they were just trying to bait out the information they could use to convict him. Jeff wasn’t even sure if them holding him here for this long was legal. He was really starting to wish he knew more about how all this worked.

After he didn’t answer their questions, the younger cop spoke up again. “We also spoke to your guidance counselor at school…” Officer Chalski flipped through his dumb little notebook again. “Is it true you’ve been killing animals frequently out in the woods?”

“Told us that your brother was actually the one who reported that to her.” Officer Wilson chimed in as well. Jeff could tell that the two of them thought they had him cornered.

“So your brother gets you in trouble for your little…. Games. Out in the woods. Then you get in a huge fight with him, threaten to kill him, and then that very night he’s found dead in your arms…” Officer Chalski rereads his notes then looks up with a face full of mock concern.

“You can see how this looks…. Right kid?”

Jeff still didn’t answer them. He kept his mouth shut. Physically biting his tongue. The taste of blood filling his mouth as he struggled to keep from lashing out at these cops. He knew things looked bad. He knew the evidence was stacked against him. And Jeff knew above all else that nobody in this town would believe a word he said. Not when he already fit so perfectly into their preconceived notions.

“Alright.” Officer Wilson stood back up and waved Jeff away like some kind of insect. “You just sit right here then. You got a lawyer then, kid?”

My dad. Franklin Woods.” Jeff normally didn’t ask his father for anything. But he was the only lawyer he knew. And he definitely wasn’t going to trust one that these guys got him. He just had to hope that his dad would believe him.

The two officers left Jeff alone in the briefing room. And another hour later, Jeff was greeted by the sight of his father walking through the door. He didn’t exactly look pleased to be here right now. Jeff couldn’t exactly blame him this time.

His father sat down across from Jeff. His eyes were deep with bags, and a deep red. It was entirely obvious that his father had been crying his eyes out. Jeff felt a brief stab of guilt for making him come down here and deal with this. But it was on his father just as much as it was on him. Had his parents actually given a damn and kept track of where Liu was, or even cared that he wasn’t home at all, then maybe this all could’ve been avoided.

Jeff’s father rubbed his tired face, before locking eyes with Jeff. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before his father spoke up.

“Tell me what happened. And I don’t want any stories or lies. Or funny business, Jeffrey. You tell me exactly what happened last night. Now.”

Jeff didn’t have any comebacks or arguments. He just complied. He was as ready as anyone to get this whole mess taken care of. He told him everything. Liu reporting him to the guidance counselor, the fight, talking with Samantha, tracking Liu through the woods, discovering his…. Body…. And getting arrested.

His father sat through it all, listening intently. When Jeff was done, the silence returned for a few moments as his father processed the information.

“And that’s the truth? You’re telling me you didn’t kill your brother?”

“Of course I didn’t.” Jeff was honestly hurt his father even had to ask him that question. Didn’t they know how close they were together?

“Then who did?”

“I don’t know. When I got there Liu was already…. Already….”

“The cops said he had gash marks on him. Big gash marks. And you stole a knife from our kitchen that night. Why did you take that knife, Jeff?”

“For protection. Because I knew there was something dangerous in those woods. And I wanted a weapon in case I had to defend myself.”

“How did you know there was something dangerous in that forest?”

“I was in there before. At night by accident. And I was….” Jeff didn’t really know how much to say. He didn’t want to be committed as insane or something. “…. Followed. By a man. A creepy man.”

“A creepy man.” Jeff’s father asked with an incredulous tone. “Jeff, the cops found no evidence of anyone else being out there.”

“What about the footprints? The ones I followed.”

“Unfortunately by the time they searched the area in the morning, any footprints that you might have seen were long gone.”

“And the house? The one right where Liu died. Did they search it for clues?”

House?”

“The house. The one in the clearing. There was an old cabin out there. In the same clearing where he-”

“Jeffrey.” His father shook his head, looking at Jeff like he was mad. “There was nothing there. There is nothing there. Nobody has built anything in those woods. You were found in an empty clearing. There was no house. There was no one else there.”

That couldn’t be right. Jeff knew what he saw. He was grief stricken and crying at the time. But he knew he didn’t hallucinate a whole cabin in the woods. Just like how he didn’t hallucinate those footprints.

“Tell the cops to go look again. There was definitely a cabin there. That’s probably where the killer lives. You have to-”

“Jeffrey Woods!!” His father shouted, banging his hands on the table. “Enough! Enough! Just shut up! Stop!” He slammed the table again, actually causing Jeff to flinch in surprise. “I’m not going to sit here and listen to you lie! I came here because I thought, maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to get the truth out of you. And still you do nothing but make shit up!”

“I’m not making anything u-”

“That’s bullshit, Jeff.” His father stood up, his chair grating back against the floor. “You cannot lie your way out of this one. There was no house. And there was no one else out there. The only one out there that was killing things was you. Jeffrey! Liu told us! Told your counselor! God!” His father ran his hands through his hair, making it appear wild. “We should’ve listened. I never thought you’d…. You’d have the ability to….” His father trailed off, covering his face as tears streaked down it.

Jeff felt… Oddly calm. Considering the circumstance. He sat and stared at his father his face an emotionless mask. So, his own father thought he was guilty too then. Was that it? He’d come in here with his mind made up. He’d already decided that Jeff was the killer, and nothing he said would’ve changed that.

“Are you just going to sit there? Say something!” His father shouted down at Jeff, face twisted with rage. “We should’ve done something more. I feel like I’m to blame for this.” His father bemoaned, turning around and heading for the door.

“Of course you are.” Jeff finally spoke. His father stopping and turning back to look at him. “How can you even doubt that? Where were you when Liu was getting murdered in the woods? Where were you when he didn’t show up at home after four hours? Why didn’t you try calling him? Why didn’t you try to find him? You did nothing. Just like you always did.” Jeff’s voice was level and even. His voice calm. Like a realization had finally set upon him.

Though Jeff was certainly partially to blame in all this, he wouldn’t deny that he had played some hand in the events that occurred, but he wasn’t the only one. His parents played a role even bigger than that. They were the ones that neglected the mental health of their son, that never did more than the bare minimum for them. That never cared to get involved.

Everything came back to them. Came back to this town.

His father glared at Jeff. He opened his mouth to speak, but shook his head and turned away. “I’m going to go home and tell your mother that both of her children are dead.”

And those were the final words he spoke, before departing the room and leaving Jeff behind. For good.

It wasn’t long after that the cops came back and escorted Jeff back to his cell in the jail. He didn’t fight them. He went along willingly.

As he was pushed into the cell, Officer Wilson spoke up behind him.

“Your court date will be coming up soon, kid. You’ll be assigned a lawyer from the county. I advise you stay on your best behavior until then.” The door slid shut and locked behind him.

Jeff dropped to the floor. Sitting right in the middle of his cell. Back to the door. He slouched over his head meeting his hands. His eyes closed tight. Jeff had expected himself to start crying, but it never came. He felt…. Oddly calm.

Liu was gone.

The town thought he was responsible. The one who killed his own brother.

And his parents agreed.

His life had been destroyed. Dismantled from the ground up by everyone and everything around him. Life uprooted and dragged to this hellish town by his uncaring parents, stolen from and attacked by bullies that this town enabled on his very first day. Ignored and shunned by those he tried to truly explain his problems to. Shoved into a category of “freak” by the ones he spoke to. His brother caught up in it all. Caught up in the fake charades of Mandeville.

And Jeff was no better. He’d let this town get to him in a different way. Let his rage and seething anger burn and boil beneath his surface. Let it push and drive him away from the one person he cared about. And at the end of it all, he exploded. And directed that fury right at his brother. His brother that was only trying to help. His brother that was always on his side. The only one on his side.

All of those things, all of those events and steps had led to this. Led to Liu’s death at the hands of something inhumane in those woods. But whatever it was that dealt the final blow, was not the only one responsible.

His parents.

Randy

Troy

Keith

Ms. Summers

Officer Wilson

Officer Chalski

And even himself.

They had all played a role in the death of his dear brother. And they would all pay. Every last one of them. Jeff would ensure it.

If they thought him a killer. Then that’s what he would be.

He’d take revenge for the death of his brother. He’d find the monster that did this. And kill everyone else that played even the slightest of hands in his death.

He didn’t care how much blood he spilled. He didn’t care what he had to do. He would make amends. He would avenge his brother and right the wrongs that he helped commit.

Jeff the Killer would avenge Liu Woods. No matter what it took.

A cold feeling suddenly spread through Jeff’s body. The prison cell he was kept in suddenly growing dark around him. He was no longer alone. A familiar presence joined him that room. He could sense it behind him. He knew who it was. He could never forget that presence.

The Man.

“I’m actually glad you’re here.” Jeff growled. His hands curling into fists. “It saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Let me just ask you this. Did you do it?”

No. It may have happened in my dark forest. But it was not me that killed your brother. It was something else.

“What was it then?”

That’s for you to find out.The man’s voice wormed its way into Jeff’s head like a squirming tendril. I came to ask you that question again.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jeff snarled, turning around to gaze at the figure behind him. The one that was cloaked in unnatural shadow. The one his eyes couldn’t properly focus on.

The last time we met. You seemed to believe that this town, that this world, still had hope in it. That there was still good to be found. Have you come to realize that what I said was true? Come to realize that this world is filled with nothing but hatred and malice?

“Yes. Yes I have. And I’ve decided I’m tired of playing their games. I’m going to do something about it. I won’t stop until I’ve avenged my brother. I swear it.”

Then allow us to work together, Jeffrey.The man exited the shadows now entirely. A tall and thin figure. Dressed only in a suit as black as night, his blank white head standing out like a light bulb against the stark darkness around him.

I can grant you a fraction of my power. If you agree to join forces with me, we will purge this world together. You will be stronger, faster, you will become a machine for killing. You will become superhuman.

“Why offer me this?” Jeff asked as he stood and faced the man. “Why me?”

Because not everyone has the capability. Not everyone can see the shadows that lurk in this world. You have latent potential. Potential that has been dying to break free since you arrived in this wicked town. Allow me to help you. Become a proxy of mine, Jeffrey Woods.

The man extended his narrow, gaunt hand to Jeff.

Allow me to ask you that question once more, Jeffrey Woods.

Do you want to survive?

Or do you wish to thrive?

Jeff considered the figure’s outstretched hand for a moment. Before throwing back his head and laughing. Maybe he really had gone insane. Maybe he really had lost his mind out in that forest. But at this point, what did he have to lose?

Jeff lowered his head, eyes wild and face split by a grin.

“I want to thrive.” He declared. Jeffrey Woods reaching out and shaking the hand of the Slenderman. In that moment, the dark energy flowed through him. Twisting him, corrupting him. It felt good. It felt oh, so good. His skin bleaching white like the Slenderman before him. His hair and eyes turning as dark as the night he now embraced. His body surged with power, he felt stronger, faster, he felt alive. He felt like a god.

In that moment, in that prison cell in Mandeville County Sheriff Office.

Jeffrey Woods died, just like his father had said.

And in his place….

Jeff the Killer was born.

Jeff reached out and grabbed the bars of his jail cell. He pulled in opposite directions and slowly they bent out of place. Jeff walked through the newly formed hole, in awe of his newly gained strength.

Go. Spread fear and despair. Bring death and ruin. Came the voice of the figure, which Jeff now knew his name to be “Slenderman”.

Jeff didn’t need to be told twice. He marched down the hall. His fists clenched. His footsteps echoing through the halls. The jail seemed to be empty aside from him.

“Hey!” A cop further ahead had taken notice of Jeff. “You can’t be out here! Get back in your cell!” He began to approach Jeff, his hand going to his gun holster. But before the cop could even process what was happening, Jeff darted forward. His newly enhanced body quickly closing the distance between himself and the officer. A speed so fast that the cop was taken off guard.

As he tried to pull his gun from his hip, Jeff swung his fist and collided with the cop’s jaw. A satisfying POP sound filled the prison hall and the cop spun to the ground. Unmoving.

Jeff could still hear him breathing. Now able to detect even the slightest of movements and sounds. He couldn’t help but chuckle. This felt good. This is what it meant to thrive.

“Need a weapon.” Jeff mumbled to himself. He decided using his fists wouldn’t be a very good idea. He could’ve taken the cop’s gun…. But that would just be too impersonal. Jeff wanted a weapon he could get in close with. Something physical and deadly that he could use while being right in his victim’s faces.

An idea quickly came to Jeff’s mind….

He knelt and swiped away the unconscious guard’s keys. He continued down the hallway, unlocking the door and entering the rest of the police station.

He stopped and read the fire escape map on the wall. His eyes scanning for one particular room. The map soon pointed him in the direction he needed to go and off he went. Storming down the hall until he came across one door in particular.

The one marked “Evidence”.

Jeff unlocked the door with his stolen keys and slipped inside. He was greeted with long rows of shelves that contained dozens of boxes on each. Labeled with dates and numbers.

Jeff walked down the aisles. Eyes scanning, trying to find the box that contained the evidence from his case.

It took him a few moments, but finally he’d found it. He tore the box from the wall and ripped its lid off. There, inside the box, were the two things he’d been looking for. The long, sharp knife he’d stolen from his parents house. And his bloodstained, white hoodie.

He slipped the hoodie over his head. The stains didn’t bother him. He was sure it’d be getting a lot more on it soon enough. He paused momentarily. There, in the same box. Was Liu’s scarf. Even through it all, it still looked good. Just a small tear, and a few bloodstains….

Jeff grabbed it on impulse, throwing it over his shoulder. He wouldn’t leave the last piece of Liu to rot in this place. He’d find somewhere for it. Somewhere worthy of Liu. With knife in hand, Jeff then turned to leave the room. But before he could, the door was flung open.

“FREEZE!” Shouted the voice of Officer Wilson. His gun pointed straight at Jeff. “Drop the knife and put your hands where I can see them. NOW.”

Jeff considered the man. Slowly, he raised his arms up, but instead of dropping the knife he threw it. Flinging it through the air. Officer Wilson fired his gun, but Jeff was able to dodge out of the way. The old officer cried out in pain as the knife embedded itself deep into his shoulder. A crimson blood soaking through his white dress shirt. Plucking the blade from Wilson’s shoulder and eliciting a fresh cry of pain and spray of blood.

Before the officer could recover, Jeff charged at him with a roar. He tackled Officer Wilson straight into the hallway. Where he slammed against the opposite wall. The older man gave a wheezing cough as the air was pressed from his lungs. But Jeff had underestimated the veteran cop.

Officer Wilson fought back. He landed a strong headbutt into Jeff’s face. Which sent him reeling backwards. As the officer was unpinned, he raised his gun one more time, but Jeff reached out and grabbed his arm, wrenching it away from him. The shots fired off and hit the wall harmlessly.

Jeff smirked as he saw the Officer’s look of fear and bewilderment at the overwhelming strength he was displaying. Jeff brought his knee up and crashed it into Officer Wilson’s stomach. Once. Twice. Then released the man. He dropped to the floor, clutching his midsection and gasping for air. Jeff knelt.

Jeff wordlessly took the knife and grabbed Wilson by his graying hair. He wrenched the officer’s head up, and slid the sharp blade across his throat. Blood pouring to the ground, and officer Wilson collapsing in a dying heap. Jeff felt a surge of power as he landed the killing blow. Just like how he used to feel when he’d kill those animals. Only far, far better. A bloodlust he’d never even known was there, finally being properly satiated.

Jeff still needed to kill Officer Chalski. But he decided he’d have to wait for that. This place would soon be crawling with cops. More than even Jeff could handle. He doubted that Slenderman’s powers would make him bulletproof.

After quickly wiping the blood from his knife off on Officer Wilson’s pants. Jeff made a quick exit. Bursting from the fire escape and out into the fading twilight of the day.

The sun was setting low. The sky burning a fiery orange. He could already hear sirens in the distance. No doubt someone had called for backup. As much as Jeff wished he could stay and take more lives. He knew he had to fall back for now. There would be time for more later.

He took off at a run through the back parking lot of the police station. Heading for the woods that now seemed like a sanctuary to him. He burst through the foliage and kept running, ducking past branches and crashing through bushes.

He kept running until he could see no civilization in any direction. He stopped for a breather by the stream. No doubt the same one he and Liu once rested by. It was only a few weeks ago, but felt like years by this point.

Jeff stooped and splashed some of the cold water against his face. It was then, staring down in the water, that he received his first good look at himself. Looking back at him was a changed person. Nearly unrecognizable from the Jeffrey Woods he once knew. He admired his snow white skin and how it clashed with his pitch black hair and eyes. He looked inhuman. Almost like a ghost.

He looked down at his right hand next. A symbol had appeared in his palm. A rough circle with an X through it. Jeff, somehow, innately knew what it was. The mark of Slenderman. A mark that designated him as one of his “proxies”.

He concerned him somewhat. He’d made that agreement in the heat of the moment. Not really considering who or what he was dealing with. But Jeff doubted that without his powers, he’d have been able to escape the police station so easily.

The sun was setting fast. Night would soon be upon him. Jeff half expected Slenderman to speak to him, or to show himself. But he never came. Though he had that sense that the man was still watching him from somewhere. Just unseen.

Regardless, Jeff had other things to worry about. Slenderman had given him the key to avenging his brother. He’d go in chronological order. Those that helped in the path to killing his brother.

Which meant the first people on the chopping block….

Were his own parents.

The Woods House was bathed in darkness. The night had fallen long, long ago. Jeff assumed it was somewhere around 3AM, though he wasn’t sure as he had no watch. And no phone.

Jeff had been staking out the house for the past hour or so. His parents cars were still there. Though there was another one there too. A cop car. Undoubtedly watching to see if he returned.

Jeff had been staking out the house for the past hour or so. His parents cars were still there. Though there was another one there too. A cop car. Undoubtedly watching to see if he returned.

Jeff’s parents slept on the second floor. He could see their window from his hiding place. He hoped they were asleep by now. The lights had gone out a couple hours ago.

Part of him knew the right idea was to lay low for a few days. Wait till the heat died down, and then come back for his parents. But he didn’t want to. That burn in his chest was like magma. An angry beast that needed satiating. He craved murder and blood. He was sure this had something to do with the deal he’d made with the Slenderman, but he didn’t care. He had his prey. And he. Would. Hunt.

The first order of business was to get there. The front and back doors were off limits. Too much potential for run ins with the cops…. He’d need to go in through a window.

Jeff crept around the side of the house. Sticking to the shadows. Jeff had worried at first that his bright white skin and white hoodie would make him easier to spot. But that wasn’t the case. The shadows seemed to cling to Jeff, embracing him like he was there own. It made it quite easy to stalk through the night and approach the house unseen. He stopped beneath the balcony outside of his parents room. He figured that would be the easiest way to get inside.

But now Jeff had to figure out a way up there. There were no trees close enough to jump from. He was sure his dad had a ladder somewhere, but having to drag that out would be-

Jump. The voice came through the shadows. Piercing Jeff’s mind. A single word instruction. Or maybe more like a hint.

Jeff looked down at his legs, doubting the voice. Though he’d been surprised by his new enhanced abilities, would he really be able to jump all the way to the second window?

Worth a shot.

Jeff crouched down, taking a deep breath, before jumping with all his might. And to his surprise, he sprung straight up into the air. About 10 feet. He even gave a gasp of shock as he did so. Missing the window the first time and landing back on his feet.

He took a moment to steady himself. It had actually frightened him a bit. But after collecting his wits, he crouched back down and focused once more. With another leap he jumped straight up into the air, and latched onto the edge of the balcony. He caught it, dropping down and hanging against the side of the house. He almost lost his grip, but was able to maintain it.

With a heave, Jeff pulled himself up and over the railing. Landing quietly on the balcony. All that lay between him and the first legs of his revenge, was a single glass door.

Things would get messy if he had to break through. Jeff hoped that maybe, just maybe. His parents wouldn’t lock the balcony door at night. Jeff twisted the doorknob and…. Sure enough. Open. It was like the world wanted him to do this.

Quietly, Jeff pushed the door open and crept into the dark bedroom. The ceiling fan lazily circling overhead. Two shapes laying beneath the blankets. Jeff quietly reached into his belt and withdrew his knife. Its blade lightly stained red from his earlier assaults.

With a steadying breath, Jeff advanced upon his parents. But right as he took a step forward. The shape on the far side of the bed stirred awake. They shifted beneath the blankets, before groggily sitting up. Jeff panicked and dropped down a low crouch. Hoping the shadows and bed would keep him hidden.

Jeff quickly identified the individual as his father. He held his breath, watching as he sleepily stood from the bed and began to wander towards the bathroom. Jeff looked to his mother, still in bed, and then again to the shadowy entrance of the bathroom.

Deciding to improvise a few steps of this plan. Jeff crept towards the bathroom. Knife still clutched tightly in his hand. Thoughts stirred in his mind as he approached the bathroom door.

He stopped right before its threshold. He could see his father in the dark, standing before the toilet relieving himself.

If Jeff crossed that threshold. There would be no going back. No returning to Jeffrey Woods. No returning to a normal life. Ever. This would be it. This would be it. He may have killed Officer Wilson earlier, but this was different. This was his father. The man he’d known all his life.

I’m going to go home and tell your mother that both of her children are dead.

No.

His father had said it earlier that day himself. As far as Mr. And Mrs. Woods were concerned, Jeff was dead too. They’d abandoned him. He owed them nothing anymore.

Jeff approached through the dark of the house. His knife raising.

His father flushed the toilet and turned around. Right as Jeff pushed his hand over his face and shoved him against the wall. Jeff kept his ivory hand clamped over his father’s mouth. Muffling his cries for help as he struggled against his former son. But of course, his strength was nothing compared to the now supernatural abilities of Jeff the Killer.

“I came to pay my respects.” Jeff whispered. Black eyes narrowing with a harsh laugh. “For Jeff and Liu. Liu was a good kid. World is gonna miss someone like him.” Jeff slowly drove his knife into his father’s chest. The blade sinking through the flesh and piercing his father’s heart. Blood oozed from the wound and ran down his body.

“But its not going to miss someone like you though.” Jeff twisted the knife, relishing in the flash of pain it brought to his father’s face. “Things are gonna get a lot better without filth like you infecting this planet.” Jeff withdrew his knife and took his hand away from his father’s mouth. The man slumped to his knees. His eyes staring up at Jeff one last time, before the life drained away and he collapsed to the floor. Dying in a puddle of his own blood.

Jeff admired his work for a brief moment. Before wiping off his knife and walking away. His eyes, however, caught upon the mirror as he turned to exit. His ghostly reflection staring back at him once more. Now with much more clarity than it had at the stream.

Jeff couldn’t help but approach the countertop. Staring at his new features in the mirror. His face looked… Perfect. After all he’d been through, he bore no scars.

An image of Liu flashed through his mind. The image of his lifeless body, scarred and torn. Those horrible gashes carved into his mouth. That perpetual smile. Jeff’s blood boiled again. It wasn’t fair for Liu alone to bear those scars.

Without a further thought, Jeff brought his knife to his face and began to carve. It hurt. It hurt more than any physical wound Jeff had received as of late. But at the same time…. It soothed him. Soothed his soul. His knife cut through the flesh of his cheeks, from the corner of his mouth to the edge of his cheekbone.

By the time he was done, Jeff stood back and looked into the mirror. A permanent crimson smile now carved into his ghostly pale face. He tilted his head. Appraising his new look from all angles.

It looked…. Beautiful.

Truly beautiful.

He felt just a little closer to Liu.

With blood still pouring down his face, and his wounds still stinging. Jeff exited the bathroom to finish the job. His mother still lay in bed. He approached her side and stared down at her.

Jeff raised his hand to deal the killing blow, but as he did, a drop of blood fell from his slashed mouth. Dropping straight onto his mother’s forehead.

Jeff froze. Blade still raised. His mother stirred. Her eyes opened.

The two of them stared at each other for just a moment. Jeff wondering if he should make the move, his mother wondering if she was dreaming.

Her brain finally registered what was happening. Her eyes widening, mouth opening, but before she could scream Jeff clamped his hand down around her mouth. Muffling what would’ve been a loud scream. She thrashed in the bed, scratching and hitting at Jeff as he held her down.

Though muffled, she was still making a commotion. Jeff worried if there was a cop downstairs, he could hear what was happening.

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!” Jeff hissed at his mother. His hand held tight over her mouth. He ignored the tears in her eyes as he leered down at her. “Be quiet.”

His mother continued to squirm and thrash as Jeff inserted the knife between her ribcage. Eliciting a shocked gasp of pain beneath his hand. But yet she continued to squirm. Jeff’s eye twitched. He raised the knife over his head. Blood dripping from its blade.

“I said be quiet! Why don’t you just….. Go! To! Sleep!” Jeff plunged the blade down into her chest. Then raised it and repeated. Stabbing her over and over again.

When he was done, his mother was a bloodied mess on the bed. Massacred nearly beyond recognition. Jeff’s hands were stained red with their blood. Both his mother and his father.

Before he left that night, Jeff the Killer left behind a message for those that would find his crime in the morning.

Scrawled on the wall, in a red paint of his mother’s blood, was three simple words.

GO.

TO.

SLEEP.

MONSTER AT LARGE! ‘JEFF THE KILLER’ CONTINUES HIS SPREE.

On Monday night, the escaped convict turned serial killer known simply as “Jeff the Killer” AKA Jeffrey Woods struck another target. The house of Martin Elroy. Two individuals were found dead at the scene. Martin Elroy and his son, Keith Elroy. Both were found slaughtered by the mysterious murderer!

We spoke with Damien Elroy, youngest son of Martin Elroy, who was attacked by Jeff the Killer but managed to survive.

“I woke up because I noticed my window was open…. I thought I had just forgotten to close it, so I got up to shut it. And that’s when I felt like I wasn’t alone….” 12 year old Damien had to say. “That was when I saw him. He was standing in the corner. I think he was trying to get to my window when I woke up. His knife was soaked in blood…. He looked at me and held a finger to his lips. And whispered “go to sleep”.

That was when I screamed and my dad came running…. He tried to fight him off, but Jeff was too strong…. And he….”

We declined to interview Damien Elroy any further on the topic.

Jeff threw the newspaper down into the campfire with a smirk. Crossing his arms in a satisfied manner. He’d been the topic of the news everyday since he escaped the police and murdered his parents. He’d been continuing his murderous list ever since.

After his parents, he’d started by targeting the houses of Randy’s little friends. Troy went first. His parents were out of town, so it wasn’t even a challenge. That was when Jeff had left behind another calling card “Go to sleep”, along with his signature this time. Jeff the Killer.

That was the murder that had propelled him into the national spotlight. It was all being sensationalized. People loved a good murder story, as much as they would never admit it. There was outrage over it too. Outrage at the police for being unable to catch and stop him.

The flames of popularity were only fanned further as Jeff took his next victim. The one spoken of in the paper, Keith Elroy. He’d broken in with the intention of only killing Keith, but unfortunately before he could escape he’d been caught…. Hence the story in the newspaper.

But even after such a display, the cops still couldn’t track him. Jeff knew it was due in part to his mysterious partner. The entity that he could feel watching him, empowering him…. Jeff wasn’t exactly sure what Slenderman was getting out of this deal, but whatever it was, he didn’t care. Jeff was focused entirely on his revenge.

The sun was beginning to set now. Allowing the shadows to once more begin to engulf the Mandeville forest. Jeff had been camping out here ever since he’d become a wanted criminal. A small little spot deep in the woods. A spot where he knew the shadows would keep him hidden.

But the setting sun wasn’t a sign of rest for Jeff. No, he never needed much sleep anymore anyways. The arrival of night was a different symbol for Jeff. Like a rooster’s crow for a farmer, nightfall for Jeff meant it was time to get to work.

eff stood up from his little campfire and swiped his white hoodie from the tree branch it had been hanging on. He’d tried to wash it in the creek, but the red stains still remained. Faded, but forever visible. A tapestry of his heinous crimes. Each stain upon his favorite hoodie was like a memento. He knew which stain came from each victim, could recall the moment their warm blood graced his body.

Jeff stood up from his little campfire and swiped his white hoodie from the tree branch it had been hanging on. He’d tried to wash it in the creek, but the red stains still remained. Faded, but forever visible. A tapestry of his heinous crimes. Each stain upon his favorite hoodie was like a memento. He knew which stain came from each victim, could recall the moment their warm blood graced his body.

He threw it on over his head and tucked his trusty kitchen knife into his belt. It had been a few days since his last murder, and he was beginning to feel the fog returning to his brain. Murder was the only way to stave it off now. Animals no longer sufficed. It was his nourishment. His life.

But he knew he’d be satisfied by the end of the night. For tonight was a big one. One that Jeff had been counting down to since this all began.

Randy Hayden.

Jeff let out a low chuckle, stomping out and extinguishing his meager campfire, before departing into the growing darkness… A predator on the prowl. And Randy would be his prey.

******

Jeff knelt in the bushes outside of the Hayden house. Hayden mansion was probably a better term for it though. The place was huge and grandiose. Keith and Troy had good houses, but next to Randy’s they looked like little more than slum huts.

Jeff’s earlier enjoyment of his fame had turned to annoyance now though. As he found several cop cars parked right outside the Hayden house. As well as two armed bodyguards that stood at the front door. It seemed the Hayden’s weren’t as stupid as Jeff had assumed. It wouldn’t take a genius to realize the pattern here.

Troy.

Keith.

Randy.

This would likely be Jeff’s most difficult hunt yet. Ignoring the cops and bodyguards that were stationed around the outside, and likely inside as well. There was still the fact of just how big this place was. Not to mention there was probably security cameras here and the plain old fact that Jeff just didn’t know where Randy’s room was.

He knew one thing at least. He knew the Hayden’s were definitely in this house. He had seen them through the kitchen window eating dinner, not to mention their cars were in the driveway. Clearly they were confident in their security.

It was certainly going to be a challenge. But it was one Jeff was ready for. Vengeance would be his. The world may think he was the one who killed Liu, but he didn’t care. He knew better.

Carefully, Jeff crept through the dark shadows that surrounded the house. Making a full circle around the property, analyzing each and every entrance, each and every person, dog, and issue he could find.

He was starting to regret not coming to Randy’s house first. There were no easy entry points that Jeff could see…. And even though he was empowered by wrath and darkness, even Jeff knew it would be foolish to try a full on assault of the place. Even if he was able to slaughter all of the guards and all of the cops, Randy and his family would no doubt be able to make an escape.

Jeff considered his options. The only real choice he could see was to just slip through. He’d have to time it just right and try to slip in through one of the windows.

Another hour passed as Jeff sat and observed the house through the bushes. It occurred to him during this time that he really was the predator in this moment. Recalling a fact he’d learned in history class once. About how humans were endurance hunters. They would wound their prey, then stalk and follow them until they gave in to the wound, or simply fell from exhaustion.

I wonder if my ancestors would be proud. He thought to himself with a sly smirk. Unless his ancestors were also murderers, he doubted it.

Another 30 minutes had passed. It was now around 2:30AM and Jeff was ready to make his move. There were only five bodyguards. And they had a pretty strict pattern to their patrols. And with foolishly large gaps between them. They were confident in their ability to stop anyone from entering from the ground floor.

Too bad that wasn’t a problem for Jeff.

Jeff drew his knife and placed the cold blade between his teeth. As soon as he saw his opening, he sprinted from his hiding spot in the bushes. Running with his body tucked as low as he could, he shot across the brightly lit up yard. His enhanced speed carrying him to the house much quicker than any normal human could have.

Wasting no time, Jeff dropped into a squat as soon as he reached the exterior wall of the house. With a quiet huff, he sprung straight up into the air. His hand grasping the sill of a second floor window.

This was the trickiest part. Unlike his parent’s house, Randy’s house had no balconies for Jeff to infiltrate from. He dangled from the edge of the window and reached up. Trying to push it open, only to find it locked.

“Shit.” Jeff hissed through his clenched teeth. He looked over his shoulder and at the ground. No guards yet. But they’d be upon him soon. Jeff’s heart began to race, he pushed again on the window but no luck. Breaking it was out of the question, and he doubted he had enough time to run back to the woods.

The footsteps finally rounded the corner of the house. One of the bodyguards. In the bright yardlights of the house, it may as well have been broad daylight. And despite how sneaky Jeff was able to be, there was no avoided the line of sight in that instance.

The guard immediately noticed Jeff and froze.

“HEY!” He shouted, reaching for a gun on his belt, and a radio on his shoulder. “I GOT HIM! EAST SIDE! HE’S TRYING TO BREAK IN!” The guard shouted, before aiming his pistol and firing off three shots at Jeff.

Jeff released his hold on the house and fell back down to the ground. One of the bullets hit the window overhead and shattered it. Broken glass raining down around Jeff as he landed.

The guard adjusted his aim and fired twice again at Jeff. Time seemed to slow as Jeff concentrated on the aim of the gun, dipping his body to the right and barely avoiding a potentially lethal shot to the heart. Jeff wasted no time and darted forward before the guard had enough time to fire again.

Jeff tackled the guard. Jeff had the element of surprise on his side. No doubt the guard had seen his wirey frame and assumed him to be little threat. The shock of Jeff’s incredible strength was enough to knock the guard to ground. The two of them landing, sprawled out on the perfectly manicured grass.

Jeff immediately knocked the gun from his hand, and delivered a sharp right hook straight to the man’s face. He could feel the flesh and bone crumpling beneath his blow. Blood spraying on the grass as the man hacked up a tooth.

The guard attempted to shove Jeff off of him, but Jeff had him pinned down. In a swift motion, Jeff swiped the blade from his teeth and drew it across the man’s throat. Warm blood oozing out, soaking into the earth as his struggles slowly died out.

Behind him, Jeff could hear the rush of more footsteps. Two more guards rounding the bend of the house. Guns aimed and ready. Jeff snatched up the fallen guard’s gun and two shots guards, before they could fire their own.

Though…. As good as Jeff was at hand to hand combat…. He was no marksman. One bullet managed to hit one of the house guard’s in the leg out of sheer luck, but the other went wide and completely missed.

Jeff knew by now that stealth was out the window. The Hayden’s would know something was happening now. He might as well just go for it!

“Do not move!” One shouted. “The cops are already on their way! Don’t make us shoot!” The man threatened, his gun aimed shakily in Jeff’s direction.

Jeff ignored their warnings and ran for the house. With a strong leap he jumped straight through one of the windows on the ground floor. Glass crashing around him as he landed in what appeared to be a kitchen.

He was inside. But now what?

Where would they be going next? Jeff’s eyes darted around the room as he considered his next move. They would know he was here, the bodyguards surely would’ve warned them. But would they keep them here?

Or would they….

The memory of the cars in the driveway suddenly flashed through Jeff’s mind. An escape. It was certainly possible. They would’ve heard the gunshots, the breaking glass….

“There he is! Fire!” Came the shouting voice of the guards from outside. Jeff dove to the floor as bullets sailed through the broken window, crashing around the kitchen. Shattering plates and embedding themselves in the walls.

“He’s in the kitchen! I repeat, in the kitchen!”

Five guards total, one dead, one injured. Jeff still had three men to contend with.

The guard from outside peered through broken window, before beginning to climb through himself. And at the same time, Jeff could hear running from down the hall. He was about to be cornered.

Cornered.

Jeff felt a twitch in his cheeks. A smile slowly tugging its way upward. This was almost as fun as sneaking around.

From the window, came the first man. And from the kitchen door, came the second. Two men. One killer.

“Get him!”

Jeff sprung into action, grabbing the kitchen table and heaving it onto its side. Blocking the gun fire from the first man. The second aimed and fired, Jeff was only barely able to dodge. With two men attacking him he wasn’t able to focus as easily on their bullets. Dodging was getting more difficult.

As the second man aimed again, Jeff whipped his arm through the air. Hurling his knife like a projectile, it stabbed into the man’s chest and sent him collapsing against the wall, clutching at the bleeding wound.

The first guard knocked the table to the side and fired another shot at Jeff. He was really starting to get tired of these guns!!!! The bullets this time grazed Jeff, ripping a hole through his white sweater and cutting a gash across his side. He could feel his own blood beginning to soak into his clothes.

With a cry of rage, Jeff rushed the first guard. Grabbing him and slamming him against the back counter. The two of them wrestled, with Jeff’s new wound the guard was able to briefly overpower him. Pushing him back, their hands locked together as they struggled.

Out of the corner of his eye Jeff could see the second man recovering from his stab. Though he was injured and bleeding badly Jeff could see him readying to take another shot.

Right as the bullet tore through the air, Jeff yanked on the first man. Redirecting the force of their contested pushes and using it to spin him around. Trading places with him as the bullet lodged itself firmly in the man’s back. He gave a wheezing cry of pain as Jeff shoved his human shield to the ground.

The second guard didn’t even have time to react to having shot his friend, as Jeff snatched up the fallen handgun and began to unload into the guard’s body. No care for subtly or reservation, Jeff unloaded every last bullet there was into the second guard. About half of them missed, but it was enough. The second guard slumped to the floor in a heap.

Jeff dropped the empty gun and stood there for a moment, panting. His heart and adrenaline racing. He gulped in mouthfuls of air, replenishing his tired lungs. It was by far the most intense battle Jeff had been in so far. But he wasn’t done yet….

“Please….” Came a croak from Jeff’s feet. Casting a glance down, Jeff found the human shield guard to still be alive. Even as he was bleeding out on the kitchen floor. Resilient.

“Have….. Mercy…..” The guard begged.

Jeff doubted this man would survive, even if he left him alone.

“Where are they?” Jeff asked as he knelt beside the man. “The Haydens. What was their plan in case I arrived?”

The guard’s eyes widened.

“You want me to sell them out…? After they hired me to protect them…?” His voice trembled with fear. Though Jeff couldn’t tell if it was fear of him, fear of the Haydens, or maybe a bit of both.

But Jeff didn’t have time to concern himself with it. He would find them his own. He shrugged and stood up. Lifting his leg and positioning his foot over the head of the guard.

“N-No! Wait! Wait! Okay! Okay! Just please…. Please let me live.”

Jeff smiled wide and lowered his foot back to the ground. His scarred face looming over the wounded man.

“Then speak.” Jeff whispered.

“I…. I….” The guard struggled for a moment. “The cars. They’re going to escape by car.”

It was just then that the roar of an engine was heard from the front of the house. The guard gave a relieved smile and let his head drop.

Jeff swore under his breath and took off running to the front of the house. Snatching his knife and the handgun from the corpse of the second guard on his way out. He threw open the door and raced out onto the front porch just in time to see Maxwell Hayden’s blue sports car beginning to race down the driveway.

“Really not making this easy for me.” Jeff grumbled, placing the knife between his teeth and breaking into a sprint. Forcing his body to run as fast as he possibly could.

The downside of having such a big estate like the Haydens, out in the middle of the woods, was the fact the driveway was so long. And not exactly easy to drive down either. Jeff’s only hope was that the rough ground would keep Maxwell from driving at top speed, and allow Jeff to catch up with him.

Jeff sprinted as fast as he could, but even still he wasn’t able to catch up with the car. Maxwell was driving wrecklessly, speeding as quick as he could to try and reach the road.

The sportscar passed through the gate, swerving onto the road and immediately slammed on the gas. Racing away.

Jeff exited the estate grounds shortly after, standing in the road and staring down the rapidly retreating car. He’d never catch them on foot….

Maybe he didn’t need to.

He didn’t need to outpace them.

Just out endure them.

Jeff held up the handgun and started to fire as he kept chasing after the car. He was quickly losing ground, but it was all he could do to try and keep within range of the vehicle. If he could just puncture the tire then catching them would become a lot easier.

But every last bullet that Jeff fired missed its mark. Barely any of them even managed to hit the car. And before he knew it, the gun’s clip had run out. With a shout of frustration Jeff threw the empty gun into the trees. He only had one shot left at this. If this missed…. He might lose his chance for revenge at Randy Hayden for good.

Jeff slowly took his knife from his mouth and reared his arm back. The blade pinched carefully between two fingers. Focusing with every ounce of brainpower he had on the car in the distance. With a deep breath, Jeff wound back his arm and hurled his knife with every ounce of power he could muster.

The sheer force of the throw practically split the air. Jeff’s knife moving faster than a bullet as it pierced into the tire. It let out a loud squeal as the air began to rush from it, deflating as the car continued to roll onwards.

Jeff smirked before beginning to walk down the middle of the road.. Trailing the now injured and limping vehicle. His prey was within his grasp now…..

He just had to endure.

******

The hunt dragged on for another 45 minutes. Jeff trailed the car by foot. Never tiring. Never wavering. The car remained just out of his reach, but still within sight. He knew they couldn’t see him through the dark shadows. The country road’s lack of streetlights was a blessing. Though in a way, Jeff was almost sad that they couldn’t see him.

The glowing red of the Hayden’s tail lights always remained just ahead. Like piercing eyes beckoning Jeff forward.

Eventually, the car stopped retreating. Its glowing eyes now stationary on the side of the road. The tire had finally worn down, and begun scraping raw metal against the concrete.

Jeff’s smile returned. He didn’t need to hurry anymore. They wouldn’t be getting away.

As he walked, his foot kicked something along the pavement. At first he thought it was a piece from the Hayden’s car…. But upon further inspection, he realized it was something else.

His knife.

His unwavering thirst for vengeance was broken momentarily. As he stopped and picked up his weapon. Confusion dancing across his face. He’d expected this thing to be a broken, twisted mess by now. After getting dragged along by the Hayden’s car for so many miles.

It was just an ordinary kitchen knife…. Wasn’t it? It had been when he’d first picked it up. But perhaps, like he, the knife was warped. Changed by the darkness that he had embraced and reveled in.

Whatever the reason, Jeff wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. With his knife now back in hand, he continued towards the car.

“Its completely blown out.” Jeff heard a smooth, older voice speak up. The voice of Maxwell Hayden, no doubt.

“Town’s not too far ahead.” Came the annoying and grating voice of Randy.

“Yeah, we’ll have to walk. The rim is already bent to hell and back….”

“B-But what about Jeff the Killer?” Randy’s mom spoke up, poking her head out of the passenger side window.

“There’s no way he was able to catch up with us. Not to mention the guards and the cops. I’m sure he’s been caught or killed by now.” Maxwell replied.

“Shouldn’t we just call the cops and wait here? I mean. They should be looking for us anyways, right?” Randy asked, there was a twinge of nervousness to his voice that Jeff quite enjoyed.

“I thought so…. But they’re not here now. And I don’t want to just sit here until someone shows up.” Maxwell dusted off his hand and opened the door for his wife. “So let’s go. Town isn’t too much further. Maybe we’ll get lucky and a passerby will pick us up.”

“Guess it’s your lucky day then.” Jeff called out, firmly announcing his presence as he stepped into the dim light cast by the car’s tail and headlights. Randy’s mother screamed. Randy himself looked like a statue, frozen and staring.

“Randy. The gun. The shotgun! Get the shotgun from the-”

Before Maxwell could finish the sentence Jeff ran forward and plunged the knife into chest, right through his heart. Maxwell’s wife screamed again. Jeff twisted the knife a few times for good measure, before letting the man drop to the ground.

“Stay in the car.” Jeff commanded of Randy’s mother. “I’m not here for you. Just your son.” Jeff started to take a few steps towards Randy, when a hand grabbed his wrist.

“No!” The mother yanked on Jeff’s wrist, trying to hold him back. “Randy! Run! Go!”

Jeff felt a sting in his heart. Just briefly. Hearing Randy’s mom sound so desperate to save him…. The desperation, the sadness…. It sounded all too familiar. Jeff had heard it in his own voice on that night Liu had died. That desperate, crawling feeling. Begging the world to do anything but take the one you loved.

Jeff’s hand actually slackened on his knife. He cast a glance at Randy’s mother. The rage and sorrow behind her tear soaked eyes. It was like looking through a window to that night. Looking back to himself as he tried anything to save his brother.

But as his flames wavered. Images suddenly flashed through his mind. Images of Liu’s desecrated body, the way he and Liu were treated when they first arrived, the carelessness of his parents…. The way the police and his own family thought him capable of killing his own brother.

His chest and head burned and screamed with pain, he was being blinded by the rage once more. The flames inside of him burning brighter as he was reminded of every last injustice he was dealt. That his brother was dealt.

Jeff suddenly snarled. His scarred face, incapable of anything other than a manic smile, twisting into pure fury as he suddenly turned on the woman. Snapping his arm from her grasp with ease and clutching her by the throat, squeezing the life out of her with one hand. She struggled and fought, but was no match for Jeff. His knife quivered in his hand. His body craved the blood and gore. He brought the blade up to slash at the woman but just as he did-

“I know you didn’t kill your brother!”

It was like someone had just thrown ice water over Jeff.

A shock to the system so powerful that he had no choice but to step back. Releasing the woman’s throat. She collapsed into the car, coughing and choking.

Jeff’s head slowly turned towards Randy. Pale white face and hollow black eyes illuminated like a demon in the red lights of the car.

“What did you just say…?” Jeff’s voice was barely more than a coarse whisper. He could feel the rage threatening to overtake him, but he pushed it down. Shoved it deep. His curiosity overpowering the rage he felt.

I-I…. I was there.” Randy’s voice trembled. The smell of urine was heavy in the air. Either he or his mother had pissed themselves. Jeff couldn’t tell which, and didn’t care.

“There…. When?” Jeff took a few slow, calculated steps towards Randy.

“Th-The night everything happened. The night Liu died. I followed him into the woods.” Randy was shaking like a leaf as Jeff drew closer.

“Liar.” Jeff snarled. “You’re just lying to save yourself.”

“N-No! I promise, man! I was! I-I went looking for him. A-After school! I saw your huge fight. A-And I thought I-I could get Liu to start messing with you. Y-You know? L-Like…. G-Get him to start hanging out with my boys.”

Jeff couldn’t help but give a chuckle at that. Randy really was clueless if he thought Liu would’ve ever agreed to that. A side of Jeff deep down shouted that he should just kill Randy. Mutilate him then and there and get out of there before more cops showed up…. But another side, a side that sounded just a little bit like his brother…. Told him to listen.

“I-I found him. A-And tried to talk him into it. But he wasn’t buying it. I-I got mad and started to try and threaten him…. W-We got into a fight and-”

“And….” Jeff’s hand clutched his knife tighter. Stepping closer. “Did you-”

“No! No no no! H-Hold on! Let me explain! I didn’t kill him either!” Randy started to back away now, seemingly having discovered how to walk again. Jeff’s jolted forward and snatched Randy by the collar of his shirt. Holding the taller boy firmly in place.

“W-We were fighting and then…. And then we heard this…. I-I don’t know! This…. Roar? A scream? I-I don’t really know. I-It was like a cross between a hyena and-”

“GET ON WITH IT.” Jeff snarled in Randy’s face, so close that he could see the sweat dripping down the boy. Even though it was relatively cold out.

“Okay! Okay! This…. This thing came out of the woods! I-It was like a man. K-Kind of… B-But it walked on all fours. And it looked starved…. L-Like it was skeletal or something. It was naked a-and pale…. And had this long sharp claws on each of its hands and f-feet…. I-It was some kind of monster!”

Jeff was about to call Randy’s bullshit. When he recalled the claw like markings all over Liu’s corpse.

“It chased Liu into the woods. B-But it didn’t seem to care about me.”

He could be lying. Jeff’s inner voice spoke. He knew about the claw marks because he did it. He used some kind of weapon to claw Liu to death and mutilate him! Repay the favor!

“I-It chased Liu into the woods! But left me behind! I swear! I-I would’ve told the cops, b-but who would believe me!?” Randy blubbered as Jeff held him close. “Please. Please man, I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry about trying to fight you and shit. Just please! I want to live!”

“Liu didn’t get to live. So why should you? Even if your story is true, you did NOTHING to help him.” Jeff raised his knife, blade glinting in the car lights.

“W-Wait! Wait! There was something else! O-On the thing! The monster! On its shoulder was a symbol! It had a symbol on it!”

Jeff figured Randy was just spouting non-sense now. Saying anything to delay his fate. Trying to keep Jeff occupied until the police or someone else arrived to scare him off. But it wasn’t going to work.

“A circle! A circle with an X through it!”

Jeff brought the blade down into Randy’s shoulder. The boy screaming in pain as it cut through his arm. It was only then…. Did Jeff think about what he had just said.

A circle.

With an X through it.

A symbol that sounded familiar…. Because it was etched right into his own skin.

The very realization made Jeff pause once more. This time he released Randy. The boy collapsing to the road and clutching at his bleeding shoulder. Jeff ignored him though, and instead his eyes drifted to his right hand. Still clutching the hilt of his knife.

Slowly Jeff removed the blade with his left hand, and allowed his right to open…. Revealing the symbol. The very symbol Randy had just described.

The circle with the X through it.

The mark of Slenderman. The branding…. Of his proxies.

Was Randy lying? Was this just another ploy to distract him?

That didn’t make any sense. How would Randy know the significance of the proxy’s mark? How would Randy know of the supernatural that Jeff had first hand experience with?

White skin…. Just like Jeff’s own after he’d agreed to the deal with Slenderman.

Jeff took a step back from Randy. Then another. Backing away as if frightened himself. He continued to stare down at his own hands. At the symbol etched into his skin.

Had he been behind this? Slenderman?

Jeff thought back to that night in the forest. The night he’d first met Slenderman. He’d recalled how he’d been cornered in the dark, recalled how the one thing that had prevented him from making the agreement at that very moment was his brother. Slenderman had sensed those feelings….

The rage that Jeff had been feeling. The foggy static in his head, the pain in his chest…. The way the violence made it all go away…. Even before Jeff had become a proxy, he’d been feeling that way. Ever since they came to Mandeville.

At the bus stop. In the bathroom. The animals…. Each everytime the one who prevented Jeff from going off the deep end was Liu.

Was it really so out of the question that Slenderman sent another one of his proxies to kill him…?

Was it really that hard to believe that he’d been tricked?

Jeff’s hands curled back into fists. Teeth clenching. He felt like he already knew the answer deep down. Randy’s confession had seemed enough for him. It was no coincidence that Liu died in those woods. Died in the very same woods that demon haunted.

Everything that had led up to this moment…. Was it possible that it had been orchestrated by him? Some grand composer toying with the events to lead Jeff down this dark path? To turn him into a killer? Into a puppet from which misery and death could flow from?

It was.

It was very, very possible.

But not confirmed.

Jeff didn’t want to pick a fight with something like Slenderman if he could avoid it…. Something told him that being on that thing’s bad side was a horrible idea.

That meant Jeff needed to be certain. He needed to be certain that he was the true cause of Liu’s death. The true cause of everything that had transpired here.

Jeff had forgotten Randy entirely. He was no longer his prey. At least, not in this moment. Jeff left the three Haydens to bleed on the road. They would either survive, or they wouldn’t. He didn’t care which.

All he cared about in that moment was the truth. And there was only one person that Jeff could get that from.

Jeff, filled with a new determination, stepped off the road and entered the dark forest once more.

Jeff needed to know who his true enemy in this war really was.

Jeff pushed through the woods. Swiping bushes and tree limbs out of his way as he fought through the thick foliage. It was almost like the very forest itself was fighting him, pushing him back. But he wouldn’t be denied. The flame of anger that burned in his heart had temporarily driven away the fog that had so clouded his brain for the past month.

Jeff didn’t know where to find him. But he knew he didn’t need to. He knew he was watching. Just like he had been from the beginning.

“SLENDERMAN!” Jeff roared, halting in the middle of the forest, where the shadows were at their darkest. His blade clutched so tightly in his hand he was afraid it might break. “SHOW YOURSELF! YOU COWARD!”

When no answer came to Jeff’s fury, he lashed out. Slashing his blade across the trees, carving deep marks into their twisted bark. Jeff was lost in his panic and anger. He didn’t know what to think. He hoped that Randy had been lying, making up some sort of story to save his own skin. He hoped that the only ally he had left, wasn’t secretly his primary enemy.

But Jeff knew it was a foolhardy thing to hope for. How could he expect humanity from something that wasn’t human? From a demon that lurked in the shadows.

“GET OUT HERE!” Jeff roared again, throwing his head back and crying to the darkened sky. Once more there was no answer. Was he hiding? Scared?

No. Jeff knew he wasn’t. Slenderman wasn’t something that could be scared. He was observing.

Jeff was at a loss. He needed these answers. Needed to hear it from the source.

Jeff stood panting in the forest, eyes darting around. Hoping to see that emaciated, white figure emerging from the shadows, but the only white figure here, was himself.

With a cry of frustration, Jeff turned his gaze down to the palm of his hand. That symbol. The mark of the proxy. The branding that united Jeff to this demon, to the potential harbinger of all this doom. A source.

Jeff raised his knife, about to plunge it into his skin….

Do not.

Came that voice. That voice that Jeff could never forget. The one that haunt his waking memory for the rest of his life. But all the same, it was the voice he had wanted to hear.

Jeff slowly turned, coming face to face with Slenderman. The shadows had retreated ever so slightly, allowing the tall figure to stand among the trees. Nearly double Jeff’s height, glaring down at him with that blank, featureless face.

“You know why I’m here.” Jeff declared. His eyes locked on to the small depressions in Slenderman’s face, where his eyes should’ve been.

The words spoken by Randy Hayden.Jeff answered stoically. Not allowing the creeping fear he felt to overwhelm him. “I had something more important to huntdown. Answers.” Jeff’s hand clutched his knife tighter, his only friend in this cold and dark world.

Answers.The Slenderman repeated, almost sounding amused. He stepped forward, long legs arching over the forest floor. He took long strides around Jeff, his lanky arms folded behind his back as he stepped. Though his face was turned away, Jeff could tell that he was still being watched.

“Yes. Answers.” Jeff turned in time with Slenderman, keeping him in his sights. Like a twisted dance. “Randy said he saw what killed Liu.”

You believe him?

“I might. It would be one hell of a lie to make up on the spot. Not to mention what a coincidence it would be.”

Slenderman finally stopped his strides, his back facing Jeff.And what did he think he saw?

“He saw a creature. Pale. White. He said it hunted Liu down. Attacking Liu while ignoring him.”

And you think that was me?

“No.” Jeff held up the palm of his hand towards Slenderman. “I think it was another one of your pets. Just like me. An instrument of murder that kills for you. Randy said he saw this sign on the creature’s body. And I don’t see how Randy of all people would know the significance of that. Not enough to lie about it in the face of death.”

“So tell me…. Did you do it? Did you order that… That thing to kill Liu?”

Slenderman didn’t answer. Remaining silent.

“ANSWER ME!” Jeff roared.

The Slenderman slowly unfolded his arms, allowing them to hang at his sides.

You seem to think you have some authority in this alliance.The Slenderman spoke, his words chilled like ice. The tone of his rasping, psychic voice having taken on a deadly quality. One that made Jeff feel like the prey for once.

Allow me to make it clear where you stand.The Slenderman turned to face Jeff in full. Reaching up and adjusting the black tie upon his pristine suit. Jeff stares him down, but as he does so, his figure seemed to warp. Suddenly seeming to be far, far taller than he appeared. Stretching high over head, into the dark sky above, the full force of his stare bearing down upon Jeff like weight on his shoulders.

Jeff’s head began to buzz, filling with that same staticky feeling as before. Overwhelming him, drowning out his thoughts and his own voice. It grew loud in his ears, his head felt like it might split. Jeff cried out in pain, but couldn’t hear himself over the roar in his head. He dropped to his knees, his hands squeezing his head as if worried it might crack open.

YOU. ARE. NOTHING TO ME.The Slenderman’s voice pierced the static like a knife through flesh. Loud and clear even amid the buzzing pressure that threatened to knock Jeff unconscious.

YOU ARE A TOOL TO BE USED. YOU ARE NOT AN EQUAL. THIS IS NOT A PARTNERSHIP. THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT WERE SIMPLE, JEFFREY. I GRANT YOU POWER, AND YOU KILL.

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” Jeff cried out, tears stinging his eyes, his breath coming in rasps. His vision swimming as darkness threatened to overtake him.

YOU ARE MINE. YOU WILL OBEY. YOU WILL LISTEN.

Jeff dropped down to all fours, his stomach wretching as he vomited up blood and bile onto the dirt beneath him. He was beginning to feel numb, beginning to feel his consciousness…. No. His will slipping away. He was losing feeling in his body, losing control of himself. His hand released his knife, letting it drop. His body beginning to act of its own accord.

Act in Slenderman’s accord.

It did not have to be this way, Jeffrey. The Slenderman spoke as he stared down at Jeff’s crumpling form. You had promise. Potential. The darkness embraced you just as much as you did it. You could’ve truly become more than just a proxy. But no. Thrown away out of pettiness.

“F….Fuck you….” Jeff choked out. Speaking was like fighting against the force of the ocean. He had to push with every ounce of might just to squeeze them out.

Slenderman shook his head disapprovingly. Do you truly not see the irony in this situation, Jeffrey? The irony in your fury and crusade?

Yes. It is true. I ordered one of my agents to kill your brother. The Slenderman spoke, his voice almost sounding amused by the prospect. He was slaughtered in these very woods. Driven here after you pushed him away…. He wouldn’t have been here if it wasn’t for you. Wouldn’t have fallen into my trap. Wouldn’t have died alone….

I may have pulled the trigger. But you, Jeffrey, are the one who put him in front of a loaded gun.

The darkness continued to creep over Jeff’s eyes. Threatening to swallow him whole at any moment. Jeff obviously knew that what Slenderman was saying was true. He had known it all along. He’d blamed himself just as much as he’d blamed Randy, or his parents, or even the very monster that killed Liu.

Maybe he should just give up.

Allow for the death of Liu’s real killer. Allow for himself to be vanish into the darkness. To become nothing but a puppet pulled by strings….

Jeff gave in, the darkness swallowed his vision… And he slumped to the ground.

******

Jeff felt nothing at first. But then felt…. Warmth. Heat. Sun upon his skin. Hot, but welcoming. Far better than the gloom of the forest he had called home…. But where was he?

Jeff let his eyes crack open. He was sat before a sunset. The sun dipping down below the city skyline in the distance. He was elevated somewhere. Sitting high up above the street below. It took him a moment to recollect his surroundings.

New Orleans.

Home.

Jeff was seated upon the rooftop of his childhood house. Overlooking the familiar, nostalgic city below. His heart swelled with emotion as he recalled the memories that had taken place in this house. How good things had been before moving to Mandeville, that felt like a cold void in comparison.

He used to always sit up on the rooftop. Its where he would go when he was angry or upset. His old bedroom window had an easy access to crawl out here. He would always come here with-

“Jeff? You alright man? You’re not falling asleep over there, are you?”

Jeff turned his head in the direction of the voice. Moving lazily, like he were in a dream.

He must’ve been. Because there beside him, wearing that same nerdy old striped scarf, was his brother. Liu. His smile felt a thousand times more warm than the sun that beat down upon them.

“I was worried you were gonna fall.” Liu chuckled. “You looked pretty relaxed there.”

Jeff’s throat felt dry. Face to face with his brother once more, all the things he’d wished he could’ve said before he died suddenly disappeared. Leaving him speechless.

Liu raised an eyebrow. “Well, don’t just sit there and stare at me. Are you gonna say something or what?”

Jeff was still silent. Still staring at the form of his brother. Was this a ghost? Or was it really just a fiction of his mind like Liu had said? Truthfully, it didn’t really matter to Jeff. It didn’t matter if this was real or fake. Because it felt real. The rooftop. The sun. His brother’s voice…. All of it.

Whether he was truly here or not didn’t matter. Because Jeff’s heart was. And that was his brother. His beloved, annoying, nerdy, twin brother. He couldn’t squander whatever opportunity this gave him.

He finally managed to open his mouth and say but a single word.

“How?”

“How what?” Liu turned to face out over the city street again, the sunset giving his features a warm glow. “How are we here? How am I here?”

Jeff gave a silent nod.

“Well…. The easiest answer is that we aren’t. I’m not. This is all in your head, Jeff. You did fall. Just like I was afraid of. You gave in to that hatred and darkness that was swirling around iside of you. You let it consume you, twist you….”

Jeff felt tears well in his eyes and begin to run down his face. Streaming faster and faster as he stared at his brother. As he listened to his words. Truly, for the first time in weeks, listened to the words his brother said.

“I’m sorry….” Jeff whispered. He spoke quietly, afraid of what Liu’s answer might be.

“For what?” Liu suddenly turned back to Jeff, his face awash with genuine confusion.

“For pushing you away. For rejecting your help…. For…. For….” Jeff let his head hang as the tears finally began to rush down his face in full force. “For killing you.”

SLAP!

The loud ring of flesh on flesh echoed out over the empty city. Jeff’s head snapped up, staring at Liu as a red handprint slowly appeared on his cheek. Jeff reached up and touched it, wincing in both shock and pain.

“Get a grip, dude!” Liu grasped Jeff by his shoulders, shaking him. “The hell are you talking about? You didn’t kill me! Are you insane?”

“I did though!” Jeff argued back, his tears still streaming down his face. “I did! I was the reason you were in that forest. I was the one who started that fight at school, I was the one who threatened to kill you…. I even said you weren’t my brother….”

Liu just stared for a minute, before leaning back and shaking his head. “You really do have some screws loose, don’t you?” Liu took Jeff by the face, pulling him up to face him.

“You didn’t do any of that, Jeff. None of it. That wasn’t you. You were being manipulated. Controlled. It was him. Slenderman. He was the one who warped you, who fed on your fear and anger, who made those dark feelings inside you grow and grow until you couldn’t control them any longer.”

“But I-”

“Just shut up. Okay? For once?” Liu interrupted him, letting him go and sitting back to get a good look at him. “You’re a victim in this just as much as I am. That thing…. That Slenderman killed Jeffrey Woods the same way he killed me.”

“The only difference now…. Is that you have another chance. I don’t. I’m already gone. But you…. You’re still alive, Jeff. You’re still out there. Still drowning in that forest. In the darkness…. But its not too late. Its not too late to get back up.”

“If not for yourself, if not for me, then for everyone else. Get back out there and kill him. Kill Slenderman. Avenge me, avenge yourself. Prevent him from torturing and ruining the lives of anyone else on this planet.”

“But how…?” Jeff asked in despair. “His powers….”

“Are your powers now. He imbued you with them…. You’re changed now. You have the ability to fight back. You have the dark powers he gave you, but you have something else. Something that he doesn’t. Human spirit.”

“But he controls me now. His connection to me…. It was too strong. Once I made that deal it made like…. Like a link between us. All he had to do was think about it and I crumpled like wet paper.”

“Then sever the connection. You idiot.” Liu punched Jeff in the shoulder. “Goddamn. For being my twin you sure need a lot of guidance.” Liu smirked. “Guess you really are the younger brother.”

“Yeah, sure. You try fighting a demon or whatever and see how much help you need.” Jeff scoffed back.

“Yeah, poor you. I think I’ve got problems of my own to deal with.”

“Like what?”

“Like being dead?”

“.... Oh yeah.” Jeff had forgotten for just a moment that his brother wasn’t actually here. But strangely, it didn’t bring him grief. Instead…. The both of them laughed. Laughed as the sun continued to dip further below the horizon, as the light began to fade from the world around them.

Liu stopped laughing, though his smile remained. He looked out over the horizon as the sun continued to sink lower, and lower.

“You’ll need to go soon, Jeff.” Liu stood up and held out his hand to his brother. “You’ve got work to do. You can’t keep sitting around here all day.”

Jeff gave a smile back. A true smile. A genuine smile. He took Liu’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.

“I guess you’re right, Liu.” Jeff turned his eyes to the sun. It was almost fully set now…. The reds and pinks of the twilight sky beginning to give way to darkness.

“When am I not?” Liu smirked back. “Good luck out there, bro.” Liu held out a fist bump towards his brother. “Live together?”

Jeff looked down at his brother’s hand. Then back up at him. Locking eyes, he smiled back. “Die together.” He returned the fist bump as the world around him began to fade. “You wait for me. Okay? On the other side…. Assuming I don’t go to hell or whatever.”

“I’ll just have to come save your ass again if you do.” Liu laughed. His form was beginning to melt. Like paint running down a soaked canvas. The beautiful scene around them, that slice of heaven, vanishing like the dream it was.

“Wait! Liu!” Jeff called out as the dream faded. “Liu! I… I promise. I promise I’ll make things right.”

“I know you will Jeff…. I trust you.”

I always…

Trusted you...

Jeff slowly regained his consciousness. Bit by bit, pulling himself from the mental pit he had fallen into. First, he noticed the cold. The chilly air was a sharp and disgusting contrast to the warm, comforting sun he had felt in his dream.

Next, the earth beneath him. Soft. Wet. It smelled of decay and mold.

Then the pain in his head, so sharp and powerful that he almost wished he could pass out again. But he couldn’t. He had work to do.

He had made a promise.

Jeff pried his eyes open. Head throbbing as he pushed himself up onto all fours. Panting and rasping. His mouth tasted of copper and bile, his self inflicted wounds burning like hell.

Jeff hoisted his head up, feeling like it weighed more than a car. His eyes slowly focusing once more on the figure before him.

Had the Slenderman been able to express shock, Jeff felt like he would’ve seen it in that moment. Jeff had only met him a handful of times so far, but already he knew the Slenderman was someone unshakable. Someone so ancient and all-powerful that there was little anyone could do to surprise him.

But Jeff knew he had done it.

The way the Slenderman spoke no words. The way his fingers flexed. The way his head lowered to get a more direct view of Jeff…. He had his attention now.

Jeff fought through the pain in his head. Forcing his eyes to remain focused. Scanning the dirt, his enhanced sense of sight making it all too easy to spot his knife.

Jeff reached out a shaky hand, his left hand. Not his dominant. His fingers curling around the hilt of his blade. The one sense of familiarity he had in this nightmare. This was his weapon. The one thing he could control.

“You….. Killed….. Liu….” Jeff choked out, his throat feeling like it was full of sand. “Not me….. YOU.” Jeff could feel the rage begin to pump through his body. Coursing through his veins like fire, burning the strings that controlled him.

With a gasp, he pushed to his knees.

With a growl, he rose to a kneel.

With a roar, he stood on his feet.

Denial. Slenderman’s smooth words slipping effortlessly into Jeff’s mind. You are in denial for what you have done. Do not reject your guilt.

“I won’t act like I’m a saint…. I won’t act like I’ve not become a monster…. But I won’t let you put thoughts in my head anymore!” Jeff swiped his blade to punctuate his sentence. Feeling it slice through the air brought him back a sense of confidence.

Foolish.Slenderman held out his hand once more.You still do not seem to understand. I control you. You are my puppet, my hand, an extension of me. You are no longer an individual. You no longer have a right to will.

The pain in Jeff’s head began to worsen. He grit his teeth as his eyes began to swim with stars. The world growing dizzy once more.

You gave up your right to free will the moment you shook my hand. The powers I granted you are part of you now. You will never be able to return to being Jeffrey Woods. You will never be able to return to your life as it was. You are a Killer.

Jeff felt his left hand, the hand clutching the knife, begin to rise. The edge placing itself right against his chest. Directly above his own heart. His own body being operated against his will.

A shame to waste such potential. I do not know how you resisted me that first time. How you pushed past my control…. But I will not allow it again. This is where you die.

Jeff felt the knife begin to press deeper. The blade piercing his flesh slowly. Slowly digging closer and closer to its grave mark.

Farewell.

But right before the knife took its plunge, Jeff wrenched it away. With a righteous cry he once more snapped the strings that controlled him.

Ignorant fool.Slenderman spoke. Though his words were calm, they were drenched in rage. He increased the pressure upon Jeff, exerting his control once more, trying to retake control of the boy.

But Jeff fought.

With every ounce of strength, the strength that he gave him. Jeff resisted. His arm trembling as it fought against the greatest force. Jeff could feel every molecule and every inch of his body fighting to win this war. But Jeff knew he couldn’t keep this up forever. He was losing ground, the knife slowly getting closer and closer. And even if he did push it away, did run, he would have no where to go. Slenderman would find him and resume his control…. Jeff couldn’t win as long as Slenderman had such a firm grasp on him.

But thankfully, Jeff wasn’t stupid. And listened to his brother’s advice.

He knew what to do.

Sever the connection.

Jeff’s eyes slowly turned to his right hand. There, in the palm, where the mark of the proxy sat. Burning and aching. If there was ever a point of connection, it was that. Jeff didn’t know what would happen to him, didn’t know if he’d live or die. But it was all he could think to do.

Jeff took several deep breaths, focusing with all his power on his left arm, on the blade clasped in his hand. On the weak points he instinctively knew existed in his right wrist…. He only had one shot at this. Better make it count.

Jeff waited till the right moment, till his arm was just close enough that he could slash with a single swing. It was mere inches from his throat….

With Slenderman focusing so intently on Jeff’s left arm, his right had a much easier time moving on its own.

Jeff closed his eyes for just a moment. The memory of his brother flashing through his mind. He would make sure he upheld his promise.

All at once, Jeff swiftly raised his right arm and swung his left arm from the elbow. Every ounce of willpower he had concentrated into swinging his sharpened, deadly knife.

The blade hit its mark perfectly. Striking Jeff right in the wrist. The blade biting through flesh and cleaving bone as Jeff used his supernatural strength to push it all the way through in one go.

Jeff howled as the pain blinded him. A different pain from that Slenderman wrought. Nothing but sharp, nauseating pain radiating from the stump of where his dominant hand used to be.

With a dull thud, Jeff heard his hand hit the ground.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?Came the roar of the Slenderman’s voice. True fury lacing his words. The composure and control he exuded gone as Jeff performed the ultimate defiance.

The blood that oozed from Jeff’s wrist was black as tar. Pouring to the ground where it sizzled and hissed against the grass. But even as he stood there, bleeding out, Jeff could feel the control of Slenderman disappearing. Could feel it fading from his mind and body. For the first time since Jeff arrived in Mandeville, he felt truly…. Free. A weight he hadn’t even noticed lifted from his shoulders. And even though the pain of his wrist stung him badly, it was nothing compared to the sheer elation he felt.

FOOL.Slenderman roared, and suddenly four pitch black tendrils shot out from his back. Weaving and racing through the air like black snakes. Jeff dodged the first by jumping to the side, then ducked beneath the second.

The third aimed straight for his chest, but Jeff deflected it with a slash from his knife. As the fourth one arched around behind, Jeff spun and slashed it away as well.

“Looks like the power you gave me stayed behind…” Jeff gave a pained smile. A brief glance down at his good hand revealed that his skin was still blank white. He could only imagine that his eyes and hair hadn’t changed back either.

The stain I left upon you is permanent.Slenderman hissed. You will never be free. You will never escape me. Jeffrey Woods.

“I’m not running….” Jeff readied his knife. He would fight to the death. Be it his own…. Or Slenderman’s. He was going no where.

Slenderman’s tendrils flared outward. Six in total. The shadows around the two of them seeming to deepen. But just like a flash of thunder…. Slenderman’s anger seemed to dissipate. His tendrils returned to his body, and his hands fell back down to his sides.

Jeff took a step back instinctively. Eyes narrowed. Was this some kind of trick? A ploy to get him to lower his guard?

What a foolish game.Were the words that came to Jeff’s head. will give you credit where it is due, Jeffrey. You had me enraged. I was not wrong when I said your potential was great…. Proven just now. Never have I seen someone so thoroughly resist my compulsion.

But you and I are still not equal.The Slenderman returned his arms behind his back. need not dirty my hands with a rodent like you. I have others. Dozens of proxies that I can send upon you.

“And I’ll kill every last one of them.” Jeff spat. “If you’re so powerful, just do it yourself. You coward! You couldn’t even kill Liu with your own hands. Had to get another one of your pets to do it.”

Precisely. I do not bother with killing insects. And even if you are a particularly painful one, I will not stoop to your level.

Jeff gave a wild slash at Slenderman, but his blade met only shadow. He spun in circles, eyes scanning, searching for any sign of movement. But there was none. His tall tormentor vanished as if he were never even there.

We will not meet again Jeffrey Woods.Came his voice. Seeping into the air around Jeff.Enjoy your last few days of life if you can. You will know no rest. You will know no peace. You will be hunted by my proxies, and humanity a like. You will be driven by the instincts that I have awakened in you…. Congratulations Jeffrey. You’ve made yourself of an enemy of the light and the dark. Did you think you felt alone before? Prepare yourself. For you have seen nothing yet….The voice whispered ominously, before fading into the wind. The darkness retreating with it. Leaving Jeff standing in a completely ordinary, and normal forest.

Jeff stood still for a moment longer. Panting, breathing. Enjoying the looseness of his lungs, the clarity in his head. His euphoria of freedom was short-lived though. His hand was bleeding out…. He’d do what he could to fix it. Jeff would just have to hope that whatever he did would be enough. It wasn’t like he could go to a hospital or something.

Although the words Slenderman left him hung heavy in the air, the clear night sky gave Jeff a sense of peace. The darkness had retreated. For how long? He could not say. But for now, in this moment, he would rest. He would recover.

And then?

He would finish the job.

~~WORLD OF FEAR: BOOK ONE~~

~~END~~