With Shana's sudden lack of cooperation we both fall forward onto our knees. I have to get her farther away from the tree. I climb to a semi-standing position as quickly as I can and haul Shana with me. She looks like she wants to help, but has lost sense of what she's supposed to be doing.
I look around while pulling her forward. We are still in the forest, but now it's definitely the shadow dimension version of the forest, and the only source of light is... is me. Another tearing pain, and I fall back to my knees, and the light grows dimmer in response. What does this mean? The light coming from me… is that what he’s trying to get rid of before it can- I hear a loud screeching sound. It mimics the sound I heard when the fiend first charged. He’s here.
I feel- or at least think I feel a sudden rush of adrenaline and I haul both Shana and myself up in one quick pull. I balance her weight with my shoulder and practically drag her away. I don't know which direction I'm heading, only that it's away from the tree. The shrieking gets louder and begins pulsing. It's pulsing with a distinct rhythm, and seems to be coming from multiple directions. The rhythm- I've heard it before, it's... it's laughter. He’s laughing at us. He must be sure we can't escape. I only hope he’s wrong. His laugh grows louder and echoes from all directions-from very close to very far and in a variety of volumes and pitches.
I begin screaming at him out of both anger and fear. I feel tears rolling down my face.
“What do you want from us!?” I scream, but my voice cracks. I can feel the numbness growing stronger. Each note of laughter sends a pulse in my direction. My heart is racing and I can't think. I can't move. Shana falls to the ground on my side and causes me to stumble again.
I scream as loudly as I can, trying to block out the ominous laughter that torments me. Covering my ears doesn't seem to work, because even though the laughing sounds quiet, I can feel it pulsing through my bones. Each vibration sends another shock of terror and all I want is to get out of here. I’m in agony; he’s on me again. I feel myself being pulled back toward the tree. No! I didn't come here in vain.
I fight him, throwing punches and kicks, squirming and wriggling. I don't feel myself hitting anything, except for a few trees in my path, and I can feel myself being dragged back to the clearing at a sprinter's pace.
“No!” I scream and continue fighting. I find myself on my stomach and manage to wrap my arms around the trunk of one of the trees. Using it for leverage against the pull of the monster, I pull myself forward, away from the fiend as hard and fast as I can, pain coursing through my body, crying. I'm trying to get back to Shana. I came here for her, and I won't just leave her here.
I crawl forward, and every time I progress to another tree I wrap onto it to keep from the sudden backward tugs, but even though I'm so close to Shana that I can see her through the dark, the light grows dimmer with every pull. He doesn't need me to go to the tree. He just needs to put out the light. He only does it faster if I'm closer to it; if I'm weakened, but now it's too late. I can't find the strength or balance to stand, and even though Shana is standing only a yard from me, the blackness will take me before I can get to her.
Wait… she's standing! I feel a hand on mine. Shana's reaching for me and soon I feel her hand on mine. I feel myself being pulled up to my feet, but at the same time I feel like I've reached the end of my strength. I have an overwhelming sense of dizziness. I can’t stand on my own, I can't walk, I can hardly think. I can sense the fiend around me, and vertigo consumes me.
Humans aren't meant to feel this way. Humans aren't even meant to be here. I become lost in my thoughts, answering my own questions. Why am I here? I came to free Shana. How did I plan to do that? I tried to cut down the tree, but what now? I feel my body convulse, and although I can't see it, I know I've vomited. I feel another tug, and hear a voice, but the voice is muffled by the shrieks of static. “I can't...”
“Alyssa...”
“He’s calling my name.”
“Alyssa... Lyss!” I feel another pull. I realize I've been dragged a few feet since Shana helped me to my feet and I fell over.
“Alyssa... we have to go,” says Shana.
“Don't let him claim you. You'll never get out.” I look up and see Shana still pulling me through the woods. She's not looking at me. Instead her gaze is a blank stare. I think she's talking to herself as well as me.
We can't give up. That's what she's trying to say, but what do we do? I have no strength. My only incentive to move is the thought of escaping with Shana? But how? The question repeats in my mind. I escaped last time didn't I? Yeah, I ran. I ran out of his grasp and he couldn't hold me. If I can put enough distance between us and the monster, then we should make it out okay. I have to keep fighting though. I have to fight through the numbness, dizziness, pain, and shrieking.
I gather my last bit of strength together and pull back on Shana's weight, rising to my feet.
“We have to go,” she repeats. There’s almost no light, and all I can see is her face, less than an arm’s length away.
“Let’s go,” I say feebly. Her hand in mine, we run. I run with my free hand forward, pushing myself out of the way of trees that appear in my path. I can only hope I’m moving forward in one direction, and not in circles, but there are trees, slopes, and hills every few feet that we have to dodge. This involves many turns and twists, and with no light I have no sense of direction, and with my many stumbles I’m sure I’ve gotten turned around a few times.
I feel a rushing wave of howling static. It’s pushing from behind us.
“He’s coming,” mutters Shana.
“He’s coming!” she shrieks. Another wave hits me. It’s the same thing that happened when I was on my way to the tree with the axe. Except now, he’s faster. He’s not stalking. He’s pursuing, and I feel him getting closer. Shana does too. I can tell through her sobs. She’s losing hope. I wish I could get a good look at her face, but it’s hard enough getting her to keep up with me.
I feel another pulse. This one weakens me and causes my knees to almost buckle, but I keep moving. The wave must have affected her more than it did me because I feel her slipping. She’s lagging behind, failing to keep up. I can’t tell if she’s just too tired to run any faster or losing consciousness, but I think it’s the latter. I have to keep her talking. I cut her off from him and then she pulled me away from him when he had me. Now it’s a game of keep-away. I can’t tell who he’s targeting.
He wants both of us, but I think he can only take one of us at a time. He came after me while I was panicking, and now I can only feel him following us. This must mean he’s after Shana. She needs a voice to listen to. She needs to remember that it’s my hand she’s holding and not his.
“Shana, we’re gonna be okay. Just keep running!” I say, trying to shout, but I’m already breathless. He reinforces his laughter, as if emphasizing it in response to me, and I feel a static wave that almost forces me forward, but at the same time I feel Shana’s grip weaken as if she’s being pulled back. She needs to talk to me. I need to know she’ll make it.
She screams. I look, but I can’t see what has her. I can’t see what he’s doing. I run into a tree, and am glad that the numbness works to distance the pain. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to stay on my toes.
I wrap around the tree, jerking Shana. I feel a lot of resistance and hope I didn’t just dislocate her shoulder or anything. She’s fallen to her knees, and is still screaming. It’s that same scream she gave me in my original nightmare.
“No, I won’t let you take her away from me again. You’re not going to hurt her anymore,” I say aloud. We’re not going to escape him with me dragging her like this. I turn around and pick her up. It’s nearly impossible, because I already had a hard to time getting used to running while almost completely numb, but without the numbness I probably wouldn’t be able to lift Shana at all.
I can tell my speed isn’t that of a sprinter, it barely would pass for a brisk walk, but I came here for her, and I’m not
leaving without her. Her screaming fades into cries and I can tell she’s slipping. She’s close enough now that I can see her face. It looks like she’s dying right in my arms. “Shana!” I scream.
“We’re almost there! Shana, hold on! Almost!” but I’m not sure how true that even is.
In the nightmare I only ran a few dozen meters from the tree line where his presence was the strongest, and we haven’t even left the woods yet, but we’re going in another direction I’m sure. Does he have control over the whole forest, or just a certain distance? I hope that whatever the truth is, I can make it out with Shana.
I push one of the trees with my shoulder to work around it, and then that sense of vertigo hits me. The tree grabs me, but it’s not just a tree. It’s him, it’s his static hand. I scream loudly as he touches me. My body distorts with that meat-grinding pain at the contact point. I bite my tongue, so hard that I taste blood.
“You’re not going to take me now…” I have to keep going. I march forward and away at a snail’s pace. My body feels like I’m being eaten alive from the inside out but I do my best not to scream. I won’t give him power. I won’t give up.
His grip won’t relent though and I can hear his static screeching all around me again. He’s fighting hard now, there’s no way I can- he’s fighting this hard! He must be panicking. That can only mean that I’m very near.
“We’re almost there Shana! Stay with me, it’s just a little longer,” I cheer. I have some feeling return, telling me that I’m almost out of this world. I sprint, all or nothing now. I can only hope I don’t run headfirst into tree.
My arms are burning from the pressure of Shana’s weight. Suddenly, I feel my balance return and can run more steadily. My legs are burning hot lead, and my feet feel like they’re about to shatter. My clothes are covered in sweat, constricting me, slowing me down. It’s nearly impossible to get enough oxygen, but as all of these feelings return to me, so does light. Light! I can see.
It’s a little past dawn now and the sun has risen. I can see the edge of the woods, only a few yards away. I move with unrelenting speed. I can still sense him here. He’s going to try and pull Shana and me back. I remember the sudden anxiety I had of being pulled back into the woods the first time I ran from the tree. That seems more likely to happen this time, but I’m not about to let it. It’s only twenty paces away...nineteen... fifteen... ten. I’m holding my breath, but I’m almost there.
“We’re almost there Shana! We’re there! We’re free!” I can’t say it above a whisper though. I don’t have the breath. We emerge onto a road and I hear a honk and turn to see a police car. I close my eyes expecting to be hit, but the tires screech with no impact. I look to see Deputy Yew step out and run over to me. I laugh a tired, tortured, but triumphant laughter, and fall to my knees. Who’s laughing now shadow?
“We made it Shana, the police are here,” I say. She doesn’t respond.
“Shana?” I look down at her. She isn’t moving.
“Shana!” I yell. She’s dead.
16: The Shrink
I can’t hear anything. I see an ambulance has pulled up with its siren’s blaring. I see men shouting at me, trying to pull Shana from my arms, and I see Deputy Yew. He’s also talking to me, but I can’t tell if he’s helping the paramedics or trying to comfort me. It’s hard to tell from the expression on his face. Most notably of all, I can’t hear my own screams. I don’t want to let go of Shana. I’ve made it this far, how could I fail? She was alive only moments ago, and now that we’ve escaped she’s not even breathing. How could I make it when she couldn’t? I put all the work into getting in and getting out, I was almost beaten, and yet I escaped-and I thought I’d freed Shana.
Even still, the monster made sure that there was no truly happy ending. I won’t be escaping to Michigan with peace of mind knowing the people I care about are safe. I was so close…
Shana is wrenched from my desperate grip and I fall forward. I don’t have the strength or willpower to hold myself up, and yet I don’t hit the ground. Deputy Yew has his arms around me and is pulling me to my feet. He’s still saying something to me, and even though I’ve stopped screaming, I still can’t hear him.
I watch as the paramedics try to resuscitate Shana. She’s not bleeding and there are no wounds on her, so they believe there may be hope for her, but I know there isn’t. I know that whatever the monster did to her won’t be undone by CPR. Deputy Yew puts me in the back of the police car. I can’t tell if I’m being arrested or just given a ride. I’m not in handcuffs and I haven’t done anything illegal-well, aside from minor theft of the axe, and if the police know about it I’m sure arresting me isn’t a priority.
Throughout the car ride, I lay lengthwise across the whole backseat, crying. My hearing slowly returns but everything is still distorted. I can hear Yew saying something on his radio, and I can hear my own sobbing. Shana... I failed her. The car stops and seconds later the door opens. I’m not immediately yanked out, but I guess they figure out that I won’t be moving on my own, and some police officers remove me from the car.
We are at the sheriff’s station. It’s a short brick building with a small cement flight of stairs leading up to a set of dark brown wooden double-doors. I’ve never actually been inside before now. Yew and one of the other officers guides me in and has me sit on a plastic chair near reception. I look around. There’s a lot of running around going on. I can’t tell if this is how they’ve been working since the cases of the other children, or if they are doing this in response to finding me with Shana. I can hear everything that’s going on, and eventually I hear footsteps approaching me.
“Lyss,” says Mom. She puts her arms around me, but I don’t hug her back. I can’t. I feel like I’m frozen in place by grief. If I wasn’t surrounded by people, I’d be a perfect victim for that fiend, no strength physically or mentally.
“As soon as we found you missing we notified the police. We feared the worst! What the hell were you doing?” she asks. Maybe the police haven’t told her about Shana yet.
“Ma’am,” speaks Sheriff Fraser, emerging from the sheriff’s office. “We need to talk. Will you step into this office for a moment?” he asks.
“I’m not leaving my daughter,” says Mom. “Alyssa, answer me.”
Dad walks from around the corner and puts a hand on my shoulder. I immediately think he’s going to come off as angry and try to scold me, but he has a look of relief on his face. Bubbe and Adam are here too. Bubbe has her poker face on. She knows what was involved with this and isn’t going to waste time scolding me or announcing her relief just yet. Adam looks blank. He must have just been wakened and with him still being sick, he probably doesn’t fully comprehend what’s happening. I lock eyes with Bubbe for a moment, but then I see figures emerge from behind her.
Here comes Deputy Yew and another person. I haven’t seen the man behind him before. He looks like he was just awakened too, but is fully dressed in a grey business suit and shaven. The expression on his face shows me a man that hasn’t had his coffee yet. Both of the men step into the sheriff’s office behind where the sheriff is standing. “Well, it’s very important in regards to your daughter,” continues the sheriff.
“Then talk to us right here,” snaps Dad.
The sheriff pauses as if to ponder the situation for a moment, and then finally spurts out. “Alyssa was found with the Hawthorn girl. One of my deputies found her carrying her corpse from the forest,” he says.
My mind blanks for a moment at his words. His recap brings the memory back up, masking all sound in the area. I close my eyes as more tears pour out. I remember trying to look at her face while carrying her. I told her we’d make it, that we were almost there, but I couldn’t see her face. Was she dead then or dying? If I’d just run faster. If I was just a minute faster my friend would be alive. I hear static, and open my eyes.
“No... I don’t want you. Go away,” I mutter aloud. I know he can hear me. I open my eyes and look for
it, but all I see are looks of worry and bewilderment from my family and the officers within earshot.
“You think she was involved with the disappearance? Shana and Alyssa were like-”
“Sisters, I know. Every summer my niece comes to visit and brings her best friend along with her. I know what that bond is like. Those two are inseparable. They’d take a bullet for each other. I think that may be why Alyssa was able to find her. It’s the only explanation considering that we’ve scoured the woods for days with no luck. Alyssa is the person we least suspect, but we still need to question her.”
“About what? Where she found Shana? She’s speaking gibberish for crying out loud she’s not going to be able to answer questions like that in her state!” says Dad.
“We know, but we need to get all the information we can, so we need to help your daughter. In this office is a psychiatrist, Doctor Filbert, and with your permission we’d like to have him speak with your daughter. This could help us both,” he explains.
A shrink? He wants me to see a shrink? For what? I just watched my best friend die, of course I’m going to be upset, that doesn’t mean I’m crazy! I want to shout it, and I even try to, but all of my anger dissolves into further sadness, and all I can do is hold my mouth open for a few seconds. My parents agree to it against my will. I don’t need a doctor, but there’s little I can do to resist being guided from my seat into a private interrogation room in the back corridor of the building.
As I’m being escorted through the hallway, I see glimpses of him- the static fiend that took Shana from me. Every time he appears I want to scream out of both anger and fear, but each time it’s more anger than fear. He wants me to be afraid, and he’s even more hell-bent on stalking me now. He’s appearing around every corner, every corridor, and every window. He’s not in the interrogation room, though.
The Slender Man Page 14