"Adam!" I call repeatedly. My voice is getting tired, but weariness isn't an excuse. I bet I haven't been here ten minutes, and I'm sure as hell not going to let being out of breath stop me from rescuing Adam this quickly. Now is not the time for tears. It's not time to break down and admit defeat. "No time to cry," I tell myself, as the song pops into my head.
"Adam!" I call once more.
I can hear Lionel laughing now. He may be the most helpless, the most innocent of all of the children I've seen Slender take, but his laughter is the most sinister. I'd rather have Chucky chasing after me than a giggling Slender-Lionel. "Just ignore it. Let it go," I tell myself, knowing Lionel wouldn't be doing this to me if he had a choice.
I hear them all laughing as they pursue me, but when I turn I can only see about three meters behind me, and I greatly wish I hadn't let Leanne drain so much of me. I should have run as soon as she laughed, or just ignored her. I've fallen for Slender's traps and now I can't even see if my predators are catching up or not. I see more children, most of whom I don't know by name, but I have seen their faces before. These don't wait for me to approach. They just dart in to intercept me.
Ignoring the creeping numbness, I do my best to sprint, dodging trees and roots that would impede my path. Most of them seem like they will catch up to me at the speed they're running, and their ability to appear suddenly, why aren't they all upon me yet? Realization sets in. I'm being herded.
If I could look around, I might have an idea for where I'm going, but my field of vision is limited. I hear one more voice chime in, and this one makes me stop for a single second to mouth the name. "Adam." He repeats his call.
"Alyssa!" he shouts, very audibly. It came from in front of me, slightly to my right. I follow the sound, shouting his name. When he comes into view he takes off running. Why's he running from me? Oh right, I'm being herded. With my track experience and his broken arm, I should be able to catch up to him easily, but Slender has control of him now, and that’s even more obvious when his body warps almost out of my line of sight in a single distortion.
I follow Adam, with a choir of laughing Slender-Children behind me, for what feels like ten minutes, before he stops in his tracks. I don't stop- not immediately, and I put a hand on him as soon as I catch up, only to be siphoned at the touch. I jerk away and catch what he's staring at.
My eyes begin to sting before I register what it is. The Slender Man is standing in the middle of the clearing, but this time I don't close my eyes. If I am to meet with the Death incarnate, I am going to look him in the eye. As I stare him down, the stinging turns into a continuous burn. The name “The Slender Man,” suits him well, but he’s taller than I remember him. This must be his full-length form. He stands maybe fifteen feet tall, and yet thin as I am. He has that imperfect stillness to him, only interrupted by its distortions. It looks like I'm gazing at a shadow, except the shadow has taken a three-dimensional form and is standing over me.
My body is screaming at me to close my eyes, and my neck is involuntarily twitching trying to get me to look away. The Slender Children have all caught up, but they're not in pursuit. They've done their jobs. When their laughter stops as well, I can't tell if they've just quieted, or if they’ve disappeared, because I am looking at Slender, not his minions.
"I came here," I start, surprised that my voice is coming through clearly despite my proximity to the entity that's caused all of this. "...like you told me to. Now I want Adam," I finish. He doesn't move, but Adam's movements catch my eye and I look down at him. His left arm hangs limp by his side, but with his posture you wouldn't even tell that it's broken. He distorts to face-less Adam, and then to the angry-faced version. He changes back and forth, but not once do I see the crying, weakened, real version of Adam.
He backs up, as if seeking Slender for comfort. My heart skips a beat. I didn't come here for Adam to run from me. Was this Slender's plan all along? I close my eyes to hold back from crying. I won't let his victory be so easy.
"Adam it's me. It's Alyssa," I say. Adam doesn't seem convinced. Slender bends over and I feel that resonating screech. He's laughing at my attempt. I shake my head.
"Adam! Get over here now!" I shout. Adam backs into Slender, and it's as if he is being absorbed into his form.
I watch in horror as Adam practically disappears as Slender contorts in response. After Adam has fully disappeared, a long tendril sticks out from Slender's back. As the tendril unfurls, I can hear Adam screaming, and then more tendrils emerge, each one accompanied by a new scream. I refuse to look away. I have to show him that I'm strong enough to handle him. I've heard enough screams. He'll have to show me something new.
My eyes burn, but I do my best to glare at him, show him my anger through it. "Give me my brother back!" I demand. He laughs again. He shape-shifts and shrinks to about seven feet, but it's not his size that matters, it's the face that appears. I'm looking at Adam, but a black, full shadow version of Adam. Slender is mocking me. He must be enjoying his thought of triumph.
I think about what Bubbe and Mr. Mario said. I have to use joy and life to bring him back, and I bring that with music, but I dropped my guitar back there. Then Bubbe's words ring in my ears, and I begin singing. I sing the song I came here with, Adam's favorite song. I sing Adon Olam. I look Slender right in his imitation of Adam's face as I sing it. I sing it through his laughter and distortions, through his static and the cracks in my voice. I ignore him. I'm singing to Adam. He's the one I want. He's the one I came here for.
I reach the second verse and Slender begins contorting again, and I can hear Adam's sobs. He's not screaming now, he's just crying. I ignore him and sing louder. I'm getting more off-key, but I think it's working. Adam stifles his sobs as if he's listening to me. I realize I closed my eyes during my song. I open them and see Adam, the real Adam, peeking out through Slender.
He's crawling forward, distorting sometimes, but he's not marked by one of Slender's tendrils anymore. I've brought out the real Adam! I crack a smile when I see him. It's a smile of temporary relief, but I know the fight isn’t over, not yet at least. I don't stop singing though, and I hold my hand out for Adam to grab. He doesn't take it though, he can't. He needs his good hand to balance.
I reach forward and take him in my arms. I immediately feel that Adam is draining my life on contact, but I ignore it. I feel as if I'm slipping through him, but with me being absorbed into him, his body follows me as I rise into an upright position. I let go as he's standing, and look up at Slender. He’s waiting, as if pondering his next move, and then he makes it. He shakes wildly and I see his tendrils leave him in the form of his Slender Children. Besides Adam, he has twelve of them, four of them I know: Lindsay, Jason, Leanne, and Lionel. He doesn't have Shana to sic on me, but that's a victory on my part.
"Adam, we have to run," I say, but Adam looks hesitant. Slender hits me with that vortex and I feel my life being drained.
"Adam now!" I take off, dragging Adam behind me. My life-force is draining quickly, but with me pulling Adam along and running away from Slender, I'm hoping that whatever I lose is now actually going into Adam and not to Slender. We can’t move quickly, but I don't stop.
The Slender Children keep warping right in front of me, and each time I pass one it lashes at me, stealing an ounce here or there. I keep going. My field of vision is blurry, especially with maintaining contact with Adam, and every minute my light grows dimmer. I stick my right hand out and each time it hits a tree I work my way around it. Adam sometimes lets go and when he does I have a moment of respite, but my vision doesn't clear and I'm more worried about losing track of him than not being able to see. Luckily he's glowing more brightly than I am so it makes him easy to find. My hands and feet are guiding me in the shadow world now.
We're going uphill now, and I dry-heave from the effort. I do it on the move though; I have to keep moving, because every few seconds another one of the Slender Children, or maybe Slender himself is striking out at me. I am us
ing what little light I have left, no the light I've given to Adam, to help guide me.
We keep running with the screams and laughs of the children all around us. The vertigo is overwhelming and I find that Adam's hand is now guiding me forward. Adam is leading me now, like I did with Shana, only now I'm the one Slender is feeding on. My feet slip and I'm down on my knees doing the best I can to crawl forward. I don't have much energy left. "Adam, keep running," I say weakly. He let's go.
"I can't. Alyssa, I can't," he cries.
"Leave me, just run," I say, trying to rise back up. I anticipate a mass of hands feeding on me, draining my last legs as I struggle to move forward. What if they feed on Adam too? "Adam, you have to run!" I shout as loudly as I can, which is barely above a whisper.
"I can't, Alyssa. They're everywhere," he says. With no physical contact with Adam, my vision has begun to return. I climb up, and with the few meters of light radiating from his aura, I see where we are. A helpless cry escapes when I see that the Slender Children have us surrounded and are closing in slowly, circling their prey. I walk forward a few paces trying to find an out, but hopelessness consumes me as my knees buckle once more. I sit here one knee on the ground and one leg trying to push me back up, waiting to be consumed. It's over. I've lost. There's no- there's a gap. It's only a couple meters wide, but- I feel a meager bit of hope hit me. If I can make it through I might be able to leave them behind, at least until they warp again. It’s time to make a last stand.
"Let’s go," I say.
"We have to run past them," I continue. It's a last ditch resort, but it's the only way I have left.
"They’ll catch us," Adam protests, but I laugh.
"Guess this is where I die," I say, although I'm not even sure if Adam will make it even if I get him through. I rise quickly, my body being powered by a final surge of energy. It’s just enough, just enough to get by them. I lift Adam onto my back ignoring the pain as his body drains me. My last bit of strength- my last will is to keep my brother safe. I put a foot forward and take off. The Slender Children go from their slow prowling to trained sprinters inside of a- distortion. I feel hands on me, hands that are not Adams, but I ignore them. The only way to get them off is to move. I run right through one of them. I can’t see anything, and the painful experience of such a collision nearly stops me right there, but I give myself every mental reassurance that I can win this. Just ten more paces… ten more seconds. We’re almost there, I tell myself.
I keep going, my feet hitting the ground so heavily that my steps seem to displace the black earth beneath me. I feel like I’m running faster than I ever have before, even in the real world. Even with Adam latched onto me like a parasite as he unwillingly feeds on my life-force. I can't tell if the numbness is helping me or hindering me, but I’m pretty sure if I could actually feel what I was doing, I wouldn’t be able to do it. I must have dashed fifty meters, but every few steps an unwanted hand touches me, siphoning my last remaining bits of energy. They're on my thighs, shoulders, arms, and even my head. Are they running with me, warping in front of me, or do they just have really long arms? I can’t see. I can’t see a thing in front of me now. It's not worth thinking about. I can't think. I don't have any strength to think.
I take another step, but I don’t reach ground immediately, and my heart skips a beat. “Downhill…” I say aloud, almost chuckling. I try to recover by throwing my next leg forward to catch myself, but it’s too late. I feel my knee hit the ground, followed by my chest and then onto my side. I am thankful for the numbness now. I can’t feel any pain as my body slams into the ground during my tumble. I'm falling down. My brain is shutting down. I catch a glimpse of something in the split second before I hit it. It’s a large tree. Thud.
"Ah...ugh," I groan.
I roll over but my back is against something. I feel wet, and everything is bright. I cough weakly. "Am I dead?" I ask aloud. I feel something pushing me.
"Alyssa," a distorted voice calls.
"Alyssa, wake up. Don't be dead!" it shouts. I still hear static, but it's more broken than before. I can see a little bit more. I can see branches. The person speaks again. "Alyssa!"
"Adam," I groan. My vision returns a little bit, but it keeps going blurry again. I'm in the forest, and Adam is leaning over me, trying to rouse me with his good arm. I look him in the eye. He looks normal aside from paleness and a few bruises. I cough again and try to move. My body is still very numb, and it's another few seconds before I can so much as hug Adam. I look at my body to identify the wetness, and realize that it's not broken static that I hear.
"Rain," I grunt. It hurts to talk. I try and get up, but it's still a while longer before I can roll over onto my stomach. Now I have to push myself up.
I slowly make it to my feet and Adam helps me stand the rest of the way up. My vision is still blurry, but I can see Adam coated in muddy leaves. I lean forward- nearly falling on him, and kiss him on the top of his head.
"We did it?" I ask. I look around. It's morning and I see no sign of the Slender Man, although I feel like moving around is still as difficult, and now that the numbness has dispersed some more, I realize I’m banged up pretty bad from the fall. My vision clears up a bit and I look around. I think I can make out the trail about ten meters away.
"Come on," I mumble to Adam, still feeling weak. "You okay?" I ask, finding that I have a small limp. A lot of my pain seems to throb from my thigh and back, but the most intense is coming from my head. I must have hit it, but at least feeling is returning to me
"Where's the bus?" asks Adam.
"Bus?" I ask, not sure what he's talking about. "We need an ambulance," I mutter. He follows me and we find out that it was the trail I saw. We follow the trail towards the school. We aren't too deep into the woods, so it'll only be a bit longer before I can- "Ugh," my vision blurs again and I stumble. "I think," I huff. "I think I hit my head, a little too hard," I say through short breaths.
"Where's Denise? We need to find her!" he protests. What is he talking about? Denise, she's dead right?
"Adam, Denise isn't here," I say, trudging along. I can see the road just ahead. For the millionth time I anticipate Slender stealing me away at the last moment. Slender! Something is wrong. This escape was suspiciously easy. Why has he stopped pursuit? I fell down hill and was knocked out, and now I’m back? He wanted me. I was the one who escaped, stealing one of his children and now I’ve done it again? That doesn’t sit right. He’ll be back.
“No, she was sitting right beside me,” he protests, tugging. My train of thought returns to him. He’s talking about Denise.
“No just, we need police,” I mutter. We make it through the edge of the woods safely, but my vision blurs again. I try shaking my head to clear things up but it only makes it worse. I pull Adam along the road, hoping someone will be out driving this early. After another minute I see a car in the distance and wave. The car is coming in our direction. I rush forward, pulling Adam with me as fast as I can, with a minor limp. I almost think we aren’t going to make it. Maybe we aren’t as visible in this rain, but then I realize that it’s driving slowly, as if the driver is scanning the woods already. As I get closer I see that it’s a police car and it’s already come to a halt by the time I register who’s driving it.
“Oh my god!” I hear Deputy Yew shout. “Alyssa, you found him! Oh-” he rushes over to us. “Are you alright?” he asks when he gets close.
“Uh, I think I need… ugh,” I start. I see his flashlight light, but I can’t tell what direction he pulled it out from.
“Follow the light for me.” I try to, but my vision blurs.
“Were you attacked or…?”
“I was running and- I fell…” I answer.
“Running? From…”
“I’ll explain later, but… but yeah,” I say. I can’t seem to form full length sentences.
“I think you might have a small concussion, here come with me. We’ll get you to some medical attention,” he ins
tructs. He puts Adam and me in the back seat. I’m on the driver’s side and I lean against the window. I notice I’ve tracked a lot of mud into the car, and the rainwater is ebbing into the seats. I feel a little sorry because Deputy Yew will probably be the one to clean it up. I hold Adam’s shoulder since his left arm is broken. He’s holding his left arm, wincing.
“I hurt my arm,” he says.
“Adam that’s been, that’s… you’ll be fine,” I say.
“What about Denise and the others? They’re still at the bus?” he asks.
“Adam, that accident…” I try, but I give up. It’s not worth the energy to speak. I lean against the headrest and let out a little laugh. We both made it! We both escaped, for now at least. I thought he wanted me to stay in exchange for Adam though. I thought he wanted me for certain.
Deputy Yew is on his radio. “…Yes that’s correct. I have both of the Redwood children. Alyssa found the boy,” he explains. I look through the front window but my vision blurs again, damn concussion.
As my vision returns I see something far ahead in the road. It looks like a person and I brace myself for Deputy Yew to slam the brakes and slam my already weakened body forward. Even with a seatbelt I’m not- he’s not slowing down, and I get a closer look. It’s him! It’s The Slender Man in the middle of the road! As the car speeds closer I see him raise one of his hands out as if reaching for me. There’s an immense wave of static.
“Look out!” I scream, but it’s too late, the car crashes into the Slender Man and I watch his hand reach right through Deputy Yew and right into my face. The only thing I hear over my own scream is Slender’s laughter.
The Slender Man Page 19