Slender Fiction

(Ok, so if you don't know who Slenderman is, prepare to be confused. Google it.). I never liked danger. I was always the kid at school who ran along to hide in the teachers lounge when all the bullies walked down the halls after hours. To me, anybody at this school was either out to get me, or my best friend. And so far, only one person is my best friend, Jake. Jake always stayed pretty quiet like me, but he had a stronger confidence to him. It was a trait that was more respectable than pitiful, and it was easy to get along with him. I however wasn't in the same scenario. I was a shy, brown-haired loser with only my imagination to keep me occupied. Jake always tried to pull me into his conversations, so I could "explore in the world of friendship", but I'd usually muck up and say something stupid like, "I like cranberries.". Those people would usually never talk to me again. I didn't care too much, Jake just laughed at me afterwards.

Anyway, I wasn't a particularly brave guy. But when the opportunity came up, it seemed like it was either go with it, or stay hidden in the shadows for all of freshman year. It was pretty obvious which decision I made.

A note was given to me during history class. Written on horrible, crumbled paper, with holes jabbed on several locations. It read,

"Blueclock Tower, 7:00 TONIGHT"

I was a bit scared. Blueclock tower, to anybody that lived where I do, was a place nobody felt comfortable to go in. Every tiny aspect of the tower gave off a "Get out of here or this will become a horror movie" feeling. So it was normal that I felt creeped the hell out. Who would want me at such a place? Who would want me to go anywhere with them? I sat there with a disappointed face at that question. It wasn't so much that the question bothered me, it was that the truth and honesty of it was fairly accurate. The note didn't have a signature for a sender on it, but just a small marking of an X written at the very bottom. It didn't freak me out as much as the location, most people sending out letters for secret meetings probably wanted to stay anonymous on most occasions. It was most likely a teenager from an upper Senior Special group, as they're called at my school. It's basically just a bunch of day-clubs. Or it could be one of my friends, or classmates trying to warn me of something they heard about on the Internet. Unfortunately, for me, 7:00 was right at the end of basketball practice after school, and if I was even going to meet up with this person, I would have to rush with my backpack across Meadow La., a horrible, broken, dirty street that's IMPOSSIBLE for even legs to walk on. That's also the route my bus takes. I'm a lucky person.

Tommy dribbled the basketball, later attempting to shoot. He missed, as usual. One of his friends took the ball and tossed it into the ring. "Ryan, why are you leaving so early?". Patrick yelled to me, watching as I snatched up my bag, and water bottle. I looked at him with a dazed look. I had no idea what to say. What the hell was I supposed to tell him, I'm going to meet a possible pedophile/serial killer in the woods? God no, he'd have my head and Id be the laughing stock of the team for another year. Oh no, I'm waiting for someone else to mess up and do something stupid before I show a HINT of vulnerability. "Uh, I'm just meeting up with some friends.". I muttered to him. He gave me a weird smile, and turned back to the team. I quickly sped out the door, avoiding any possible confrontation with the coach. I wasn't lying to Patrick, I was planning to grab Jake along the way anyway, and technically the guy with the note COULD be friendly. I had no idea what to expect. That's why I was bringing Jake, so I didn't have to get tied to a tree, or accept a million dollars alone.

Chapter 2
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It was now starting to get dark. I didn't mind, and I suspected Jake wouldn't either. I didn't even know if he was busy or not but I wasn't gonna go without him. I was pretty close to his house by now, anyway, and the dark seemed a bit more...comfortable. His house had a way of shining in the sun and moon, though, that gave it a somewhat 'haunted house' vibe. I use too many bizarre descriptions. His doorbell felt extremely hard and stiff in the cold, and the noise sounded from the outside. I jumped at the surprise of the loud "BING! BONG!". Jake quickly showed up at the door, seeing me freezing my ass off, arms tucked between my shoulders, and my breathe turning into fog. "Hey!". He greeted me with pleasure. I could tell he was happy to see me. We hadn't talked since lunch and usually we hang out after school. I think I was too distracted to even talk to him at that point. "Hey,". I responded, with much less of an excited tone. I felt horrible, mentally abusing people like that, but I was too awkward. He gave me a concerned look, and it was simple to figure out he was confused. "What's up?". I looked straight at him, into his bright green eyes. It was super easy to tell I was scared at this point, my body was shaking. Maybe it was just the cold getting to me, but I said to him, "I need your help."

Minutes from that encounter, I found myself walking beside him across Meadow La. "What are you talking about?". He asked me a final time, after I had (in great detail) described my experience with the note. "I told you!". I yelled. "We have to meet up with whoever wrote this note! I have no idea if he's gonna decapitate me or not! So I brought you.". He stated at me in disgust, still walking at the same pace on my right. "Nice to know I have a friend willing to kill me.". He said. I laughed.

The fields on the way to the tower, after the horribly paved roads, we're even harder to trench through. My feet were entirely soaked now, and Jake was having an even harder time, as I was wearing boots. The weeds and wet mud fell right into his sneakers. His mom would have a fit if she found his shoes in such condition, so he was pretty angry at me. The tower wasn't much far from there, anyway. In fact you could see it across the field.

Me and Jake quickly approached it, Jake still a little disturbed with all the crap in his shoes. "This was a 300 dollar sweater, asshole.". He yelled at me. I looked at him with a blank expression. He turned his head and suddenly knew why I did so. We were here, at Blueclock Tower. I took another look at the note, having shoved it in my coat pocket earlier. "This is it.". I said, after looking back up to observe the horrifying area. Jake began to stutter, and tremble in a small amount of fear. "Do we..". He began. "Do we have to go in?". He looked at me. I slowly turned my head to meet his. "I don't know.". He just stood there, more confused than scared. I was with him there. I had no idea what we were supposed to do. All the note said was to meet whoever sent it here. Jake began to quickly walk towards the building. I stood there, watching. "What the hell are you doing?". "Finding answers!". He yelled, without even hesitating or stopping. I looked around, turning my head both ways. I couldn't believe this. Why had he just put himself in the most dangerous position possible? "Wait up!". I yelled, running to meet him at the tower.

We peeked our heads inside. It was empty. Why had anyone been scared of this place? It didn't seem to have much of a history. Nothing but a few boxes, a fireplace with a broken painting above it, and a long staircase reaching up to the roof. It was nothing. Deserving of such a pathetic description. I walked inside, suddenly the tense feeling of stress washed from my body. It was nice, though- to feel relaxed.

"This isn't so bad. Why would anyone be afraid of this?". I turned around to look at Jake. He wasn't there. Confusion struck me. Did he go back outside? He couldn't of walked home! He wouldn't just leave me here when a possible axe murder could be my fate! Would he? I turned around. I needed to calm down. So far, everything I had heard about this placed had been debunked by experience. There wasn't anything that could possibly scare me here except a cat that got in earlier, meowing, or something falling. I took a deep breathe, and closed my eyes. But to my misfortune, I had opened them to be terrified. Fear was sent through my entire body, my hands beginning to shake, and my teeth clattering like I had just woken up to a cold winter morning. I could feel now my eyes were widened. I couldn't help but stare. Greeting me at the second of my observation, was a man. He stared back at me, with an expression that could only be read by assumption. He had no face to stare back with. Where his eye sockets were fated to be, where his nose was meant to be placed, and where his lips were meant to be weaved on, was covered by a soft layer of skin, alike to his forehead, cheeks, or any other area. His arms were long, longer than humanly possible. Reaching down to the length of his knees, with long, dark fingers clenched together in a blackened glove. He just stood there, in utter silence, leaving me in horrendous terror. My mouth fell open, and I had lost control of the majority of my senses, too scared to move. He was wearing something. A tuxedo. It was smooth, no wrinkles what so ever, looking like it had been ironed the hour before he arrived, and perhaps even more perfect than that. "Shh.". He whispered, slowly lifting up his arm , attempting to reach out to me. I stepped back, still directly staring at his pale, blank face. I realized it was a slow step, which could of been a good move at this point. I didn't know what to expect, especially with such a being I had not recognized, nor do I believe any member of our species has. I wasn't about to run outside, it was incredibly dark, now. And outrunning a creature so capable, and so hard to see would be nearly impossible, and knowing what it could do would help me, but I didn't.

He seemed to grow angry at my resistance. The skin of his face crunched up, as if all the moisture in his body had been instantly drained. His arms extended further, with large slimy limbs extending from his back. He seemed to hiss at me in the smoke he had suddenly created, and vanished before I had realized the situation I had been in.

What the hell was that? And where did Josh go?

Chapter 3
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After about a week from that encounter, I had learned most of why Jake left. Turns out, he saw the thing before I did, and fled home in utter fear. I didn't know what to say to him, or rather how I was going to react. I still can't decide if I should deck him in the face, or understand that I would've done the same thing.