Dexter Morgenstern - The Slender Man

I’ve set myself up here. I’ve made the fiend’s job easier. As these thoughts set in, I find it harder to draw steady breaths. I take one slow deep breath, but force it all out in an uncontrollable burst, accompanied by an audible squeak or moan that I know he hears. It’s harder to walk, and it doesn’t help that the more the sun rises, the darker the forest seems to get. Why didn’t I bring a flashlight? I didn’t come as prepared as I should have.

I feel as if my rib cage is about to crack behind my heart’s heavy thuds. I reach another incline. I’m finally here! It’s only a few more yards and then I can hack away, but he’s watching me. Will he let me cut the tree down? Can he stop me? Every time he’s been able to immobilize me I was in that state between waking and sleeping. I figure I should be pretty safe since I’m wide awake, but then again I doubt Lionel was asleep when the fiend claimed him.

I pause just past the base of the incline. I’m unsure of how I want to proceed. I could draw the axe and run in with a Rebel yell, or maybe I could creep up and take it by surprise. I can still sense him, awaiting my next step. Maybe he’s waiting for me to come within arm’s reach of the tree to grab me. Another wave of static comes, and this time I can almost hear a breath as it passes through me. It’s as if he’s right behind me, ushering me forward. As the wave passes through me, I feel a mixture of fluid running down my face: sweat, tears, and now blood from my nose. My body is weakening.

Is he attacking me now? No, I can’t let him. I move up the hill as quickly as my willpower pushes me, but it’s still slower than the average walking pace. My brain is screaming at me. No! No! No! What else can I do though? I can’t run, I can’t just stay here, and if I can’t go forward he wins without a fight. When I reach the top of the hill, I see the tree, barely visible in the dark forest. It’s hard to count exactly how many, but there are now more than nine branches on this tree. It looks closer to a dozen give or take. That’s only more proof that this tree isn’t just a normal tree.

I approach the tree and I’m only a few feet away from it when I hear Shana’s cries coming from it. I close my eyes and jerk the axe out of my jacket. I take one more step, and then feel another static wave. This one is more intense though, and now it’s accompanied by a loud monotonous screeching sound. It matches the static pulse but it’s shrill and loud, and I half expect my ears to burst from the noise. The screeching becomes one nonstop note. I feel my body going numb, like it was in the nightmare and then I realize what’s happening. It is attacking me! It’s trying to stop me! Then that means- I rush forward with the axe and take a swing. I feel it collide against the tree and yank it back. I feel pain.

The static is pulsing, trying to silence me. I strike the tree again, but this time I think the axe hits one of the branches instead of the trunk. No! I can’t hit random places I have to knock the tree down. I am about to swing again when I feel another pulse and my arms are almost completely numb. Unfeeling, I still manage to swing the axe again, and again, and again. I don’t know what I’m swinging at. My eyes are closed and I am swinging at everything. I’m swinging at the monster. I’m swinging at branches. I’m swinging at the tree. I’m growing weaker. I’m falling to my knees. I- I can’t feel anything except for numbing static. I can’t hear anything except for the continuous shriek. Has he won? I feel myself weakening, and hear the sound of a branch falling to the ground beside me before I succumb.

I come to my senses and find that I’m on the ground by the tree. Blood flows back into my head and I feel nauseous, but the static grip on me weakens. I open my eyes, but close them immediately. He is right there. Head tingling and eyes closed, I do my best to propel myself back and crawl out of the way. I feel him grab me again, and at his touch a wave of the burning numbness courses through my body. I open my eyes again and see him there. One of his limbs is attached to me, but I close my eyes once more to stop that pain in my eyes. Jolts of pain come from my torso and arms as well. They are quick, but frequent.

I hear a scream coming from my left. I open my eyes and look to see Shana lying on the ground. She’s writhing as if trying to crawl. Where did she come from? Is this really her, or more of a nightmare? More flashes of pain shoot through me and I look down and notice that they are coming from the distortions in my body. Every time my body moves like static I feel pain, as if that part of my body is being torn off.

I scream as the ripping pains become even more frequent. I see that the black shadowy limb that’s touching me doesn’t appear to be an arm. It’s like a black vortex that’s attached to the monster, somehow appearing solid at the same time. Every time it distorts with static, so do I, and then I get hit with a flash of pain. It’s like it’s sucking the life right out of me. I roll onto my stomach and crawl away, toward Shana. I stop screaming, although I can’t tell if that’s my willpower, or if I’m just getting weaker.

I reach Shana and put a hand on her, trying to pull her up with me as I try to stand. She doesn’t seem to realize what’s going on, but with one look at me, recognition lights her face, and she leans forward on me. She isn’t necessarily helping me up but with the shift of balance I find it easier to rise. I feel another jolt of pain, and cringe, but the painful flashes are less intense now.

I’m ten feet or so away from the fiend, ten feet away from the tree. I can’t tell which one is hurting me. Maybe it’s both, or maybe they’re the same thing. I limp away with Shana at my side. I feel pain again, and although it’s even weaker than before, with it being the only thing I can feel through the numbness I cry out. What’s he doing to me? I’m not bleeding, but it feels like I should be.

“Shana,” I say weakly. She doesn’t answer, but keeps walking forward with me, leaning on my shoulder. I notice she isn’t distorting like she was in the nightmare, like I am now. I think I see why though.

I see another appendage lash out and attach to her, and in response her whole body distorts and she lets out a loud scream. I take a look back at the monster and notice that the limbs attached to us seem to be coming from the upper half of the thing, like- like branches. Is that it then? Is that why the tree kept spawning more branches? Does this mean that his tree gains a new branch for each child he kidnaps? If so, then what happens to us when he takes us in? I’m not sure if that’s an answer I want to find out.

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.