Dexter Morgenstern - The Slender Man

“…Redwood. Alyssa Redwood,” he says as though he’d already been saying it. He locks eyes with me for a moment and stops speaking. He’s still in his hospital gown, although by now it’s torn and dirty, and he seems to have aged ten years since I last saw him. His gaze fades from crazed to angry. “Only, Alyssa,” he says, pausing between the words.

Deputy Yew gives me a quick look to make sure I’m okay with it. I nod at him. He in turn nods to the sheriff and they escort my confused mother and Bubbe out of the holding area. Deputy Yew stops down the hall a little way to at least provide supervision while giving as much privacy as possible, and it looks like that works for Mario too.

“Alyssa,” says Mr. Mario.

“What happened to you?” I ask. He looks down at the ground and suddenly his face turns into the saddest child face I’ve ever seen. He starts crying a bit.

“I don’t know,” he mutters.

“You don’t know, Mr. Mario? The accident? You were missing from the hospital.” If he doesn’t remember, then maybe he won’t have any answers for me.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know,” he mutters. I’m starting to feel a little disappointment, but I try a different approach.

“Why did you ask to speak with me?” I ask. He pauses his crying, as if remembering something.

“He told me to,” he answers.

“He? Who is he?” I ask, although I know who he’s talking about.

“The Slender… he’s the Slender Man. He told me to. He let me go to tell you,” he answers. Slender Man? I think. Is that really his name, or what we call him? It certainly fits.

“Why? What does… Slender want?” I ask, dubbing him with a nickname. “What does he want you to tell me?”

He rocks back and forth a bit. “He has your Adam,” he says.

“I know, but will he give him back? Will he give my b- my Adam back?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“He’s mad at you. You shouldn’t have left. You’ve, angered him,” he says. I try to think of the best thing to say next, but he continues. “You stole from him, so he stole from you.”

“He let you go to tell me that?” I ask. “What does he want now?”

“He wants you. Only you. You stole from him. Now he wants you.”

“But he already wanted me, and Adam! He already tried to pull me in and—”

“But you escaped!” he interrupts loudly. I can see Deputy Yew about to rush over but I hold out my palm. “You won’t escape again,” he continues. “What if I leave? He won’t have me then,” I bluff.

Mr. Mario starts laughing, and then starts crying. “He’s not going to let you go. He’ll follow you.”

“But what about Adam? If I let him take me will he give back Adam?” I ask quietly as to not alarm Deputy Yew.

Mr. Mario ponders the situation.

“He wants you to come to him. If you don’t come to him, he’ll take you,” he says.

“That’s his message? Come to him or he’ll take me by force? What happens if I come of my own will?” I ask, leaning against the bars.

He slowly gets up and walks over to me. His face six inches from mine, he says.

“He wants to play a game. If you come to him… he’ll play nice. If you run from him…” He stops and walks back. “If you run from him,” he tries again, but he puts his hands to face.

“Don’t run from him. If you run then both of you will suffer… worse,” he explains. He crawls into the fetal position on the floor.

I look away, considering what he’s just told me. Does… Slender want a rematch? What does he mean by game? Is he just going to toy with me and then capture me? How can I trust him? I can trust that he’ll follow me. That’s one thing, but he wants me to come to him willingly… again? Does this mean I’m doomed?

“I just want to see my brother again,” I say, more to myself then Mr. Mario.

“He’ll be there. The Slender Man has him. He’ll always be there,” says Mr. Mario.

“How do I bring him back?” I ask.

“How do I bring my brother out of that world without killing him? Do I cut a branch from the tree? Or…?” I ask.

He looks up at me forlornly, as if he’s calculating whether not he should answer me, whether or not he’s allowed to. Finally he speaks.

“The Slender Man… he gains control by hurting and breeding pain. He feeds on the suffering of his victims. He feeds on misery and pain… So bring him joy, and life,” he says quietly.

Joy and life? I ponder. I hear static creeping up on me. It starts off quietly, but then I hear Mario screaming loudly and convulsing on the floor. He’s flailing wildly, but even though I know what’s torturing him, I can’t see it. I step back as Deputy Yew rushes to unlock the cell and get inside. By the time he does, Sheriff Fraser and another officer have already caught up. The static disperses as they reach Mario.

“Get me some paramedics!” shouts Sheriff Fraser.

Deputy Yew, thumb on Mr. Mario’s wrist shakes his head.

“He’s dead.”

Mr. Mario doesn’t deserve what happened to him. Slender killed him, but the police think he may have had a heart attack. They’ll have to wait for a coroner’s report. The look on Mario’s face shows me that it was no natural heart attack though. He was scared to death. He couldn’t remember who he was or what he did. All he could remember was the Slender Man, and my name. He probably didn’t even know who I was, but he gave up what little life he had left to give me a bit of helpful information. I’ll be sure to go to his funeral, if I survive that is.

Now I’m sitting at home in Bubbe’s room. Bubbe talked Mom into waiting until tomorrow to take me to see Doctor Filbert, and I don’t even think Dad’s awake yet. I’ve just told Bubbe what Mr. Mario told me. She shakes her head.

“I knew something was wrong, from the moment you jumped in the hospital,” she says.

“I saw him then, and it was obvious that you had too, but I didn’t say anything. I dismissed it like some village idiot, and now it’s gone this far. He’s taken Adam, and now he wants you.” I hold her hand.

“There are things I could have done differently too Bubbe, but I didn’t,” I say. There are tears coming from her eyes, the first real tears I’ve seen from her in a while.

“If we’d have gotten out of here sooner… I can’t help but think we’d be okay. Maybe not that poor girl Shana, oh no we couldn’t have left her, but if we’d gotten you to safety immediately. I should have known- I did know, but I didn’t say anything, and I’m sorry for that,” she continues.

I can’t let her blame herself for this, not at her age.

“Bubbe, I’m going to do something about this. Mr. Mario, just before he died he said to bring joy and happiness to weaken Slender’s hold. It had to have meant something because Slender killed him right after, like a punishment or to keep him from telling me more, but what does that mean? Do I literally have to go to him joyous and happy?” I ask.

She thinks for a moment, but I don’t think she’s composing a wise answer to my question. I think she’s lingering on the fact that I’m planning to go out there. “Bubbe, I have to. I told you what Mario said. I’ve been marked ever since I escaped his world the first time, and now he’s angry. If I go to him now I may have a chance to retrieve Adam, and if I don’t it will just be worse for both of us.”

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that, child? I don’t want to hear it anymore though. You can’t expect to reason with pain when reasoning won’t help,” she cries. I haven’t heard Bubbe actually yell like that in years. I only hope Mom didn’t hear it, because I bet she hasn’t either. Bubbe bows her head.