Chapter Fifteen

||MASKY||

†

We all got into the car once again and set off for the location Jeff had provided me with. In the back of my mind I wondered if he was being genuine. You can never know when it comes to that piece of shit.

I looked down at my hands, clenching my fists as I sucked in a deep breath.

As the journey stretched on for a few hours and as Toby's snores threatened to drown out the music over the stereo I could only replay that moment over and over again in my mind.

I'd only slapped her to get her back to her senses.

Really.

In fact, if I actually wanted to hurt her I could have just killed her here. No one would find her. No one would even get close.

But I couldn't stop thinking about the look in her eyes, the way her lips parted and how startled she appeared in that moment when my hand struck her cheek.

I needed to see that face again, but I knew it was wrong. Hurting the people you care about is-

Ha. Did I really care about her though? I suppose I couldn't deny it now that I was risking my job to save her life, but what a way to find out.

It's rare that I'd even entertain thoughts like these.

Right and wrong were concepts that I hardly ever wasted time thinking about, but when it came to her, I guess I needed a few rules. If I didn't hold myself back I could lose her too soon and that's not something I wanted to happen.

I could feel the warmth of her body next to mine and it took all I had to resist the urges that were building up inside me.

Why wouldn't she just do as I said? It would be so easy to just do it again, kill someone. Kill anyone. Her annoying friend in the driver's seat was the perfect candidate.

A ringing sound started to break through my thoughts and I gritted my teeth trying to focus on something else.

Zalgo.

If we found him we could make a deal, a deal that would keep her safe from him.

Slenderman was always intervening at the wrong times yet when he was truly needed he was nowhere to be found. So what if she hadn't been killed? He's gotten enough sacrifices. Now when I'd found something I could truly say intrigued me-- he was trying to rip it away.

I didn't realise I was shaking until I felt her soft hand brush mine and she pried my fingers open as they had been clenched so tightly they left red marks on my open palms.

I swallowed, looking over at her.

"Are you okay? Are you cold?"

Why did her voice sound like that? Like she actually cared even after what I did.

And wasn't she just cozying up to Toby?

I tried to dispel the negative thoughts from my mind.

That didn't matter now.

She was talking to me. She was looking at me.

"I'm fine."

It came out a lot harsher than I meant it, and my chest constricted when I felt her pulling her hand away.

I grabbed her wrist then, holding her smaller hand in mine and I saw her give me a questioning look, her dark lashes that framed her captivating brown eyes made it hard to form sentences.

"I was just thinking that we need this to work out," I spoke slowly.

She nodded a bit, chewing on her lower lip in thought, a habit I noticed she was forming.

"Why are you so determined to help me?"

I wasn't surprised that she'd ask that but I wasn't ready to answer. Even I don't know why I'm doing it.

"Would you prefer if I didn't?"

"That's not what I asked," she said softly in response to my question.

I sighed, "I don't know. You just seemed like the kind of person who would do well with us."

"Is that your final answer?"

I looked into her eyes, trying to read her expression and failing. What do I say?

"Yeah.."

"Okay," she answered without hesitation, pulling her hand away from my grip and letting it rest on her lap, "what do you want me to do then?"

It was that easy?

I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, but just as soon as I thought that I looked over at her. She had a somber expression on her face, her hands resting on her lap as she locked her fingers together.

I hadn't seen her look this defeated before and I wondered what the reason for that could be.

The best option was for her to join us, show Slenderman she could be an asset by offering him souls, and in that she would gain his protection. The second best was to make a deal with chaos incarnate to protect her instead.

Zalgo.

He was only second best because one never knew what to expect from him. If he didn't think it would be entertaining for him, he won't go through the trouble of helping at all. He was the only person who's powers were on par with Slenderman's and because of that, only he could help if option one was a fail.

"I want you to try."

She looked at me as I spoke, her brows furrowed,"what do you mean?"

"When I ask you to do something don't just argue with me. At least try. You know I'm trying to help you so can you at least do that for me?"

She went back to chewing on her lower lip, looking down at her interlocked fingers before letting out a sigh.

"Okay, I can do that."

☆

The full moon was directly overhead when Amy reported that she was too tired to keep driving. We had been driving for about six hours already but I wasn't convinced she was that tired. Kit gave me a dirty look when I suggested she keep going for another two hours and they started searching for somewhere we could stop to rest.

I would have been fine with sleeping in the car.

About ten minutes later we passed by a lone house off the highway, the long driveway was sparsely lit and though it was sizeable there were no lights on inside. After finding somewhere to park, we then piled out of the car.

"N-nice," Toby commented as he stretched, bringing his hatchet out and taking a few practice swings.

"You guys are really planning on killing people again?"

I looked over at Kit, my own hand gripping the crowbar I was planning to use.

"D-duh," Toby answered matter-of-factly.

"We can't exactly ask them for lodging can we?" Amy said, coming to the rescue, "they've probably seen our faces all over the news already."

When Kit didn't seem convinced, Amy took her hand, pulling her up the driveway.

"Come on, maybe if we're lucky no one's home."

"I'll get us in," I spoke and as the other four ambled up the driveway I took another path, heading to the back of the house to see if I could find an open window. Houses like these usually had a security system so we had to be careful.

Luckily I didn't have to search long before I found a window that was ajar. Only problem is it was pretty high up. I eyed the window sill with determination, looking at the surroundings to see what I could use to support myself. The thick columns on either side seemed to have grip potential.

If I was able to get up there I could find a way to disable the security system, and let the others in. The problem was there was only plain wall where I stood, nothing that offered grip to make the way up easier. As if that could stop me though.

I brushed my hands off on my jeans to get rid of anything that would cause me to slip and took a few steps back to look up at the window..

I hoped my shoes wouldn't fail me. I'd been wearing them so long the bottoms had lost all their ridges that would help from slipping but I had faith in them. I took a running stance, launching myself at the window sill and managing to grab hold but as I tried to use my legs to push myself up, my shoes refused to co-operate, slipping and sliding against the wall. I grunted and kept trying to pull myself up, eventually managing to get some grip. I pulled myself up, grabbing onto the column and slipping inside the dark room.

It didn't take long for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and I could clearly see the contents of the room. It appeared to be some kind of storage room, piled high with boxes and mismatched furniture here and there.

Leaving the room I wandered around, finding the stairs and going down them. This place was too quiet for anyone to be home. Near the door I saw the wall outlet for the security system and after finding the control panel I disconnected the backup battery found behind the panel's back cover. I then unplugged the transformer and, for good measure, turned off the breaker.

Touching the display screen and keypad got no response which meant the system had successfully powered down so I went ahead and opened the door to see the others waiting on the front steps.

"Sweet," Toby grinned before entering, followed by the others.

"I don't think there's anyone here but let's all check to be sure," as soon as I said it Hoodie trudged off up the stairs.

"I'll check this side with Kit," I said grabbing her hand and tugging her to my side before anyone can interject, "you and Toby check the remaining rooms."

Amy looked at Kit as if questioning her.

Kit nodded and only then did Amy seem to drop her guard, wrapping an arm around Toby's neck with a smirk, "c'mon then."

As they went off to check the rooms Kit pulled her hand from my grip and I looked over at her, slightly annoyed to see that she was already walking ahead of me.

"Tell me about her," she mumbled as she pushed open the first door, peeking into the room before stepping in fully.

"Who?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion, joining her in the room and using my crowbar to push the window curtains to the side, to let some moonlight in.

"The girl."

I was beginning to get even more confused, "what girl?"

"The girl Jeff was talking about. The one who broke your heart."

I scoffed, checking the small en suite bathroom, "no one broke my heart."

"Wow so you're really just gonna lie like that?" she tsked sounding disappointed.

"I'm not," I quipped, leaving the bathroom and rejoining her in the bedroom.

With the room yeilding no signs of life we checked the other two and the last room we entered was darker than the others, the only light coming from the door we left ajar as we scanned all four corners since there were no windows.

"How do you expect me to trust you if you're just going to lie to my face?" she asked turning to me and making me stop in my tracks. Her bright eyes seemed to glisten in the dark.

"I'm not lying to you."

"Okay fine, whatever you say."

She made a move to go by me and I grabbed her wrist, holding her in place, "wait."

She sighed and turned to me, "you ready to talk?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Because this is my life now and I'm not going to let you drag me across the country if it's just to get back at some girl who broke your heart."

How did she manage to come to that conclusion?

"This has nothing to do with her."

"Oh so there is a girl?"

I gritted my teeth in annoyance, "I never said there wasn't. I said I didn't get my heart broken."

She didn't seem convinced.

I let her hand fall, "it's not even that deep but the asshole she was with did break a few of my ribs."

"Why?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions."

"And you sure like to deflect," she crossed her arms over her chest. Her sassy attitude only made me want to put her in her place and I had to take a breath to clear the images from my mind.

If she wasn't so fragile she'd be bent over my lap right now, apologizing for her disrespect with a very red ass.

I sighed looking her in the eyes for a few seconds before I spoke,"I made her kill."

✨-

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