Chapter Seventeen

||MASKY||

My hand was still around her neck when my mask clattered to the floor, our eyes meeting, unobstructed for the first time since we'd met.

She'd seen my face.

This wasn't how I planned for her to see me. There was something about how vulnerable I felt when my face was visible.

It felt like she could see inside me and I wasn't sure of how to feel about it.

Needless to say it was an awkward moment for both of us.

"S-sideburns?" She choked out on what sounded like a laugh, her pupils dilated and the blood vessels in her eyes were becoming more and more prominent with each second that ticked by as she continued to struggle and grasp at my hand.

What am I doing? I can't kill her yet.

I let go of her suddenly, watching as she stumbled back, her legs giving way and as she was about to sink to the floor I caught her in my arms.

She touched her neck gingerly, coughing a bit before she pushed against me to let her go free but I held her tightly, forcefully making her face me.

"Kit-"

"Fuc- darn!" she croaked out weakly, using her elbow to push back at me. I knew it must hurt her to speak but she did anyways. I was impressed that even now she still refused to utter a real curse.

"Listen, if you don't want to die it's best you start listening to me," I warned with a stern expression.

"Well it seems like I'll die no matter what I do. If Slenderman doesn't kill me it'll be you. What's the point of even going through this anymore when the end result is the same?"

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Well you sure came close just now!"

"You're fine."

"Okay great that makes it okay then! Not only do I have to watch out for a mannequin octopus hybrid, I also have to watch out for the very person who said they'd keep me safe."

I sighed and let her hand go as she continued to glare at me.

She wasn't wrong.

"Do you even care about what you're putting me through?" Her eyes filled with tears.

"I do."

"You don't hurt the people you care about!"

I wasn't sure how to respond to that.

From the moment I knew myself, I'd always felt like that just wouldn't be something I could relate to.

There's this kind of insatiable need I have to put her through hell.

There is this madness in me that craves to show her how fucked up my love could be.

I doubt she would appreciate that though.

I underestimated how fragile she could be. There wasn't anything special about her after all.

She'd never be comfortable living the life I lead. Inside, this fact made me even more intrigued.

What would it take to break her completely, then? How much could she take before she went insane and could I be the one to get her there?

Helping her and eventually claiming her would take a lot more patience than I originally thought.

I wondered what she must be thinking now but my question was quickly answered when she turned away and spoke sullenly.

"I can't even stand to look at you."

My brows furrowed and I scratched the back of my head as she left the bathroom while I tried to process her words.

Did she find me unattractive?

My appearance had never been something I gave much thought to but now that she'd mentioned it I was slightly put off by her comment.

I went over to the mirror to inspect myself. My face was clean, if somewhat pale due to very little exposure to the sun. My features may be a little asymmetrical and as I turned my head to the side I saw my sideburns were growing out again but I didn't think I was unattractive.

What exactly did she not appreciate about my appearance? Or did she mean something else entirely?

Was she disappointed by my actions?

I sighed and picked up my mask, placing it over my face and securing it before I left the bathroom, heading back to the kitchen where the others were cleaning up the mess we made earlier.

"We leave at 5 am so try getting enough rest tonight. We're not stopping for anything tomorrow," I spoke to the three.

"Awe man," Amy groaned.

"N-not even for b-bathroom breaks?" Toby asked and I shot him a glare that shut him up immediately.

"Is Kit doing okay?" Amy asked.

All I could do was shrug. I wasn't sure what to say.

"I'll go check on her," she spoke, placing the bloody knife on the countertop and leaving the room.

Toby was almost done mopping up the pool of blood and Hoodie was already hauling the body of the caretaker out of the middle of the room, wrapped up securely in a bag.

"Why can't we s-stay here for a little while?" Toby spoke up after a few minutes as I was checking the kitchen for supplies.

"Did you forget we're trying to save Kit? The longer we stay the more time it gives Slender to come after us."

Toby pushed his goggles up so they were resting on top of his head as he regarded me with a dull expression, "you d-do know that he's toying with us? Nothing would be able to stop him if he really wanted her d-dead. Not even you."

"You're just giving that overgrown squid too much credit," I retorted, rolling my eyes behind my mask.

Toby only shrugged. After another few minutes ticked off he turned to me again, "That Amy-- she's s-something else huh?"

"Mm," I grunted in agreement. I did think about that. She did what Kit failed to do, quite easily at that. If only it was Kit, we could build a stronger case when it came to Slender.

"Think she's s-single?" He asked, hand on chin.

Just then there came the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor. We turned to see Hoodie by the kitchen entrance. We couldn't see his face but his shoulders were heaving and his hands were balled into fists.

He grunted in Toby's direction and a realization hit, making me grin.

"Seems like you have some competition, Tic," I chuckled.

Toby looked from me to Hoodie, "you're k-kidding. This guy c-can hardly get a word out how the h-hell is he my competition?"

'As if you're any better' I thought but decided to keep that to myself.

Hoodie then started to crack his knuckles advancing towards Toby, his heavy boots thudding against the floorboards.

"Aye aye chill I w-was j-joking!" Toby squeaked, throwing himself behind me so I was between the two and placing a hand on my shoulder as he peered over at Hoodie.

I held up a hand, "no fighting," I ordered Hoodie, "not yet at least."

"H-hey!" Toby protested and I peeled his hand off me, distancing myself from him.

"Let's scour this place for anything useful."

Hoodie grunted again and left the room dragging the heavy bag behind him and I followed suit, checking the remaining rooms I hadn't seen yet.

I wondered what Kit was thinking now. She'd said she hated me but I knew she didn't. She was just overwhelmed and needed to free her mind from whatever it was that held her back. Only then would she be able to see how good it felt to be a killer.

Or maybe that's where I was wrong. Maybe she really wasn't cut out for this kind of living. If anything she deserved a life of no worries where she was safe and protected. There was only one way I could be sure of that and it was by finding Zalgo's whereabouts.

After gathering a few supplies Toby let me know there was a Land Rover in the garage that could more comfortably fit all of us and we started looking for the keys.

Coming up empty in our search we decided to just hotwire the vehicle instead when we were ready to go. Fortunately, Hoodie returned a few minutes later with exactly what we were looking for. The keys we needed were in the old man's possession all along.

After everything had been gathered and we put all the necessities in the car I decided to take a shower, throwing my clothes into the washing machine in the laundry room attached to the main bathroom, and as I re-entered the bathroom the door opened, and in walked Kit.

Our eyes met instantly, and for the next 3 seconds, I saw her gaze travel down south.

"Oh my G- I'm so sorry!" She immediately squeezed her eyes shut and backed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

I chuckled to myself, hardly embarrassed and simply enjoying how flustered she'd been at the sight of me in the nude.

Without even bothering to lock the door I hopped into the shower, letting the scalding water wash away all the grime from the past two days.

No matter how hard I tried though, the image of her face wouldn't leave my mind and I felt myself twitch lightly as I remembered the way she looked at me.

Her wide eyes. The way her lips parted ever so slightly.

I wanted her to make that face again but this time I'd make her keep her eyes open so she could see what I was doing to her.

"Fuck..." a sigh left my lips as I noticed I was already as hard as a rock, choosing to ignore it as I tried to think of something else.

Hunting?

No, that wasn't helping at all. At one point, she'd been on my list of prey that I wanted to kill. Someone I wanted to tear into, whose screams I wanted to drink in.

Picturing her beneath me, tears rolling down her cheeks, begging for her life- it only made my cock twitch more wildly in anticipation, precum dripping from the tip.

"Fuck-"

It seemed to be the only thing I could manage to utter at the moment. I blew out a breath and turned the silver knob, ice-cold water suddenly raining down onto my overheated body and managing my shock me out of my daze long enough for me to finish showering.

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