"Slenderman"
Hey guys. This is just something I wrote up while bored earlier and thought it would be nice to share something other than my romance work with all of you. I'm also planning on putting this up on a different website to see if I can win any monetary prizes. So please, tell me what you think!
-Ven
"Slenderman"
Roger trudged through the forest near the shores of Holyhead, an island based on the West coast of Britain. The weather was cool, a light wind whistling through the pine trees and knocking their needles to the soft ground below. Up above, the moon cast a dull glow over the horizon, its shine flickering and shimmering off the rippled sea.
As Roger walked, he observed the sky above him - full of stars, twinkling specs of light million and millions of miles away. He didn't have a flashlight - there was no need. The moon lit his way, the path he took every other night, just enough to see each little detail of the trees and each small root that would have otherwise caused him to trip.
All of the sudden, completely out of nowhere, Roger's gut told him to run. But he didn't. Why run when you can stroll, especially on such a beautiful night?
The air around him turned from lukewarm to cold, sending goose-bumps up his uncovered arms. A shiver travelled up his spine, but not from the cold.
Someone was watching him.
"Hello?" Roger called out, imagining that some kids from the neighbouring village were playing some sort of prank. It had happened before, but only once.
Of course, Roger received no response.
An eerie stillness enveloped him like a blanket. The sea's lapping was no longer audible, despite being only fifty metres away. The rustling of the trees ceased completely. All Roger could hear was his own heart, beating in a steady lub-dub, its tempo picking up at an alarming pace.
A crack to the right. Roger pivoted on his heels, his eyes darting to the place he heard the noise. There was nothing in that spot but a bunch of trees, a bush and some rocks. Roger felt stupid momentarily, getting so freaked out over a fallen branch, then realised that he still couldn't hear the sea or the trees.
And now, amidst the sound of his heavy heartbeat, drums began to pound.
That was it. Roger had enough - the night was too strange for him to bare. He started to run down the trodden path, the back of his shirt flailing madly behind him, his hair dancing on his head like a disturbed flame. He could feel the pine needles, sand and twigs moving and breaking under his feet, but still there was no sound in the air.
And the drums were getting louder.
Roger began to blurt out prayers as he ran, working the words in between the rasping breaths of ice-cold air. But even his own voice was drowned out, made silent by that horrid noise which persisted, refused to stop, continuing despite Roger's growing screams of terror and cries for mercy.
He looked over his shoulder.
A figure, clad in a black suit, its limbs stretched to impossible lengths, was standing in a small clearing behind Roger. The clearing looked out into the sea, the exact spot that he had been standing when everything went cold. That figure was reaching out to Roger, inviting him into a big embrace. That figure had no face.
Roger felt his foot snag on something, probably a root from one of the nearby trees. There was a moment of weightlessness about him, as a silent scream escaped his lungs and his arms flailed to try and grab anything they could.
It was a useless effort. The man landed face-first into the pine needle-covered sand, taking an unwilling mouthful of it in the process. His chest erupted in pain, and although he couldn't hear the snap that took place, Roger was aware of a breaking sensation in his ribcage. He howled in agony, spluttering sand without so much as a whisper breaking through the veil of silence.
Turning on his back to relieve the pressure on his chest, he was suddenly confronted with the faceless creature. Its head was completely white, like a bowling pin, but it kept shifting in and out of reality as if someone was constantly smudging it, then adjusting its shape.
The drums ceased. Utter and complete silence took hold - even Roger's heart wasn't audible.
Or did it just stop beating?
The man opened his mouth to scream. He didn't hear it.