Joseph Williams's Story

Leon

Leon wakes with a start, and looks around hurried, somewhat disoriented with the unfamiliar landscape. He finds himself on a rocky beach, no noises besides the water lapping at the shore, and the gently swaying of the trees, their leaves rustling in the breeze. Panicking slightly, Leon recollects on the events that took place beforehand, seeing a large looming figure intruding in his house before falling unconscious.

Glancing down, he finds a flashlight by his feet, half submerged in the sand. Taking it, he now realizes that the sun is falling ever lower in the sky, casting out a dull orange hue. Reaching into his pocket, Leon meant to get out his Ipod, but found only a simple note. Unraveling it, he read it silently to himself.

“Head to the forest… Do not Wander… Safety Awaits… Beware the Tall Man…”

Leon reread it over and over, attempting in vain to decipher the code. After a few minutes of useless struggling he finally decided to make his way into the woods, to where the note claimed safety was.

Slender (Normal Form)

The Slender man watched as Leon went about his business, waking with a panicked confusion, located the flashlight and note, and then proceeded to do as instructed by it. Silently he waited as the young man made his way into the forests, and nodded silent approval. The game had begun. He now went to check up on the other player. Disappearing, he reappeared just at the edge of the clearing, looking from his concealed position towards Joseph, who was just beginning to stir as well.

Joseph slowly sat up, rubbing his head and looking around warily. This wasn't his apartment... Definitely not, he hadn't remembered turning his living room into a giant litter box, nor putting a huge ocean in it. Hmm, this won't do, no, definitely not. Why was he here? Did his land lord finally get tired with his late payments, or perhaps this is an odd joke played on him by a friend? No, no that's not it either.

Thinking back, straining his brain, he now remembered seeing a large black figure standing over him, and then nothing. It could very well be a simple prank, but then again he had also been receiving odd letters in the mail. A very elaborate prank... Possibly? Or perhaps... It couldn't be. The slenderman? No, he wasn't real was he? Seems improbable, but still.

Joseph's thinking was suddenly interrupted by the current situation. Getting dumped back into reality, he now found a flashlight nearby. Picking it up and flicking it on for a moment, he found the lights seemed dull. Glancing into the sky, he noted the sun's position. It was slowly moving closer to the horizon, and soon it would be completely beneath it, replaced by the moon. He needed a shelter then.

Standing up, he felt an odd presence in his pocket, and heard a slight crumpling sound. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a small note. Odd. He unfolded it and read the contents.

"Head into the forest. Small Park. Tents. Safety awaits. Beware the Tall Man."

Hmm... Thinking for a moment, considering the few words written on the note he found that A. It was written by an illiterate who was no good at complete sentences, and B. He was to go to a sort of campsite. Very well, he'll play along. If this is a joke, he should commend those responsible. If this is the slender, he was curious to know if anyone else had befallen the same fate as himself.

Turning to the woods now, he set off, picking a random direction and walking straight. Let the games begin...

Slender

Slender stood silently in the shadows, watching his prey. The third to wake was a young Dan, and the slender eyed the man with his blank face as he made his way into the forest, totally unaware of his presence.

Deciding that he was done here, the slender now moved on to check up on the other two targets. They both stirred around the same time, but one was slightly more sporadic in their awaking whereas the other had to make two attempts to simply sit up. They both managed to locate their notes and wander past the barrier of trees, though one took slightly more time to do this. Now, the question remained, who to stalk first?

Suddenly the slender sensed someone nearing one of the havens, and within moments he was teleporting there. Appearing just out of the man’s sight, he watched as Joseph neared safety. Now was the time to act.

The slender quickly shifted into his rampage form and took to the trees, swinging above Joseph before falling silent and waiting for the opportune moment. He watched the boy, each step, each breath. The first target has been acquired.

Leon

Leon kept on a straight path to who knows where, his only thoughts being that of the promise of safety. Most likely, he knew, it was probably some sort of trap or cruel prank. “Ow!” he yelled suddenly as his foot caught hold of something, causing him to collapse forward. It was a trap designed by the slenderman, a rather crude, simple make, being simply a root dug up and exposed over the trail.

Joseph had been walking through the forest with seemingly no sense of direction at all for at least thirty minutes, possibly an hour. He was no good at telling time by checking the sun's position, his only knowledge being that if it was low, it had to be morning or dusk, and if it was high, it was day. With this in mind, he calculated still that it would be dark soon. But then again, that was blatantly obvious. He continued onward through the forest, following what seemed like a trail, or at least some sort of semi-cleared path; bushwhacking wasn't on the agenda today, so for now he'd take the easy way.

His footsteps resounded off the forest floor as he crunched over leaves, twigs, and any sort of flora or fauna that happened to get in his way. He noted green moss, rocks, the usual root, nothing really seemed to out of place except for himself. The flashlight was in his left hand held at waist level, scanning back and forth now as the trees more or less blocked out what little sun was left. With this late hour, any light that did get through the thick barricade of wood cast out grotesque shadows that mimicked odd ghoulish creatures, all of whom mocked him with their sickening dark silhouettes. Joseph tried not to think about any of this as his eyes roamed back and forth, every now and then flicking behind him.

Being a hard person to truly scare, Joseph was somewhat still convinced, probably because he wanted to be, that this was all a mere prank. Still, the ideas of the tall suited man appearing in his house, then suddenly he was here on this strange, desolate ... somewhere... It was very detailed and realistic, and if this was some joke, he'd make sure to reciprocate adequately.

His thoughts continued wandering about his head as he ran over different scenarios, attempting in vain to keep out everything he knew of horror stories and the slenderman himself. No matter how many times he managed to think this was an elaborate, well played prank, his mind somehow always ended up being tainted with sickening images of axe murderers, dead people hanging from trees, spirits, and ghosts. He was simply waiting for some apparition to appear before him for his 'judgement.' He shuddered as he pushed those less friendly ideas from his mind, searching for something, anything to occupy his attention.

Up ahead suddenly, he caught sight of something through the trees. A clearing? Possibly. Were there buildings, people? He couldn't tell as he squinted his eyes, straining to see ahead of him. It was becoming dreadfully dark and if there was some sort of civilization ahead, he had to make it there.

What was that? A noise? Something caught his attention, movement in his peripheral vision... He adjusted his gaze, glancing back and forth to either side, his flashlight illuminating some of the darkness but still making its own shadows. That didn't help. His senses were on full alert, he knew he'd seen or possibly heard something, but what? An animal? No, it seemed like a large, dark figure... Oh lord, he thought, please no...

Without moving anything but his hand, his adrenaline was pumping already as he slowly edged the flashlight up, shining the golden beam into the trees above him. He waited a second, his eyes trailing reluctantly after.

A gasp followed by a scream that he just barely contained escaped the man as his eyes found themselves resting upon a large, looming figure black clad entirely, with long tendrils protruding from all around him. The creature was perched on a branch several meters ahead and above him, it's face a stale white in contrast to it's body. Joseph took a step back, his heart pounding like a bass drum in his chest as he found himself petrified with the sight. It took a moment before he finally managed to break the spell and in one motion was completely turned around, his legs moving seemingly by themselves as he pushed himself to his running limits, making a mad dash away from what he'd just seen. There was no doubt about it. That was the slenderman in what he knew as a rampage form, and this... This was the slender games.

Anton finally stopped running, slightly tired. He could see it would be complete darkness very soon and still he had no idea where this so-called safe haven was. Why should he even follow the note? That question had nagged him for the past hour and always he came back to the fact that the Slenderman was watching him and he knew he wouldn't die...at least not right away. And it was indeed the Slenderman. Anton had seen him before he blacked out and no one, not even the most skilled prankster, could induce the terror he had felt.

It was a good feeling, he thought. He usually didn't feel emotions, so this, to him, was an opportunity to meet yet another elusive side of himself. He had really only mastered pain, surprise, and humor with a small adventure into the angry part of himself. He started running again, and as he looked to his left, he saw that he was no longer in sight of the coast, which he had tried so hard to stay by. He wasn't good at staying near the same sight for more than a little while, unless it was a target, alive or not. He just got bored and had to do something else to combat the bore he felt.

He stopped, but only for a second, as he thought he heard a cry...no, a bird's call. It must have been...unless there were more people, which somewhat confirmed his thoughts. "No", he said out loud, "It was a bird's call". Refusing to believe what is would have indicated otherwise, and impossible to track over that long of a distance at which he heard it, he continued on his course. Out of sight of the shore, but still being able to find it if need be, he started thinking again.

How could he kill something like this? Could it even be killed? And what made that noise earlier? So deep in thought about these thoughts and others, he almost tripped over a branch. In fact, he did trip over it, only sticking his arm out and clutching a tree in an iron grip stopped him from landing face-first into the ground. This was annoying, he thought. It wasn't the first time he had thought that about this predicament, and it wouldn't be the last.

He heard a slight noise and immediately dove under a tree trunk that luckily happened to have an open side facing towards him. Heart beating at a somewhat astonishing rate, but too utterly curious to jot that down in his memory, he turned to look at what made the noise. A squirrel quickly climbed a nearby tree as he got up again. "Well that was overreacting", he thought, but still, it pays to be prepared. He took off running again and had run for about two and a half hours total in that same somewhat straight line when the sun reached the point where the trees blocked all of it's light.

He had failed to get to the safe haven before dark, but he would run through the night and he wouldn't stop until he found it. Another noise had him diving behind a rock, rolling expertly back onto his feet to peer out into the darkness. He saw someone walking. His heart froze. He could clearly see there was someone approaching his hiding spot. He didn't even breath. He calmed considerably when he saw the lack of tentacles on the man, for that was indeed what it was. A man. Although impossible to see his face and expression, he knew, or at least hoped, that this person was here because of the same reason he was. He thought about what to do as the man walked past the rock. He would follow him, he thought. He would make sure of his intents in the morning, when he could properly see the man, and then, and only then, would he reveal himself. If this one was not on friendly terms with the rest of humanity, somehow working with the Slenderman, if that was possible, then he would not hesitate to strangle him in his sleep.

Time Jump

Joseph was the first to make it to the haven, though he took a more roundabout way due to him having to turn around virtually in a circle to escape the slender. One by one the others slowly appeared as well, Dan coming next having not encountered the slenderman, followed by Alex who was being followed by Anton. The slenderman made an appearance before the two just as they came to the edge of the camp, thus causing them to have to run the remaining distance as he was in his rampage form. Leon was the final person to arrive, himself having been chased for almost the whole time until someone else had distracted the creature, allowing him to stumble into the safety that was the haven.

The Haven was a large, open, green clearing, covered over with short grass and encompassed entirely by the thick forest that acted it seemed as both a barrier, and trap. With it’s presence came a feeling of being watched as the slenderman could be lurking anywhere within the trees that surrounded this so called and deemed, safe haven. While it may very well be that, it didn’t feel as such.

Looking around there were four tents in a rough semi circle in the center of the clearing, each already setup and laden down with various means that would somehow, hopefully, come in handy.

The first tent was a low, circular dome looking style with the tarp tapering over the top and pulled outwards like an umbrella crown, secured in position and to the dirt by several strings and pegs. A large entrance stood in the front of it like a covered balcony, the flap being held open nearly parallel to the ground by two large poles. Inside there was a single worn bow, about ten arrows, a dulled three inch switchblade and rusted break-action shotgun with two shells.

The second tent stood next to the first, considerably higher and more squared off, looking like a sort of standing pentagon. A double door configuration made up the entrance with a single window set into each as a screen. The poles that made up the support of this tent were on the outside and crossed over the entire body of the shelter, more or less actually holding it up than supporting it. Inside this tent, one could find a fishing pole that was in need of repair as the reel was broken, a roll of duct tape, an old oil lantern and a packet of gauze.

The third tent was setup like a sort of trapezoid, though the center of the triangle being more prominent both up and out compared to the two parts that made up the sides. A criss-crossing set of poles supported the top, and two semi-circular beams made up the uppermost corners of both sides. A large doorway that rolled upwards was cut into the front, allowing one to see inside where it seemed two walls blocked off access to the sides, governed strictly by two other zipped doors. Inside this was a rusted pot, a can of soup, a box of stale and somewhat moldy granola bars and five bottles of water.

The last tent was probably the first thing most people noticed as it was considerably larger, being a massive dome shape with several small pockets protruded from around its sides, these being smaller living cells each accessible through a small zipped door along the inside. It was held up by a series of large half circle poles, each of the tiny ‘limbs’ needing just one support that pulled them slightly outward, also giving them a fair amount of space. The inside circle was at least 20x20 with each of the smaller quarters possibly six feet. Inside each of the tiny rooms is a note reading,

“Hello and welcome to the island! There is no escape and you probably already know that there is a monster with you. All you have to do is survive and await the next note which will say where the next of these save havens is. Here is a map, and please, try not to die.

Signed,

YourOnly Hope.”

Looking at the map, a single location is marked along the western border seemingly just north of a river along the boundaries of the ocean. This is the current position. Other areas shown include the mines, the slender totem, an air base, the docks and the slender lair. Written crudely over the lair, the words match the same barely legible scribbles as on the note, stating simply, “A place you don’t want to go.”

Joseph had been running for who knows how long. The sun had long since dipped beyond the horizon and now the only source of light and comfort the man had was his flashlight. Still, it seemed as though the batters were terribly low as the beam was dimming; that which was less than reassuring and he had to get somewhere safe. After a few more moments he finally stopped, out of breath. He couldn't go any longer and he leaned against a tree, supported by one arm while the other rested on his knee. Sparing a glance behind himself, he was relieved to find nothing. Now however, he slumped over, completely exhausted. Why was he dragged into this hellish nightmare? Why? Taking another deep breath he decided to collect his thoughts as he looked up, trying to ascertain where in the hell he was.

A shocked looked came upon his face, mixed in with feelings of joy and safety. He stood now, his new-found confidence persevering past the fear and exhaustion he felt. Looking around he found himself in the same clearing he'd seen earlier, he must've gone in a complete circle! Overjoyed, he ran into the middle of the open field, admiring the tents, the sanctuary and the warm green grass below the moonlight above. Oh, the moon! Now that the trees were gone he could see it, an orb of hope in the sky. There was something about the place, it felt safe. An aura of friendliness and security hung over the site like a holy cloud, shining down with the moon's heavenly light. Joseph smiled to himself, he'd made it.

Suddenly a noise caught his attention and he spun around, his flashlight immediately at the source. His heart stopped in his chest as he awaited to see the slenderman again. Instead however, a heavy sigh of relief escaped him as a man came stumbling from the bushes. He didn't seem the least bit scared, in fact he looked completely oblivious to anything that was happening. In his hand he carried a stick, and frankly he looked silly with it. Does he not know what's happening, and if he does, is he so stupid to think that something so primitive would protect him? Joseph didn't know, but right now he didn't care. If there was other life out there it simply gave him a better chance of getting out alive.

Approaching the man quickly, he made sure to reapply his detached face, hoping that if he looked calm the other man would remain that way as well. "Where the hell did you come from?" he said, his voice completely apathetic, belying the question. He looked at the man warily, then turned as suddenly two others came bursting from the thick woods. They looked as if they'd seen a ghost and Joseph could only assume they'd had a run in with the slenderman too. He nodded in respect to them. "Company," he said, "By the looks of it you've run a fowl with something wicked, no?" Despite all the fear that was coursing through him with the thought that the slenderman could be behind the two, he put on a faked smile.

As Anton had stumbled in, he wondered from what circle of hell this place came from. The night was pitch black, and if it weren't for his flashlight, he wouldn't be able to see his hand in front of his face. He also noticed the beam was becoming quite dim. Great, he thought, more bad news. At least he had made it to this place, where he felt some sense of relief in what he saw.

The first thing he realized, besides his flashlight and the fact that his heart was beating extremely fast and the reason he was not intrigued by it was the fact that there was a man talking to him and the one who had been behind him. In response to the man's statement, though it may have been rhetorical, he nevertheless nodded his head and muttered a quite "yes". The man had a smile that looked somewhat less than real, but he didn't mind. For the eighth time in his life, the seventh being when he saw the one he had tailed, he was quite happy to see another living being. He put on one of his rare smiles, and it was genuine. He looked past the man to where another sat with a stick. The question, How much more useless can you get? entered his mind as he saw the apparent laziness he read on the man's face. Turning to the one he had tailed but also glancing periodically to the one who had talked first so as to include him in his various questions, he asked, "Who are you, what is this place, and how many more of us are there"?, pointing to yet another person stumbling into the clearing.

Dan had been in the woods for a long time wondering around thinking when are they going to try and scare me. He was starting to get bored and his attention turned to his stomach, he realized he hadn't eaten anything sense he had woke up. As he continued to wonder around aimlessly, he stumbled upon an apple tree and proceeded to climb it. Once he was at the top he looked around but didn't see anything, the trees around him where to tall. After picking half a dozen apples he got down from the tree and started to walk around looking for a large tree. Lucky for him as he finished his last apple and came upon a very tall and thick oak tree.

"This should do" he said to himself, having grow up in the woods he was a master at climbing trees as well as knowing how to survive in the wilderness. Finding a low branch he climbed to the top of the tree in a matter of minutes, which was about 20 ft. taller then the trees around it. Taking advantage of the view Dan saw a clearing not to far from where he was, but like wise he saw at least two other flash lights as well. Thinking that they must be the people who had brought him here, he would have to take them out one by one. Looking over it again he saw that the closest one was going to the clearing, the perfect place to fight he thought. Heading down the tree he made his way to the clearing. First stopping to break a branch off of a tree, it was about 4 feet long and 2 inches thick not much of a weapon but it would have to do.

Once at the clearing Dan saw a young man with a blank look on his face and the young man proceeded to asked him "Where the hell did you come from?". After hearing this Dan had to hold in a laugh, he new he was nimble in the woods from his years of hunting, but they had completely lost him it to him was hysterical. Dan griped the stick in his hand ready to bash this mans face in, but just before he got his chance two other bust through the bushes. Both of these men look winded but able to fight. Great now there are three of them he thought to himself. Then like a cruel joke from god another man came through the bushes, fortunately this one looked like a weakling compared to the others. Dan was in a lot of trouble if it were one-on-one, or even a two-on-one he stood a chance but not against four. None of the men seemed to be armed but they all looked older then him, and one of them struck him as a good fighter by his stance and build.

Running dozens of battle plan through his head Dan tried to think of a way to win in this situation but none of them work, the shear numbers they had was his main problem. He had only three real plans. 1. Run into the woods and hope they didn't chase him. 2. Run and have them chase him, since everyone ran at there own speed he would be able to fight them one by one. Or 3. which he didn't think would work was to some how talk them out of attacking him. After he had run the scenarios through his head Dan realized that three was his best bet.

Once two of the four people had started to talk Dan would have to do in know he thought. Walking up to the two, keeping a safe distance and keeping one eye on the other two. Dan looked at the two in front of him, and in as calm a tone as he could manage and put on a straight face asked,

"Why did you bring me here, I don't know any of you guys."

Leon

Leon had been running for who knows how long. It seemed like as soon as he had gotten into the forest, he was confronted by the being he knew to be slenderman. He chase was long and grueling, endless minutes that seemed like eternity dragged on as the boy simply ran in a vain attempt to escape the entity. Every now and then, a glance would be spared back and it seemed like whenever he thought he was save, he’d see the man again and have to change direction or just flat out continue running. He hadn’t seen the creature lately now, but he was certain it would appear again and convinced himself that running was the best option. He was dreadfully tired, but fear overwhelmed fatigue as he pushed himself to his limits.

Suddenly up ahead, Leon saw light through the dark tunnel that was the forest. Could it be true? Could there be safety? He struggled as he looked forward, just barely being able to make out figures through the trees positioned around what seemed to be large tent-like structures. Without thinking, the boy ran on, breaking from the trees as he stumbled into the clearing. A bright light shone down on him like some police spotlight or stage light, but he didn’t care. Finally he’d found more people and right now, who they were didn’t matter as long as he was safe.

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed as he was allowed a break. Before him, four people stood. One looked totally detatched, two others seemed slightly befuddled, and the last looked completely and entirely paranoid. “Finally,” he continued. “People! Oh, thank god! Please, tell me, does anybody know where we are?!” Leon glanced back and forth between everyone, speaking between ragged, irregular breaths. His heart was still pounding as he awaited an answer and as he looked at those in front of him, his eyes couldn’t help but fall also on the figure that remained in the background, just barely shrouded in the darkness.

Leon’s face went pale as he saw the dark form along the other side of the clearing. The tentacles were evident. So far it seemed like the others hadn’t taken notice, so Leon held up a shaky hand past them, his finger pointing out the creature where it stood like a predator watching its prey. The boy couldn’t speak, he thought he’d made it to safety but it seemed as if this field would be nothing more than a place of open slaughter.

“Ahh!” Leon screamed. He bolted away as the creature shot forward at amazing speeds. The poor boy wasn’t bothered by the fact that others were watching him as he turned in the opposite direction and began running in a randomized bee-line around the clearing, trying in vain to shake the monsters that insisted on persuing him. “Get that thing away from me! Help! Oh my god, help me! I’m going to die!” he rambled on, all the while screaming. He didn’t care at all who did it, as long as someone did something right now. At this point, he’d be happy to just get the creature to go after another victim.

Slender

Slender had been stalking the young man from before for quite a while until he lost him. It was about then that he had found two others, one watching the other who apparently didn’t notice him at all. The slender found this as a perfect opportunity to strike. Leaping from what would seem to be nowhere, the slender came in just between the two. With one being scared, the other would end up the same as well.

The two seemed like even though they saw each other, it didn’t matter. The only thing that was probably on their mind was the fact that he himself was present, and if they knew anything, they’d know that death was imminent.

The two bolted quickly away and slender didn’t bother chasing. He knew he wouldn’t catch them now, but that didn’t matter. He had plenty of time to get them and he knew there was no way off the island; eventually they’d pass out from exhaustion, collapse in fear, or simply be caught. This contented the merciless creature.

Suddenly a voice caught his attention. Someone was yelling. Stalking around to the first of the safe havens, the slender found the boy from earlier and everyone else in fact, all congregating near the tents. So far it seemed as though none had gone in to check for weapons or supplies, but that was fine. The slender move silently around before suddenly the boy saw him. His face was completely lost of all color, the white matching probably his own. This was amusing. Without another thought or warning, the slender charged straight into the clearing. It seemed as though no one else had seen him yet, and it would be no that he’d strike. Whoever failed to acknowledge him would be dead in seconds

Alex was near out of breath after being chased by the slenderman when he stumbled into the clearing. He looked behind him and noticed that the slender was no longer chasing them and then smiled for the first time since his friend had went skiing with him last winter.

Alex then turned to the man that had alerted him to the slenderman. He said to the man "I didn't even know you were following me. You must a hunter aren't you?"

The man replied quietly "yes"

"Good because I have a feeling that will help out greatly on this island."

Alex then noticed tents and some other people in the clearing. He went up to one of the tents and noticed that there were weapons in it. The man next to him took an old bow that looked like it couldn't hit a deer at ten feet and went on to the next tent. Alex took a rusty switchblade even tough he thought it wouldn't be much use unless he could sharpen it.

At the next tent he found some water bottles and what looked like moldy granola bars. He ignored the granola bars even tHough he was extremely hungery and instead took a water bottle and had a drink, keeping the empty bottle once he was done.

When he looked around the clearing he noticed three other people besides the one that had tailed him. The biggest of the three looked like he would be a pain to deal with until he got used to the rest of them. One of the other two looked like a good fighter and intelligent.

When Alex looked at the last and probably weakest of the three and noticed that his face was extremely pale as if afraid. When he followed his gaze toward the forest he seen a black shape moving silently toward the pale faced man. Alex then said loudly enough to alert everyone in the clearing "Not again!"