Left Behind

I didn't mean for this to happen...


I figured I would just run into town, grab some stuff, and then come back and we would leave. I'm so used to being on my own, being aware, knowing my surroundings, not letting anything sneak up on me. Just this one time I got careless. One time.

One minute I'm grabbing a FastBreak and a Snickers off the counter. Next thing I know I'm on the floor in some dank-ass basement in a building I'm not familiar with, with that freakshow standing over me tossing his gun between his hands like it's a fucking hacky sack and telling me to make myself comfortable before he left.

I spent three days in that basement, eating the candy I had taken and trying to figure out what was going on, before he came back. He had this small video camera that he placed on the table; he said he wanted to record what was going to happen.

He reached over and grabbed my face, and said he was sorry he had to do this and that he always thought I was cute, but he wanted to survive so it was worth it. I just responded by trying to bite his finger off. He laughed.

Then he stopped. There were footsteps thudding upstairs; not Slender Man, you can't really hear him walk, you can just feel him. Red doesn't even blink, he just pulled out his gun and ran out.

Then I'm hearing gunshots and yelling for about five minutes, maybe longer, maybe shorter, I don't know. Then there's dead silence, and then he comes back, his shoulder's bleeding, but he's grinning like an idiot as he stumbles towards me.

He was about to say something...and then part of his face just exploded. Blood and brain and an eyeball flying at me as he hit the ground.

Zeke was standing at the doorway, gun pointed at Wren's body. He was leaning against the door frame, and when I got up to go to him I didn't understand why, but then he fell against me and I saw the blood that was coming from his side. Wren had shot him right in the kidney, and blood was just flowing out of him.

I couldn't carry him, he outweighed me and he couldn't hold himself up. I laid him against the wall and told him I was going to get help. All he said to me was to hurry back as I ran out.

...

He wasn't there when I got back.

I took Wren's car, had to drive two towns over just to fine a hospital that was still active. We drove back as fast as we could, but when we got there, there was plenty of blood and Wren's body still where he fell, but that camera and Zeke were gone. The police searched the basement and found more blood in another room, but that was it.

...

I don't know where Zeke is now. I don't know if he's dead or alive. If he's alive, then he's out there, doing what he's always done. If he's dead...well, at least he's finally at peace.

...

This is the last you'll hear from me. I won't be coming back. Once I get my affairs sorted, I'm leaving the country. I'm not going to say where I'm going; I don't want to be found. The farther I am from this, the better.

I'm truly sorry for what's been unleashed on you all.

Good-bye.

-Mary Gallagher

Going In

Yeah, it's a bad idea. Yeah, I should leave. But I can't just leave this girl to die when I know I can do something to help. Not with the knowledge she has on Slender Man. She can help, if not me, then someone else who has a better shot.

Wren's not going to take her far. He probably hasn't even left town. He's holding her, keeping her alive, just waiting for me or Slender Man to show up. It's what I would do. Wait for the other party to show up, then either cut a deal or cut the bait and run. If it was Slender Man, he'd do the latter. With me, I have a better shot at the former.

I'm not going to lie. I'm terrified that this is my last hurrah. But Dad's right; I gotta let that fear go. For better or for worse, I have to do the right thing. This girl saved Lizzie's life as a child, and that's not a failure. It gave her a shot at life. And that's something I owe her for, whether she knows it or not.

I'm going to go in and get her out. If I make it, I make it. If I don't...well, at least I tried. At most, I can get Mary out. That's what matters.

...

I'm not going to give a speech, not like last time. I either make it out of this or I don't. And even if I survive this, one of these days I'll get mine. Nothing lasts forever. All I can do, all ANY of us can do, is do what we can with what we're given.

So remember that. I don't care how you try to live. Just be sure you do, for however long you can.

Good luck to you all. Keep fighting. Stay safe. Don't let me down.

This is Ezekiel Strahm, signing off for now. Hopefully not forever.

(I know it's late, but I needed to get this conversation out of my head. It started after an hour of light drinking and pondering, and decided I needed to hear their voices. Phone almost rang the full four times before the person I was hoping for picked up the phone.)

D: Hello?

S: Hey Dad...

(pause)

D: Zeke?

S: Yeah, it's me.

D: What's wrong with your voice?

(pause)

S: Had an accident. My throat's messed up a bit.

D: Anything I can do?

S: No, but thanks.

(pause)

S: How was the trip? I never got to ask.

D: It was great. Your mom kept wishing you were there.

S: I wouldn't have minded that.

D: Yeah...maybe then we wouldn't have come back to such bad news...

(pause)

D: The FBI have been here looking for you. Wondering if we've been in contact with you. The things they're saying...did you really kill that man?

S: It was an accident. I had my door rigged if anyone came in.

D: Why?

(pause)

S: Do you remember when I was a kid, and I never could sleep?

D: Of course.

S: Do you remember why?

D: You used to talk about seeing someone at your window. But you were on the second floor, I never understood what you were talking about.

(pause)

S: He came back.

D: What do you mean? Who came back?

S: This case we had, a bunch of kids went missing...he was behind all of it...and this guy he was using, he killed Lizzie and Eric...and I couldn't do anything, I couldn't help them...

D: Calm down, son, it's okay-

S: No it's not. I couldn't save them.

D: You can't save everyone.

S: But I couldn't save them. And it got me here, and it's gotten me hurt, and it's gotten so many people hurt or killed, and every time I try to do the right thing it just makes things worse...I just wanted to save them, Dad.

D: You did everything you could.

S: I thought if I could save the others...

D: Zeke. Listen to me. What happened happened. You can't change that. And I know it's hard, I know it's scary when you fail to save someone you care about. But you cannot allow that fear to control your life, or else you are never going to move on and do what you need to do. You can't let fear of failure run your whole life.

(pause)

S: I loved her, Dad...

D: I know, son. But sometimes the only way to grow up and move on is just to let people go.

(pause)

D: There's something else on your mind.

S: Something's happened...someone might be getting killed, and I don't know if I should save her or not, and if I do...Dad, I have a feeling I'm not going to make it out of this one.

D: Don't say that.

S: If I don't-

D: Zeke-

S: Dad.

(pause)

S: If I don't come back...I just wanted you to know how sorry I am that I put you and Mom through all this. I'm sorry I couldn't see you again. But just know I love you. Okay?

D: We love you too, Zeke. And we're always here for you. It's going to be okay.

S: I didn't mean to hurt anyone.

D: I know.

S: I just want to make things right.

D: Then do what you need to do. But know we'll be here waiting for you when you're done. We'll be here when you come home.

(pause)

S: I have to go.

D: Will we hear from you again?

S: I don't know...I hope so.

D: Okay. Your mother and I will be waiting.

(pause)

S: Love you, Dad. And Mom.

D: We love you too, Zeke. Come home soon.

S: Yeah...bye.

(end conversation)


...Yeah. I dunno. Just...needed to get it out of my head, I guess.

I didn't let her go alone. I stepped out of the shower and there was a message on the table that she wrote telling me she was going into town for supplies. I'm not taking the fucking blame for that. She was stupid enough not to wait for me.

I should just leave her. It would serve her right. She's not my responsibility, and she's not my problem. I could just leave right now and not look twice. Leave her and him behind to their own problems, continue on with what I'm doing. Survive.

And really, what if he's right? What if we give her up and he goes away? Wouldn't that be worth finding out, sacrificing this one? To just try and see?

...

But I can't do that, can I? No...dammit...

Ohhhhh Zee. You should've listened to me, man. You should've let me have my way.

But hey, look at the bright side: Maybe now we'll finally be rid of the long-armed freak.


-\/\/

Goddamn it. Not tonight. Please, if there's a God out there, don't pull this the night I'm getting out of here.

Wren, I swear to Christ, if you read this and you did something to her, I'm going to fucking kill you.

If she's not back in another hour, I'm taking off without her. This is ridiculous.

We're leaving tonight. Just as soon as Mary gets back from town with supplies.

It's been over a week and nothing's happened. Can't keep calm about it, though, I half expect Wren to just blow the entire resort up any moment. But I have the feeling he's going to play it smarter than that.

Mary and I are talking about moving on soon. Not much left here, and the sooner we move, the better. I don't know if we'll stay together the entire time. Probably not. I've got things to do, same as she does.