Don't Go Into The Forest

Little Johnny had an active imagination. He would imagine himself in a world of fantasy, monsters, and thing unknown. However this was sometimes a problem: Johnny often had trouble telling the difference between his imagination and reality.  

One day, Johnny thought it was a good idea to ask his mother a question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Mommy," he said. "Whatever happened to Timmy, the kid who used to skip rocks by the lake?"

Mother pursed her lips and said, "I suppose, now that you're ten, you are old enough to know."

"You know that forest right outside of town?"

"Yeah," answered Johnny.

"Well, Timmy wandered in there one day. He disappeared for days, weeks... When they finally found him."

"That sounds terrible," said Johnny. "What happened to him?"

"Well...," said Mother, "Maybe you're not old enough to hear that part just yet..." And that's all that was said on the matter.

"Which is why you need to promise me, Johnny, that you will never, ever go into the forest. There are dangerous things in there, and I don't want anything to happen to you. Understand?"

"Yes, Mommy. I promise."

The next day, Johnny was walking around with his friends, Billy and Bobby, when suddenly...

"Hey, let's go into that forest over there!" said Billy.

"Yeah, it'll be so fun!" said Bobby.

"I don't know," said Johnny. "My mom says I shouldn't go into the forest..."

"Oh, come on," said Billy.

"What, are you scared?" asked Bobby.

"No, of course not!" answered Johnny.

"Then let's go!" said Billy, and he and Bobby ran into the forest.

"Hey, wait up!" shouted Johnny, running after them.

Soon, however, Billy and Bobby ran too far ahead, and Johnny lost track of them. Lost in the forest, Johnny had no idea what to do.

"Billy? Bobby?" Johnny yelled. Where are you?"

But then, just as Johny was about to lose hope, he heard a voice. "What are you doing here?" it asked.

Johnny looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl, and was immediately smitten with her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again. "Don't you know that He roams these woods?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Johnny, trying to ignore how pretty the girl was. "Who's He?"

"Hasn't your mother ever told you not to go into the forest?" asked the girl. "Well, there's a reason for that. There's dangerous things in here, and he's the most dangerous one of all."

"But what about you?" asked Johnny. "What are you doing here?"

"That's the thing," said the girl, "I'm dangerous. Look, I'll try to get you back home, but I can't promise anyth- LOOK OUT!"

The girl pulled him out of the way just in time as a hideous monster leaped from the trees, swiping at him with its extremely long claws.

"The Rake!" shouted the girl. "What are you doing on our side of the forest?"

The Rake smiled a sharp-toothed smile, its claws twitching. "Little Johnny shouldn't be in the forest," it whispered.

The Rake's voice was high and shrill as it continued speaking, "Mr. Operator will do worse things to Little Johnny than the Rake will. And the Rake desires a snack..."

Suddenly, the Rake swiped at them again. The girl pushed Johnny out of the way, catching the full force of the attack, falling to the ground.

The Rake frowned. "That's not good," it muttered. "The Lady will not be happy about this..." Then the creature looked at Johnny and smiled. "I'll be back for you, Little Johnny. At least, if Der Ritter doesn't get you first..."

And with that, the Rake turned around and scampered away.

Johnny bent down next to the fallen girl. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," the girl said, "Don't worry about me."

"You need to get out of here," she continued. "Search for my Mistress. She knows the way."

"Your Mistress?" asked Johnny. "Who's she?"

"To find her," said the girl, ignoring his question, "Just follow the weeping." And then she closed her eyes and... fell asleep.

At first, Johnny had no idea what she meant. Then, he heard the voices: The voices of his mother, of Billy and Bobby, of the girl who hadn't even told him her name: All of them crying. And so, Johnny stood up and walked away, leaving the girl who had helped him lying on the ground.

Johnny walked through the forest, following the sounds of the weeping. He searched and searched, until finally, he found the source. It was a woman... But it was also a tree. Branches sprouted from her arms, her back... And she was crying. Then, she opened her mouth, and she spoke.

"little johnny," she said. "leave."

But Johnny was too afraid of the woman to answer. Was she the girl's Mistress? How could he know? And why was she surrounded by the cries of his loved ones?

"i am the weeping willow," the woman continued. "i am the mistress. of the girl you met. but that is not important. what is important. is you. you need to leave the forest. in that direction," the Weeping Willow lifted an arm to demonstrate, "there is a path. follow it. quickly, before he finds you."

But Johnny was tired of following people's directions blindly. He wanted his questions answered. And so, he asked them.

"Why are you crying?" he asked. "And why do your cries sound like those of my friends? And who is this He I keep hearing about?"

At this, the Weeping Willow frowned. "he made me what i am," she said. "he changed me. hurt me. altered me. do you? see me? i am a monster. and it is all because of him."

"and so i weep," she continued. "i weep. for those who are hurting and for those who have been hurt. i weep. for those who are lost and for those who have lost someone. i weep. for those who are gone and for those who are going. the reason the willow weeps. is the willow weeps for you."

Suddenly, Johnny heard a noise. He wasn't sure what it was, but it suddenly made the Willow very scared.

"he's here!" she exclaimed. "go away now, johnny! before he sees you! i will try to hold him back. for a while. but you must go! quickly! just keep running forward until you get to the path! it will show you the way!"

And so, Johnny ran away, leaving behind the woman who had helped him, who had shared with him her pain.

Johnny continued walking in the direction the Willow had told him to go, when suddenly, he found the forest path! Looking in the distance, Johnny thought he could see the edge of the forest. He was almost home! But then, a figure appeared from the shadows: a boy wearing a strange-looking mask and a very menacing knife.

"I'm so glad you made it this far out of the forest, Johnny," the boy said. "But I'm afraid my Master will not allow you to go any further."

There was something about the boy's voice that seemed familiar...

"Billy?" asked Johnny. "Is that you?"

The boy said nothing, but Johnny felt that he was smiling underneath his mask...

Then, the boy reached up and removed the mask from his face.

"Yes, Johnny, it is I," said Billy. "I have been taken into the custody of the Tall Thin Prince of Darkness. And soon, you will too."

"Billy, what happened to you?" asked Johnny. "Why are you wearing a mask and carrying a knife? Do you know what's going on?"

Billy smiled. "It'll all make sense soon enough," he said. "If you'll just follow me..." And with that, Billy turned around and began walking away.

"But the Weeping Willow said-" started Johnny.

"The Weeping Willow," Billy interrupted, stopping in his tracks, "Has no business interfering with his great and undeniable will. Now follow me, or I will make you follow."

Suddenly, Johnny heard a rustling from behind him, along with a high, shrill whispering and the sound of metal claws scratching against bark.

Realizing what this meant, Johnny ducked just in time as the Rake leapt out of the trees with its claws outstretched, heading straight towards Billy. The boy never saw it coming.

"Uh oh," muttered the Rake. "Lord Evergreen will be very upset about this..." Then, the Rake turned to Johnny and smiled. "But maybe He'll be too busy with Johnny to worry about the Rake. And the Rake is sooo hungry..."

Johnny turned around before he could see anything else, and ran away before the Rake could finish its meal, leaving behind the boy whom he'd thought had been his friend... and the monster that took him away.

Johnny ran and ran, the forest rushing past in a blur. It was then that he realized something: He had strayed from the path! The Rake had scared him so much that he'd forgotten all about it! The forest all looked the same around him: Johnny could no longer find the path. He had gotten so close, and now he was lost once again.

Then, Johnny saw Him. One look at Him, and Johnny knew He was who everyone in the forest was talking about: The Operator, Der Ritter, Lord Evergreen, the Tall Thin Prince of Darkness. Out of all His names, only one came to Johnny's mind: The Slender Man.

For that's what He was: a very Slender Man who wore a suit and tie. But that's not what stood out about Him. What stood out was his face; or rather, his lack of one.

"Found you," said the Slender Man, His voice emanating from the blank white expanse that was His faceless head. And then, a thousand tendrils of darkness sprouted from his back, branching out in all directions.

Johnny was far too afraid to move, and so could only tremble in Fear as the Slender Man leaned in close to him and whispered, "Little Johnny. You should never have come into the forest, for now that you have..."

"I shall never let you leave."

A Conversation Between Trees

The night was still and overcast, and the willow branches rustled in the soft, mist-like drizzle veiling the swamplands.

She stood beneath the boughs, letting the water drip from the leaves above into her own branches and leaves, trickling through the ridges of her bark skin, dripping like tears from the ends of her twigs. She liked the rain most of all, for when it did, the sky wept with her and she didn't feel quite so lonely. It soothed her, like the touch of a lover or the embrace of a long-lost friend.

That is, if she had anyone to call by such terms.

Oh, of course she had allies. Yes, she had many allies and enemies - she could not be as powerful as she was without both - and she did have the Melancholy to keep her company and serve her, but neither were really what she would call friends. Even her fellow Afflicted didn't trust her much, and as for her human allies... they were more afraid than trusting. Then again, being alone left one with time to think, time to reflect, time to muse.

She was not alone.

///Solace in the rain.///

Her anger mounted as she turned to face the tall, multilimbed being in front of her.

what? you want? why here? Her branches rustled in irritation at the intrusion. This was her land. Her territory. How dare he?

How dare he...?

///You believe I am in this wasteland by choice?/// He shot back coolly, bringing his long arms behind his back and clasping his razor-thin fingers together.

whatdoyouwantwantwantwant? tallone?

///To warn you.///

whytrustyouyouyou?

///Because you are every bit in as much danger as I.///

Her branches calmed, and she said nothing for a long time. In danger? How could he be in danger, what in their right mind would fool with an Abstract? What was suicidal enough to? And why would something powerful enough to put him in danger want to bother with an Afflicted?

that makes. no sense. none at all. She responded, gaze never leaving the faceless being. there is nothing. that insane.

He did not respond, his tendrils wavering like curious vines. As if he hesitated. As if something troubled him.

When next he responded, the words held a sense of slight trepidation.

///The gods are flawed, Willow. A flaw in the Abstract. Chaos exists.///

elaborate.

He did not respond.

speakspeakspeakspeakspeakspeakspeak!

He fixed her with an intense, wary gaze, tendrils vibrating at the tips. Sensing. Feeling.

///The Hunter is stalking.///

Her head inclined in dubious curiosity.

what is? this Hunter?

///It is a creature... human-like, and Afflicted-like. But neither. It is an Abstract. It is... It is pure entropy, Willow. And little but.///

She half-sobbed, half-laughed.

the operator fears? a little change? She asked, bemused. How sweet it would be if so!

He was not pleased. His tendrils thrashed angrily, threatening to run her through, threatening to shatter her utterly, tips snapping like whips.

She did not move an inch, not at all intimidated by the threat.

///Fool! It is not a little change! It is pure discord, and it will destroy us both if you do not listen for once in your insolent life!///

then explain. instead of giving. roundabout descriptors. Her face, or what remained of it, was a stony mask of pitilessness.

///Willow. You have no reason to trust me. Or to wish for my company. But this is no longer about any differences and hatred between any of your and my kind. You are being hunted, Willow. We all are. It is already in your territory, and if you do not heed my warning you will die horrifically.///

The words hit her like a lightning bolt. Hunted. Her. All of them. There were many things her creator would lie about, but something that posed a threat to him and to everything else like this... he would not.

She did not move.

She did not speak.

She bowed her head, realizing the gravity of her enemy's words, the fear in them... and swallowed her pride. Reluctantly.

speak... and i... will listen...

His tendrils did not stop quivering.

///It is highly adaptable, Willow. It can hide itself even from me, and surely can from you. It will come as a humanoid being, you will believe it human at first. You must not approach it. It will play to every weakness you have, it knows you better than yourself. It will steal your prey... and then will come for you.///

The Melancholy. will-

///Your servants are nothing compared to it. Even my strongest cannot stand up to it. Its claws... It rends them with its claws. I first saw it several sun-cycles ago, about twelve of your days. It was intruding. I intended to stop it, of course I was furious.///

and did you?

///No. I lost track of it.///

youyouyouyouyou? lost track of?

///Yes. I do not understand how. The next full moon, seven of my servants were dead, mutilated not by my hand. Even I would not have been so brutal. They were entirely torn apart and savaged. Organs chewed and marred. The sloppiest work I have ever seen, as if it were... as if the attacker were taking sick pleasure in it. Torturing them.///

and what of? the dead afflicted?

///I found them outside my forest's edge a few of your days ago, in a similar state. Destroyed utterly. They... they were all Afflicted that I myself had created, Willow. Which puts both you and I in very great danger.///

She was silent for a long time, fighting back her own internal dread. If it wasn't enough that she had to imagine her brethren horribly mutilated to death... this creature had her (and she loathed to call him such) creator on his knees in fear. Did he even have knees? She never was too sure about that...

///It is worse yet. When I found them... it was there. Its stringy hair in its pit-like black eyes, its claws tearing into its victims' flesh, Azoth spilled everywhere. It sensed me before I even drew near to it, and when I approached... it was standing. Staring at me. Grinning with razor teeth. I sensed a predator. One of my kind, one that destroys my kind... I attempted to escape, I must have run through thousands of ages and mullions of dark spaces it should not have been able to follow, and it did. I do not know if I lost it because it gave up, or because it grew bored of chasing me, but I could sense it was far stronger than I... far more alien. It does not think on any level of sanity or morality. It does not forgive, and it shows little mercy... I am astonished by it, Willow... and I am afraid.///

She subtly began to shiver, branches quivering in dread. The Tall One was afraid. Her own kind could not escape it. The Abstract of Timespace itself only barely escaped it. Her inky tears came fast and thick, dripping to the ground. Seeding her paranoia into the earth.

Why...?

///I am not sure.///

whatwhatwhatwhatmadeit?!

///Not I. Not another of my kind. I do not know what made it, or why it was made.///

thenhowhowhowhow? protect self?

///Fight with me.///

i do not want to.

///If you do not we all shall die!///

can we? divert its? attention?

///From us? Perhaps. From either of our kind? Not likely.///

She did not respond.

Neither did he, for a very long while.

///We could, you know,/// he intoned, breaking the tense silence, ///Send it upon the humans.///

nonononononononono

///Willow///

nononononono

///Willow! Listen, fool child of mine! Entropy must disperse. Humans are fascinating little fools. If we can get it to take interest in them... Yes, it would mean less for us. But survival is the precedence now. Do you want to live, or die?///

She curled her branches around herself, and was quiet with thought. Did she want to live? Not if it meant severe death. But to die in horrible agony... no, she could not abide that, she could not bear it. She would weep no longer for those she did not wish to weep for, such was the promise she had made to herself upon breaking away from her horrid creator. And she surely would not weep for a being far more horrid than him...

... i want. to live.

///Then consider this not an alliance, but a truce of sorts. Aid me in this once, Willow. This once, and I will trouble you no further. If you shall do the same for me, I will do such for you. Are you in agreement?///

i do not. have any choice. so yes.

She began to sense an alien presence, something unknown. Something approaching from behind her, behind them, behind the willow trees. A predator. A Hunter.

///Good. Then the first step of the plan begins now. I can hide us. If you will let me, I can even use us as a lure. But you must let me. This once.///

i do not. have any choice. i want. to live.

A branch extended towards him. A tendril towards her.

The Hunter approached more steadily, gaining.

///On my mark. One.///

The tendril tangled itself in her branch like an eyeless snake, and the presence grew closer.

///Two.///

The presence was almost upon them, howling, claws digging into the loamy earth, eyes blazing with a dark intensity. It saw them. It saw its prey, so close, so close, so close so close so close soclosesoclosesoclosesoclosesocloseso-

///Three.///

The prey vanished, and it skidded to a halt. No.

NO!

NnNNnOoOOOoOoOooOOsdlkfcnwef!!! It howled, shrieking with a cry that could rend the sanity of all who heard it. It sniffed at the ground, the air, it sensed with acute feeler strands of hair, it searched the swamp with its blazing black eyes that saw everything at once...

There.

ThereTHEReThErETHEREthere

Prey. A clear trail. Prey.

It grinned a shark-like grin.

Soon.