A Slender Brothers Story

Part 5

I sat alone in the dark. My protectors were near me, doing a perimeter check.

"Lexi."

I looked up from my lap and nearly screamed as I took in the boy in front of me. He put a hand over my mouth and looked into my eyes.

"Lexi, it's okay. My name is Ticci Toby." He looked around us quickly. "I don't have much time. I came to give you a message: You have to remember. Listen to the voice in your head. It'll reveal everything when the time is right, but for now, you have to remember."

I nodded my head frantically. Ticci stood up and disappeared again. Remember? Remember what? The little voice in my head whispered to me again: remember your life before this happened. My life before this? Was there another life? I heard a crack in my head and a memory played in my consciousness:

"Daddy, where are you doing," a little girl asked.

The man had his back turned to me. He held the little girl close and whispered something in her ear. I watched the man look around, blood on his white hoodie. The little girl looked at the mother cradling her child, begging for her and the child's life. The man picked up his daughter and turned away.

The memory blurred and I was yanked into reality. My breath came out rushed. Was this my memory? Who was the man? Why was there blood everywhere? I could literally feel my sanity slipping away as I thought of the memory. My protectors came back and stared at my shaking form. Slender kneeled besides me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Lexi, are you okay?" His tone was low.

"I'm fine," I lied.

He and the others formed a protective circle around me. I curled into a ball and fell asleep, but even in sleep the memories never stopped. A new memory played:

A giggling little girl played with a scalpel, a blurry figure watching her. The blurry figure handed her a teddy bear and the little girl looked at it for a second before slicing it to pieces and ripping the stuffing out, a crazed look in her eyes. After the bear was mutilated and the stuffing was everywhere, the little girl's eyes were normal. She looked up as the blurry figure leaned over. The little girl reached her arms up, asking to picked up. The blurry figure picked her up and carried her down the hall....

I woke up sweating and panting. Where were these memories coming from?! The voice in my head laughed: you haven't figured it out yet? I shook my head furiously and started crying. When did the voice start?! Why did any of this start?! I'm a normal girl who has a loving boyfriend and wonderful friends! Why is this happening to me....

I was on Splendor's back as we moved our location. Slender didn't want me to stay in one place for too long. As I continued to breathe normally, I noticed my sense of smell had gotten stronger. I could distinctly smell the pine and the sap of the trees. I could smell the blood of the animals. As night drew near, I noticed something else: I could see into the shadows with every little detail. We stopped and they left me to do a perimeter check. I expected another memory, but none came. I stood on my feet and peered into the darkness, staring at the silhouettes of the trees and animals. The darkness looked inviting and friendly. It seemed to call me. A haunting melody played in my head, and I found myself singing out loud to the song in my head. It called in a doe. I squatted down and held out a hand, continuing to sing my enchanting lullaby. The doe fell under my spell and drew nearer. When it nuzzled against my hand, I reached out and snapped its neck. Clawing at its flesh, I dug through bone and muscles until I got to what I was searching for: its juicy heart. Ripping it out of its chest, I smiled as I felt the heart slowly stop beating. I lifted it to my lips and touched the tip of my tongue to the arteries.

"Lexi?"

I snapped my head up and stared at Smexy. His body was tense and he had his hands up, silently saying "don't attack me" with his body language.

"What are you doing, Lexi," he asked.

"Thinking about how life is treating me badly. Why?"

He pointed down. I looked to where he was pointing and saw a mutilated deer and its heart in my hand. I back-pedaled, screaming bloody murder. Smexy rushed to me and held me down. The deer's chest was clawed open and its heart laid unbeating next to its head that was twisted at a wrong angle. I looked down at my hands and saw fur underneath my nails and blood on my hands.

"Did I do that," I whispered. "I don't remember doing this."

Slender came back and studied the situation. He quickly discarded the corpse and allowed Splendor to hold me while I cried. I killed a deer. I killed an innocent doe.... I'm a monster......

As I was sleeping, another memory played:

The little girl was playing with a little blurry figure, building things with little blocks outside. A kitten came exploring. The little girl stood up and chased the kitten. When she caught it, she took it to her play friend.

"Look look!" She snapped its neck. "No more kitten!"

A bigger blurry figure appeared and took away the kitten....

I woke up the next morning with more of my sanity gone. Was I this little girl? But who was the other two?