The Killer's Life (A Jeff the Killer Story)

A Bit of A Healer's Touch

The first I noticed when we got to the city was the lack of stars at night. In the forest with Slender, we were able to see a plethora of stars every night, blanketing the sky with their shine. Before Jeff, there would be times where I'd go out and just watch them slowly move. Sometimes, if they were visiting, one of the other proxies would join me outside and we'd talk. Out of all of us, I was definitely the most likely to talk about my past. I'd never bring up what I did to Aislin, but I was always happy to talk about my childhood or my times in school. They would tell me more about their day to day things, unwilling to open up about their past.

During the time we've been gone and heading towards Zalgo, I'd learned to take comfort in the stars. After all, they were the same stars I'd seen at the cabin. This was the furthest I've ever been away from Slender and the emptiness in my mind where he was stung me. If Alicia and Karlyah weren't there with me, I know I would have been overwhelmed by the loneliness. There have been times where I'd tilt my head to the side or look off into the distance, trying to concentrate and find a voice that wasn't there. I felt so disconnected from everything.

But now, to have my stars taken away from me due to the light pollution, I felt like something personal had been stolen from me. Although I knew their numbers were diminished, I still found myself constantly looking up in a hope that they'll all suddenly reappear. However, they don't.

"So, Falin, you're going to wear your necklace?" Alicia looked up at me from across the camp.

I nodded, sliding it off my wrist. For some reason, it didn't work if I wore it looped around my wrist but the second I put it on as a necklace, I become a different person. It was odd but I couldn't explain it.

"Yeah. Don't forget, Karlyah is coming with me."

Alicia's eye twitched slightly. "Right. Why again?"

I shrugged, looking over at the dark haired girl. "Why are you coming?"

Karlyah was sitting in a creek fully clothed, running her fingers through her tangled mess of hair. She'd occasionally pull out a twig or leaf and I suddenly wondered why we never made her do this before. Until she'd gotten into the water, I'd never noticed how grimy she was. My perfectionist side twitched slightly, cringing at the idea of having touched her. I can't believe I even let us leave Slender's cabin without first bringing a comb to her hair. Or, better yet, a pair of scissors.

"Falin is friend." She frowned, looking at a leaf oddly. "I'll go with him to protect. He's nice."

I had a mild flashback to when I wanted to cut off all her hair but smiled brightly. "Of course! See, she thinks I'm nice."

Alicia gave me a cold stare. "Whatever, just don't get in trouble you two. Get her some more clothes while you're at it. It's already bad enough that she'll be dripping wet as you two walk around the town, we can't have her cold and wet every time she needs to get clean."

I nodded, agreeing. Karlyah could catch a cold. Standing up, I stretched slightly and ruffled my hair. "Alright. We won't be long. Stay hidden and if something attacks, just grab any one of the vials I showed you and throw it straight at their face."

Her eyes focused at a point on my chest. I looked down, slightly concerned by her intense stare. Then, I looked back up at her, confused. She shifted in her seat, starting to stand. "Is your back okay?"

Her voice was softer than I'm used to. I paused for a second, trying to collect my thoughts. "Uh, yeah. It hasn't been bothering me very much. It's healing well."

Her eyes met mine and there was something weird in them. "Have you checked it?"

"We've been too busy. I'm sure it's fine." I started to leave, but she grabbed my arm tightly. From the water, Karlyah narrowed her eyes at Alicia.