There's Something in the Woods - A Slenderman Fanfic (COMPLETE)

Log book entry 12

The cave is quite big. It looks so dark from here, but I luckily have my flashlight. I walk in slowly, desperate to find the source of the scream. It didn’t sound like Dieter, but then again, I’ve never heard him scream. I venture further into the cave, and realise it looks familiar. I remember seeing this cave from the bridge we drove over on our way here. This is the furthest East I’ll ever get in the forest, as the bridge separates this forest from the next. As I work my way in further, I can hear the clear sound of crying. Soon, the cave splits into two separate pathways. I go to the section where the crying is clearer. Before long, I come to a room-like section – and there sits Dieter.

I charge over to him, taking in his desolate state: his pale skin, tired eyes, his sobbing. “Dieter,” I whisper, relieved. He looks really ill. A large gash runs down the side of his head, dried blood lingering around it. I throw my arms around him, thankful he’s safe. He embraces me back, but weakly. I manage to get him to stand up, though it’s a strain on him. I really don’t want to drag him through the forest in this state, but it’s either that or wait for both of us to die. Suddenly, I remember my bloody feet. I slip my shoes off, now in agony. My bare soles are cut to ribbons, still oozing warm, wet blood. I shake the substance out of my boots, and my heart misses a beat when I realise how much was in there. I throw my boots back on, doing my best to ignore the searing pain. Usually I’d be distraught to have wrecked my shoes, but now this is the last of my worries. I want to hear Dieter’s story, but I have no time. I briefly explain to him what we have to do: collect all the pages. “The only way we’re going to survive is to find them all,” I say, fastening up my laces. “I think they’re going to protect us somehow”. Dieter shakes his head, as if I asked him to recreate the Big Bang with a pair of rocks. “But how?” he persists as we walk up the cave, my wobbly beam of light guiding us. “It’s just paper. It isn’t a weapon. It can’t protect us”. These are my thoughts exactly, but why would we need the pages? The internet didn’t say anything about what they’d do. Just that the victim had to collect them.

It just doesn’t make sense.

When we emerge from the cave, the heavy rain is still pouring. It mingles with the blood on Dieter’s head, sending bloody tears down his face. “I managed to find three pages,” I tell him, patting my hoodie’s pocket. “Just five left,” he mutters, looking around him. We dwell deeper into the woods. I know I will never find my way back now, but what does it matter? If we don’t find the pages, I won’t be here to care. I’ll be another one of his ghosts, snatched from the world, used to drag other people into his sadistic game.

10 minutes later. We’ve managed to find another two pages. We’re just over halfway there. I did a spontaneous jump for joy, but it didn’t last long. We had to dash when we saw a suspicious figure. The terrain here is all muddy, making it hard to walk. Our feet sink into the mud, as if it’s trying to pull us down. We miserably help each other trek through, though it isn’t easy at all. I shine the light up at the sky, cleaning the torch of the mud and dried blood. Something catches my attention on the branch of a tree. A single page flaps desolately in the howling winds, and I know immediately I have to get it. “Hold the torch,” I say, and charge over to the tree. It’s extremely tall, and it looks like it’s going to be a struggle to climb, especially since it’s slick with rainwater. Dieter stands at the foot of the tree with me, looking up at it. “How’re you going to get that?” he asks in disbelief, as if I said I was going to turn him into a toad. “I don’t know,” I admit, studying the best way to climb up. “But if we don’t get the page, we’re going to die.”

“I’ll go”. What? Did I hear right? He’s seriously going to risk falling so I don’t?

“You can hardly walk, Dieter. How would you climb it?” He shrugs his shoulders, looking up at the paper flapping in the wind. “Look, just hold this,” I say, and plonk the torch in his freezing hands. “Point it up where the branch is. Yes, like that. Okay, hold it still”. I march over to the tree, and plant my foot on the lowest branch. I feel kind of bad for just storming over, but if I don’t get this done, we die. I pull myself up and cling to the sturdy trunk. Gosh, it is slippy. I better not fall, else I really am dead. My foot automatically goes for the next branch, and I am soon getting the hang of it. The branches and leaves provide me with shelter, so no rainwater blurs my vision. I can see the branch from here. it’s sticking out more than the rest. If I could just…SNAP! The branch I am standing on breaks off the trunk, falling to the floor. Luckily, I just manage to grab the branch above me and pull myself up. “Be careful!” Dieter screams, staring up at me. He actually throws his hands out to try and catch me if I fall. I really ought to be nicer to that boy.

Finally, I’ve reached the branch. The paper is just a few metres from me now. I only realise how high I am when I go to grab it. I look down, and notice just how small Dieter looks. “Don’t look down!” he yells up at me, a little too late. I gulp, and, staying as close to the tree as possible, reach for the page. Luckily, I get it first grab, and fold it up into my pocket. “Two more to go!” I shout down, giving him the thumbs up. Unfortunately, during my celebration shout, I sever the branch from the tree. I plummet down to the forest floor, screaming at the top of my lungs.