Masks

Chapter 24

It had been days since we'd last had anything to eat or drink but neither of us felt hungry or thirsty- not that there was food or water for us if we had wanted it. Whatever this place was, it was keeping us alive without the need for sustenance. Sleep on the other hand was something we needed, and the rest we got was minimal at best with how much they'd been toying with us.

"Tim..." I called out to him as I stopped and leaned heavily against a tree. "Can we rest?"

He glanced over his shoulder before retracing his steps back to me. "I guess."

I slid to the ground, practically falling, and leaned back against the tree trunk, hearing him join me seconds later. "How long do you think we've been here?"

"Hard to say. I know just as much as you do."

"...I don't know if I want to remember this... if we get out..." I yawned and rested my head on my knees; I could barely keep my eyes open.

There was silence and I began drifting off only for Tim to shake me a few minutes later. "Get up."

"Hmm?" I obeyed and glanced around, not seeing what he was so alarmed about.

Tim stepped in front of me, glaring in the direction of a thinner section of the woods. "I saw Alex."

"What? Isn't he dead?" I glanced around him in time to see a man wearing glasses walking toward us with a gun in hand. He looked familiar, though I wasn't sure if it was from when Tim explained his past or something else.

"Run, go!" Tim stayed between me and the line of fire as he ushered me in the opposite direction.

I didn't need to be told twice, as Alex fired off a shot- somehow managing to miss us- and gave chase. "Tim said he was dead... Did he know Alex was alive? Or is this The Operator's doing?"

I couldn't bother to waste my breath questioning Tim on his thoughts and continued focusing on running. If Alex was alive trying to kill us I couldn't risk tripping over a root or slipping up on the large dead leaves blanketing the ground. My adrenaline was rapidly ebbing away, I could feel myself getting slower despite pushing myself forward. Glancing back, I could see our pursuer was raising the gun at us once more as he steadily gained on us.

"This is all your fault, Tim!" Another loud gunshot rang out, by some miracle still missing us. "I can still stop this from spreading!"

My shoe slid as I stepped on a damp tree root and I winced as I clipped the side of the tree with my shoulder. I gasped for breath, my chest aching with each inhale, and my legs shook as I once more tried to pick up the pace. I looked over my shoulder again; Alex didn't look winded in the slightest but I was more alarmed at how close he was. At this distance I could see the large stain of dried blood covering his throat and the front of his shirt; his glazed eyes held only bloodlust and determination to finish what he'd started.

Fear shot through me, paralyzing me as I slowed to a stop and turned to face him. "What's wrong with him? Is- is he possessed by something? I didn't think Slenderman or The Operator could actually possess people like this! ...I don't want to die here and end up like that!"

I staggered back, starting to run again, before feeling my legs buckle and give out; dots flashing across my vision as I smacked into the ground. Tim slowed to a stop next to me and pulled me back to my feet, letting me use him as a support while I prepared to pull out the knife. It wouldn't do much against a gun but as long as one of us could get close enough while Alex was distracted... maybe we'd have a chance.

We stared back in the direction Alex would come from at any second- a chill going through me when he didn't appear from the mist almost immediately. "He was right on our tail... was it a hallucination?"