Reconnected Roads [Slenderman X Reader]

Chapter 16

Masky tried his best to calm the woman who was distancing herself as far away from him as possible, her oxygen mask all fogged up from screaming herself hoarse. "Look, ma'am. We're not here to hurt you," he said, making a point as he raised his hands.

Yeah, right.

Maybe in the past she would have believed that but that naive mentality was what put her in a hospital bed in the first place. And it wasn't easy to trust his words when there was a man who had just drawn out a smuggled knife in front of her. It said something about the hospital's safety regulations and she questioned whether or not the hospital was another Hammon's Hamburgers.

"Who the heck are you guys?" The woman asked, words slightly muffled because of the mask wrapped around her mouth. She was pressing herself against the security of the hospital bed's rails as best as she could, fear apparent in her wide eyes. Like a skittish animal would, her vision darted around the room and landed on each one of the 11 mobsters.

One of them looked like a demented clown as they leaned against the sofa, disproportionate arms crossed cockily over their chest. He had smirked at her when she glanced at him, his wide grin revealing sets of sharp teeth that looked as if they could decapitate her in one bite.

A shiver ran up her spine and she immediately broke eye-contact. The woman had a prevailing sense of déjà vu and her intuition told her that she experienced this before. From when and where, however, she couldn't remember.

A brown-haired man with some stubble on his chin stood up from the ground. For a brief moment, he reminded the woman of a salesman with his semi-formal dress shirt that was tucked into black jeans. He looked like an older brother telling his younger sibling to step aside as he clasped Masky on the shoulder. "I'll take it from here," he whispered in a deep, raspy voice that was familiar to the woman. He took his hand off and stepped closer toward her. "You remember me?" he asked upon seeing that she was examining him with inquisitive eyes.

"A little," she admitted, pulling off her oxygen mask. "Are you the guy that came with me and Slender?"

"Who's Slender?"

Huh, she thought. Guess they don't know their boss's real name. "Sorry, I meant The Operator."

He nodded his head.

"Hoodie?"

The man nodded his head again.

The woman loosened up a little now that she knew someone familiar was in the room. Still, she remained on high alert. Just in case. "Oh. I didn't recognize you without your mask."

"Yeah." That's the point of the mask, added Hoodie in his head. "Our boss sent us here to watch over you—"

"Kinda creepy if you ask me but—"

"Ey!" Masky snapped, pulling out a gun from his pants and pointing it at Jeff. Birdy flinched at his sudden action and paled when she saw the metallic weapon in his hand. "I'm getting real sick and tired of your whining. Keep that shit up and you're gonna get fucking whacked. Remember that the boss is the one who decided to keep your sorry ass alive."

Jeff glared but remained quiet.

"Anyway," continued Hoodie, unfazed, "He sent us over here to make sure no one tries to do any funny shit."

Masky grinned at the woman as he shoved his weapon back into the waistband of his pants. He straightened out the wrinkles on his shirt before saying, "You're getting what we like to call: '[Y/N] [L/N] only' treatment. If anyone else in our crew was shot at, the boss would only send an associate and that's it. Other than that, he wouldn't give a damn because everyone knows that the person who got shot should've been more careful. But you, ma'am, you get seven Capos. The best of the best."

A woman that Birdy would later know as Clockwork propped her head into the palm of her hand. The corner of her lip pulled upward into a mischievous smirk that was directed at [Y/N]. "So," she said, drawing out the 'o' sound. "It sounds like you're really special to The Operator that he even made a list about you. It's not even much of a list, though, since you're the only person on it. What made him put you on that list in the first place? What's your relationship with him?"

"Clockwork," Toby interrupted, abruptly cracking his neck. He murmured a curse before saying, "You know that anyone who doesn't work for The Operator isn't authorized to speak with her. We need to get down to business."

I'll Make A Man Out of You started playing in the woman's head. Let's get down to business! To defeat! The Huns!—

"Miss. [L/N]." The song immediately stopped. Toby stood from the ground and wiped his clothes from the dust that it collected on the floor. Birdy tried not to wince at the large hole in his cheek that widened as he talked. "As you remained unconscious the past four days, Syndicate's been busy trying to hunt down that guy who shot you."

A hush of silence passed over the 11 mobsters as the mood shifted. The tension in the room became thicker, almost tangible.

"Did you guys find out who it was?" asked [Y/N].

None of The Operator's Capos talked. None of them wanted to. They didn't want to admit the truth to the woman in the hospital bed.

"Who was it?" repeated [Y/N], the ball of fear that sat in the back of her throat growing larger the more they remained quiet.

The room became an anechoic chamber as they all sat knee deep in silence. The constant beeping of the heart monitor made up for the unbearable quiet and was the sole reason that prevented the 24 year old from snapping. The petty banter and the snarky comments the guards exchanged with each other just moments before had dissipated into ashamed stillness.

At this point, the woman felt as if she was talking to a wall.

"He's dead now," Toby said as if he could satisfy the woman's curiosity with only a tidbit of information.

"But who was he?"

"One of ours." The 24 year old shifted her attention towards Hoodie who finally spoke. "We knew him as Richard but yesterday, we learned that his real name was Frank. Frank Williams."

"Wait..." Birdy's gaze fell to the hospital blanket as she tried to think. "Richard?"

In the corner of the room, Ben and Jeff were trying to be unsuspicious as they tried to discreetly exit the room. They were inching towards the door and they almost made it through before Jane spotted them and ratted them out.

"Hey Masky, Ben and Jeff are trying to leave the room. Just thought you might want to know." Jane informed nonchalantly as she studied her nails.

[Y/N] fixated on the two people who had attempted to leave the room, recognition flickering in her eyes. "Hold on..."

Ben and Jeff visibly cringed. They both slowly turned around.

Birdy jabbed an accusatory finger at the duo who were currently sweating buckets. "You guys were the ones who tried to kidnap me!" She pointed at Ben who she recognized because of his stature. "And you're the one who called me a marijuana addict! What did you guys do with the bank teller?"

"We let her go," Ben lied.

"Yeah, I don't buy it."

"Are you sure you want the truth?"

"Of course. I need to know what happened to her."

"Well," said Ben cheekily, rubbing the back of his head. "We killed her. Boss's orders."

"The Operator's?"

"Yup."

Ben's blood drained and his heart hammered erratically against his ribcage when he saw the look in the woman's eyes. The customary warmth was gone, replaced with something far deadlier.

"Interesting," the woman crooned in the same tone that her mother used when she would count down from four. "So you're saying he lied?"