Masks

Chapter 35

 The next morning I found myself nearly face to face with a feminine white mask. A hand shot over my mouth to muffle my shout while my struggles did nothing other than send pain through my side. I stopped and stared at Masky, unsure if he was helping Hoodie or had just shown up here for another reason.

"...Tim...?" I whispered his name as he lowered his hand, unsure what to expect from him.

He stayed silent and looked back over his shoulder to the entrance of the building. I followed his gaze, uncertain what he was looking at, before catching a glimpse of Hoodie walking by. Masky once again looked back at me, his head tilting down to the dried blood where the bullet had grazed my side. I scooted away, fearing he'd do something to make it worse.

"If he managed to get here in a night... Does that mean I'm still near my apartment? Or has he been with Hoodie tracking me down?"

Debris crackled as Hoodie returned and entered the building. I tensed as Masky got to his feet and turned to face the figure in yellow. For a minute, everything was silent aside from the cold breeze blowing through the broken windows and holes in the roof. Hoodie walked over and stared down at me; at least now he wasn't threatening to shoot me.

"What do they want...?" I once again tried to push myself further into the corner and away from them.

Hoodie pulled a bottle of water from the pocket of his jacket and sat it in front of me before leaving. I stared at the water, distrusting everything about it, and quite aware I couldn't drink it if I wanted to. At the moment, I couldn't decide if this was meant to torment me, poison me if I could actually get the bottle open to drink it, or if- for whatever reason- he was actually trying to keep me alive.

"He must be planning something... Waiting... for what though?" I continued to keep my eye on Masky as he began slowly wandering the small abandoned space. "They wouldn't lure proxies here and Slenderman isn't just going to show up to help me- I'm disposable- so... Who? The Operator? Why would they want to bring him here? Tim made it sound like they were fighting against it."

Hours went by. Masky had left a while ago and still hadn't returned. The wind had picked up and despite the walls shielding the worst of it, I was still shivering from the cold that managed to get into the building. My wrists hurt from the zipties cutting into my skin and all the struggling I'd done to try slipping free. At this point the bottle of water was starting to tempt me, though I had no way of opening it.

"Wonder if they just left me here... I haven't seen either of them pass by in a while." I scanned the windows and doorway as I leaned against the wall.

Despite the discomfort, I once again twisted my wrists against the plastic. The skin felt like it was becoming raw at this point. I could've tried calling out for help on the slim chance someone would be in the area to hear me... but it was unlikely; I'd been brought to this place for a reason. The only hope I currently had was if Tim came back and helped me- assuming he'd remember any of this to come back at all.

I was just starting to doze off when the sound of someone running into the building snapped me back to alertness. Hoodie stood over me holding my mask and his camera. He glanced behind him momentarily before putting the camera into position on the counter and sliding the mask over my face. I thrashed against his actions, not trusting his plan, before flinching back as he took out Tim's folding knife and dragging me to the side. Pain flared through my injured arm and I tried to pull away before feeling him tug against the restraints. A few seconds later my wrists were free and he dropped the knife at my feet.

My shoulders protested as I was finally able to move my arms again. I picked up the knife, casting a suspicious glance up at Hoodie, before using it to cut my ankles free. As soon as the plastic broke he grabbed the camera and ran. Confusion was still going through my mind as I unsteadily got to my feet and followed after him... I didn't have to wait long for my answers.

"He actually managed to get it to show up...!?" I backed into the building again when I saw The Operator standing in the distance. Nervously, I looked back out. "It isn't here for me... I didn't do anything!"

Hoodie stumbled to a stop to cough before motioning back at me and I froze as Masky turned the corner and began charging upon seeing the knife in my hand. I spun around and limped back through the building, my legs still feeling weak after being tied up. Everywhere I looked was just another wall but I continued to the back of the store- surely there had to be a back exit somewhere.

I barely avoided the first attack but the second one was a direct blow to the injury on my side. A tight grip found my wrist and I dropped the knife as he twisted my arm sharply behind my back. My pained shout echoed through the area. I wrenched my arm out of his grip, which almost immediately lost feeling through it from awkwardly twisting free. I shakily backed away, knowing he was allowing me to put distance between us.

"He didn't attack me on sight last time... Hoodie set this up! He's using us for something... but what? Why go through this trouble? How do I make him stop?" I coughed and glanced back outside, not failing to notice The Operator had gotten closer.

Once again, Masky launched into another attack. This time I fell to the ground beneath him and arched my back as broken pieces of rubble dug into my spine. The air was forced out of me as his knee went into my diaphragm while one hand tightened around my throat, easily pinning me down. I tried to bring up both hands to pry him off but found the one was still weak and unresponsive. It didn't take long for my vision to haze over and I desperately pulled off the mask Hoodie had slid over my face, hoping Masky would have some realization I wasn't a threat- or even less likely, remember I'd once helped him.

I tried to cough and weakly get free, even digging my nails into his hand hard enough to start drawing blood, before feeling the grip loosen. Coughing immediately followed as soon as I could breathe again. I dizzily took notice of the blood that started coming up along with the loud whitenoise of The Operator whining through my head. Looking back, I could see it was standing over us now. There was nothing I could do aside from try to remain conscious. Masky's attacks had stopped but he was still holding me down, his grip on my side hard enough to make my wound bleed as he suffered from his own coughing fit before finally slumping to the ground next to me.

"Is it... going to take us? Kill us...?" My body shook from the force of each cough, the speckles of blood turning into globs. "Is... is this what Hoodie was... trying to do?"

My eyes closed, though I swore I saw someone in yellow ducking out of the building just before I fell unconscious.