Masks

Chapter 45

I felt carpet against my hands as I groggily sat up and looked around. It was too dark to see anything and I hesitantly reached out a hand to feel around. Clothes hung on one side while on the other I could feel cardboard and dusty books. Judging by the small size of the room and the contents it didn't take long for me to determine I was in a closet.

I found the door and tried to turn the handle only to feel something blocking it from the other side. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy... How the hell did I get here anyway? Surely Masky wouldn't carry me all the way back to lock me up in here, right? Was it Tim?"

My back pressed against the opposite wall. The small space wasn't the worst place, in fact it would've been quite nice if I'd been able to see. I hated not knowing what else could be in the room- rationally I knew nothing was but the paranoia something could show up was still there. I stared at the door, contemplating how to get out before Tim came back or worse, Masky.

"Guess I could try knocking the door down... or dislodging whatever is blocking it." I braced myself before ramming the door with my shoulder.

It didn't budge and I tried once more, this time getting more aggressive. Another loud thud as I slammed into it and stumbled back but I still didn't hear any sign of the object blocking the door falling or being pushed away. I rolled my shoulder to shake off the discomfort before deciding to give it one more shot.

I pushed off the wall and shouldered the door with as much force as I could muster. This time I fell forward, though the door opening was too delayed to be from my efforts. A yelp escaped me as I tried to regain my balance seconds before I crashed into the man who'd opened the door. I barely registered pain in my side as we fell to the ground. Tim stared up at me, looking rather surprised at my appearance.

"Doesn't he remember putting me in there? ...Guess not if he was in his masked state." I lurched back, wincing as my side protested the movement. "Gah... fuck..."

My eyes fell to the knife he'd dropped; dark liquid stained the edge of it where it had cut into me. I glared at Tim from under my mask and gave an animalistic growl as he sat up and raised a hand towards me while he grabbed the knife. It hadn't been his fault I'd gotten hurt, and I didn't want to hurt him, but I'd fight my way out if I had to.

"Pawn..." He was watching me just as closely as I was him. "Do you... Can you remember me?"

"Of course I remember you..." I stayed silent, my thoughts conflicting with one another. I missed not being alone but what I'd put him through... I couldn't do that again just to try stopping those things. "How many times has he been hurt? How many times did he worry about me after I was hurt?"

"I thought you were dead..." I flinched back as he got closer and watched as he froze and adjusted his grip on the knife, as if unsure if he'd have to use it or not.

I slowly got to my feet and edged closer to the door, ready to bolt. "He's the only one I can trust- I think... I can't stay and risk his life."

Tim cautiously stood up and dropped the knife as I continued inching away. "Pawn... I was a friend. I'm not going to hurt you."

The urge to stay was getting harder to ignore- and not just because sleeping on carpet would be an upgrade. Tim had been the last friend I had left. Yet, I caused him so much pain everytime I disappeared. The grief he'd suffered was written all over his current state; unshaven face, dark circles under his eyes, the uncertain look he was giving me as if he couldn't tell if this was real.

I stared at him for a few more seconds in contemplation before lunging at him. I could feel his body tense in expectation of an attack before relaxing when my arms stayed loose around him. His stubble made small scraping sounds against my mask as it brushed against the side of the plastic. I felt his arms hesitantly wrap around me.

"I should've ran..." Despite initiating the contact, every instinct in me was telling me to escape before something bad happened. I had to keep reassuring myself that this wasn't the start to another session. "It's not a trap... This isn't a trick to fuck with me..."

"Ash..." I felt him pull me closer as he finally seemed to register this wasn't in his head; the action pressed harder against the fresh cut and I shifted uncomfortably. Tim's grip loosened and I turned my head to see him staring down at the blood. "Ash I-"

I cut him off and gave him an unseen, mournful look. "I'm fine Tim. This is nothing compared to what's happened... But I-I have to go... After last night I know Toby will be sent after me and that means you could be in danger too. It's better if I leave and keep him away from you for as long as possible."

"No. That's not happening, I'm not letting you use yourself to save me."

I slowly backed closer to the doorway. "...It's my choice what to do with my life. Just... don't let it go to waste. Get away while you can."

"I don't want to be alone again..."

"I should've ran." I felt like a knife to the back would've hurt him less than what I was doing.

"Hey, m-maybe I'll come back when it's safe... I mean, I'm not dead yet." I hesitated before walking further away. "Just... don't follow me, please?"

"Take off the mask and tell me that."

"I... I can't... He'll know... H-he'll m-make the sessions worse." I pressed the mask closer to my face before glancing around as if just the suggestion would summon Slenderman to punish me. "Traitorous proxies shouldn't show their face... We are nothing... I-I'm not a traitor... I-I wasn't a proxy... but it hurts... What if this is a trick? To test me? No... no of course it isn't."

I shifted against the wall, shaking and holding my head as the memories of the sessions with HABIT and the others came back. The smell of cigarette smoke cut into the flashbacks as Tim walked over to me. "Ash? ...Hey, what's wrong?"

"D-don't follow me..." I once again backed away. "Please... I can't let them do those things to y-you."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and ran. Once outside, I quickly slowed and began limping away while holding my injured side. The movement made more blood flow from the cut, though the injury itself was far from fatel. It was difficult to hide from people in broad daylight but I managed to make it to an old decrepit building. A metal staircase led to a second floor and I cautiously walked up the stairs and looked around.

"I guess this works..." I pulled off the jacket I'd been wearing and used it as a pillow as I leaned back against the wall. "I hope this works... What if they end up going after Tim instead?"

Cold air made me shiver as I tried to get comfortable enough to allow my side to scab over. Thirst began nagging at me and soon after my stomach grumbled in hunger. Thinking about it, I couldn't recall the last time I'd actually eaten or drank anything. Once it was dark out I could go find something, assuming no one found me first. The fact no one had yet was making me uneasy. Sure it hadn't quite been a day since Slenderman showed up but from what I'd gathered during my time in the ARK, sending proxies to certain locations wasn't that difficult.

"Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and Toby won't show up. Maybe I'll be wrong... I want to be."