Masks

Chapter 46

A week had passed by since my warning to Tim yet nothing had happened. "It's like that thing is trying to make me a liar."

I shivered and glanced behind me as I walked into the abandoned warehouse. Skully had been following me- somehow managing to find me before Toby- though his exact reasons for doing so were still unknown to me. All I knew was it was an annoyance. Not only was he following me around with his camera filming me for god knows what reason, but he was also making it easier for me to be tracked. It was impossible to miss him considering how little precautions he took to not be seen.

Faint discomfort went through my side as I slumped down against a wall. Despite the conditions I'd been staying in, it had been healing well. The sound of new footsteps entering the building alerted me to Skully's entrance and I looked up to see him fall to the ground, awkwardly trying to break his fall while still keeping the camera safe. I tensed as Toby stepped into the building, kicking Skully in the ribs as he passed by. His orange goggles stared right at me and I hastily got right back to my feet. This was it.

"He would've been farther behind me if it weren't for Skully. I could've kept leaving a trail for him away from Tim." I glanced around, trying to find anything to use as a weapon.

The proxy didn't give me the chance and I grunted as I was kicked in the stomach, knocking me back against the wall. I coughed and slid to the side to avoid a punch to the face. Glancing back, I could see blood smear the wall from Toby's fist, though he of course didn't feel any pain from it. I once again ducked from another attack and darted into the open space.

"I can't beat him in a fight." I watched as he pulled out one of his hatchets and stalked closer. "He's too strong..."

Once again I dodged to the side as Toby swung at me. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Skully filming near the door. Irritation toward the masked man went through me, distracting my focus enough to allow the blade to clip my collar bone as I stepped back. The kick that followed up sent me to the floor. I felt the breath get knocked out of me as he planted his boot on my chest and raised his hatchet.

"If he hits me now..." I shuddered and tried to twist his leg in hopes of destabilizing his footing. This wasn't the ARK, a fatal blow here would kill me before I could hope to heal.

Footsteps ran over and I felt Toby fall off me as Skully rammed into him. The man instantly retreated as Toby caught himself and glared back. I didn't waste any time getting back to my feet and running to the exit. I could hear the proxy on my heels and glanced over at Skully as he fled next to me.

"At least he wasn't completely unhelpful... Still, he literally led Toby right to me!"

An arm wrapped around my neck and yanked me back, causing a choked cry of fright to escape. I tried in vain to pry his arm off before feeling him toss me to the ground. A sharp kick forced me onto my back so I was staring up at him. Toby took out both of his hatchets this time and brought them down one after the other. I rolled to the side, avoiding the first one, but the second caught my shoulder and arm. I gritted my teeth to avoid letting out a sound of agony and put a hand over the gashes, blood rapidly coating the surrounding cloth.

"Looks l-ike you're left to d-die al-one." Toby sneered as he finally spoke up.

I tilted my head to the side to see Skully had left before looking back up at the proxy standing over me.

"I-if it's any consolation, I'll be k-illing him next... and th-hen the others you f-failed to kill." He began walking around me, letting me sit in pain as the blood continued to run from the wound. "Should've jus-st d-one your job."

"No...!" I hissed, the agony clear even in that one word.

"Y-you know... I'm s-sure he'll be b-back... M-maybe I'll give him a g-gift to rem-ember you by before I-I kill him." I tried to get away as he once again raised his hatchets. "D-don't worry. You w-won't die y-et. Th-ey still want to e-experiment-t with your m-mark... and you have s-some ses-ssions to catch up o-on."

I shouted as he sent a hard kick to my ribs to flip me over and expose my back. I shrank away from his attack. Moments later I felt one of the blades cut into me followed by the warm feeling of blood soaking into the back of my shirt. His second hatchet flipped around at the last second as he slammed the butt of the weapon into my skull. I felt my head loll limply to the side, the burst of white slowly giving away to dots of color before I fell completely unconscious.

***

I felt cold. My movements were disjointed as I slowly got back to my feet, pain tearing through the fog in my mind as I irritated my wounds. A few feet away I could see Toby standing over someone he'd backed against a wall. Stumbling closer, I finally recognized Tim as he pushed back against Toby's attack. The hatchet blade was inches away from Tim's face.

"Skully must've brought him here... What should I do? I can't fight..." I was trembling from my earlier injuries, how could I possibly be of help? "I can't watch him die."

Neither of them paid attention to me as I limped closer. I managed to get within arm's reach of Toby before Tim's focus broke as he made eye contact with me. I shakily lunged at Toby and pulled him backwards after wrapping my good arm around his neck. He easily elbowed me off but a glance around him at least reassured me Tim hadn't been hit.

I backed away unsteadily. Staying on my feet was becoming difficult and I staggered before managing to catch myself. I couldn't see Toby's expression but I knew this probably amused him. The proxy leapt at me, easily knocking my leg out from under me and shoving me down to the ground by the throat.

Anger built up the weaker I became. I should've been better than this. I could've been better than this if I had at least pretended to be on their side. Metal flashed across his throat and I felt Toby's grip loosen before he released me completely and retreated. Blood and azoth ran through his fingers as he held them to the gaping wound in his neck. He glared before leaving the building completely- probably to retreat back to the ARK before he bled out.

"Ashley." Tim knelt next to me, dropping the knife on the floor with a clatter.

I stared up at him, finding it hard to stay focused. "Hmm?"

"You're going to be okay. I..." He trailed off and began coughing.

Looking past him I could see Slenderman standing over us. The haze in my thoughts made it difficult for me to process the static that constantly showed up with his arrival but after seeing him I became aware of the high pitched sound. I had to do something. I grabbed Tim's knife and with what strength I had left jumped at the creature. The blade cut into him before being knocked out of my grip. I swayed for a moment before feeling one of the tendrils cut deeper into my shoulder. Slenderman instantly recoiled, azoth dripping onto the ground. The mark ultimately kept him from severely hurting me physically but even that brief attack had been enough to cause blood to once more gush out down my shirt and skin.

I collapsed to the ground without a sound.