Ben Drowned: A Glitchy Adventure

The Taste Of Blood and Fear

Ben bolted through the moonlight forest, not feeling the sharp twigs that scratched his face and arms. He caught sight of a white flash up ahead, and heard a high pitched cackling laugh, and quickly changed direction. He ran as fast as he could, following the small flicker of white a long way ahead. Suddenly the white shape stopped, and Ben slowed down. He crept cautiously up to stand beside Jeff, gaping at the sight in front of them. It was an enormous black swirling mist. Ben couldn't see through it. Jeff put a hand on his shoulder.
"We've got to go in there and get Sally," he said. Ben swallowed and nodded. Jeff went first, with Ben clutching tightly to his sleeve. They walked for miles. They couldn't see anything except for a few feet of black dirt on the ground around them. Jeff tried to keep in a straight line, but they could have been walking in circles. All of a sudden, the mist ended. There, standing in front of a large, covered cage, was the creature from before. It had a huge grin on its gremlin-like face, and was holding a large knife. Ben clenched his fists.
"Mr Widemouth?" He called out to the creature. The creature gasped, then laughed like a maniac.
"Knows my name! The little human knows my name! Oh ha ha ha! What else does it know I wonder?" The creature, Mr Widemouth, looked at Ben expectantly. Ben cleared his throat.
"I know that you turned me human. And that you stole my friend Sally!"
Mr Widemouth laughed, stamping his little feet.
"Oh ho ho ho! Clever little thing isn't he? But he doesn't know about... master!" At the word 'master', the little creature lowered his crackly voice secretively, and looked around him. His large bat-like ears twitched as he listened to something Ben and Jeff couldn't hear. Then they did hear it.
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.
Ben shivered as the temperature around them dropped, turning icy. Jeff breathed out, watching his breath turn to a cloud of fog. They both looked up to see a man, taller then Slenderman, with red horns twisting out from each side of his head, large black and red demonic, leathery wings sprouting from his back, and red eyes. The man chuckled darkly.
"Well well well my little guests, it seems Mr Widemouth has invited some friends over without my knowledge!"
Ben wrapped his arms around himself as the deep, booming voice vibrated through him, turning his blood to ice and his bones to jelly. He stared at the terrible figure.
"Zalgo..."

Zalgo laughed, throwing his head back.
"Why yes, I am Zalgo. And you are Ben, am I correct? I see Mr Widemouth put a little spell on you as well. Don't worry, it was just for fun! Let me help!"
With a flick of his long fingers, Ben felt himself change. His ears stretched into points and his eyes changed colour. His clothes changed back to his green tunic and hat and brown leather belts and boots. He felt a rush of adrenaline as his magic returned. He grasped at the power, ready to use it. Zalgo had other plans.
"Now now Ben, I just helped you! You shouldn't be so rude as to try and hurt me! Here, I'll make sure you don't hurt yourself shall I?"
With another flick of his hand, Ben found himself bound and gagged by pulsating, glowing green threads of energy. He felt himself get lifted off the ground. Jeff yelled and tried to grab Ben, but he couldn't reach. Ben thrashed and tried to get loose, but to no avail. Suddenly, the large cage began to float into the air. The sheet that covered what was inside slowly fell to the ground. Ben screamed through the gag. It was Sally. Her eyes were gone and blood poured from her sockets and mouth. Her head lolled to the side, and she reeked of decay. Jeff fell to his knees as Ben sobbed helplessly. They were too late. Ben stared at Sally, remembering how he had tucked her into bed not too long ago. He never knew that this would happen once he left the room. He gasped and blinked away the tears. Wait. What was that? Through the blur of his tears he thought he had seen something. Sally, but tied up and gagged and terrified, but alive. He focused his magic to see the image again. Slowly the illusion faded and he could see her. He tried to scream out her name through the gag. She looked up at him, obviously relieved someone could see her. Ben glared at Zalgo. Zalgo smirked.
"So, Ben, what will you pay to save your little buddy? To release her from my spell and set her free from me. To never have her see me again. What will you pay me?"
Ben sniffed and looked at Sally, who was too young to completely understand what was happening, but just old enough to know they were in deep trouble. He noticed a bloody hash on the side of her head. His heart gave a lurch. He slowly turned to Jeff, who was still staring at the horrible illusion of Sally with a heartbroken look on his white face. Ben faced Zalgo again. He knew what he had to do.
"You can have... me."
Zalgo tilted his head to the side.
"How chivalrous, but I don't want you. Or your friends. I want to have a little part of your mind. Just a little tiny part so I can see your memories and have a little influence on you. You will still be able to carry on with your normal life, and your friends go free. Unharmed. But. If you refuse to accept my terms, I'm afraid poor Sally here will die, and you and Jeff will rot in the darkest place I can find for the rest of your pitiful lives. What do you say? Do you accept?"
Ben felt a bloody tear fall down his cheek. He could allow Zalgo to control him, could he? But he had to. He had to save Sally and Jeff. But what if there was another way? But he couldn't think of anything else, couldn't think at all. He let out an angry sob. Zalgo twisted his fingers so the energy threads moved enough for Ben to speak. He met Jeff's eyes, begging him to forgive what he was about to do. He looked at Zalgo.
"I accept..."