The Slender Man (a Hetalia fanfiction - Book 2)

Chapter 17 - Can't Hide

"Wh-What!? Where's the body!?" England exclaimed as we both stared wide-eyed at where the body used to be, but now, in its place, is a note.
"What?" America asked, looking around, his face still pale.
"The body's missing," I whispered, my flashlight following the trail of blood on the floor and under our feet, and out the door.
"Did...someone drag her out, or..." England was about to add something, but then shook his head in denial.
"G-Guys, don't be playing around." America stuttered, his hands getting shaky.
I shook my head, staring wide eyed with disbelief at the blood trail. "I wish we were, bro."
"But there's a note..." Spain said quietly, staring at the note across the room from us.
I swallowed hard, then began to walk towards it, my feet dragging across the still fresh blood. I feel sick. The aroma of decomposing flesh still linger in the room, as if the body was still here.
As I got closer to the paper, the others waiting at the doorway, I noticed that the murmuring and buzzing in my head got stronger, louder, making my head feel light. I noticed the blood on the wall, staining the paper.
I'm close enough to see what's written on the sheet.
There's a drawing of a tall stick figure. I'm guessing it's supposed to represent Slender Man.
FOLLOWS
My hand was shaky as I reached out to grab the bloody note, and then I did, pulling it off the wall.
Immediately after I did, we all heard the sound of the breeze outside, the movements of the tree branches and the rustling leaves.
"He always follows."
"You can't run away."
The whispers began and I quickly backed away from the bloody wall and turned towards the others. Most of them are shivering and glancing around, others (Russia) didn't seem bothered by it.
"O-Okay, let's get out of here," Canada said and I nodded.
"There's nothing else here we need. Let's go," England said, and so we turned to quickly run down the hall, holding our breath as we passed the kitchen...
...Only to stop dead in our tracks, staring wide eyed.
The front door is closed, and carved on it, is that symbol.
There's the girl. Standing in front of the door, staring at us with her eyeless gaze, her bloodied lips tilted into a smile that sent shivers up my spine.
That's the same girl England and I found dead earlier.

Romano's P.O.V

"Where's Veneziano?" I growled, struggling to stand straight.
"Veneziano?" One child asked, tilting her head.
"My brother," I gritted my teeth, doing my best to keep my frustration under lock. "Italy Veneziano."
"Well, now that you mention it, you two do look alike..." The boy with the knife said with a sadistic edge to his tone that made me grit my teeth.
So they do know where he is.
"Where is he!?" I shouted.
The child's smile grew wider, and then he opened his mouth to speak, but then we all heard something weird.
It came from that window, the one the had moonlight shining through it.
The noises got louder, and I realized it was muffled voices. Is that...?
Then, multiple shadows moved past the window, as if people are walking by it, just outside.
"Looks like we have company," a child said.
I looked over at the little boy, but then I noticed that the kids are backing away from me, out of the light and into the darkness of the room.
"This will be fun," said one of the girls.
"Let's give them a warm welcome."
"I guess it's time to wake Alexis up."
"What are you talking about?" I said, continuing to grit my teeth at the pain in my leg.
"You'll see soon enough," the boy told me, before stepping completely out of the light, just like the rest of the children.
"Where the hell are you going!? What are you about to do!?" I shouted, but I got no response.
I huffed and looked towards that single window again.
Suddenly, the air in here feels...lighter. Easier to breathe.
I think the kids ran off. Thank God.
Soon enough, I heard the soft thuds of footsteps and the creaking boards above my head. The dangling light above me began to shake a bit. The voices are hushed, but some are not so hushed.
They sound very familiar, too.
Is it the others? Then...what are the children about to do?
Are they going to hurt them? Just the thought of them hurting my friends, or Rosalie...
Fury boiled within me and I growled, forcing myself to walk towards that window.
Then, suddenly, I felt like...I'm not so alone in here. As if something is within that darkness, watching every movement I make, and if I get too close...
I shook my head. It doesn't matter right now. I don't fucking care if they kill me, but if they hurt Rosalie, that's when shit hits the fucking fan.
I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain in my leg as I limped out of the dim light and made my way over to the window. I reached up to grab it, but I couldn't find anything to grab onto.
"Fuck," I cursed, letting my arms fall to my sides again, then I turned around. The room, besides the part where it's lit with the dim light, is pitch black. I walked along the wall, my hand pressed against it to find a door or something that can be useful.
My leg still throbs and no doubt is still bleeding heavily. The little bastard better not have cut a tendon or some shit. How big was that knife? Four, five inches?
I can still feel the warm blood pour down my leg and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm leaving a trail of it. Other than that, my leg feels tingly, slowly losing its senses because of blood loss.
"Great," I muttered to myself. Soon enough, my hand came across something cold, but familiar...a light switch. It's already on, probably the switch for that dim-ass light.
I sighed and continued scanning the wall, but then I found what feels like a shelf or a table of some sort.
I found it the hard way, because the side of my waist bumped into it and that hurts like a bitch. I seethed and pressed my hands against my waist, waiting for the pain to die down some so I can check this table-thing out.
Soon, the pain faded and I reached out towards the table once more, feeling around it for anything. I felt several things that felt cold and metal, and something small and needle-like and I felt what seemed like thread. Shivers went up my spine just thinking about what those children could do with a thread and needle.
But then I realized that the needle isn't the only thing I'm feeling. There are knives, jagged edges and smooth blades brushed against my fingers. One was sharp enough to give me a small cut and I winced. One of them felt like a saw, but it isn't so cold, and it's wet...
I quickly pulled my hands away from the item. It's too dark to see what's on my hands, but when it comes to those children, I have to guess it's blood.
I wiped my hands on my pants, then continued to walk, waiting until I passed by the table completely before pressing my hands against the wall again.
Abruptly, the air got heavier and it seems to get colder. I did my best to resist the urge to look, because I know I see something against that dim light in the corner of my eyes.
You know what, I'm tired of this shit. I clenched my hands and faced that direction, seeing what I knew was there. That Slender Man guy is standing over there, within the dim light.
As expected, a headache formed in my head and I can hear whispers and murmurs filling my head.
I looked downwards so the headache would fade, and it did, but the voices didn't.
So I opened my mouth to raise mine.
"What the fuck do you want from us, huh!?" I demanded. I didn't get a response, but I continued. "Why are you doing this!? Why did you take us here and make us find your fucking notes!? When will you leave us the fuck alone!?"
I still didn't get an answer and it only irritated me further. I growled, wanting so much to tear that slender asshole to shreds.
I could almost swear that that thing is staring at me in amusement.
That smug, sadistic son of a bitch.
"Is this fucking funny to you!?" I yelled, clenching my fists, but I was only met with silence, besides the voices.
"Answer me!" I shouted, but I still got no reply.
Growling angrily, I ran right towards him, ignoring the agonizing pain that now throbs through my whole leg with each stride I took.
Just before I could get to him, a loud noise pierced my ears and pain exploded in my head, causing me to cry out. I ended up stumbling to a stop, my hands grabbing at my head and my eyes squeezing shut.
I think I fell to the floor, because when I peeked my eyes open, my vision is fuzzy, but I noticed the concrete floor below my pounding head and I can see that tall figure standing over me, watching as I wither in pain.
I closed my eyes again and groaned at the white noise that never seemed to stop. I can hear distorted voices, whispers, murmurs. They're all speaking at once and I can't understand what they're saying.
It feels like I'm spinning, falling into a dark pool of flashes and images. I caught sight of an image of Veneziano, but he's completely lifeless. He had barbed wire tied around his bloody wrists and ankles, the symbol is carved into his skin in multiple places, and his eyes...they're sewn shut.
"Veneziano!" I shouted, but then my mind seemed to fly through more pictures. Some are my memories, my childhood, my darker days, and Rosalie...
Then the next image I saw is Rosalie, and she's attached to a large tree. Her hands are nailed to it, leaving the rest of her body hanging down, motionless. Or...the rest of her body that's left.
Her waist down is missing; it's only her torso. The bottom of her shirt is tattered and bloody, revealing the torn flesh and her organs hung down, a fountain of blood gushing down the trunk of the tree. Her dirt blonde hair is darkened with her blood and grease, and it hung in strands around her hanging head. If I looked closely, I can see blood dripping from her face.
I can't breathe. The sight before me pierces my chest with unbearable agony and despair.
Then, her head snapped up at an impossible speed, her hair falling to her shoulders. Her eyes are missing, just like those children. Blood ran down her pale cheeks and stained her shirt further. Her mouth is hanging open and dark blood dripped from there.
The darkness of her sockets seemed to bore into my very soul, and then she began to speak.
"Why..." Her whisper is hoarse. "Why...Romano?"
I jerked when she said my name.
"Rosalie...?" I panted, my eyes still squeezed shut, but the images and voices still ran through my head.
"Why did you let this happen?"
"Wh-What?"
"You let them kill me..."
Then she began screaming, old blood spewing from her mouth.
"YOU LET THEM KILL ME!"
"No no no! Stop!" I shouted, trying to push the images out of my mind, but they wouldn't leave.
She can't be dead...she can't be...Veneziano can't die either! If he had, I would have felt it!
The voices in my head became stronger and I began screaming.
"Go away! Leave me alone! Shut up!"
The voices, the sounds, the images, it's mixing together. It's completely unbearable, the pain of seeing the images and the pounding in my head. Then the laughing of those children mixed in with it. That demonic laughter only made it all worse.
It won't go away, and it only continues. I bet if I open my eyes, Slender Man would still be there.
I can't move, and I can't think against these illusions.
I want to get up and run, find a way out of here, but I can't move.
I'm just falling into an endless pit of dark, bloody images, and surrounded by voices of children.