Last One Standing (Slenderman fanfic)

Chapter fifteen

•Sable's P.O.V.•

It was cold. The sky was littered with stars, but they scared me. I was laying on the bitter earth, counting the constellations until I lost track. I felt bad for some reason, like the stars loathed me for forgetting them. Loathed me for losing them.

"Darling won't you wait, won't you wait, won't you wait, darling won't you wait for me..." I sat up, singing to keep myself from feeling scared. I thought the lyrics might chase away the fear, but instead I realized they hurt me more than they helped. "Should another love come along, come along, simply say that you are not free. Send him on his way, on his way, on his way, darling won't you wait for me."

"Oh my love, oh my love, some of us I know are bound to die. Hold me close, hold me close, kiss me once again before we say goodbye."

"I hate this." I said, listening to my voice echo in the trees. "I hate all of this."

Dust bunny...

"Not you again..." I mumbled, burying my face in my knees. "Just get it over with."

I'm sorry...

A cold chill ran up my spine as I felt fire lick my skin. It seared patterns of ash and coal into the pale porcelain, biting my flesh with the burns. I couldn't even bring myself to scream. A tear slipped from my eye, rolling over my lightly toasted cheek.

"Goodbye..."

I woke up screaming. It felt like someone was ripping all of the flesh from my body, breaking all of my bones, ripping me apart limb from limb. But as I blinked away the nightmare and gazed around my room, I could see that it was already night outside. My first thought as the pain subsided was Tim. Where the hell did he go?

With shaky legs I threw the blankets from me, slowly pulling myself out of bed and walking towards the door. I found my mom in the living room, watching her favorite sitcom with a blanket and tea. She smiled when she saw me, her missing canine as visible as ever.

"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?"

"Where's Tim?"

"Oh, he was here earlier and said you were feeling tired so he went home. I caught him on the way out the door."

"Oh, okay. Yeah I was pretty tired after school." I lied, walking to the kitchen and pouring myself a cup of tea. She suddenly got up and stretched, a yawn escaping her lips.

"I think I'm going to get some shuteye. I'll see you tomorrow honey, goodnight."

"Alright, goodnight mom, love you."

I stared out the window as she walked away, examining the night sky. Not a cloud was in sight, considering the rain we had earlier. I couldn't really remember much after we got inside, but I do remember feeling Tim's lips pressing against mine. It was something I didn't mind, but right now, I didn't know how to handle something like that.

After a lot more debate I walked outside, my tea in hand. I sat on the rusty swing set, my head craned up as I stated at the stars. I tried finding the constellations from my dream, but I couldn't. Not a single one. I sighed and sipped my tea, noticing the steam that radiated from my body as I sat there. It was cold out, but I couldn't feel a thing.

Something rustling in the bushes startled me. I thought it might have been a raccoon or something, but my curiosity and equal fear rose up. I began to peer around, hearing a branch snap beneath something's weight. I finally spotted the creature, it's head slowly emerging from the bushes. The Rake stared at me, it's head twitching from side to side as it listened.

"Hey there." I smiled, suddenly feeling no fear towards the creature, even with its gaunt appearance and bloodstained claws. It inched closer to me, seemingly interested in what I was holding. It got close enough to touch, but I knew not to.

I held out my cup of tea, watching as its hollow sockets stared at me before reaching out slowly and taking the mug. It seemed to know enough human gestures and mannerisms, because it wrapped all of its long, bony fingers around the ceramic and took a sip. After deciding it was good, the creature quickly drank the rest. I laughed quietly as it held the empty mug towards me to return it.

"Probably tired of tasting blood and guts, aren't you?" I chuckled, watching as it tried to produce a similar noise. I looked back up at the sky, a sigh escaping my lips. "Is Slendy mad at me?"

It shook it's head furiously, a sad expression crossing its face. It began to trace a word in the mud beneath my feet, 'BROKEN'. I was confused as to what it meant.

"He's broken?"

It held up its hand, holding its index finger a small ways above its thumb. "Close?" I asked, and it nodded. It held a hand on its chest, the left side. Right over its heart. And I understood.

"He's heartbroken." I said sadly, staring at the empty mug in my hands. "Yeah, I know how that feels."

It began to trace another word in the mud. 'ADORES', then it pointed to me. "He adores me?" It nodded. Then it drew a stick figure, holding a gun to its bulbous head. 'SORRY' was written beneath it.

"He wants to kill himself, doesn't he? For what he's done to us?"

It nodded, writing two words this time. 'HE CAN'T'. I knew what it meant. Slenderman is pretty much invincible at this point. I just shook my head, standing up from my seat on the swing and patting The Rake's head gently.

"Tell Slendy that Sable said he's forgiven." I smiled, watching as it nodded and ran back to the woods, only stopping at the tree line to wave at me before disappearing again. I walked back to the house, washing my mug in the sink and placing it in the dishwasher. I returned to my bedroom, slipping beneath the warm blankets again and pulling them up above my head. I fell asleep quickly, glad to find that only darkness awaited.

Goodnight, Slendy.