Gathering Darkness✔️

Chapter 18: The Hunt

He was moving fast now, as fast as he could manage, because there wasn't exactly a whole lot of point in going slow and stealthy by now. The Slender Man and its army of Proxies knew where they were, and surely knew that they had the upper hand. Why they didn't just swoop in, or teleport in, and kill him, Lara, and Goll, he had no idea. Well, okay, he had the uncomfortable idea that they were just toying with the survivors, but hoped it was something else, like they were busy elsewhere. But busy with what?

Lara had confirmed, miserably, that they were the only living things, even counting the Elites, in the entire region.

Just the three of them.

She'd also managed to boost the power to the scanner and screw around with the settings enough to refine it a bit, and had managed to get them a more accurate reading. As of right now, there were about two dozen Proxies to deal with. God, two dozen. And the Slender Man. He was, at last sighting, over on the far end of the forest, opposite the outpost, doing God knew what. But Kane had dealt with more enemies before, more than just two dozen. Not all at once, obviously, and rarely by himself, but he'd done it.

He could do it here.

He had to do it here, because as much faith as he had in those tac-nukes...in the darker recesses of his soul he just didn't believe that they could stop the Slender Man on their own. Though maybe they could if it was weak enough.

The nav marker was closing in on fifty meters. He was getting close. Resisting the urge to open up his comm channel and talk with Lara or even Goll, because hearing another human voice would go a long way right now, he pushed on, making for the treeline up ahead, the last barrier between himself and this nest of Proxies he was going to clear out. Within seconds, he was there, at the treeline, and found himself looking at a structure.

The restaurant.

And, behind it, looming like a silent monolithic sentinel in the night: the warehouse.

He wasn't looking forward to entering either of these buildings. Okay, well, maybe the restaurant. He was starving. Kane made his way forward. One foot in front of the other. No other way to do it. The front windows of the building were mostly smashed in. As he stopped to stand in front of it and pointed the shotgun inward, using its flashlight to light up the blackened interior, he wondered what it must have been like.

How had the Slender Man gotten these people? Had it done the job itself? Probably at first, it had to. No Proxies to do its dirty work. Didn't matter, he figured, marching on. He pushed in through the front door, moving the powerful white beam slowly across the smashed interior. There were tables and chairs, in various states of destruction, scattered across the floor. Spilled flood and drink, discarded silverware and cups and plates everywhere. He saw two doors over to the right, bathrooms, and two more at the back, behind the counter. Kitchen, probably. There didn't seem to be anyone in the main area, so he checked the bathrooms first.

Kane pushed the door open as carefully as he could, as it was a civilian swing model. It creaked loudly and he winced, but nothing happened. Stepping in, he wished vainly for a well-lit environment. What he wouldn't give for power and light. He'd probably be sleeping with the lights on for a few months after this. He moved into the bathroom, just wanting to get this over with. He checked the immediate area, saw nothing but a smashed mirror and a dead body off in one corner. He wondered what had happened to the poor bastard.

He stepped up to the first of four stalls and pushed it open.

Nothing.

He moved down the line to the second one.

Also empty.

Kane tried to ignore the tension he felt mounting in his musculature. He checked the third stall, listening intently, trying to hear over his own heartbeat, pounding in his ears. The third stall was just as empty as the first two. Okay, so far, so good. Kane used his shotgun to open the last door, almost positive something would be waiting for him in there, some dark figure, ready to leap, shrieking, at a seconds' notice.