Wake Up

THREE

"Is that a--" Liu was about to ask about the gun, but a loud pop from the weapon answers it for him. The woman just barely misses, and he dives off the bed, scrambling behind it. Jeff, however, just looks shocked, and slowly stands up from the bed.

"Who are you?" he asks lowly. The woman's face is a bit serene, as she lowers the gun away from them.

"My name is Kate." she says simply.

"Okay, Kate, what do you want?" Jeff frowns.

"I want you," she nods her head towards Jeff. "to come with me. Preferably no questions asked."

Jeff pauses, briefly looking to his brother, whom has now poked his head up from behind the bed. "Okay." he shrugs.

"What? No!" Liu objects, jumping back onto the bed. "Sorry, lady, but you're going home empty handed."

Kate frowns, pouting. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that." her eyes, previously a dull grey, film over into a flat white, completely removing her iris and pupils. She raises the gun and fires again, right between them, forcing both of them to move away from each other.

The gun is turned towards Liu again, but before she can fire, something thumps into her from behind. Whatever it was had apparently climbed in through the window - not an impossible feat, they were on the first floor - and knocked her down.

Upon looking at it, it looked like a husky, black and white. But it was smaller than most adult huskies. It stood on top of Kate, holding her down, and when it looked up, the boys noticed it had rather large human teeth. Like a crocodile's mouth, it's lips were open to the very back of it's jaw, showing off all of its many human teeth.

Kate lets out a frustrated growl, grabbing the dog and throwing it. "You!" she shouts, grabbing her gun. The dog lunges forward and bites her hand, and subsequently the gun, ripping the weapon away from her.

Liu, having briefly worked as a veterinary technician, quickly kneels down and whistles. "Come here, pup! Bring it here!"

The dog's ears swivel towards him, head raising up high. It trots to him, drops the gun, and continues on to Jeff, thumping it's head into his leg. He looks confused, but quickly looks back to Kate, who practically has steam coming out of her ears.

"This isn't over, Jeff, Smile. This isn't over." she warns darkly. The lights in the room flicker on and off, and when they finally settle on, Kate is gone and the window is closed.

The brothers, and this strange dog, are now left in silence.

The dog turns back to Liu, sniffing his shoes curiously, its dark black lips barely covering all of its teeth. "You're...a good dog, yes you are," he hesitantly praises. The pup just looks confused. "You're young, too. You have puppy feet." he comments.

"And human teeth," Jeff says quickly. "I think that's more pressing than whether or not he's a good dog."

"Hey, you don't know if it's a he," Liu gently grabs the dog's back, turning it around and lifting its tail. "What a good girl. You're such a good girl! Yes you are!"

The dog whirls back around to lick Liu's face. He isn't sure whether he should be delighted or completely unsettled. He feels around her neck. "No collar." he notes to himself.

"No kidding," Jeff slowly sits down again. "I don't think anyone would want to own that dog."

"You're one to talk, Jeff. Look, she smiles just like you!" Liu teases. At the word 'smile', the dog sits down and wags her tail, lips peeling back to show off all of her teeth. "Aw, aren't you just horrible?"

"Smile?" Jeff asks. The dog tilts her head. "Frown?" no response. "Smile?" she tilts her head again. "I think her name is Smile. How original."

"She didn't choose it, no need to be mean."

Jeff rolls his eyes, rubbing his cheeks and looking back to the window. Any peace he might have felt from meeting this dog is erased as soon as he remembers what just happened. Some inhuman woman got into their hotel room and attacked them - with a gun!

"How come nobody has come in here?" Jeff blurts. "Did nobody in this entire hotel hear gunshots?"

Liu looks up, pausing. "I hadn't thought of that." he says. "That's..."

"Strange." Jeff frowns. He walks past his brother and Smile, picking up the gun that Kate left behind. Just from his limited experience with guns, it looked legit. It felt heavy, too, like a real gun. Yet...nobody seemed concerned with all the noise it made. Was it possible that nobody heard it?

Jeff shoves it into the pocket of his hoodie. "Hey," Liu quickly interjects, "you're not taking that with you."

"Yes, I am," he retorts. "If that girl shows up again, I'm gonna defend myself."

Liu frowns, slowly standing up from his previous crouched position. "Maybe we should skip town for a while."

"That's probably what she wants."

"We already know what she wants," Liu puts his hand on his brother's shoulder, looking at him seriously. "And staying here just makes it easier for her to get to you."

Jeff looks down to Smile, feeling the gun in his pocket again. "If she comes back again...I'll consider it. But for now, I just want to go home."

Teleporting without the help of her master was hard. It leaves Kate gasping on all fours, clutching her chest, her body distorted and slowly coming back to its original form. She looks up, sweat dripping down her brow, only to see that her master was already standing in front of her.

From her position on the ground, the Slender Man looks even more intimidating, looming over her like a skyscraper. The energy around him is negative, to say the least. His hand extends, long white fingers wrapping around her head. The breath is drawn out of her lungs, her eyes turning white.

"You failed."

"I know," she pants, "I'm sorry."

"With all the power I have given you, you let a dog push you around?" the Slender Man's voice comes out with a sharp jab of static, making Kate's ears ring. She moves into a kneeling position, still trying to catch her breath.

"Smile came out of nowhere," she explains, "if I had been ready, I could have taken her. I just wasn't expecting it."

"That isn't good enough." with every word, the static in her ears gets louder and more painful.

"I know, I'm sorry! I'll do better, just make it stop!" she shouts back to him, slamming her hands over her ears. Her mind starts to slip back to her young adulthood, back when she was human, back when she was terrorized and haunted by him.

To her relief, the static slowly stops. She opens her eyes again, a tendril from Slender Man's back reaching forward to gently stroke her face, lifting her chin up high.

"There is no need to panic, child. This is a setback and failure on your part, but it is not forfeit."

"Thank you..." she leans her head into his tendril, seeking comfort wherever she can get it. Kate closes her eyes, letting her body rest, if only for a little while.

"I will instruct another proxy to pick up your slack. I do believe Eyeless Jack's approach will be effective. We will continue with that."

Kate nods, slowly standing up, gripping his tendril to help her. "Understood." she says, her voice a bit firmer. Starved as she is, a little tenderness goes a long way. Slender Man's hand leaves her head and returns to its position at his side, signifying the end of their conversation.

Kate stands still as he leaves, rubbing her arm sheepishly. She looks down to the floor, her heart still pounding. She closes her eyes, trying to compose herself. Just take deep breaths.