1- Jamie
I feel like I'm being suffocated. Not literally, though it's close enough. When I first moved up to the thirteenth floor, it was mostly just me up here. Then, Darcy decided to move up here. Now, all three of Slender's proxies have chosen rooms up here with me. I know it's to keep a closer eye on me for Slender. I'm sure if Slender didn't have to keep an eye on Sally he would have moved up here too. Sure, the proxies are almost always gone on missions for Slender but when they are here, they are constantly walking into my room. I never had a need to lock my bedroom door but after Hoodie walked in on me changing, I had to change that.
I hate it. Everything Slender does to prevent me from doing something drastic only makes me want to act more and more drastic. More and more often I find my eyes drifting to the closet where I had hid the mask and cloak. It would be easy to sneak out. Darcy sleeps early and the proxies are rarely in their room. I swear, it seems like they only come up to this floor to check on me.
Being on house arrest is taking its toll on my mind. As the hours drag on, I often lose myself in memories to keep myself entertained. However, I've begun to notice that there are several things I'm . . . forgetting. I can't remember the color of my carpet or the smell of my mom's perfume. There have even been times where I have forgotten my mom's face and the way her voice sounded. I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and won't even remember her.
No, I won't let that happen. My mind made, I throw open the closet doors and grab the cloak and mask. After opening the door to make sure no one is out on my floor, I quickly put them on and leave. By the time I get to the ninth floor, I know I'm safe. Anyone else who sees me will assume I'm just some CP they never saw before or some new addition.
When I step outside, I'm shocked by how quickly the weather has changed. It had been chilly on Halloween but now it was downright freezing. My every breath comes out in steamy puffs and I can see the frost gathering on the grass and trees. Unlike any normal forest, most of the trees still held their leaves. I rush out under the trees and follow the familiar pull of the Gateway Trees, not once pausing to contemplate whether this was a good idea or not.
Once I'm a far enough distance away from the mansion, I slow my reckless pace. I take in deep breathes to calm my racing heart and thoughts. The cold air stings my lungs, making breathing that much harder. My fingers felt numb but my face felt hot and sweaty thanks to the mask throwing my hot breathes back at me. Talk about uncomfortable.
I keep walking, though much slower than before. Since I'm going slower, I'm able to pay more attention to my surroundings and, after a while, I begin to feel like I'm being watched. At first, I just chalk it up to paranoia. This is only my second time out of the mansion in weeks and the last time that happened, that girl, Karlyah, attacked her. Still, I shake my head and ignore the feeling; no one had seen me leave, I made sure of that. I keep walking, slowly but steadily getting closer and closer to the Gateway Trees.
When I finally make it to the trees, I stop for a second to look around. While it's dangerous to just wander the forest, it's more dangerous to linger by the trees. In the forest, they'd either have to track you down or happen upon you if someone wanted to hurt you but the Gateway Trees are a place that everyone knows about. Anyone could be here, hiding in the shadows and waiting. I look around me carefully, then turn and stop at the sight of a very familiar girl.
Karlyah grins, showing off her messy teeth and laughing a bit before she says, "Well hey there, girly. Been waitin' for you. Don't think you can outwit everyone in that place, because I can smell you bein' sneaky from a mile away, doll."
My hands tighten into fists. No, not her, not now. "What do you want from me? I haven't done anything to you."
She makes a fake pouty expression, over dramatising it. "Aww, is little Jamie getting mad? Poor thing . . ." Suddenly her pouty expression drops and she breaks into a fit of laughter, staring at me. "I don't want anything from you, you've got nothing I could possibly want."
I scowl, even though Karlyah couldn't possibly be able to see it. "Then stop following me. I have something to do."
Karlyah walked a little closer to me, seeming to ignore what I said. She looks her up and down, her grin never dropping from her face. "I bet this robe and this," She taps my mask. "Little mask of yours makes you feel like a big girl, doesn't it? You feel like it's a temporary little fix for your problems? Well I'm sorry to break it to you, but these rags aren't shit." She steps back a bit to be closer to the gateway trees.
I shake my head, not even upset because her reading of me had been so wrong. "That's not it at all. They make me feel like I'm hidden and out of sight and that's all I want. I just want Slender off my ass and if putting these on gets it done then I sure as hell will do it again."
Karlyah rolls her eyes. "Look, you wanna be hidden? You're obviously not doing a very good job if I can catch you this damn easily. Leaving and being out of sight won't do you any good either, will it? Girl, Skinnyboy's looking out for you the only way he can, and you're being an ungrateful little shit when everyone's being nothing but nice. These robes won't do you well for too long and you know it. Where the hell do you plan on going anyways? Did you think anything through at all?"
"Trust me, I realise all of this but I never asked for any of this. If it was up to me, I would have died in that fire. But since you asked, I wanted to go home. My real home." My voice cracks and I realize how dangerously close to tears I am as I try once again to remember my mom's face. "I just... Don't want to forget."
Karlyah steps up and takes my masked face into her hands, glaring at me. "You wanna go home? You're fucking here! You don't wanna forget? You're selfish! You don't think half the people here in this mansion have things that they 'don't wanna forget'? Everyone has shit to deal with, little girl! You're not special! You're talking about how you wanna die, but you don't want to forget either? If you die then you can't remember shit! Because you're DEAD! Pull yourself together and grow up!"
I growl, that familiar fire blooming in my chest. "If I'm not special then stop following me around and tell Slender to get off my fucking ass! Yes, by being dead I'll forget but that's just common sense. If I'm going to be forced to live then I am going to cling onto my past and my memories. You have zero rights to judge me on anything. This ISN'T my home. My home is just beyond these trees and it was ripped from me because of a psycho man's bullet. So back the fuck up off my case."
Karlyah narrows her eyes, gripping me face tighter. "You don't get it, do you? You're too stubborn to understand how shit works. Talkin' about past and memories like it fucking matters. You can have your shitty little memories all you want, they won't leave!" My heart catches. "You have no reason to step beyond these trees because all you'll be doing is making the people who care about you go after you. AGAIN. You're becoming an issue, little girl. If you want past these trees, you gotta pass me. You know damn well you can't do that."
I am so mad I barely noticed the pain, the feeling taking over my mind and telling me it didn't hurt. "They don't care about me! They care about what I problem I am. They hold no affection for me in their hearts because they can't. I don't want to fight you and I'm not trying to make them 'chase after me again.' Is it really such a bad thing to want to grab something precious from the only place I called home? That's all I want. Come with me if you don't believe me but I'll find a way to go even if you drag me back now."
Karlyah growls again, squinting her eyes at me. "Don't you dare say they don't care about your sorry little punk ass!" She squeezes her face tightly. "I can tell you for sure that they do." She huffs. "Do they let you leave with an escort?"
I take a deep breath, trying to calm the shaking in my hands. I want to contradict her but I know it won't get me anywhere. "Yes, but they have to be strong enough to control me. I'm sure you fit the criteria."
Karlyah let my face go, grabbing onto my arm, probably to make sure I don't try to take off just yet. "Damn right I fit the criteria. I'm gonna clear this with Slim before I take you to do anything. Okay? I don't do shit if he doesn't like it."
I tense up. "No. Please. No."
"What's the problem? It's me. I'm pretty sure he'll let it slide, okay?" She gave me a slightly reassuring look, though every ounce of her sternness is still there.
"But what if he says no? Then you won't do it and he'll keep a tighter hold on me. Please, I swear I'll be quick. I just need to grab one thing."
Karlyah looks me up and down one more time. "Look. You really don't want him to know? I have a plan that'll work but. . . I don't think you'll like it."
I frown at the sudden turn. "What is it?"
Karlyah smirks down at me. "I'm gonna tell Slender that I'm going out for food, and when we come back, you're getting in the corpse bag. If we get caught, I'm not taking the blame for this. Got it?"
"What the hell? Why can't we just walk through the damn trees?"
She laughs. "You're getting in the corpse bag. Or you're not going anywhere and I'll get Slender on your ass."
"That's completely unnecessary."
She groans. "Why can't you be a gullible little shit? This worked on Jeff when he was a rookie."
"I'm sure he was younger than I am."
She nods. "Yeah. He was." A pause. "Whatever. I still think I should say something to Slender but I'll let it slide. Let's go."
"You can mention it when we get back. I won't grab something that will harm anyone in the mansion."
Karlyah rolls her eyes. "That's pretty obvious. What are you even getting?" She walks towards the gateway trees.
I pause, unsure of how to answer but follow after her through the trees. "A . . . A book."
She walks past the trees, sighing a little. "A book? I'm not even going to ask. How do you know it's even going to be there?"
I smile slightly beneath my mask. "Well the house is still in my possession. I doubt anyone would steal a baby book."
She scratches the back of her head a little. "Guess not. I've never had any need for books in my life."
I look at her, a little surprised. "Why not?"
She glares at me, grunting, "None of your damn business, that's why. Stop being so nosy."
"It's not being nosy but I'll stop asking."
She has a very annoyed look on her face that almost makes me wanna smile. "Whatever. You know where we're goin' so lead the way."
I nod and move in front of Karlyah. "Will do."
She sighs. "How far is this place?"
"Depends." I smile to myself.
"Depends on what exactly?"
"If you like walking or not."
She shrugs. "Whatever, just get us there."
I shrug back in response and lead her through the woods. As we walk, Karlyah keeps tilting her head to the side, as if listening closely to the sound of . . . something. I turn away from her, feeling slightly uneasy, and look around at the familiar trees.
Karlyah sighs again. "So where exactly are we? Where are you from?"
I bit my lip at the sudden question. "Somewhere in the US."
"Whatever. So why did you start living in the mansion exactly?"
"Well, because of Jeff. I kind of snapped one day and he brought me there so I could learn to control myself." I bring the cloak in closer around my body, feeling colder than I had been before.
She smirks. "I'm assuming you and Jeff have a thing then? I didn't really listen when they tried to explain the whole Jamie story to me."
My heart is doing a funny thing. I shrug it off. "I wouldn't listen either. Yeah, I guess you could say we had a thing. Not really anymore. I think. It's all really confusing."
Karlyah nods in response to me. "Yeah. Jeff's the kind of guy that's too complicated for relationships. I like my men to be simple, yet mysterious. . ."
I'm starting to feel a bit awkward and can't help but wonder why we're talking about boys."How is that going for you?"
Karlyah blushed lightly, trying to hide it. "T-that's not your concern, Jamie."
I notice her slight blush almost instantly but decide to stay quiet about it. "Oh, have you found someone already?"
"Well, let's just say I've got my eye on someone. It'd never work out, so I keep my personal feelings a secret."
"What makes you say it won't work?"
Karlyah stops suddenly, giving me an extremely stern look that reminded me so much of my mother that my heart nearly gave out and, gripping my cloak tightly, she says, "You listen here. If I tell you, you better not speak or even think about it at any time, you hear me?"
I smile bitterly, trying to ignore the pain in my chest. "I have no interest in making more drama. I'm probably the only one at the mansion who will stay quiet."
Karlyah pauses a few seconds before saying. "It's. . . It won't work out. . . Because it's Slender. " She blurts, her face instantly going red. She immediately turns around, hiding her face from me.
I, however, am too shock to be able to really say anything about the blush. "Why-why him?"
Karlyah scratches the back of her head, which I now have a great view of. "Because I've known him for a very long time. I know a few things about that man that nobody else does. He's an old friend, and he knows me better than anybody. I don't know, I just do."
I frown slightly, my brain starting to function again from the shock. "Is it even possible for him to care about someone in that way?"
Karlyah shrugs. "I-I don't know. I wish I knew."
I nodded slowly, suddenly realizing how serious it was. "I'll stay quiet."
She nods back in response. "Yeah. Thanks. I don't even know why I just shared this information with you."
"Same here. But it must be nice to get the information off your chest."
"Guess so. Even if it was to some rookie."
"You're still calling me a rookie?"
"Yep. Don't expect me to stop either."
I sigh. "Fine. Whatever."
She smirks, patting me on the back a little roughly. "You're not as bad as I thought you were."
I stumble a little, surprised by how much power had been in a little pat on the back. "What changed your mind?"
"Don't go asking questions or I'll take it back."
"I'm a naturally curious person. I can't help it."
"Ugh, gross." She made a face. "We almost there?"
I look around. "We're close to the street."
We step out of the trees and emerge onto the sidewalk. This time we came out near a practically dead side of town, though thankfully it's not as far away from my house as the exits usually are. I walk along the sidewalk, leading through the town and into a part of my life that I so desperately want back. But she can't know that.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*