Rosalie's P.O.V
"W-Wait, guys, hold up a sec." I said and they looked at me.
"Huh? What for?" Spain asked.
I shook my head. "Just...gimme a minute."
Then I began running towards those rocks.
"Where are you going?"
"You idiot, you could get lost!"
I noticed that as I got closer to the rocks, the air got heavier and I slowed to a walk, always keeping my eyes on that note.
I heard footsteps in the sand behind me, but I didn't glance back to see who it is.
Now I'm close enough to see what's written on the note. A circle is drawn, and then there are two X's on it. I instantly knew it represented Slender Man's head, and the X's are where his eyes should be.
I stopped in front of the note and then read what is written beside the little drawing in childlike handwriting.
ALWAYS WATCHES
NO EYES
The words were enough to send shivers up my spine.
"Dude, is that another note?"
My brother's voice from behind me startled me and I jumped, turning to see him and Romano behind me; the others waited for us farther down the beach.
"Y-Yeah, it's another note." I answered, looking at it again, deciding if I should pick it up or not, because I know what will happen when I do.
"Another note?" Romano asked, raising an eyebrow.
I nodded, then held out the other note America, England, and I found earlier. "This is the first one we've found, and this one's the second."
"Dude, it feels creepy as hell over here." America said, shivering, and I noticed the goosebumps on his arms.
I turned back towards the note, reaching to grab it with a shaky hand.
I swallowed hard, then I grabbed it and pulled it off the rock.
Not a second later, a gust of wind blew around us and sent shivers up my spine, but then the whispers were back, but within the whispers, I can hear the voices shaking and some even sounded like they're sobbing.
"He's blind, but he sees everything."
"Always watches."
"No eyes, but always watches."
"Can't escape his sight."
"D-Dude..." America whispered, his eyes widening in fear.
"Hey, what the hell is going on!?" I heard England call over to us.
The three of us turned to see the others, our hair waving around by the wind. My eyes widened when I saw Slender Man, standing tall and eerie right behind the others, but they don't see him; they're facing our direction, their expressions confused when they heard the whispers and felt the chilling breeze. A headache swirled in my head and my vision darkened at the edges.
America and Romano both gasped when they saw the Slender Man. That's when I noticed long, black, tentacle-like things sprouting from Slender's back, and as those two black tentacles began to reach for France...
"RUN!" I screamed at them, running towards them. "No matter what you do, don't look behind you!"
Despite what I said, they turned to look, most of them gasping and some of them shocked into silence. France immediately paled when he saw the tall figure towering behind him.
"Guys! Run! Now!" I commanded.
Thankfully, they did as I said, and I ran along with them, glancing back to see America and Romano running right behind me. Behind them, Slender Man stood and watched us run.
If I didn't know any better, he was watching us run away in amusement.
With two notes clenched tightly in one hand, whispers running through my head, a breeze blowing around me, I ran with the others as if our lives depended on it, and it probably did.
We entered a small group of trees separate from the woods, and the sand became dirt and grass beneath our feet. Soon enough, the breeze died down and the whispers faded along with it. That's when we slowed to a stop, panting for breath.
"Wha...What the fuck was that!?" Romano panted, setting his hands on his knees, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"What just happened...?" America asked, shaking his head in disbelief, his eyes wide in fear.
"It...I..." I panted, shaking my head, trying to find a way to explain.
"What was that, amigo!?" Spain exclaimed, looking panicked. They all look pale, confused, and frightened. Rightfully so.
"Que dans le monde...?" France mumbled in his native tongue.
England turned to face us, a look of confusion, anger, and sternness in his expression, and his eyebrows are furrowed. "What the bloody hell was that thing!?"
I took a deep breath before I answered his question.
"It's Slender Man."
They all stared at me for a moment.
"Slender who now?" Canada asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Ah, shit." America pressed his hand to his forehead, closing his eyes. "I fucking told him!"
I looked at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "Told who?"
His blue eyes opened to meet my own. "Germany. I told him about what you've told me, but he didn't fucking believe me!"
"Wait, he knows about this?" Romano asked, now looking pissed. "You knew about this, too? And Rosalie? Why didn't you guys just fucking tell us!?"
"Would you have really believed that some tall, creepy-ass man from a legend is following us?" I asked him in a soft voice so he wouldn't get angered any further.
His hazel eyes met mine and he opened his mouth, but then didn't say anything.
"No...we probably wouldn't have," England muttered, brushing his hand through his hair, then growling. "What the fuck is going on!?"
"I told you, we're being stalked by this Slender Man guy, and...we need to find all eight notes to win this little game of his." I explained, shaking my head softly.
"Eight notes!?" Romano asked loudly. "Che diavolo!"
"What would happen if...Slender Man...gets us?" Spain asked, his face pale as his green eyes met my gaze in a questioning manner, but I can see his fear.
I shook my head. "I can't be too sure, but...it's not good. Everyone who was ever taken by him were never seen again, unless...their bodies are found in a forest..." I didn't want to say anymore, my body shuddering at the images that flew through my mind. The images from my nightmares.
So far, everything I've seen in my nightmares are what I've seen throughout this whole day. So, I should probably rely on those nightmares for some information about our situation.
"But why us!?" England shouted, letting his frustration get the best of him. "What the bloody hell does that thing want from us!?"
I hesitated. "That's...a good question..."
"B-But...why doesn't he have a face?" Canada asked, fear swirling in his indigo eyes.
"And did you see those black thingies growing from his back!?" America exclaimed, shivering. "What the hell were those!?"
"It's inhumane!" France said, his face paling again.
"It's tall as hell, too." England muttered, now beginning to pace.
"My head hurts..." Spain mumbled, rubbing his temples.
I swallowed hard. "I know guys, but we have to work together in this, okay? We just need to stick together and find the notes."
England abruptly stopped pacing and faced me, his eyes wide. "Wait a bloody moment! If this is happening to us, is it happening with the others?"
I nodded. "Probably. If they also woke up in these woods, then they're part of it, too."
"Shit. We really need to find them now!" Romano said, throwing his hands into the air.
"They must have no clue what's going on..." Spain murmured.
"We don't either!" America exclaimed, groaning.
"I'm pretty fucking sure that potato bastard knows what's going on," Romano growled.
We were silent for a moment after that, at least until Romano turned to me.
"Do you know anything else about what's happening?" He asked with a bit of hardness in his tone that I couldn't help but to cringe at. I can't blame him, this is a lot to comprehend all at once, like it did to me.
"No, that's all I know so far." I answered him.
"Do you think Prussia knows about this, too?" Spain asked. "I mean, he and Germany are brothers..."
I shrugged softly, looking down. "I guess we need to find them and ask them ourselves."
"And they fucking better explain this bullshit to us, Romano muttered.
I reached out and grabbed his hand, hoping to help him relax. I don't think it really helped, but he didn't pull away either.
"Let's just keep walking and find the others, and then the notes, 'kay?" I said softly.
He sighed, but nodded. The others nodded and mumbled agreements, then we began to walk farther down the beach, passing the few trees we walked into.
I pressed my lips together, wondering...What does Germany have to do with this? And Prussia, too?
Do they know the Slender Man?
Italy's P.O.V
"GERRRMANYYYYYY!" I wailed as I ran through the trees towards the two very familiar people.
"W-What!?"
"Italy!?"
I threw my arms around Germany's waist as I cried, "I'm so glad to see you! It's so scary! I don't like it here! That tall scary man is following us and I wanna get ouuuut!"
He seemed to hesitate, then I felt his hand patting my back. "It's okay, Italy. We'll get out of here."
I stepped back and wiped my cheeks, then looked up at him. "Are y-you sure...?"
Before he answered, I heard footsteps get closer to us.
"Germany, Prussia." Japan greeted as he walked over. "Konnichiwa."
"Where did you guys come from?" Prussia asked, raising an eyebrow. Gilbird, whom sat on his owner's shoulder, tweeted cheerfully.
"W-We both woke up in these woods..." I answered, willing my voice not to shake. Although I'm relieved to have found Germany and Prussia, I'm still frightened by the situation we're in. If they're here, then the others could be wandering these woods, too. This is bad. Really, really, bad.
"Germany...what is going on?" Japan asked Germany. Germany looked down, opening his mouth, but he seemed to be hesitating.
"It's...hard for me to explain."
Japan was about to speak up until Prussia spoke up.
"Hey! Look at what the Awesome Me found!" He exclaimed with a grin as he pointed to our right. We turned towards that direction and at first, I didn't see anything, but when I look closer...
"Is that an opening?" Germany asked, squinting his eyes.
"It is!" Japan said, sounding shocked.
I widened my eyes when I saw it. An opening in the trees, a way out of the woods!
"Ve! Let's go!" I shouted, running towards that opening and I can hear the footsteps of the three following me.
It's still pretty dark out, but as I got closer, I can see the beach and even the ocean! A smile formed on my face and tears pricked in my eyes as relief washed over me.
Once I passed through all the trees, and my shoes began to hit soft sand, I shouted with joy.
"Yay! We're free we're free we're freeeeeee!" I sang and laughed as I spun in circles, my arms spread out.
We won't get lost in those scary woods anymore! It'll be much easier to find the hotel now!
As I spun, I looked up into the sky, then I immediately stopped spinning to gap at all the stars I can see now. Without the trees, it's so much easier to see the stars, and there are so many!
"Ve! Germany! Japan! Prussia! Look!" I called to them as they emerged from the trees not long after I did. "Look at all the pretty stars!"
"Wow..." Japan murmured in awe as he looked into the sky also. The moon is shining over our heads and it just made the beach look even more pretty under the moonlight's luminous glow.
"This is awesome!" Prussia shouted, throwing his hands into the air.
"I don't think getting out of the woods will help us," Germany said quietly and shook his head. I noticed that he isn't as relaxed as I hoped he would be. His body is still tensed up and his eyes are averted away, staring into the trees where we had emerged from. His expression is distressed.
"Wait, look at that." Japan's voice had me glancing from Germany and to the owner of the voice. Japan is pointing at the sand. We all looked down, but I don't see anything strange.
"Are those...footsteps?" Germany mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing.
That's when I noticed at the dents in the sand.
"They're probably mine," I said, remembering that I was just dancing around, but Japan shook his head.
"No, there a lot more than just yours," he said.
"They lead down the beach," Germany pointed out.
"Should we-"
Prussia's voice was cut off when wind began to blow around us, and it's a familiar one. Whispers, of shaking and crying children surrounded is.
"He always watches."
"He doesn't have any eyes."
"He sees all."
"Can't escape his sight."
I shivered and whimpered.
"Not again..." Prussia muttered, growing pale.
Then, in the distance, I heard someone yelling. It was quickly drowned out by the whispering and the wind, but I heard it.
"Was...that...?" Germany muttered and we all looked down the beach where that shout came from. Is that one of the others? I felt relieved, but then that was sucked right out of me when I realized that they were shouting. Are they in trouble?
"Let's go check it out!" Prussia suggested and Japan nodded in agreement. I decided to follow, because I'm beginning to feel that uneasy, intense feeling crawling up my spine.
We ran down the beach, and soon the whispers and the wind faded away, but I don't see anyone here.
I noticed a random group of big rocks, and this area has a strange feeling to it...it's not a good one.
"The air is unusually heavy," Japan muttered, looking around.
"Ja..." Germany said, looking unnerved.
The awful feeling is pressing down on me and I whimpered again, stepping closer to Germany. I looked around us, but I didn't see anything until...until I looked at the rocks again.
The tall, scary man is standing there, watching us. I saw black shadowy tentacles sticking out from his back, swirling around into odd forms, reminding me a bit like an octopus, but those tendrils are nothing like tentacles.
I've never seen that before.
"G-G-Germany!" I stuttered, grabbing at the sleeve of his shirt and pointed at the man. "He's here...!"
The three looked in the direction I'm pointing, and each of them widened their eyes.
"Everyone, run, now!" Germany commanded in a loud voice, but I heard it falter slightly.
Then we began to run away, continuing to follow the footsteps in the sand as we ran from the scary man.
I don't want to look back to see if he's still there, because I know he still is.
"Wait! Look!" Prussia pointed into a small group of trees not far from the woods, just ahead of us.
If I looked closely, I can see people.
Familiar people