Masky's pov

It was nearly sundown. Hoodie and I were scouring the woods on Slender's orders. Apparently, Jeff and Jack ran into that girl, Naomi.

I still can't quite wrap my head around it all. This random girl that Jeff had killed is suddenly back from the dead along with her pets and now she seeks revenge. To top it all off, she has the ability to heal from any wound inflicted on her.

How is all of this possible? Jack had mentioned a friend the girl spoke of, a friend who gave her life. It's not much to go on, but Slender definitely suspects a being of great power lurking somewhere in his forests.

"Hey, Masky, is that smoke?"

I glanced over at Hoodie. He pointed out in the distance. I followed his gaze to see smoke rising up from the trees. Something's going on.

"Let's go, Hoodie," I said, heading in the direction of the plumes of smoke.

Naomi's pov

I stared down at the burning logs in front of me. I sat before the small fire, listening to the wood crackle and burn. Thick, grey smoke rose up from it past the treetops and into the sky.

I waited patiently, positive that Selene's idea would work. I know for a fact that Jeff will be looking for me now. It's only a matter of time.

After my fire began to die down, I caught a glimpse of color. I looked up, seeing two figures in brightly-colored hoodies approaching. One wore a white mask with black features, the other had a hood over his head and wore a black mask with red eyes and a frown.

I slowly rose to my feet, eyeing them both. "Who the hell are you two?"

"You must be Naomi, we've been hearing about you," the white-masked one said. "I'm Masky, that's Hoodie."

They've heard about me? Just how many friends does that Jeff guy have? I frowned and crossed my arms.

"You're not who I was expecting," I stated bluntly. "Go away. I have no fight with you."

"We can't do that," the one called Hoodie said.

"Our boss wants to meet you," Masky chimed in. "Along with your "friend" we've heard rumors of."

My eyes widened ever so slightly. I almost instantly drew my knife, pointing it at them menacingly.

"You're just a bunch of annoying pests!" I said in a loud, angry tone. "You should learn to leave things as they are and quit sticking your noses where they don't belong! Maybe I should teach you a lesson!"

I swiftly charged at them. I furiously slashed my knife at them. I caught Masky's stomach and Hoodie's arm. I laughed as I continued my barrage of attacks, noticing both of them now wielding small knives of their own.

Despite their wounds, they still moved about as if they weren't there. With Masky clashing with me head on, I barely noticed Hoodie moving behind me until I felt a searing pain in my back.

He had stabbed me. I let out a small scream of pain that quickly turned into laughter. I slowly glanced back at the hooded boy, grinning insanely.

He backed away from me as I reached around, taking hold of the knife's hilt. I yanked it out of my back, wincing slightly before smirking. I could feel my wound instantly healing up.

"He was right," Masky muttered with a gasp. "You can heal."

I turned around toward Hoodie, waving a finger back and forth. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you should know that won't work on me."

I then threw the knife back at him, watching it plunge into his stomach. He fell back onto the ground with a groan of pain. I then whirled around, stabbing Masky in the arm and kicking his legs out from under him.

He fell onto his butt and I tackled him, pinning him down. I brought my knife up and plunged it down toward his masked face. He was quick to catch my arms, stopping my knife's movement inches above his mask.

Selene's pov

I gasped and clutched my skull-covered head. No, no, this can't be right. The spirits swirled around in front of me, showing me images I never thought of seeing.

There is another creature out there. It possess unimaginable power, and it's homing in on Naomi. Her healing ability won't save her from it.

"Fang! Saber!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. "Go to Naomi and bring her back here! Quickly!"

The two dogs immediately turned and pushed through the door. I rushed out after them. I stood outside, watching my beasts disappear into the distance.

A neigh brought my attention to Naomi's mare. Latte stood with Bella and Edward on her back. All three of them stared out where Fang and Saber went. They must be worried about Naomi.

"It's alright," I calmly told them. "She's going to be fine, Fang and Saber will make sure of it."

Naomi's pov

I was mere inches away from piercing Masky's face with my knife. Hearing rapid footsteps behind me, I glanced back to see Hoodie rushing toward me. He had pulled the knife out of his stomach, letting it bleed while he came to the aid of his comrade.

I tried to ready my knife, but Masky still held my arm. I fought to break free from his grip, but he wouldn't let go. I was caught between the two. I watched Hoodie coming at me with his knife, but before he could reach me, a large blur tackled him to the side.

It was Fang. Hoodie went tumbling across the ground, leaving a trail of blood from his wound. I then caught sight of Saber sprinting toward us. While I was distracted, Masky suddenly shoved me off of him.

The masked man stood and rushed to his hooded friend, helping him up. The two large dogs were now at my sides, snarling and snapping their jaws at our opponents.

"Fang, Saber, go home!" I ordered. "I don't need your help!"

The beasts ignored me and kept their focus on the two men. Masky was already holding his knife out, ready to charge at us. But as soon as he took a step, Fang let out an ear-splitting howl. I held my ears, noticing the two guys doing the same.

After Fang stopped his howl, Saber stepped forward. He made a low hiss as his skeletal jaws opened up. A thick, black fog began spewing from his mouth and toward Masky and Hoodie.

With the smoke obscuring them, all I could hear were their muffled coughs. So these are the special abilities Selene gave the dogs. They're more useful than I thought.

I got ready to charge in and finish off my opponents, but before I could, Fang grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and lifted me off the ground.

"Hey, put me down!" I yelled in protest, struggling to get free.

In an instant, Fang darted out past the trees, carrying me with him. I dangled around, clutching my shirt and hoping it wouldn't tear. Glancing back, I could see Saber catching up to us.

Slender's pov

"Masky, Hoodie, what happened out here?" I asked, appearing behind my proxies.

Both of them were panting and had blood covering their clothes. Hoodie, especially, looked to be in pretty bad shape. Masky helped Hoodie to stay on his feet.

"The girl, Naomi, she was here," Masky explained, still catching his breath. "She was tougher than we thought. She really can heal too. But she got away with two, giant, dog-like creatures."

"Hmm, interesting," I stated, wrapping my tentacles around them. "Come, you two, I'll get you home."

Selene's pov

I was so relieved when I saw Naomi being carried in Fang's jaws. She had her arms crossed while frowning at me. Fang set her on her feet but she seemed to only glare at me.

"Why did you have them bring me back?" she asked, her tone dark and angry. "I was in the middle of a fight."

"I'm sorry, Naomi," I apologized, "but I had to get you out of there. You were in danger."

"Danger?! I happened to be winning back there until you intervened! I could've killed a couple of Jeff's buddies and maybe even lure out Jeff himself!"

"You don't understand," I argued. "There is a force out there far greater in power. It was coming for you. I had to get you away before it could harm you."

"Hello, I can heal, remember?!" she shouted. "You gave me power! I don't need you looking out for me! I can take care of myself!"

She came closer and placed her knife against my neck while glaring at me. "I still want to kill Jeff, but if you're gonna become an obstacle, then maybe I'll have to get rid of you too!"

Our pets watched us as we argued. Naomi threatening me didn't bring me even an ounce of fear. I knew I wouldn't win against her in a physical fight, but I also knew that I wouldn't have to.

"If that is what you think is best, then do it," I calmly said.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. After a moment, she retracted the blade at my throat. With a frown, she sheathed her knife. I knew she couldn't kill me.

"Naomi, I'm very sorry. You don't have to help me anymore. I'll find the remaining crystals myself."

Naomi walked past me and to her horse, climbing onto her back. With her opossums sitting behind her, Naomi turned Latte away from me.

"I think that would be for the best," she muttered.

In the blink of an eye, they were already gone. I sighed, my frown never fading. I'm sorry, Naomi, I really am trying to help you. I calmly pet the heads of my whimpering dogs. Looks like I'm on my own again, at least for now.