Tim's shout was quickly cut off as he hit the floor under my unexpected weight. My surprise attack had caught him off guard but I could tell he was already recovering and worried he'd easily fight me off despite the head lock I'd put him in. A hard elbow to the ribs made me flinch before tightening my grip as he got back to his feet. It wasn't hard to keep hold of him due to being the same height but Tim was still stronger than I was and easily broke my grip before throwing me off balance. I grunted as I fell back into a wall before stumbling out of his reach, wondering if I should just retreat entirely at this point.

I didn't have long to think about it before I was tackled to the ground and received a heavy punch to the side of the head. The floor blurred momentarily and a brief ringing deafened that ear, though anger soon blocked out the pain only to leave just as quickly as it came. Not wanting to be punched again however, I managed to awkwardly kick Tim away and got back to my feet. I could've easily attacked him while he was still getting up but I merely stared at him, watching as he backed towards his things; his glare never wavering from my masked face.

"I'm closer to the door... he'll have to get past me to escape." I took a step back. "No. I should just retreat. I can't fight him head on like this... Even if my friends need me to- I just can't."

I stepped aside as he put on his backpack, hoping he saw I was giving up only for the lights to flicker and die seconds later. Fear cut into me before I even saw the tall form of Slenderman appear in the corner of the now dark room behind Tim with tentacles posed to strike. I was rooted to the spot as I stared at him while Tim fled from the room. The brief moment of him blocking my line of sight to Slenderman was enough to break the trance and I quickly darted after him.

"Gah-" My shout was cut short as I crashed to the floor and was dragged backward.

I struggled to get free of the grip and briefly heard Tim's footsteps slow in the hallway before picking up speed again and disappearing. I coughed and grimaced as the grip on my ankle tightened before feeling more tentacles tightly wrap around my arms and torso, trapping me completely to stop my thrashing.

"No! ...Oh fuck... no, I can't- It's going to kill me! It'll kill them! No! Please..." My head was pounding from the earlier skirmish with Tim and the whitenoise echoing from Slenderman's presence wasn't helping ease the pain. "...Dammit... I'm sorry... I failed- I failed them..."

It felt like an electrical shock was going through me, as if to back up the anger I could feel radiating off the creature standing over me. Between that and the pressure crushing down around my ribs I felt myself slowly going unconscious.

***

I woke up shaking with stronger tremors running down my spine every few seconds, which led to small twitching in my limbs. I could barely lift my head to look at my new surroundings before dropping it back down into the leaves beneath me. It wasn't hard to guess how I managed to get to a forest given who I saw before passing out, but it was going to be a challenge figuring out how to get out once I could actually stand.

"My head..." I groaned but ended up coughing instead.

Leaves crunched nearby, alerting me to the fact that I wasn't alone. My eyes darted towards the sound to find a masked figure walking over to me. I hazily recognized the masked man from the night I'd lost my friends, though in the light I was also able to make out recognizable sideburns and dark hair.

"Tim...!?" I tried to inch away from his casual approach but merely ended up on my side instead, completely at his mercy. "Does he know? Can he remember what I just tried to do to him? Or is he just killing me because of those things?"

He came to a stop a foot away and stared down at me, his head tilted slightly to the side. I couldn't speak, as badly as I wanted to, and there was silence for a few seconds before leaves crunched again as he circled around me and began dragging me backwards. I feebly tried to slow him down but failed miserably and soon felt rough concrete beneath me right before being dropped. Tim left my sights, though I could hear him walking around searching for something, and I managed to force myself to sit up enough to watch as he grabbed a metal pipe from one of the many piles of rubble.

"Shit...!" I pushed myself to my feet despite my muscles protesting the movement and could only hope I was able to fight him off.

I stumbled back as he came closer but watched as he turned his attention to something behind me. More panic went through me after I turned and found the man in the navy hoodie running towards us with a hunting knife in hand. I felt severely unarmed and quickly grabbed a fallen branch that was lying on the remains of wood that had once made up part of the wall of the red shack. It wasn't much of a weapon compared to the other two but it would do for now, as long as they focused on each other first.

I ran as soon as the dark hooded man made the first swing at Tim, though without knowing the forest around me I doubted I was doing anything other than getting more lost... Least I'd be away from them. However, the more I ran the more I began to notice the trees around me change and shift. The sunlight was replaced by darkness, as if it had suddenly turned into the dead of night.

I stumbled to a stop, my panting causing condensation to start building up even worse inside my mask. I caught a glimpse of Slenderman among the trees before static took hold in my mind and I felt my control being violently ripped away from me.

I suddenly found myself holding an old pipe in my hand with fresh blood still staining the rusted metal. There was no memory of how I'd gotten it but I wasn't allowed to dwell on the thought other than the brief memory of Tim having one earlier. All I could do was continue walking through the trees as a short female trudged along far in front of me looking completely lost. I slowed occasionally and ducked down whenever she'd stop to call out for help or to wander off in another direction, though I knew eventually I'd have to catch up before she saw me following her.

"She's... familiar looking... Wait, Mallory!" I stumbled as I finally recognized her and connected the names she'd been shouting to the faces of my friends. "N-no! You can't make... don't make me do this! Stop!"

I grabbed the side of my head, still trying to prevent myself from getting closer, but once more felt Slenderman's control over me take hold and urge me forward while destroying my thoughts with an overwhelming sound of ringing in my head. My fumbled steps had caught her attention and I glared towards her from under my mask to see her staring back at me in sheer terror. Mallory's face seemed to drain of blood as I continued taking menacing steps in her direction before watching as she turned and fled with a scream. I gritted my teeth, once more trying to get free of the control, before running after her through the trees.

It was so easy to catch up to her. I was faster than her and while the roots and fallen branches tripped her up in the dark, I found myself dodging around them like I'd known they were there without needing to see them- no doubt thanks to Slenderman's current hold over me.

"She's already weakened... Easy to finish off." I could hear her staggering footsteps growing slower and clumsier after only a few minutes of running. Catching up so fast was almost disappointing.

Mallory fell with a hoarse shriek that was accompanied by a loud snapping sound from her ankle. I stared down at her as tears fell down her face from the pain and hopelessness of her situation.

"N-no please! Landon!? Dillan!? So-someone pl-please... help..." Mallory's cries went unanswered as she tried to drag herself away from me and the hole that had broken her ankle.

"I want to... I'm sorry- I can't- I can't stop it!" My arm raised the pipe up like a bat against my will and swiftly swung it down at her.

I immediately began feeling sick as her head whipped to the side with blood trailing from the wound; she was still alive and conscious. Mallory raised her arms feebly in self defense over her head and curled into a fetal position as I drew back for my next attack. Dark blood dripped from her mouth as she coughed from the blow to her ribs.

It took all my concentration to step back away from her and hold back the third swing at her; I couldn't hold it back for more than a few seconds. Just before I could attack again a large branch slammed into my head, barely missing my eye.

"Stay away from her!" I stumbled further back as Landon got between me and Mallory.

The static whispering its control over my actions faltered from the blow but still had just enough grasp to replace the pain with a blinding anger that tinted the dark forest red. For a few seconds it was like everyone was holding their breath as I stood there with my head hanging down... and then I gave an animalistic growl and lunged at Landon. I couldn't process what I did. Everything in that one fast movement had sent my vision into complete darkness.

It was only seconds later that the haze in my mind faded entirely and I found myself on top of Landon with the pipe pressed down on his throat. My friend's face still held shock on it from the sudden violent attack. I shuddered at how close I'd just come to killing him and let Landon throw me off, his coughing filling the night as he tried to get his breath back and check on Mallory.

"Run... I need to get away... what have I done?" I dropped the pipe and staggered to my feet as I stared at them. "I could've killed them... I wanted to keep them safe- I have to leave. They'll forget about me. Maybe... maybe they'll be left alone."

I ran as far from them as I could, only stopping once I was too out of breath to continue and even then I merely slowed to a walking pace. I had no idea where I was or if I was still in that same forest where that shack had been- this place would be huge if I was, as I didn't think I'd backtracked at all. Eventually, I collapsed to the ground too drained from everything to keep going. It was hard to catch my breath with the mask on but I didn't dare take it off in case someone were to find me; I already thought I could hear leaves and footsteps in the area.

"I never should've met with them that night..." I shifted to lean back against a tree and closed my eyes. "This is all my fault."