My mind was still half asleep when Tim shook me awake and when I shot up at the touch, his shadowed features were twisted from the nightmare's hold on my mind. All I could do was stare in horror as blood appeared to be running down his empty eye sockets while deep lacerations over his face and arms streamed dark crimson.

"It's not real." I pulled away sharply from him despite that knowledge as I tried to calm my breathing.

"Ash, are you alright?" He turned away to look around the room before staring back down at me. "I thought I heard you scream."

Shame went through me when he said that; my nightmares had never been bad enough to make noise in my sleep. Thrash around, sure but... scream? And loud enough to wake him up from another room? "I need to deal with Zac... the more I think about it the worse the nightmares are getting. It's pathetic..."

"I... It was only a nightmare, sorry." I couldn't look at him. "They've happened my entire life- I didn't mean to wake you up, usually that doesn't happen. It's probably just because of... earlier..."

"No one was killed."

"They could've been... you could've been." I finally looked at him. "When I was under his control, it was fighting stronger than usual. I think he's getting tired of waiting... What happens if Landon and Dillan become targets again? Their blood will be on my hands."

"You're doing everything you can to help them by staying away."

"What if it isn't enough?" I thought back to the last time I'd seen them... how I'd hurt them, been the reason behind Mallory's death. "They won't be safe until I kill the proxies and send their master a message."

"It's all you can do."

"...I know." I settled back down and gave a long sigh. "I'm going back to sleep."

I heard Tim walk out of the room and sat back up. As tired as I was, I couldn't fall asleep knowing I'd continue to be plagued by nightmares of Zac and the bodies of my family and friends. "I wish I could save him..."

It didn't take long for me to get ready, though trying to stay quiet to prevent waking Tim up again did slow me down. I grabbed my mask and an old metal bat from my closet before walking to the door, pausing to glance down at Tim.

"...I'm sorry, I have to." I left, locking the door quietly behind me before pulling my phone out of my pocket.

It rang long enough for me to question if he'd even answer... Finally, I heard Zac's voice on the other end. "Long time since you tried reaching out to me."

"Too long." I kept my voice neutral. "Zac, we need to meet... you were right about our master."

I hated calling that monster master let alone my master, but it had to be done to earn his trust... and it worked. I could hear the smugness in Zac's voice as he spoke. "Oh really? How's that, Pawn?"

"...It's hard to explain. I just... the power I feel- that he gives me... It feels right. I'm like a whole new person- finally free of my past." I got in my car, hoping I could keep up the lie. "I have a plan to prove my loyalty to him. To kill the sources- heh, maybe my old friends too if I have time- but I need your help to do it."

"Partners like the old times?" I could almost picture the Cheshire grin on his face.

"With a little more crime, yeah."

"I'll be waiting at my place."

"On my way." I hung up and began the short drive to his place, the tightness in my chest increasing the closer I got. "I can do this... I have to."

After parking the car, I slid my mask down over my face and pulled the hood over my head with one hand while grabbing the bat with the other. I barely had a chance to walk up to the front door and raise my hand to knock before the door opened to reveal Zac looking down at me, an enthused grin on his face.

"Glad to see you're coming around, Pawn." His voice was disturbingly smooth as he stepped aside to let me in. "Ticci will be disappointed he can't kill you but I'm sure our master will be pleased... Oh, and it seems you've selected a weapon. Nice and blunt- I'm sure your victims will suffer greatly before dying... Mallory certainly did."

"You sick fuck! No, I have to stay calm... Wait for the right moment. He's just trying to get a reaction from me." I was glad to have the mask on to hide the rage brought on by the mention of Mallory.

A frown crossed his face when I didn't respond. "Oh come on, you were more fun when we fought... Anyway, what's this plan of yours anyway?"

"I'm still trying to figure out the details... but I've always wanted to see what a human pinata would be like."

I forced myself not to flinch as he put his arms around me and pulled me close to him. "God, you are perfect. I knew there was a reason I loved you."

"Says the person who tried to kill me." I pushed him away and walked past him.

"We can't have attachments to our past... but now that you're with us, don't you agree that we can be together again?" For a moment his voice sounded genuine, like the Zac I'd once known. "I became this for you after all. So we'd be together- I only tried to kill you because I had to."

"Wait... he- no... He became this on purpose!?" I turned to look back at him, pained by the new knowledge. "...He never had faith I'd be able to fight off Slenderman for so long."

Hatred coursed through my veins as I stared at him. Zac tilted his head, as if sensing my anger, and a smile played on his lips. "Haha... I see. You- you came here to kill me! That's so funny! Here I was actually believing you'd changed your mind... I mean, I never thought you'd hurt someone you once cared so deeply for... Well, go on. Take a swing, traitor."

I tensed as he opened his arms openly, inviting an easy hit. "I have to do this... it isn't Zac anymore... Zac is already dead..."

"You want me to help?" He pulled out his hunting knife and took the bat from my hand, forcing the hilt of the blade into my hand in its place. I stared at the blade, the tip of it resting in front of his diaphragm; it would be easy to jab forward and let it sink in. "I bet you won't. You're weak."

My wrist twitched slightly as I pictured what was about to happen and tried to keep my resolve. If I backed out now I'd likely be killed. The memory of what I'd done to the hallucination of my sister passed through my mind; there had been so much blood, yet it had been so easy once I'd done it. I looked up at his face, forcing myself to meet his cold stare that was gradually looking more and more disappointed in my lack of action.

I lunged at his throat with my free hand before shoving the blade into his chest with the other as he fell back into the wall. Zac's cry of pain sounded choked before he pried my hand off and pushed me away. The knife was still in my hand and I watched as blood poured from the wound as a look of shock went across his face.

"You... you actually... hahaha... I didn't think you'd actually... do it." He coughed and held a hand over the wound. "But... I'm not dead yet!"

Once again I lashed out at him, feeling him fall beneath me as he began to grow weaker. He grabbed my wrist tightly, stopping the crimson stained blade from sinking into his chest again. I pressed down harder before giving a cry of pain as he stabbed a smaller folding knife into my hip- I hadn't considered he'd have one on him. Zac twisted the hunting knife from my grip and kicked me off, though his next attack was stalled as he gave a wheezing cough. The stain on his clothes had grown larger and almost seemed black in places. I grabbed my bat and got back to my feet, grimacing under my mask as I put weight on my injured leg.

"I could still stop..." I shook the thought from my mind. Zac had to die before he killed anyone I cared about. "This is less painful than what Slenderman would do to him once he isn't useful anymore."

I swung the bat down at his head, missing as he rolled to the side before jumping to his feet and slashing at me with the knife. Pain laced through my hand as I attempted to raise it in defense. I gritted my teeth and retreated a step. Zac's bloodstained smile widened and laughter bubbled up from his throat. Moments later he was coughing again between the laughter and fell back against the wall for support. I raised the bat again and swung it at his head, flinching as I heard a cracking noise upon contact.

Zac's chuckling died immediately as he collapsed limply to the floor. Blood leaked from his ear and his pale grey-blue eyes dulled as he fought to cling to life. "I... I a-always... knew... y-you'd be... the d... death of... m-me..."

He continued to cough up blood mixed with a black goo and slowly moved, as if attempting to get back up and fight. I felt sick looking at what had become of the man I'd once known. "I did this to him... I need to at least finish it quickly."

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to build up my courage once more before stomping down on his throat. There was another sound of something crunching as his body went completely limp. My body was shaking uncontrollably as I sank to the ground next to him, hanging my head as the weight of what I'd done continued to sink in.

"I'm sorry..." I couldn't tear my gaze away from his lifeless eyes. I could still remember all the times he'd look at me back before he'd become a proxy; they'd been warm and caring. "He always said he'd do anything for me back then... I didn't think he actually meant doing something like this- becoming a monster... I never should've kept him in my life!"

Whitenoise filled the room and I slowly looked up to see Slenderman standing over us. A scowl crossed my face and I got back to my feet as rage once again burned through my mind. "Stay the fuck away from me before I kill your other proxy!"

I gave a shout of pain as the pressure increased in my skull. His absolute fury put into the attack on my mind. I gritted my teeth and blindly charged at him. "This is all because of him!"

White-hot pain electrified my body as I came into contact with him and everything went dark.