[timere]

"Tessa, what are you doing out here this late?"

Tessa had expected to see the tall figure of her nightmares behind her, ready to attack. What she hadn't expected to see was Kaden, jogging towards her with concern in his eyes. Despite her startle, she was very glad to see the son of Aphrodite in a situation like this.

"I could ask you the same question," Tessa retorted, relaxing her grip on Tempest's hilt. She stepped away from the eerie tree, staring at it uneasily as she approached Kaden.

Kaden's green eyes were luminescent in the darkness of the forest, and Tessa could see the unease that was spreading to him too. Every now and again as he spoke, he'd glance around them, as if to make sure they were alone. "Your costume came in, so I went over to drop it off at your cabin when I noticed that you weren't even inside. You'd taken Tempest, and after our conversation from earlier, I figured that you had done something obnoxiously brave. So I came after you."

Tessa made a face. "Obnoxiously brave?" She repeated.

Kaden met her gaze. "I thought you were about to get yourself killed," He said, a laugh laced in his voice. Something shifted in his gaze, and he reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Tessa's ear. His fingers grazed Tessa's cheek, sending an arc of electricity through her body. "I'm glad you're okay."

Tessa smiled. "Me? In mortal danger? What a concept."

Kaden chuckled, his hand falling away. His gaze lifted to something behind her, and he made a grotesque face. "So that's it, huh?"

Tessa turned to see the sole tree and its eerie drawing. "Yeah," She managed. "Creepy, right?"

Kaden stepped closer to the tree, and Tessa quickly followed. Something wasn't right, and she wanted to be as close to Kaden as possible in case something did end up happening.

"This reminds me of some myth I heard about once..." Kaden mumbled. "But that can't be real, right?"

Tessa opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden flash of movement caused her to turn her head to the side quickly. Big mistake.

Standing at the edge of the treeline was a tall man, at least eight feet tall. Like its depiction on the tree before them, it's long spindly arms and legs made it resemble the trees it stood amongst. Most terrifying of all was its blank white head, no face to be found. It moved slowly, as if waiting for Tessa and Kaden to react.

Tessa let out a blood-curdling scream. She was petrified, frozen, her heart refusing to give her the adrenaline rush she needed to flee.

This was what she'd feared most for years, the figure she'd learned of and ironically did everything she could to learn even more about it. It haunted her nightmares, lingered at the back of her mind in the dark, when she was alone. It was fear itself, and now, Tessa fell victim to it.

Within a split second, a hand was in Tessa's and she was being pulled in the opposite direction. Her legs fell into response quickly, and she was running after Kaden, her hand in his.

"What the hell is that?" Kaden shouted over the sounds of their sprinting footsteps. Leaves crunched under their gait, and a flock of birds in the trees took off, the sound of their wings flapping haunting the night.

Tessa tried to calm her breathing, which proved to be difficult considering she'd just seen her biggest fear incarnate, was being chased by a monster, and was running through the woods. "Slenderman," She wheezed.

"That's it?!" Kaden asked incredulously, taking a split second to glance at Tessa in disbelief. "I thought that was just a video game or something!"

The duo turned a sharp corner, and Tessa glanced behind them as they ran. Her second mistake. Sure enough, the nightmarish monster was lumbering after them, sending waves of fear throughout Tessa. She squeezed Kaden's hand and kept running.

"Well, apparently not," She managed. "If something is feared enough, it begins to fester. Just like our myths, if it's believed in enough, it'll exist."

"Wonderful," Kaden breathed. "How do we destroy it?"

"No one knows," Tessa responded. "How do you destroy something that you didn't even know existed?"

"Good point."

The demigods rounded another bend. Neither Tessa nor Kaden risked looking behind them; that was rule number one after all. They continued running until they could see camp in the distance.

"We need a plan," Kaden decided. "Or else that thing's gonna be led straight to camp."

Tessa bit her lip. She peered over her shoulder, expecting to see it standing right behind her.

But it wasn't. In fact, it was nowhere to be seen. The waves of fear that Tessa had felt seemed to have disappeared along with it, returning the forest back to its normal state.

"It's gone," She announced incredulously. She glanced around in every direction but the only thing she could see was the mass of trees surrounding her. No Slenderman to be found, to her relief and fear.

Kaden took a shaky breath, his cheeks pink from exhaustion and the biting fall air. "Okay," He managed. "That's great. We need to get back to camp."

Tessa realized her hand was still in Kaden's, but she wasn't complaining. She kept looking around, and finally spotted what looked like a man leaning against a tree. However, this guy was significantly shorter than the monster, and had a face.

"There's a guy over there," Tessa muttered. She kept staring at the guy, certain he was watching her, smiling maliciously, like he knew something she didn't. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and was dressed nicely despite the cold. However, his image seemed to be rippling, like darkness was surrounding him, enveloping him.

"What?" Kaden turned to follow her gaze. However, he knit his eyebrows in confusion after a few moments. "No, there's not."

Tessa looked back at where the man stood, but surely enough, he was gone. Tessa exhaled shakily, laughing nervously. "Alright, that's enough for tonight."

"Agreed," Kaden chorused. He squeezed her hand and together, they made their way back to camp. Each small noise was enough to startle them, and Tessa wished she'd never followed her crazy impulse.

"If anything happens, come get me." Kaden was saying as they walked, keeping an eye out for harpies. "Okay?"

They reached Tessa's cabin, and to Tessa's chagrin, unlocked hands. Tessa turned and smiled weakly at Kaden. "Okay." She responded. "Same goes for you."

Kaden waved a hand in mock dismissal. "I don't need saving."

Tessa arched an eyebrow. "Are you implying that I do?"

Kaden's joking bravado crumbled so quickly, Tessa almost laughed. "No!" He yelped. "Well, I mean, I'd save you. But you can save yourself. But—" His cheeks turned dark red. "I'm messing this up."

"Keep going, it's cute." Tessa giggled. She and Kaden laughed, before silence filled the space between them. How could they have been running for their lives just minutes earlier, and now were joking around without a care in the world?

"Goodnight, Tessa," Kaden said softly, his green eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"Goodnight, Kaden." Tessa echoed.

The son of Aphrodite smiled at her in parting, and with a wary glance down back the way they'd came, he headed across the central green to Cabin Ten. Soon, Tessa was alone, standing outside her cabin, with the premonition that even if the monster had disappeared, it was watching her still.

~~

Halloween arrived two nights later, and everyone at camp was abuzz. Seeing as it was a Saturday, activities were canceled as people prepared their cabins for the younger kids' trick-or-treating. Kaden and his siblings were busy setting up the arena for the party that night. Last minute decorations were hung, and maybe it was the Hecate kids, but the paths of camp were illuminated by floating candles and lights.

Soon enough, night fell, and Tessa stared at herself in the mirror. Kaden's siblings—and mother? Who knew if Aphrodite herself had tailored her suit—had done an exceptional job. The black fabric hugged her every curve comfortably, making her look like the assassin she had chosen to be. Her hair was curled around her shoulders, and while Tessa didn't have any guns to complete her Black Widow look, Tempest in pin form would have to do.

Tessa unzipped the frontal zipper a bit, letting it rest beneath her collarbone. She touched up her makeup and before long, was ready to go meet her friends. Besides, she had a hidden agenda that she needed to talk to Kaden about.

She left her cabin, sure to leave a big bowl of candy for the little kids who'd be passing her cabin on their rounds. A little bit of a strut in her step, Tessa sauntered her way to the arena.

As it always was for parties and holidays, the arena was strung up with lights and decorations. Costumed bodies danced and sang on the central dance floor, and small tables and chairs had been set up for snacks and chatting with friends. One of the Dionysus kids was DJing at one end of the dance floor, and music blared for massive speakers, reverberating through Tessa's body.

She didn't have to look for her friends long. Standing in a group away from the dance floor, were Dale, Reese, and Kaden. They hadn't seen her yet, but Tessa's heart flipped at seeing Kaden. He'd gone as Captain America, Tessa's favorite superhero, and he looked even better in the suit than she'd originally thought. The mask was off, but a shield was strapped across his back to complete the look.

The star spangled son of Aphrodite looked up from his conversation with the others and his jaw dropped as Tessa approached. She'd never admit it, but that made Tessa add a little more to her walk as she made her way over.

"Hey guys," Tessa greeted as she met her friends. She glanced at Kaden, who was still watching her in absolute awe. "Captain." She nodded with a wink.

Kaden's eyes widened and he gulped. Tessa smiled smugly; she knew she looked good, and it was giving her even more confidence than she already had.

"It's about time," Dale noted, readjusting the red feather on her ivy green hat. She and Mark must have decided on a costume duo, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

Tessa knit her eyebrows together. "Okay, that costume looks great on you, Dale, but where's Mark?"

"Behind you." His voice called.

Tessa whirled around and had to stifle her laughter. Sure enough, the son of Iris was dressed as Peter Pan's fairy sidekick, with a bright green tank-top and shorts. It looked like a fine outfit, save the glittering wings on his back.

"You look magical, Mark." Tessa grinned.

Mark didn't smile. He only sighed shortly and joined the circle. "What'd I miss?"

Reese made a considerate face. "Not much," He said. As he and Mark engaged in discussion, Tessa mentally applauded the son of Apollo's last minute costume. He and Flynn had gone as each other, so Reese was in a button up shirt and skinny jeans with a stethoscope around his neck. Tessa knew that somewhere around here Flynn was bopping around in a camp shirt and basketball shorts, a quiver on his back.

Tessa laughed and glanced at Kaden, who seemed to have recovered from his shock. "Can I talk to you?" She asked quietly.

The son of Aphrodite nodded, and the two made their way around people to find a secluded spot. "What's up?" He asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

Tessa took a deep breath; he'd probably kill her for what was about to come next. "I think I know how to stop...y'know...it."

Tessa waited for Kaden to blow up, to tell her she was crazy, or to just back away and want nothing to do it. But ever her right hand man when it came to fighting, he took a deep breath and nodded. "What's the plan?"

Tessa looked up at the sky in relief and looked back to Kaden, the confidence in her eyes making them electric. "When I first learned about Slenderman back in, like, fifth grade, some crazy part of me made me do a bunch of research, as if knowing about it could keep me safe. Did the exact opposite in that it scared me half to death, but that's beside the point. The games all seem to have something in common, however. Someone goes into his territory and finds a bunch of weird pages. As soon as they get involved, he attacks them. The only way they become safe is if they collect all the pages and get out of the forest." She took a deep breath—was she really basing her strategy off of a video game?

"So let me get his straight," Kaden cleared his throat. "You want to go back in the forest and find these pages, and that'll dispel him?"

"Hopefully," Tessa chimed.

Kaden ran a hand through his chestnut hair, blowing out a sigh. "Alright," He said. "Let me go change." He started forward, but Tessa smiled mischievously, pressing her hand on his chest as he passed and pushing him back.

"Does Captain America go change out of his suit before a fight?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

Kaden took a shallow breath. "No," He mumbled.

Tessa smiled. "You'll have to do what I'm doing and work with it." She reached up and patted his cheek, but before she could walk away, she saw her other friends approach.

"What's going on?" Mark narrowed his eyes. His gaze flicked to Tessa and realization filled his almond eyes. "Tessa's got her 'I-have-a-plan' face on. Kaden, what does she have a plan for?"

And so Kaden and Tessa filled him, Dale, and Reese in. By the end of recounting their stories, Tessa expected for them to act in a similar way that Kaden might have, but she knew they were brave and loyal too. 

"What're we waiting for?" Dale asked. "Let's go."

"Are you guys sure? Kaden and I could go by ourselves." Tessa offered. She didn't want to get too many of her friends into too much trouble.

"And make out rather than fight a monster? Please." Mark interjected. "We're coming with."

Tessa met Kaden's gaze, and despite Mark's comment, nodded. Tessa turned back to her friends and took a deep breath. "Alright, then, let's get going."

~~

As if the forest knew what day it was, it looked especially creepy tonight. Fog spread its way across the forest floor like tendrils of some creature, furling and unfurling at will. A full moon hung in the sky above, and the only distinct noise came from Tessa, Kaden, Mark, Reese, and Dale, marching their way through the trees, weapons in hand.

"So what exactly are we dealing with here? Are you sure we'll be able to destroy this thing?" Reese asked as he ducked underneath a low hanging branch. His golden bow was in his hand, a quiver of arrows on his back.

Tessa shook her head. "This is one monster that even we can't destroy. It feeds off your very fears, every premonition that warns you that something, somewhere, is watching you. And maybe it is. Maybe it's watching us right now, just waiting to attack."

"Reassuring," Mark responded. They continued walking, and as they neared the new clearing, he exhaled. "I really hope this plan of yours works, Tessa."

"So do I, Mark," Tessa responded. "So do I."

They reached the clearing soon after. If Tessa's theory was correct, there'd be a page on the trunk of the tree. At first glance, she couldn't see anything, but sure enough, there on the bark of the standing tree was a crinkly sheet of paper.

Tessa plucked it off the tree, showing her friends what it said. " 'FOLLOW ME IF YOU DARE'," she read. She looked up at the son of Aphrodite, her heartbeat pounding like the drums that would begin in the game. "Let the game begin."