Author's Note: Happy October! Ahh so much joy, yet so much stress. I skipped three of my college classes today cuz I had the flu of a lifetime last night (and today, but I feel a lot better now), but hopefully I can do some more writing for my Halloween stories later on! Silver lining!

I wonder if anyone actually likes this story? :O This chapter's a short one– it's been completed for a while, and I think there'll only be one more after this, so I'll try to make that longer. BTW, I did revise and update the previous two chapters, and you'll probably want to reread the last two anyway, since it's been so long. I was planning for so long to update each week of October, but here I am, behind schedule as per usual! Classic fersure/LadyMaito :P I'm going to be trying really hard to finish my Halloween stories this October, so look out for more updates! :)

Uploaded: Tuesday, October 9th, 2018

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"God damn!" Benny panted, dragging Rory by the wrist as the blonde vampire tripped and struggled to breathe. The brunet looked behind them, and there he was, still in the distance but gliding forth slowly. "Rory! Eat less marshmallows!"

"You don't...have...to be...so...mean!" Rory panted, and bent over, hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. "Dude...why am I–"

"A game mechanic." Benny growled, trying and failing to hoist Rory up onto his shoulders; he sure as hell wasn't carrying him in his arms, he didn't even want to attempt that. "Help me out, would you?"

"Sor...ry." Rory swallowed, and helped himself on to Benny's shoulders.

A chill ran up Benny's spine as he heard the tone of the bass sounds change, becoming more of a deep growling than a booming. Logically, he knew that...Slenderman was behind him, but the vibrations in the stale air made him feel like the darkness itself was approaching from every angle. Surrounding them.

"It's okay." Benny grunted, successfully securing Rory over his shoulders as he ran. Jogged, actually, he didn't really have the energy to just keep running, especially with Rory's weight. Benny held tight to Rory's legs over one shoulder, holding as best as he could onto his friend's shoulders with the other arm. "Just...close your eyes...for a minute and look away... We'll see if just keeping our backs turned works."

Bent in half, and hanging onto Benny for dear life, Rory leaned his head down and simply held onto his friend. After another fearful minute of both their backs being exposed, Rory risked looking behind them and relayed, "He's gone."

"Just hold on." Benny grated, already fatigued and hating whoever put them in Slender-land. "I'm gonna...need you to get down in a sec, RV...bruh, you're heavy."

"Sorry. By the way, it probably wasn't the marshmallows, but I did eat a whole bag of jumbo gummybears last night."

"Hah." Benny let Rory down a minute later, after Rory had assured Benny he hadn't seen anything in at least a minute and a half. Benny had just been too nervous to let Rory down; what if Slenderman appeared as soon as he did, and Rory couldn't run? Like hell he was gonna let Rory get caught because he couldn't run.

"I wonder why..." Rory gulped, fisting a hand in Benny's striped muscle-shirt. "Why he stopped following us? If you hadn't picked me up, or even if he gave it another minute, he could've–"

"Don't." Benny panted. By now, the spellmaster was a flushed, sweaty mess with hair clinging to his forehead and legs that begged for him to sit down. "We have to...find the...others. Or...find the rest of...the notes...ourselves before...he gets us."

"What happens when he gets us?" Rory asked fearfully.

"Let's...not think about that." Benny groaned breathlessly. "Not...gonna happen."

"I guess I'd better not run, then. Unless I really need to." Rory mumbled, as they continued down the path they'd been running.

"We'd both better not try and move too fast. How long did you run before you couldn't anymore?"

"Um...ten seconds?" Rory guessed sheepishly.

"Great." Benny groaned, finally beginning to recover from his jog with Rory on his shoulders. "I'm guessing certain things affect us differently, since I could clearly run, or at least jog for extended periods of time."

"I think I see something." Rory poked Benny in the side, earning himself a glare. "Down there!"

"Oh, great." Benny gritted his teeth, becoming more agitated and tired by the second. "What the hell is that?"

This autumn vacation wasn't turning out at all how he'd planned.

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"Oof!" Ethan hit the ground, rolling down a steep hill. He could see nothing below, especially considering how fast he'd lost his footing, and how quickly he'd rolled down the hill to the bottom. "Fucking...ouch!"

The brunet groaned, not even concerned about anything hearing him for the moment– that had hurt. Damn.

"Ah..." Ethan sat up, using his elbow to brace himself as he looked around. There was the moon, bright and obvious in the sky...and the stars, and the hill. He seemed to have fallen into some sort of valley. Though his immediate sight was blocked by a towering metal object, which looked a lot like a storage unit, he could see what appeared to be rows and rows of the objects.

Attempting to pull himself to his feet, Ethan hissed and reaches down to hold his ankle. Had this been the reason he'd fallen? Could he have twisted his ankle in a pothole or something at the top of the hill? Either way, it actually hurt and Ethan knew it would be hell to walk on. Maybe it was only fair. He had just run for about ten minutes straight, from place to place trying to find someone– anyone, and as far as he knew, normal players couldn't run for more than a few seconds in the game.

No, screw that. This wasn't fair. First, this stupid game had taken his visions from him, and now his ability to walk properly?

"I hate this." Ethan grated, standing up gingerly, placing most of his weight on his left leg. "Benny, if you did this, I will kill you."

Unintentional or not. It was time to get that underage magic under control! His best friend had better hope Slenderman got to him before Ethan did.

Since the seer was reluctant to go back up the hill, and this was obviously a landmark, he figured he'd at least look around for a page. Still...did he actually want one? Last time, Slenderman had assumedly appeared almost directly after the first page had been found. Did that mean he'd be on Ethan's ass as soon as he found the third?

Was there any way to keep track of the pages that had been found? Unless he met up with the others, was there really any way to tell? Last time, there had been a noticeable change in the air. Still, was there any way he could miss the initial boom of energy throughout the game?

Limping around the storage units, Ethan looked for a page, and found nothing. He expected it had been around five minutes of searching the rows of units before the units began turning into large, cylindrical tanks. Rusty and creaky (he found after leaning on one) the tanks were old and had adorned only with ladder-like handles leading up to the top. Ethan entertained the thought of climbing to the top to look for pages from a higher point of view for only a moment before dismissing the idea. It would put even more strain on his ankle, as well as make him even more of an obvious target than he already was. Instead, he continued looking around for pages.

God, his ankle hurt. Why did these things always happen to him?

A few minutes later, and he was sure he was testing his luck; he'd been slowly limping around the tanks, trying to find a page, but so far there had been nothing to be found. The bass emitting from the atmosphere had continued, but it seemed that no one had found the third page yet, if the lack of energy pulses was anything to go by. For lack of anything better to do, Ethan knelt onto one knee and looked below the rusty tanks, to see if anything was hidden below (a small probability, but not impossible).

Abruptly, all the blood in Ethan's face seemed to drain out, leaving him ghostly white.

"Oh..." Ethan breathe, all sense leaving him for a moment, and all he wanted to do was sprint away, injured ankle or not. In the same moment, all the blood in his body had gone icy cold, and he found himself crouching down more.

There, across the valley, a few dozen meters away, was a pair of shiny black shoes attached to long, pinstriped pant legs...and they were floating just above the grass. Headed right, toward the edge of the valley, where the rows of tanks and storage containers ended. As soon as Ethan saw the apparition (or, even just half of him) it was like the air around him became distorted. Glitching and twisting, Ethan had to sit up on his knees and close his eyes for a moment, ignoring the interference in the air that felt like physical static from an old TV, prickling his skin.

It was possible that the dark entity would just I keep gliding, out, up and away from the valley in which Ethan currently resided. Possible, but that was usually not how Ethan's luck worked. If anything, the teen should only have a few more moments before Slenderman noticed him and gave chase...

"Shit, shit, shit!" Ethan hissed, hating that he'd somehow evolved backwards in the last few seconds and began swearing like it was second nature. Grabbing his ankle with one hand and his hair with the other, Ethan whispered fiercely to himself, "What the hell?! What do I do?!"

He couldn't very well run in this condition...could he? Was he even actually here? Or was this just some alternate reality that his mind only existed in? Maybe that would explain the lack of visions, if his physical body wasn't really there, but...

If that thing began chasing him, Ethan would have to run, even with a sore ankle. Run, limp or crawl if it came down to it...

"Ouch!" Ethan gritted his teeth, leaning down once more to look at where Slenderman's feet were. Gazing underneath the rows of tanks, he could see that the entity hadn't gone up the hill and out of the valley; instead he was headed in Ethan's direction.

Gritting his teeth, Ethan limped over to the next tank down, trying to be somewhat in the center of the rows, so as not to make himself completely obvious. Notably, his ankle didn't hurt nearly as much as it did when he'd first tried to stand on it a few minutes prior, when he began exploring.

Still, no note either. For that, Ethan was almost relieved.

Suddenly, more interference in the air crackled just around his ears, and Ethan turned, catching sight of Slenderman just beginning to glide past his row.

Faceless, tall, and floating, the dark being was a terrifying sight to behold. But he wasn't looking Ethan's way yet.

Instead of trying to run, Ethan just threw himself onto the ground, rolling quickly under the nearest tank. Eyeing the figure's legs and shoes once more, Ethan held a hand over his mouth to try and quiet his breathing. The apparition had begun to float in his direction– this time, Ethan saw that the rear of the tailcoat he wore had split itself into a dozen or so strips, which elongated, floated and writhed like tentacles.

Ethan shifted ever so slightly, and as he did, something on the tank above him decided to creak, long and loud.

'No! That's not fair!' Ethan heart stuttered as the entity froze in it's path, just meters away. The tanks were low enough to the ground, and wide enough that fit would've hidden him pretty well– without the creaking to give him away. 'I didn't even move, that was just the tank! I didn't make that noise, don't come this way...'

Ethan just pulled his knees in, trying to make himself smaller, while shimmying a bit further away from the isle. Slenderman was gliding straight for him now!

'Run or die? Is that what's coming next?' Ethan asked himself, ready to roll out the other way and run, if it came down to it. Meanwhile, the antagonist of the game was increasing in speed, and the static in the air grew thicker.

Scooting minutely further away from the slowly approaching figure, Ethan blinked, and suddenly he was alone. His head whipped around to the other side of the tank, then to his feet and above him, but wherever he looked, he couldn't spot anyone or anything else among the rows of tanks.

Giving a faint breath of relief, Ethan lied his head back but didn't stretch out his legs again. Wondering why the digital entity had left, especially after he's so obviously been heading in his direction, Ethan's curiosity peaked– and a moment later, he got his answer.

That answer came in the scream of a girl, followed by another; both were obviously from Sarah and Erika respectively.

"The girls!" Ethan exclaimed, rolling out from under the tank and standing up. Grunting because of his hurt ankle but trying to hurry, Ethan rushed in the direction of his friends with a bit of pain. Not knowing whether to yell or keep quiet, Ethan just limped to the outer edge of the field of tanks and peeked around.

Sure enough, there were Sarah and Erika, both still in their swimming clothes, running along the tree line near the top of the hill. Well, they were, at least until they began to slow down, and the pin-striped monster was just behind them. Why had they stopped running?

The seer had just opened his mouth to shout to one of them, when something caught his eye, down the lines of tanks. There, about five rows away, on one of the outer edges of a cylindrical tank, was a white, luminescent page.

"Sarah!" Ethan yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Erika!"

"Ethan?" Sarah screamed back, looking into the valley from her position above. "Where are you?!"

"No! Just keep going!" Ethan screamed back when she and Erika made to rush down the hill. Both girls paused in their movements, and Sarah began tugging Erika back up. In their lapse of movement, the dark entity had gained some distance on them, flickering and hovering menacingly. "I'll find you!"

"Let's go!" Erika pulled Sarah back onto the path, though they were both still walking rather than running. They both looked terrified– could they not run? Was that it? It had to be.

If only Ethan himself could hurry more than his injury allowed.

"Gotcha!" Ethan touched the page, and just like last time, it disappeared before he could actually touch it. There was another wave of energy that blew his hair back slightly, just like last time, and the heavy bass in the atmosphere increased. Looking up just in time to see Slenderman disappear from atop the hill, Ethan walked back into the forest of tanks, looking around wildly to see when and where the entity would appear.

At least he knew where the girls were now. Now, all needed to do was get out of the valley, make his way up, and shake Slender (Ethan hatefully dubbed him in his head) off his trail. Gazing up the hills surrounding the valley, the seer huffed, and turned a corner.

For their part, both of the girls had somehow made their way to a flat, wide building where they'd leaned up against the wall, peeking around the corner to where they'd passed Ethan in the valley full of tanks and storage containers. Erika frantically hissed that this was where she'd woken up, but she didn't see how they'd been able to come upon it again– she was sure they'd been heading in the direction opposite of where she'd left it.

"Oh my god." Sarah panted, one small hand held to her mouth, the other held to her chest. "We left Ethan. He was there and we left him."

"He told us to leave him." Erika retorted, though she too looked guilty. "What were we supposed to do? Didn't you see? He was going to take a page from that tank."

"That probably means that thing is chasing him now." Sarah fretted, looking around the corner once more, ready to set off in Ethan's direction once more. "Erika– we can't...I can't just leave him!"

"Wait! Wait, okay? Give him a second. He's not stupid, right? He had to have known what was going to happen."

"What is this? How did we get into this mess?!" Sarah asked heatedly, running her fingers through her hair nervously. "Even if it didn't start chasing him, at the rate we have to walk, it'll probably take Ethan a few minutes just to–"

"Hey."

Both girls screamed as Ethan rounded the corner they hid behind (Erika had even fallen over from her crouched position). Ethan looked caught between mild amusement and relief as Sarah then launched herself at him, squeezing him in a tight hug.

"Ethan!" Sarah cried, holding him close for a moment before leaning back and pulling him onto their side of the building, out of the open. "I'm so glad we found you!"

"Actually, I think I found you guys first." Ethan panted, leaning against the brick wall, keeping his weight off his right ankle. "I actually think you guys saved me when you came stumbling in. Slender was headed strait for me before you started causing a scene up on the hill."

"Where are the others?"

"I don't know." Ethan replied, rubbing his neck as though stiff, though all of them had probably been in the game for well over an hour, maybe even two. "I heard them screaming earlier too– but by the time I reached where I thought they'd be, they were gone. Then I fell down a hill and hurt myself."

"Hurt yourself?" Sarah looked him over, as did Erika.

"My ankle. I must've twisted it before I fell."

"But you got here so quick." It was the first time Erika had spoken to him so far. "How did you-"

"I'm guessing you guys can't run, huh?"

"Not for more than a few seconds. Can you?" The blonde demanded angrily.

"I have no problems running as long as I want. Well...I didn't, anyway. After falling off the path, I can still jog a little, but it hurts like a bitch." Ethan groaned, settling down onto the grass as the girls looked on in surprise. "Sorry. I know I don't swear all that much, but...this game has me rethinking several of my life choices."

"Tell me about it." Erika settled down as well, as did Sarah a moment later. "I hope that skinny douche nozzle gives us a minute to rest. This is why I don't play video games."

"I dunno." Ethan chuckled, pulling in his leg to rub at his injury. "I might actually be having fun if I weren't so terrified for my life. It's kinda like Sword Art Online."

"What?" Both girls asked and Ethan waved them off.

"Nothing."

"So how many pages do you think we've gotten so far?" Sarah asked after a moment of quiet, save the game's disturbing ambiance.

"Three, if I'm not mistaken." Ethan answered thoughtfully. "I think Benny and Rory got the first one...I definitely heard both of their screams, so they must be together. I found one around the same time, and then I found one just a couple minutes ago. When the pages are picked up, you can feel some kind of energy shifting in the air. At least, I can."

"I think I might remember something like that, now that you mention it." Sarah murmured, then looked down the side of the building, past Erika. "At least we might be able to find another page quickly."

"What do you mean?" Erika asked.

"This building. It's a landmark." Ethan agreed, looking in the same direction as Sarah, then up at the rusty gutters above. No windows adorned the brick walls. "There must be a page in here."

"Oh, no!" Erika asserted, startling both Sarah and Ethan. "Let's find one of those two idiots to send in there. I woke up in one of those filthy rooms, remember?! I'm not going back in!"

"We don't even have our vampire eyes to see in the dark." Sarah added mournfully.

"Well that makes three of us." Ethan sighed, then thought of Rory. "Well, four of us. I haven't been able to have a successful vision since I woke up in this place."

"I woke up in a scary old truck." Sarah informed him.

Not wanting to talk about where he'd woken up, Ethan simply began standing, using the wall for support. "The pages kind of glow in the dark, so even inside this thing, it should be easy to spot. I think I should go in alone."

"Don't be a hero– I'll go in too." Sarah stood up as well.

"I'm not staying out here alone!"

"It would be easier if we all went in." Sarah sighed, and Ethan shook his head.

"You guys stay out here. If worst comes to worst, I can run away, and call out to you to start walking away from the building– don't run! Not unless it's absolutely necessary. Save your brief periods of speed for dire moments." Ethan began walking down the edge of the building, looking for a door. "It would be faster if all three of us went in and searched, but if he appears in the halls suddenly while we're all in there, the chances are better that he'll catch one of us."

"Ethan..." Sarah protested uneasily. "What if he corners you?"

"...I don't know." Ethan admitted quietly, looking around the corner and seeing a door about half way down. "I'll try not to let that happen."

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"Okay. I'll go in, you just wait here." Benny hated himself on so many levels for saying those words. Why did he have to be so heroic?

"Good idea. If he shows up out of nowhere, you can scream at me to run."

"Dork! Don't run unless you need to!" Benny slapped a hand over his face at Rory's lack of common sense. Unfortunately, the blonde idiot was right– if Slenderman did show up, he was the only one who could run away without expending his energy in a matter of seconds.

They had been standing atop a small hill, overlooking the entrance to a long and ugly tunnel, lying flat across a small field. No path cut through the area; it was nothing but trees and leaves.

"Okay, let's go. We're just wasting time. He won't be gone forever." Benny grimaced, and made his way down the hill with Rory at his heels. "I wonder if he's chasing the others."

"Probably." Rory really knew how to comfort someone.

"Just wait here. I'm gonna run through and I'll be right back." Benny hunched his shoulders, a bit creeped out now that they were standing at the huge entrance to the tunnel. Tall, wide, slate gray and perfectly curved, it looked like a massive version of one of those drain pipes you found under a highway or train track. "Actually, you should probably stand inside the pipe a little, just so your back isn't exposed."

"Okay. I'll be here." Rory sounded like his normal self, except for a slight undercurrent of nervousness that Benny only recognized from knowing him since childhood. "Try not to take forever."

"Noted." Benny growled, then stalked forward, deciding to take the tunnel at a jog. Moving quickly along the left wall, Benny decided to switch walls on his way back. If it weren't on the inside, he and Rory would just have to look on the outsides as well...but who would hide a page on the outside when making a player run through the tunnel was so much scarier?

Anyone could see it didn't take a genius to make a game like this. The synopsis, the graphics, even the antagonist and overall challenge, everything was juvenile, and–

"Aaaaggh!" Benny screamed, jumping back and falling over as the monster he'd just been dissing in his head appeared right before his eyes. "Rory! Start walking!"

"Should I wait for you?!" Benny could hear, but not see Rory at the far end of the tunnel.

"Just go! Don't run until you need to! Look away!" Benny yelled, even in his briefly panicked state having half a mind to run along the other wall on the way back. His line of vision adjusted along with the ground he covered; it loaded at the same distance like the graphics of an old game, making his surroundings apparent even without light.

"I got it! The page!" The spellmaster cried, his hand passing through the digital sheet as he ran by. The object disappeared with a wave of static, and, of possible, the booming coming from the skies above intensified. "We're good! Just keep going!"

So they did. When Benny caught up to Rory, he slowed to a walk, and kept an eye on the apparition trailing them, careful not to look for too long. He wouldn't run without Rory, and guessed (through trial and error) that if they didn't stare in his direction and they kept their back to him...they would probably be fine.

Probably.