Challenge #00339: The Thin Man

There are two main Slenderman mythos’ on the internet, both spawned from the same sets of images and data, and later the games.

The First is a monster that lurks in the dark, steals or follows children for unknown purposes that vary from story to story, some more dangerous than others. Some accounts put him at merely feeding on momentary terror, others range through feeding on souls, or blood, or simply creating more slender, faceless creatures

I showed them, yesterday. The gif. The photos. Even showed them the ones other people had shared. So I could prove that I wasn’t faking it.

They know about him, too.

They know. Just in case one photo from a stranger is going to be my last.

Except…

I can see him, now.

He’s a brief flicker in the corner of my eye. A patch of black in the shape of a man.

Following me.

I don’t know what he wants, but it can’t be good. It’s like he’s given up on waiting for me to have a picture taken and is cutting out the middleman.

I know he needs light to be seen. That’s why I’ve taken up living in darker spaces. My friends think I’m crazy. Even the ones who’ve seen the photos.

And I can’t help thinking that this might be my last journal entry.

Because I keep thinking he’s in the shadows, too.

*

The new creature blinked, though it had no eyes to do so. The computer screen, the words on it, the chair the creature sat on… all diminished in significance.

The fear had gone.

In its place, was a hunger.

Stand, said the Parent. No sound came, but the understanding of instructions persisted.

A brief memory of being shorter. An echo of the former life. The life that no longer was important.

I will teach you to hunt, said the Parent. I will teach you to feed. And when you are ready, I will teach you how to make others - and how to teach them.

The new creature followed the Parent. Seeing things that had once mattered. The last object it noted was a mirror by the door. In it were two identical creatures. Looking almost, but not quite like a human in a black suit.

Except for the faces.

There weren’t any.

They both let themselves out into the night.

They had to feed.

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