Eleven

After we all had breakfast, we went our separate ways. I didn't want to leave Keith on his own, so he's spending the day with Jeff and Liu. I have three things to do. One- talk to Slender. Two- talk to Jane. Three- talk to Nina.

I have no idea where Slender is. I looked around at the people in the room, seeing that only Brian was left in the room. "Uh…. Hey Brian? Where should Slender be?" I asked him, making him smile and extend a hand my way.

"Come on, Mel, I'll take you to his office." Brian gently pulled me along, taking me to the staircase.

"You really don't have to," I began, stopping in place. "Just give me the directions and I'll be fine."

Brian shook his head, letting out a laugh. "No, you helped Tim even though you just met him, so I'm repaying you for that. He's my best friend, you see, I've known him forever. So, thanks for doing that, and if you ever need any help just come to me, okay?" Brian stated, making me smile shyly up at him.

���Brian, I'm a nurse. I don't need to be repaid or anything for doing my job." Brian didn't retaliate, only leading me up the stairs. "So, Slender's office is right here, and the bedrooms are on either side."

"Along this side," Brian began, pointing to our left, "Is Jane, Jack, and Lj's rooms on this side, with Sally, Ben, and Nina's rooms opposite theirs." I nodded, noticing little details on their doors that showed who owned each room.

"On the right, is Liu, Keith, yours, and Jeff's rooms, with Natalie, Toby, Tim, and my rooms opposite yours."

I nodded, staring up at the door to Slender's office. I looked back at Brian who gave me an encouraging nod, before knocking thrice on the door. The door swung open, revealing Slender sitting at his desk, his chin propped up on his hands. He beckoned me in, and I smirked to myself. Time to get an explanation.

"Child, why are you here?" Slenderman asked, inviting me to take a seat. I ignored him, staying standing.

��Oh, cut it out. We both know you don't want me here. Why?" I snapped, glaring at the faceless being.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Was all he said.

"Slender, you say you've invited me in but only people who haven't been invited get the Slender sickness. So, what's your deal with me?" I frowned at him.

He stood up, greatly towering over me. "You're too good. You're too much of a positive influence for everyone, and I know for a fact that if you stay, you'll make everyone go soft. And I won't have it!" He roared, making me flinch and hold my hands to my head.

"Well then why is Keith allowed here!?" I yelled up at him, now seething.

"That boy will be easy to change. To manipulate." He said calmly, and even though he was faceless, I knew that he somehow still held a smirk upon his face.

"You do anything to him, and I swear you won't see a good girl anymore." I growled, glaring up at him.

"Did you just threaten me?!" He roared, tendrils shooting out of his back.

"Yeah, I did." I grunted, making my way to the door. Before I could, a tendril shot out and grabbed my waist. It held me up in the air, face to face with slender. His head began to morph, the features of a face emerging on his skin. A sick, twisted wide smile, two eyes filled of anger.

"See how angry I am?" He hissed, "You made me show you, a mere mortal, my true form."

He let out a low growl, pulling me closer. He grabbed my right arm with one hand, pulling it to his face. I kicked and squirmed, refusing to stay still as he lowered his face towards my clothed arm, He looked at me, giving a horrendous grin, his knife-sharp teeth glimmering in the light. He looked back down at my arm, sinking his teeth deep into the flesh of my upper arm.

I screamed. And screamed. And screamed. But nobody heard. His teeth were latched in my arm, tearing the flesh. Hardly any time has passed, but the pain in my arm made it feel like an eternity. Blood seeped out of the wound, dripping onto the floor.

He pulled his teeth out of my arm, throwing me against a bookshelf. I looked to my left, seeing a small bottle labelled "essence of lux et spes". I picked it up, seeing a clear liquid in it. Slender hadn't noticed me doing that, leaving me with a smug grin on my face.

"Hey Slender…." I began weakly, acting faint. He looked in my direction, not saying anything. I stood, the grin on my lips widening. Before he knew what had happened, I'd threw the bottle at him. The bottle shattered, coating him in the liquid. He howled in pain as the liquid seemed to burn his skin. He gave me a look of true hate, before disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

I staggered out of the room, seeing both Tim and Brian there, chatting quietly. As the door opened, they looked my way, gasping as they saw my bleeding arm. "What happened?" Brian gasped, as the pair rushed over to me, helping me stand.

"Is it soundproof or something?" I muttered, Brian nodding slightly.

���Should I get Jack?" Brian wondered, as I shook my head. I let go of the pair, heading to the staircase.

"I'll be fine." I murmured, only for my knees to collapse, letting me hit hard against the floor.

Tim briskly walked over to me, helping me up. "I'll heal her. Brian, go get the others. This is serious." Tim ordered, as he helped me make my way downstairs. Luckily, nobody saw us when we had to get to the infirmary. It was empty too.

I sat down on the bed, smiling to myself as I realised the same thing happened just a few hours ago. I rolled up my sleeve enough so that he could see and treat the wound, frowning as he saw the wound.

"The big man did that?" He asked, and I nodded immediately.

"He really didn't want me here. Thought I would make my brothers soft. Thought he could make Keith a murderer. And so, I threatened him, and so he did this to me. But then I found this bottle called 'essence of lux et spes' and threw it at him, burning him as he fled." I rushed out, Tim staring at me in awe when I was done.

"Little Woods, you just made sure he didn't come back!" He exclaimed, an ecstatic smile on his face.

"Why're you so happy about it?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"He's a monster." Was all Tim responded with.

"Hey, Tim," I began, staring up at him, "Why is it when we're alone you seem a lot nicer?" I mumbled.

He let out a gruff laugh, "Little Woods, if they knew we were friends either your brothers would kill me or they'd tease me because I, a twenty six year old, is friends with you, a nineteen year old." He grinned, making me give a half grin back.

"Why do you care if they tease you?" I wondered, but he only shrugged.

"What did you mean when you said he can never come back?" I pondered, making him stare at me for a solid thirty seconds, face blank.

"Little Woods, 'Lux et spes' is light and hope in Latin. He's a creature of evil, of darkness, so of course it's a counter. It cast a wave of protection, light and hope over the mansion, casting him and other ancient evil beings from returning." He explained, leaving me jaw dropped.

"What are we going to do?" I whisper-shouted, frowning. "You all depend on him!"

Tim shook his head. "Slender told me that whenever he leaves, I'm in charge and so I guess I'm in charge of this place."

"Oh wow..." I mumbled, rubbing my temple. "They're all going to hate me for this, and I haven't even been here for a full twenty-four hours…."

"Don't worry, if they don't like the idea of no Slender, I'll kick them out." He shrugged, making me gape at him.

"Why?" I inquired.

"Not many of us actually liked Slender. Any who did is outnumbered anyway."

"Oh okay." I smiled slightly, before getting an idea.

"So…... can I be the official medic? And can I snoop through Slender's office for stuff?" I rambled, Tim looking at me in fake disappointment.

"That's my office to you- and yeah you can. To both questions. Jack is also a doctor so you two will be working together." I grinned, excited to snoop through the office.

"And…... done!" Tim exclaimed, as he tied the bandage around my arm.

"Ah…. When did you do that?" I wondered, never noticing the pain.

"Oh, I gave you this thing called anaesthetic. Ever heard of it?" He teased, referring back to when I didn't use it on him earlier.

"Yes, I have, but my brain was pretty frazzled. Haven't seen my brothers in a while, you see?"