cporiginalgarbage

[cporiginalgarbage]

Hush

Running through the forest, Eleanor breathes heavily trying to shake the creature following her. Tightening her grip on the small knives in her hands, she tries to recall where she got them.

“Eleanor, come here please!” she hears her mother call from the kitchen. Opening her door, the young five-year old girl runs down the hall to her mother, holding onto a small box.

“Ma, that tall man came back! He-”

“What have I told you Ellie?” her mother inturrupts with a sigh.

“There is no ‘tall man’ watching you. Go put that away and get your shoes on, you’re going to be late for your first day of school.”

Shaking the memory from her mind, Eleanor doubles her efforts, tripping over roots and stones.

‘I know the exit is around here somewhere... if I can find it, I can escape.’ she thinks to herself, sharply turning to the left finally seeing evidence of foot traffic.

“There is nothing wrong with you, Eleanor. I’m not taking you to some shrink!” her mother yells once again, her face turning a deep shade of red.

Releasing a sigh Ellie nods, carrying her bag back to her room. Sitting at her desk she opens the blinds looking across the street. She doesn’t see the creature, but the white static starting to fill her mind alerts her to its presence.

“You could get rid of her, you know... you still have the gift I gave you.”

Nawing at her lip, Eleanor slowly opens the left drawer of her desk, opening a (poorly) hidden secret bottom. Pulling out the two knives slowly she looks back out the window, managing to catch a glimpse of the creature.

“My people have been keeping an eye on you and have reported your aim and overall skill with them have greatly improved. Is this true?”

Ellie nods slowly towards the creature across the street, instinctually opening both knives quickly to prove herself.

She remembers getting them a few months back, when she turned fourteen. It had been a long day at her own party, keeping her thoughts to herself and her mouth closed.

She was ready to fall asleep when she had noticed the small box on her desk. It had been wrapped in simple brown paper with a length of twine, creating a small bow. Her first thought was that whoever sent her this was horrible at wrapping gifts. The second thing that crossed her mind is that the box wasn’t labeled.

Against her better judgment, Ellie delicately pulled on the twine, watching it fall before slowly tearing into the paper. Inside was a small black box with a single slip of paper on top. The paper had that thing’s symbol: a circle with an ‘x’ going through it. Setting the slip aside Ellie carefully opened the box, two stainless steel butterfly knives sitting delicately inside.

Letting out a small squeak Ellie finds herself staring up at the night sky, blinking slowly. Collecting herself she stands back up with a groan, feeling some blood trickle down her side.

Solemnly Eleanor looks up at the night sky before taking a deep breath and contuining to run. Maybe if she wasn’t being chased she would have stopped to enjoy the clear night sky. Maybe if she were paying better attention to her surroundings, she would have know she was being herded deeper into the woods and away from both hope and civilization.

She knew she shouldn’t have followed that strange man into the forest. Who in their right mind would follow a masked man carrying a bloody pipe willingly? Eleanor doesn’t know what compelled her to follow this man. Maybe it was that strange symbol playing beek-a-boo under the collar of his shirt. Or maybe it was the hope some of her questions would finally be answered. Or perhaps it was because she didn’t have a reason to keep on living in a world that thought she belonged in a nut-house.

No matter the reason, Eleanor followed the stranger to a clearing deep in the woods, watching nervously as said man slightly lifted his mask, lighting a cigarette.

“Don’t talk, just listen.” the man said, relaxing his stance but keeping his guard raised.

“My master says you are to start your training early. Myself and another associate will be training you. Why you’re being trained isn’t for us to tell you. That creature you’ve been seeing your life is the one who wants you. He is very much real, and is very dangerous to those who oppose him.

Either him, myself, or my partner are always watching you. You can’t escape us. We are under strict orders not to harm you outside of training. Training will take place after school on Fridays. Every other weekend you will join us for a more intense, specialized training.”

Glancing at the strange man, Ellie shakes her head slowly, unwilling to agree to the man’s orders.

Looking around quickly, Eleanor freezes in her place, looking at the clearing she was bordering. This wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She should have been out of the forest by now, not deeper.

Glaring at her surroundings she slowly walks into the center of the clearing, an odd feeling washing over her. She knew this place somehow, memories of the area just out of her reach.

‘How does this keep happening?’ Eleanor things to herself, scrubbing her skin down roughly. At least twice a month for the past half a year there were blanks. Long periods of time just... gone. As if the time didn’t exist. The time always stoped on Fridays after the end of day bell, and didn’t return until the Monday morning alarm meant to wake her.

When she did finally wake up on Mondays, it was with the sick, sticky feeling of being covered in old dried blood. Where the blood came from, she never knew. She had to assume at least some of the blood was her own though, she always found new cuts and bruises covering her body while she showered.

Glancing around the clearing, Eleanor sees two men slowly make their way into the open space in front of her.

‘Masky and Hoodie’ her brain offers her, although where she got those names she can’t recall.

Masky seemed the most familiar, that yellow jacket flashing through her mind. From glances across the street to seeing him sitting on her desk watching her fail to sleep, that mask was one that would haunt her nightmares forever.

Hoodie on the other hand, was a mystery. She remembers seeing that stitched mask before, although she doesn’t remember when or how. All she knows is that her brain is telling her to be extremely careful.

Looking around the room, Eleanor flinches as all of the students sitting around her all turn around to stare at her, some of their heads turning at unnatural angles. Glancing at them, she jumps out of her seat quickly. Everyone had blood pouring out of their eyes and mouth. Blinking, she looks around the room slowly observing all the normal, human faces of her fellow classmates.

“Eleanor, is there something you wish to share with the class?” her history teacher, Mr. Jackson asked condensendingly.

Shaking her head, Eleanor sat back down quickly, choosing to watch the world pass by outside. It was very common for her to hallucinate, but it was also rare they were that horrifying; not to mention while she was at school.

Staring out the window she looked around for one of the things that were always watching her. 

‘Today seems as if it is going to be a rough day.’ she sighs, noticing three beings instead of the usual one watching her from the tree line.

Looking away from the window Eleanor tries her best to focus on her classes, somehow only inturrupting two other classes during the rest of the day despite the horrid visions she sees throughout the day.

Covering her ears reflexively, Eleanor doesn’t need to turn around to know that the creature, ‘Slenderman’ her mind once again offers, is standing behind her.

“Eleanor Turner,” she hears from in front of her, the voice deeper than that of the average humans.

“Today is the day you decide your fate. You may either join us and work for our Master, obeying his every word and order to the best of your ability, or we will kill you where you stand.”

“Come here, child.” that staticy voice says quietly, whispering in the deep crevices of her mind.

Blinking groggily, Eleanor walks quietly to her back door, sneaking out to greet the creature hidden in the shadows of her yard. Eleanor learned fairly quickly to listen to the strange being when he spoke to her. The last time she hadn’t, she wound up waking up in the intensive care unit with a full recollection of what that creature had done to her; not like anybody would have beleived her if she had claimed recollection of the accident.

“Good job child, you are learning quickly.” The creature purrs, patting the top of her head like you would to a pet or well behaved toddler.

“This Friday, you will not go to your classes. One of my proxies will be collecting you in the morning. You will follow their orders as if they were my own; because the are my own. Do you understand, child?”

Eleanor nods slowly, keeping her eyes cast down unwilling to meet his gaze.

“Good. I trust you will not disappoint. You know what will happen if you don’t.”

Breathing deeply Eleanor flicks her wrists letting her two knives flip open, effortlessly avoiding the blades as they were revealed; unwilling to go down without a fight.

“Do you beleve you can beat us?” Hoodie laughs, looking over at Masky.

“If you can beat him, you will join us. Or, you will die. Does that sound fair?” he asked, looking at the creature behind her. 

He must have agreed, if the hop in the masked man’s step as he twirled the metal pipe in his hand was any indication.

“I didn’t think you would be here, let alone waiting.” the masked man chuckles, looking over her form.

Eleanor was dressed in a pair of dark denim jeans with a thin purple t-shirt, pacing around her dorm as she contemplated her life.

“Although you’re probably going to get cold. I’d put something else on.” he says shaking his head.

“It gets rather cold at night.”

Rolling her eyes at the man, Eleanor reached into her closet, wrapping a thick shawl around her shoulders, tossing on a beanie for good measure.

Nodding in approval the masked man makes a motion to have her follow him, walking off the campus heading towards the woods.

“So, you’re going in for an English major, correct? Your records say you’re set to graduate early.”

Nodding Ellie agrees with him, not bothering to wonder how this man, who she learned just the other week is called Masky, knows this information.

“This is going to be your first test. Think of it as... midterms. Our master is excited to have you join our family... although I am curious. Why have you never tried to escape him? To escape us?” he asks slowly, stopping to turn and look at her.

Sighing, Ellie pulls a small notebook and pen out of her pocked just for ocassions like this.

Masky watches her curiously as she starts writing, tearing out the sheet and handing it to him.

“I tried twice. Once I fell off the grid, managed to stay hidden for nearly a month. Other time was a suicide attempt. He saved me, then punished me.” Tim mutters under his breath looking back at Eleanor, sorrow filling his eyes hidden behind his mask.

“You tried to off yourself?”

Nodding, Eleanor stretched her neck, showing him a long, dark scar obviously caused by a blade running across the tender flesh.

“Shit man, I’m sorry. I know what you’re going through, and how horrible his punishments can be.” Tim finds himself saying continuing their trek deeper into the woods, turning down a hidden path.

“You have your first mission this weekend. Unlike with training, which is always erased from your memory, you will remember this mission when you return to college on Monday.”

Jumping back startled, Eleanor barely dodged the swing of Masky’s pipe berfore jumping back, trying to keep her distance.

This wasn’t the time to remember how she got here. She was here to fight for her life.

Widening her stance Eleanor crouched down as Masky rushes her once again, stabbing the outside of his thigh; quickly pulling her knife away unwilling to lose her defences.

Eleanor stops scrubbing her hands, looking at herself in the cracked mirror. After completing her first real mission, Masky and Hoodie had taken her to their current base of operations; a run down cabin not far from the edge of the woods.

She had killed that man. She felt his life leave his body, and she had enjoyed it. Turning quickly, Eleanor released the contents of her stomach into the chipped toilet, coughing roughly. She hated that she enjoyed that almost as much as she hated the thought that she didn’t hesitate to end that poor man’s life.

Wiping off her mouth she silently makes her way down the short hall, stopping at the corner hearing the two men talking.

“I didn’t think she would actually kill him.”

“Me neither. She always holds back during training, I thought the same would happen here.”

“She seemed to enjoy it, but her humanity is in the way. We will have to tell Master she isn’t quite ready.”

“I know.” one of them sighs.

“Hey, do you know why she doesn’t talk? Apparently even Slender has only heard her voice twice.”

“Who cares? She follows orders and has more potential than that kid he returned with the other week. Sucks she isn’t to join us until she’s twenty-one.”

Looking up, Eleanor holds her arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Across the clearing stands Masky, carefully bulling the blade out of his hand; wrapping cloth around the hole.

Not long after another, shorter man wearing orange tinted goggles and some odd mouth cover entered the clearing, standing beside Hoodie.

“-evenly matched.” one of them says looking on as if this were a normal occurance. For them, it probably was.

It was her twentieth birthday. Soon she wouldn’t be here anymore. In only three-hundred sixty-five days she would undergo her final test. If she were going to be completely honest, Eleanor was looking forward to the day. In her short twenty years in human society, all she had experienced was greed and hatred from those around her.

But while she was with the others, Masky and Hoodie, she felt relaxed. Almost enough to talk to them. Those two knew of the evil in the world.

Looking around, Eleanor looks down at the boxes in front of her. She knows the three boxes are from the others, her mother never bothering to remember her birthday. Even when she did, Eleanor was lucky to get a text.

Opening the smaller of the boxes first, Eleanor pulls out a pair of glasses with pink tinted circular lenses. The next box was very straight forward, a simple knife sharpener sitting inside its confines.

The last box was bigger than the others. Opening the box slowly, Eleanor lifts the mask out of the packaging. The mask was similar to Masky’s in which the eyes were wide and had a material that would hide her real eyes and feelings from others. But that’s where the similarities ended. Instead of the feminine lips, her mask featured a bold ’x’ where her lips would be resting on the other side.

Under the mask sat a small note that she gently picked up, reading it slowly.

‘Happy Birthday. One more year and you shall join our family, Hush.’

The letter was signed with the thing’s signature symbol; Masky, Hoodie, and ‘Toby’ signed underneath.

Hush... Eleanor had to chuckle at that. If that was the alias she had been given, someone had an odd sense of humor. Although she did have to agree that ‘Hush’ was a fitting name.

“Enough.” They hear, everyone’s head turning to the tall creature as it appeared in the center of the clearing.

“Eleanor Turner. You have proved yourself. No human has ever lasted as long as you have against my proxy. Are you going to join me, or die where you stand?” he asked, giving her a final ultimatum.

‘Join you. I’ve seen evil in this world, and you are not it.’ Eleanor signs after putting her remaining knife away, looking up at him.

The creature seems to be pleased with her answer, the static inside her head quieting significantly.

“You will forget everything from your past. You will only remember your first name, date of birth, and agreeing to my conditions. Now child, will you join me, following any and all orders to the best of your ability until the day you die or are no longer of use for me?”

Reaching up Eleanor takes his hand, shaking it.

“I would enjoy nothing more than to purge the world under your name, sir.” she speaks, sealing her fate with a grin.