And What Happened After

If you're reading this, it means I'm still out looking for Slice and haven't returned yet, or I may never. I don't know anymore.

As you know, I've been looking for him nonstop of over these last few days. Well, this is what happened on the 27th, I began my search at the last known location of him at the grove of trees. Only the joke was on me, I couldn't see it anymore. Mean it was a machination of It to lure us in. After I couldn't find him anywhere I searched some of the Slice's target proxy-buildings for clues. Nothing. That is, nothing, until I was allowed, or invited.

The happenings all started when I explored one last abandoned building and came up empty again. I stepped out the entrance I came in and expected to come out alley I was previous in, instead:

I stepped out of a daylight lit abandoned building and into a dark ruined street. I wasn't feeling sick or cold, so I knew Slender Man couldn't be around, but His influence was obvious. Written on the wall across from me read: "Come out and play. If you do not come to The Hunt, The Hunt will come to you."

Then I heard it, the chanting. The same chant that sent me through time and space that day which was when I technically first met Slice. I could already feel the metaphysical needles boring into my mind, trying to take me over. I didn't know what to do, so in desparation, I grabbed Drew's knife and stuck myself in my hand. Oh God, the pain.... The pain jolted me out of whatever slender-trance I was entering. I bandaged my hand up and followed the chanting to it's source. I knew not if I would retain control, but at least now I had a means of fending it off, however self-mutilating.

I couldn't make the chanting. I looked around at my surroundings. Two words immediately come to mind in describing it: Silent Hill. I was inside some kind of abandoned city, and a black sky was overhead.

My shoe bumped something on the ground. Dolls. Dolls of all kinds, each with a little Masky mask on their face. Just like back in the tunnel. They were about a dozen of them scattered around, along with the occasional tiny shoe or a Navy blue jacket that looked like it would fit a second grader. Creaks, groans, and falling bits of plaster came from all sides as I cautiously inched my way through the burg.
I'm not going to lie, I was scared as hell. I wandered the streets slowly, ever looking over my shoulder for any kind of attacker. I came across a church where the chanting seemed to be coming from. As quietly as I could I entered through a side door. The floorboards inside creaked and groaned under my feet and I followed the chanting not knowing what else to do. Now this...place, it was something. Something different. It looked and abandoned and the floor were covered with something black that cunched. Ash, maybe?

As I waltzed the maze-like halls I finally came upon a light source immenating from a clacked door about ten feet in front of me. The chanting seemed to be coming from the other side as well. When I finally reached the door, I was a bundle of nerves as I peered through the open crack. Maskies, Tragedies, and Comedies wearing black robes filled a sanctuary filling the front half of the pews in the sanctuary. Four figures sat in the back wearing regular clothes, just watching. They weren't wearing masks.
The ones at the front stood with their hands raised in the air as they chanted their hymn (the chanting which previously took control of me). At the front of the sanctum was an alter with a child tied to it. Bl was stood behind the alter, orchestrating the chant.

Remember in Dreams of Darkness when Damien watched that old video tape and the ogy-fest started as stick did God knows what to the poor child? Yeah, that. I also found out why Black Leaf himself wasn't waiting for me outside anywhere outside. He was behind the alter, bowing low on hand and knees, stating in perfect English that he hopes the 'master' likes the favor he collected. Then the star of this show made its appearance. While the masked persons began their festivites in repulsive fashion, He walked up to the alter. Then I blacked out. When I came to, I had stumbled into the room and had the eyes of all on me.The black king stared intently at me from His spot at the alter. The child was gone. In unison, the horde was upon me I could react and dragged me over to the men who had been sitting in the back.

I was forcefully sat down in a chair folding chair facing them. Slender Man standing behind them. Three were men. All three of them were clean-shaven and bald like Slender, who took up position standing right behind the middle of the three. The man in the middle for one reason wore a white suit while the guys on his right and left wore suits exactly like His. The woman sat the farther in the row of pews. She was wearing what looked like everyday clothes which hadn't been changed in a week. She looked scared and her eyes darted in all direction.

The following is a transcript of our conservation:

Me: "What.... What do you want?"
BL: (walking up behind me and punching me in the side of my face.) "Little Prey speaks when spoken to."
Man in White Suit: "Good evening, Ronald. I hope you enjoyed the invite. I just had to bring you over here, as I don't think we've ever had the pleasure of meeting face to face. Online, you know me as Alone, spelled with the Master's sign, of course."
(At this, I paled. I was face to face with an agent that commanded even other agents. As if being the presence of both Slender Man, BL, and a chapel full of post-coitis proxies wasn't disturbing enough.)
Al(x)ne: "Now I believe your question is "What do we want with you." Oh, that's very simple. We want you to call off these extracuricular activities. Like trying to find your friend, or how to remove the Mark, or fire-bombing my property. The fact, is young man, you're just supposed to run while we hunt."
Me: "Forget it."
(Al(x)ne then smiled.)
Al(x)ne: "Do you know who I am, young man?"
(I shook my head. He looked faintly familiar, but then again, both and his other suits were copying Slender's look, so who can tell?)
(With that, Al(x)ne handed me a business card. Hoo boy, for some reason I can't type out the whole name on the card, but his real name is Allen. He's also a wealthy business man and land owner of most of the non-historical properties in Charleston and has property in numerous other places all across Massachutes, which has been shown to, as a whole, to be a State with a lot of slender-activity happening all across it. Well, this explains it. Slender Man enlisted a rich guy to buy property in which to build strongholds over all the damn State. So....Conaghan, jr. then?)
BL: (putting a hand on my shoulder, as he had not moved from his position standing over me) "Understand yet? Our Master has enlisted people with influence from all over the nation. Allen (detacted) being just one of them."
Me: (my eyes glanced to the woman.)
Al(x)ne: (smirking) "Oh, her? Meet Clarice, Ronald.
Al(x)ne: (still grinning, pulled out a pocket watch, and looked at the time. He glanced back at Slender Man who made a few feint gestures with His head.) "I understand, Master." (He looked at me, now full on smiling.) "Fifteen minutes."
(BL and the proxies unhand me.)
Al(x)ne: "Get running."

I obeyed, not knowing what elese I could and run. As I fled, I didn't know what to do. I thought I was going to die. I really did, as I tore through the rooms and halls of the abandoned complex streets of this dark town not knowing how much more time I had before their pursuit began.
Eventually, I could hear the sounds of a search behind me.

I bolted with renewed vigor. I could hear them getting closer, so I knew I needed to find a place to hide. But I didn't know where. Hell, I still don't where I was, but it wasn't Boston.

I finally hid in the back of what looked like some old furniture store. I managed to avoid being found for a few good hours in there.
In fact, I was only happened upon when I decided to try to escape back to Boston when I stepped out of the building. A couple of proxies called out they saw me and I was being chased again. This time with a huge crowd upon my heels. They were catching up, and eventually caught me. They pushed me around in the circle they formed for while before they just let a few fists fly. One caught me in the gut and I collapsed, the wind knocked out of me. Curled up on the ground in pain, and fully expecting to be stomped and trampled, but that didn't happen. I looked up while struggling for a breath and saw that they had backed off. Al(x)e, BL, and the other two suited men stayed up so that they were over me.

Al(x)ne stooped down to close to me and said this: "This is just a taste of what will happen if you go against our Master again. The Hunt will resume on the streets of Boston for now, but next time, there will be no escape from here?"
I finally got a breath and asked: "Where IS here?"
Al(x)ne: (grinning the shit-eating grin again) "The ruins."
Me: "The...ruins?"
(He nodded.)

Then everything went black. I woke up in my hotel room. I know it wasn't a hallucination because I was still (and still am) sore from being roughed up by the proxies.

It's 7:00 AM on my watch as I schedule this. If I don't find some answers while I'm gone, you guys will keep me posted, right? Know what, just expect all these to be on a schedule. Nothing I post ever going out in the real time, anymore.