Chapter 7

I awoke with a dull ache in the side of my head. I also felt extremely sick in the stomach and disorientated. What the Hell happened? I sat up and looked around and immediately regretted that decision as a wave of pain, dizziness and nausea washed over me. I laid back down and kept my eyes closed till it went away. I remember... Rin and I were headed up to Ian's apartment. Ian was there, but he was like, crazy. He grabbed me, hit me with something and now I'm here. But how did he get here if the place was surrounded? Oh my gosh! Did someone get hurt or killed?! I was suddenly filled with panic. My stomach twisted and hurt even more than I thought was possible and I curled up into a ball on my side to help make it stop. Eventually, I couldn't take it, I scrambled over to the far corner and vomited, now I hate vomiting so this was like near torture, but I felt a lot better afterwards though. I crawled back near the middle and looked around again, being able to see a little more clearly now. The room was a dark gray, vines and moss and possibly mold growing on the walls, which were concrete as well as the floor so it was very cool to the touch. My guess was I was in a basement. I very slowly stood up, careful to get dizzy and walked over to the door which was the only thing made of wood. Only problem was there was no door handle, at least not on this side. Opening it was not going to be happening. I slowly walked around feeling the walls for possibly a button or anything that could open the door. No luck. After about searching for the second time, I walked past the door and I felt buzzing in my pocket. No way, I had service down here. I guess it was worth a look though.

I remained by the door and pulled out my phone which was blown up with notifications. Most were protests from the guys and gals about me going it, which I now realize I should've listened, but in a way I don't regret it. I'd rather myself be here than Rin. Also, having my phone gives them a chance to contact me and find me. If I don't get of here myself somehow, but that doesn't seem likely right now. I swiped to unlock my phone, quickly putting in my password and putting the brightness down all the way. My battery was still pretty high, but who knows how long an iPhone4s will last. I also turned off vibrate so it made less noise in case anything not friendly heard it. I went to my messages and made a large group chat with everyone. Me: Guys, I'm okay, just stuck. Don't text back cause I don't want my battery to die in case something really bad happens. Just know I'm okay and be careful if you see Ian. He isn't himself.

I hit send. Hopefully they listen to my request and don't text back. Not having a phone could cause problem if I or Ian were to get hurt. Or worse... I shuddered at the thought. Slender is notorious for eating human souls in the games, I really hope he hasn't done that to Ian... No Mia, you gotta stop thinking like that. Ian is still there, he was crying and he said sorry just before he lost control. There's still a chance to save him. We just had to figure out how.

I walked around the small room a bit, shaking the pins and needles sensation out of my legs. After a little while, I heard the squeaking of the door opening. I froze in place and watched as it slowly opened revealing an equally dark and black hallway. I held my breath, honestly waiting for something to lash out at me but nothing did. After a minute of nothing I hesitantly took a step towards the door and looked around. The hall was empty, except for a piece of paper lying at the entrance. I picked it up, it was the same kind of paper used in Slender's notes. On it was a bunch of those creepy pine tree/pinecone looking things people draw/scratch out in the game after being in contact with Slender. I gulped and turned it around, it was hastily written, but I was able to make out the words; Run, I can't hold him off forever. Be safe. Ian. My heart leapt, I knew it! He was still in there and he was battling Slender. Now I had a choice to make, I could run and get the others and come back or I could try to bring Ian back by myself. This might be the hardest decision I've made since choosing where to eat for lunch. I remained still and quiet for a good few minutes before making my decision. Ian. Maybe, just maybe I can help pull him out of whatever he's going through. Not even sure which way he was, I went left. Jogging quietly along the concrete, this place was surprisingly large.

Soon I came to a large room, still very dark but there was one light bulb hanging from the ceiling. On the far side of the room was another door, but there was no staircase in sight, so either I'd gone the right way to find Ian or I was horribly lost. Probably the second option. I quietly snuck over to the other door and pressed my ear against it, I didn't hear anything at first but when I went to open the door, it bust open knocking me flat on my back, knocking all the air from my lungs. I gasped, desperate to catch a good enough breath that I could run away from whatever the shadow was. But as it came into the light, I realized it was actually Ian! He looked down at me and his eyes widened slightly, both of which were back to their beautiful, bright blue. "M-Mia?" He said, he was all out of breath. I nodded quickly, pushing myself up and hugging him. "I-I told you to run!"

"I did, but you didn't say which way." I replied, I wasn't lying, his note didn't say which way to go.

"Oh. R-right," He said quickly, but hugging back.

I looked back up at him, gently moving his hair so I could see his eyes clearly. I was right, they both were blue. He'd somehow broken free from Slender, but he still seemed anxious. "Ian, What's wrong?"

"We need to run. I know where the exit is come on," He broke free from the hug and grabbed my wrist, pulling me back the way I came. As we ran, I wondered how Ian had broken free, did he manage to lock Slender away in the back of his head? Did he just boot Slender out? If that were the case why was he so desperate to get away. Both his eyes were back to normal so I'm doubtful it was the first option. I needed to know.

"I-Ian... Did you get rid of Slender?" I asked quietly.

"Err, I guess you could say that..." He replied, biting his lip.

"S-so, he's gone?"

"No... He made himself a body."

My blood ran cold and my limbs threatened to cramp and give out. "He..." If it wasn't for Ian pulling my arm, I might've stopped running entirely.

Soon, we reached another room, a staircase across from the doorway we came out of. Ian pulled me over to the staircase, but I got dizzy again, my stomach twisted and I felt like I was gonna throw up, I pulled away from Ian and put my hands on knees, heaving. Ian stopped and ran over to me. He gently placed his hand on my right shoulder blade and rubbed circles. "Breathe... Breathe... We gotta keep going."

I took deep breaths and soon the dizziness subsided. I stood up straight and headed toward the stairs, Ian following quickly after me. We tiptoed up the stairs, but when we reached the door, it flung open knocking me back right into Ian, we fell back downstairs landing hard on our backs. I landed on Ian's chest and every bit of oxygen was knocked out of his chest. He wheezed and coughed as I rolled off him and helped him sit up. I looked up at the doorway to see why it had burst open so suddenly, maybe it was the guys. But as I looked up, it wasn't the familiar, friendly faces of our friends, but the pale blank face of Slender. My heart thudded in my chest and I scrambled to my feet, standing in front of Ian, I wasn't going to lose him again. Slender seemed to glide down a few steps, keeping his face directly on us. Naughty naughty, you weren't trying to run away were you?

Beads of sweat formed along my hairline, goosebumps crept up my arms and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. With Slender in our path, escaping was going to be a whole new challenge. I blinked and Slender had vanished, my stomach twisting into knots that he might appear behind me, I considered hightailing and leaving, but stopped myself. I bent down by Ian, scooping him up so he could lean on my shoulder and we began making our way back up the stairs, when we were both suddenly lifted off of the ground. I shrieked and flailed my legs, hoping I could kick him or something. All that happened was more of his creepy tentacles wrapped around me, keeping me still. He turned us both around so we were forced to face him. This was it, he was going to eat our souls and go and kill the others. I grit my teeth. Ian who was held up a few feet away was trying to squirm his much thinner form out of Slender's gasp, only to no avail as Slender squeezed the tentacles around him so tight I thought he might snap like a twig. Ian let out a scream and I prayed nothing internally would break. After a minute of Ian screaming, Slender smacked his head against the wall knocking him out cold. I let out a mix between a gasp and a squeak of a sound. Slender wrapped a tentacle around my mouth, keeping me silent. This is what happens to those who meddle with me... I could eat both of your souls, but why do that? A few extra proxy's could come in handy. His voice spoke directly in my head, similar to nails on a chalk board. I let out a very slight whimper, I didn't want to be a Proxy, luckily since I didn't worship Slender, he would need a crap ton of power to do it to us both on his own.

Slender teleported, keeping his grip on us strong, back to the cells, and I suddenly understood while I had felt so nauseated when I first woke up. People weren't meant to teleport. Slender opened the door to my cell from earlier and he threw us both inside. I landed on my stomach, which fortunately didn't have my phone in those pockets, I had put it in my back pocket. I let out a small wheeze, pushing myself up as the door was slammed shut behind me. I crawled over to Ian, gently feeling around his head and his ribs. My mom was a physical therapist so she taught me a few things to check if anything was horribly wrong on a person. His head near his temple was bruising badly, and would give him a black eye, but nothing was wrong with the skull itself. Next, I checked his ribs, gently lifting his shirt so I could see better, even though in this lighting, nothing I really did would help. I let out a gasp, Ian was so skinny his ribs were very clearly visible. He had bad bruising around the middle and lower ribs, so I felt around those, nothing seemed broken but it is without a doubt that there were a few that had possible bruising.

There wasn't anything I could do for him right now. I'd have to wait for him to wake up on his own. I sat by him, and remembered I was wearing a hoodie. I took it off and balled it up, gently lifting his head I set it under his head and gently lowered his head back down. Goosebumps crawled up my arm at the new chill feeling I felt without the warmth of my hoodie, it's okay it won't be for too long. I gently ran my hand through Ian's hair, it was greasy and he was in desperate need of a shower, but he'll be okay for now. I sat back against the wall and continued rubbing his head. There wasn't much else we could do right now but wait, for only two options. Either our friends are going to find us, or Slender is going to get to us first. I really hoped it would be the first option but only time will tell.

~~~

Ren and I led all the others back up to Ian's apartment, after parking the cars and stuff. Everyone sat on chairs, the couch, loveseat or stood around in a circle in the living room. At first I was scared that Mia's friends and the guys would be mad at me, but they told me many times over that they weren't, which made me feel a little better. At first, we discussed places we thought Slender might be hiding, sadly we came up with lots of possibilities and the issue is we couldn't check because incase they were the right one, just rushing in wouldn't be the best of ideas. After a while and not being able to come up with anymore ideas, we sat in silence for a few minutes, till somebody's phone went off. It was Adam's. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out clicking the little round button at the center. His eyes widened when it lit up.

"I got a text from her! She made a big group chat!" He cried out of nowhere, making Ty nearly jump out of his skin.

"What she say?" Grey asked, all of her friends stood up quickly.

"Um it says. Guys, I'm okay, just stuck. Don't text back cause I don't want my battery to die in case something really bad happens. Just know I'm okay and be careful if you see Ian. He isn't himself... What does that mean?"

"Well for one it means she's okay." Zoe said.

"We should also listen to her not text back request," Jason added. "If her phone dies then she can't keep in contact with us. Also, this could be the way to find her-"

Jason was cut off by Adam's phone dinging again. Adam looked at his phone again and checks his messages. "She texted again: Hey guys, I have good news and bad news. Good news is Ian is back to normal. Bad news is... Slender made himself a body, and he's stronger. He's got Ian and I trapped in a basement I think. Remember, no texting back please."

I saw Ren tense up in his seat, Slender is a lot more dangerous now that he has his own body. He can teleport, he's got those creepy tentacles and a bunch of other stuff... Also having Ian and Mia in a basement, that put them in more danger. They were in a vulnerable spot at Slender's fingertips. Does he have fingers? I don't know.

"Jason you were talking before you got cut off." I pointed out, wanting Jason to continue.

"Oh, right. As I was saying I could probably use one of our phones and Ian's computer to pinpoint their location, then we can prepare and go get them." Jason finished.

"Really! You can do that?!" Sam cried, clearly amazed.

Jason nodded. "The problem is if she's in a basement the service might not be that good. So she'll have to be in the right spot for me to track her phone. So," and with that, Jason took Adam's phone and headed to the hall.

"Hey! Use your own phone!" Adam cried after him.

"My phone's dead."

"You punk!"

Jason let out a laugh and disappeared into Ian's computer room. Adam sat back down on the couch and pouted about having his phone taken. Catt burst out laughing at Adam's pouty face which only seemed to make Adam smile.

Awhile later, Jason came back with Adam's phone in hand. "Any luck?" Adam asked, taking back his phone.

Jason smiled. "Yep! Her phone is in an abandoned building not to far away."

"Well let's go!" Zoe cried leaping out of her seat, rushing to the door.

"Wait!" Ren shouted, standing up making everyone go quiet. "Yes, we know where they are, but she also warned us that Slender has made himself a body. Which means a couple things: One, he's a lot stronger now, being able to regain his power enough to make a body he his a lot stronger than if he were using Ian as a vessel. Two..." He paused as though debating how to say it. "There's a chance when we get there... Someone may not be alive, or may not be the same..." He said quietly.

I frowned, I knew he was thinking about Rose and Mom. The guilt for him was unbearable, I was surprised he was doing so well. But, I was also proud of him; he was just a kid when he let Slender out it wasn't his fault. Even though we're twins I've always looked up to Ren. He was the one who basically raised me after dad disappeared. He's strong and able to hide his fears, even though he can be a little salty and not the best at expressing things, I know deep down he cares about everyone here.

"So you're saying we need a plan of action before we do this?" Quentin asked curiously.

"Yeah, and I think I have a the perfect idea." 

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A/N: Heyyo! I made a long chapter for you! 3,000+ words! I am having so much fun writing this story! It's just like writing the first one back in 8th grade only with more characters. ... Damn, I'm old. XD

Anyway, I hope you guys are still enjoying this lil book series and if you are show it a lil love, give it a vote or a comment, or both. I love chatting in the comments with my readers, I also like reading your guys' predictions because sometimes a comment can change what I do next :3 

Also! How do y'all like the cover? It's not the best I know, this is what is supposed to look like: In case you don't know who is who. Ren (Top left) Mia (Top right) Ian (Bottom Left) and adorable lil Rin (Bottom Right)

The stupid cover thing wouldn't let me put in the people :( so it's just Slendy, if you can somehow make it fit and tell me how, I will love you forever and ever. But yeah, oh and I made the avatars on a website called rinmaru. I love that site so much. Go play on it, it's got a bunch of different dress ups, avatar creators and other stuff!

Anyway, that's all I have for now, please leave a prediction or any kind of comment below please and I will check it out as soon as I can.

Love you all my children!

Momma Mo