The Slender Man, ch 5

Chapter Five.

The Tree


I was absent of mind. I don't know why I travelled so far into the woods, it was unlike me, but I felt such a strong desire to be somehow close to Anne.
What I found was something I will never forget.
It was February 6th, 1988. Ten months after Anne's disappearance.
The weather was bitterly cold.
Most of the trees were frosted, and dark with shadow, yet it was little after midday. The sun was masked behind thick clouds, and what light remained was drowned in the overhanging branches. Most were half dead, like skeletal arms within the trees.
After a long while, I found myself within a small, dark clearing. The branches in the outer trees twisted and gnarled together, tangling themselves. There was a lifeless, empty tree in the middle of the clearing. The grass around the tree grew prickly and colourless. It was grey, blackened in places, and severely rotten. As I approached, a deathly smell hit me. There were deep scratches upon the tree, scars left from no one knows how long ago.
The dark smudged stains on the surface troubled me. I am certain it was blood.

My fingers were shaking terribly. The same carving appeared repeatedly on the tree. It was a circle with a large X running through it. I had no idea what it meant, but it scared me. My breath came short, and I became suddenly aware of the cold and the dark. I glanced around, frightened. I almost felt as though something were there, watching me.
I wanted to call out, to ask who's there, but my voice was missing. I was too suddenly too petrified to make a sound, to move. For what felt like an eternity, I stood frozen to the damp floor, staring into one particular spot in the shadows, behind the knotted branches, feeling as if there was something hidden there in the darkness, watching me back. The silence was unbearable. I half expected someone to jump out, or to hear the laughter.
The silence remained strong.

Suddenly, the noises of the woods seemed to return. Birds chirped in the distance. The wind faintly blew. I managed to take a shaky step backwards, still staring at that one spot in terror, though I no longer felt I was being watched. Whatever was there had gone. Without looking back at that awful tree, I ran back in the direction I came, and did not slow until my lungs and muscles were burning with protest. I wanted to be as far away from that wretched place as possible. Through my fear, my confusion and my exhaustion, I had one burning curiosity. I wondered if Anne had ever discovered that dreadful place. She often ventured into the woods, though I warned her not to go far. She had a great sense of direction and never got lost. I told myself that Anne was not stupid enough to venture that far into the woods, and that she would have told me if she'd seen such a nightmarish sight, but I was still not comforted.

When I arrived back at the house, it was starting to rain. Richard was home, by the fireplace. I glanced at the empty space at the wall.
"Rosy, what's the matter? Where have you been?" Richard said, panicked by my frightened and downtrodden appearance. I told Richard all about the tree, and the unexpected terror that overwhelmed me, and he seemed very concerned. It was hard to tell whether he was concerned for my safety or for my state of mind. From an outsider's perspective, it all sounded unreal. I don't doubt that Richard thought I had a mental breakdown.

I would have believed so too, if it wasn't for what happened later that very night.