The Fifty State Nightmare

12

"Y/N! Wake up! Wake up!" Sally cheers, jumping on your bed.

"It's too early," You groan, pulling your blanket over your head.

"But you promised to take me killing!" She whines, settling herself on your stomach. "Pretty please?"

"Five more minutes?" You whine, peaking out from under your blanket.

"No! We gotta go before it gets too late. Plus we never got to get icecream!" She insists. "Come ooooon!"

You sigh and push your blankets off if you with a groan. Sally smiles and crawls off of your stomach, jumping down from your bed and running from your room. You smile and ease your door closed before getting changed, grabbing your mask and slipping it on. It had been a few days and Slender told you to get used to wearing your mask so you had it on you in case of emergencies. You weren't sure what kind of emergency the mansion would have, but if Slender was concerned then you were going to listen. You head downstairs where everyone is finishing up breakfast, Sally giving you a cinnamon roll as she excitedly stands by your side.

"Can we get more than midnight?" You ask Slender as you eat your breakfast.

"Five. Should give you time to go get the promised ice cream," Slender tells you. "Contact me should you need anything."

"Come on!" Sally insists, tugging on your arm once you finish your breakfast. "I'm gonna show you my old house! Someone new moved in so gotta scare them good!"

"I thought we were killing?" You ask her in surprise.

"We are but gotta do that first," She tells you.

"Alright. You're the boss," You tell her with a laugh.

"You two be careful," Slender tells you.

"We will!" Sally cheers, grabbing your hand and dragging you out of the mansion.

The two of you head through the trees as the stars and moon illuminate your path, Sally bringing you to a two story house nestled in a quiet neighborhood. She makes her way into the backyard and through the back door, insisting you come inside and watch her at work. You hide in the shadows as she runs up and down the hallway with giggles, a young woman coming out of the master bedroom.

"Mommy? Will you play with me?" Sally calls, standing in the middle of the hallway as blood drips down her face.

The woman's eyes widen with horror as Sally steps closer to her, spinning around and running back to her bedroom. The cabinet in the hallway lifts up before slamming into the door and splintering, Sally giggling manically as she walks through the splintered wood.

"Come and play with me!" She calls, knocking on the door.

"G-Go away! We don't want you here!" You two hear the woman scream.

Sally knocks again before coming back to you and taking your hand. You two are quiet as you leave the house, leaving you to wonder if the woman would stay in the house or leave. You and Sally enter the woods again and you take the lead. The moon rises in the sky as midnight descends upon the forest, making your way to a different border. You two scout out a few houses and find a quiet townhouse to enter inside. Your knife is at the ready as you let Sally do her thing, an older gentleman coming out when he's disturbed. He's a religious hack who falls at Sally's knees, causing the little girl to grimace in displeasure. She looks back to you and you make yourself present, stabbing your knife through the man's neck.

"Want to find someone else?" You ask her, wiping the blade of your knife.

"I hate people like that. Even I know we're not doing good things," Sally complains, kicking the man's dead body.

"You do get the crazies," You tell her. "I've had a couple myself. Even still, I take satisfaction in ending their lives."

"Really?" She asks you curiously.

"Mhmm. Even if they do worship the ground you walk on you're still ending their lives. Watching the life fade from their eyes is still just as satisfying," You tell her as the two of you exit the house. "Let's go find someone else."

"Okay!" She smiles, the two of you entering the forest again.

The two of you find a teenager home alone and Sally easily ends their life. Afterwards you two walk for a few miles, hiding your mask and knife in the trees before Sally shifts into her human form and the two of you exit the woods. Bright sunlight streams through the trees as you step across the border, heading to an ice cream shop a couple blocks away. You get your favorite flavor and Sally goes with chocolate, the two of you relaxing at the outdoor tables as you enjoy your cold treat. Sally smiles in delight as she eats her ice cream, her eyes following a few families that go in and out of the shop.

"You miss it?" You ask her gently.

"Sometimes. I can't help but be jealous. Everyone else I knew got to grow up and be something. I became something, but I didn't wanna do it as an eight year old forever," She tells you with a sigh.

"Any sign that you might grow?" You ask her gently.

"Daddy says I've shot up a foot in the past few years. I don't really know though. He could be trying to make me feel better," She mumbles.

"Why don't we start a height chart? That way you can start tracing it? Even if it's like an inch per year that's better than nothing right?" You ask her.

"I don't think he'd agree to that," Sally says with a shake of her head.

"We don't have to tell him," You say, her eyes widening in surprise. "We can do it on my wall, I don't mind leaving one white for it."

"I don't want to lie to him. Maybe we can just measure me once a year? Keep it written in a book? If it's only once a year it'll give us time to see if I grow," She tells you.

"Sure. We can go buy a journal after this. Maybe we can start documenting your days? I keep one on my computer," You tell her. "Even if you're not growing you're still maturing. No matter how great life is it's still possible for you to develop mental health struggles."

"Do you have any?" She asks you curiously.

"I have bipolar depression. I can go through a period of time where everything is great and I'm as happy as I've ever been, then I'll go through a period where it feels like my world is ending. I don't really remember what it's like to feel 'normal' anymore I guess," You explain.

"How do you feel now?" She asks you.

"Like nothing in the world could go wrong," You tell her.

"But what if-?" She starts.

"I'll have an answer for it. Trust me," You tell her with a laugh. "Even if it's impossible I'll find a way to 'answer' it."

"Does anything scare you?" She asks, catching you by surprise.

Did anything scare you? You didn't have an honest answer for it. Sure, there were lots of things that scared you but there were also lots of things that didn't scare you. Your life was a risk everyday and you made it riskier being a serial killer.