One Killing Maze

Chapter 2

"Where are you headed?" Her mother asked, spotting the backpack on Y/n's shoulders as she headed down the stairs and into the living room. The h/c-haired girl smiled.

"Just a small hike...more like a nature walk, actually," she responded, her heart twisting at the lie she was so easily telling her mother, "I won't be long." Y/n's mother narrowed her eyes worriedly, her arms crossed over her chest, sighing in the end as she turned back to the kitchen where she had been washing dishes.

After opening the door and stepping outside, the refreshing smell of damp grass and earth filled Y/n's senses. She shut the door carefully before scurrying down to the lake's edge. Narrowing her e/c eyes, Y/n scanned the area where she saw the entity move about before (or what she believed to be the same); the small cliff that overlooked the lake. From where she was, Y/n couldn't exactly see anything notable besides the same pine and oak trees that lined the whole forest, but maybe if she was up there herself she would find something.

That encouraged the girl's journey, so she quickened her pace towards the vast forest that surrounded the lake. She decided to enter the forest where the door of the loge faced as the lake wasn't as rounded on that side; it would take her longer to climb the slope to where she was headed if she chose the opposite area. Speaking of which, the area she was heading to she and Jerry hadn't explored yet so this was going to be a new experience.

So far, the scenery hadn't exactly changed. Y/n used the more open areas in the forest to travel, but stuck close to the bank of the lake so she could determine how close and how far she was to her destination; at least, she kept it in view. Then came a point in her trip where the shrubbery and earth had created a slight incline. There was a large, fallen pine tree in the center of where she needed to climb.

Y/n stretched, then lifted herself on the fallen trunk of the tree. Dead pine needles littered the dirt floor; this tree must've fallen a long time ago and hadn't been cleaned up. Finding the top of the dirt incline, the female gathered as much strength as she could in her arms and attempted to pull herself up. She could feel the cold dirt press against the front of her shirt, but her backpack weighed her body backward, creating even more of a struggle. In one fluid motion, Y/n pulled off her backpack and swung it upwards, onto the dirt area she would pull herself onto moments later.

Didn't think I would exert myself this much, Y/n thought, dusting her dirtied shirt off after making it up. She grabbed her backpack and kept on making her way through the forest, and finally, to the overlook of the lake. Y/n noticed the bank of the lake had disappeared even before climbing upwards; the land didn't even look like it had a tilt to it, but here she was.

Breaking through the line of the forest, Y/n noticed how dangerous this situation looked. A small cliff that shadowed the murky lake, that being said, nobody knew that she was there. This position also felt slightly familiar. Y/n breathed a sigh of short-lived relief while she was up here; the view was pretty nice if you liked looking at trees for miles on end.

"Y/n!" A chipper shout pierced Y/n's mind as a cold presence appeared suddenly behind her. The human girl jumped from her spot, startled, but she wasn't in any danger to be pushed off on purpose or on accident Y/n whipped around, her e/c eyes wide as she first stared forward, then up upon realizing it was the same entity from earlier.

Smiling sheepishly, Y/n stepped back after making sure she wasn't close to the edge, "uh, hey," she still didn't know this guy's name, but she could only make an educated guess that he was related to Slenderman in some way because of the tallness and the...almost face-less part of him.

"So, did you want to show me something or...?" She trailed off, the polka-dot-clad entity not really reacting in any way to Y/n's venture up here. He was seemingly scanning over her figure for some reason and stepped back after assessing her. Said being nodded cheerfully, clapping its snow-white hands together happily.