“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about it yet, Kassie, I—”
Kassie raised her palm, cutting me off. "Hold up. We've been a little preoccupied," she said, her eyes darting briefly to me. "But I need details. Are you saying this fox shifter—who happens to be Titan—has been living right under our noses?" Her finger jabbed downward for emphasis. She cocked her head at the mayor, one eyebrow arched. "And somehow he slipped past your radar all this time?"
He scoffed in annoyance.
The mayor's jaw tightened. "Indeed. Fox shifters compensate for their physical limitations through divine gifts of deception. This one has been cloaking himself from detection, while simultaneously exploiting his appearance to swindle unsuspecting victims through digital platforms."
Kassie curled her lip in disgust. “How gross. I hope Harlow didn’t take it too hard. She liked looking at his bod, on no-shirt night, when he played games.”
The mayor snarled and reached out to grab Kassie. I moved in front of her, taking the brunt of the hit.
Kassie fell backward and gasped. “What the fuck?!”
The mayor's features twisted into something inhuman as his teeth stretched into needle-like points. His normally cloudy complexion rippled with quicksilver currents, a living mirror trying to reflect my deepest fears back at me, threatening to pull me into its depths.
His fingers encircled my throat, yanking me forward until our faces were inches apart. "Do you see?" he hissed, his voice a cold whisper against my skin. "Do you see? Look at me!"
The Slenderman wanted me to look into his face—to see myself reflected in the nightmare. When Slendermen have you, it feels so real that you become part of it, believing the nightmare itself is reality. When you finally wake from the dream, you still think it’s true, trapped in a world that doesn’t exist, until you eventually die from madness.
I gripped his wrists and strained against his hold. The mayor might be one of Arcana Falls' most formidable magical beings, but I wasn't defenseless… not by a long shot.
“Cover your ears, Kassie!”
I caught a flash of movement from the corner of my eye. Kassie, wielding an iron skillet like a weapon, ready to crack it against the Slenderman's skull. My heart squeezed at the sight of my match ready to defend me, but I knew better. The pan would slice through his incorporeal form as if striking fog, leaving him untouched and her vulnerable.
“Look at me!” the mayor snarled.
That was when I unleashed my high-pitched scream; a sound like metal tearing against metal, vibrating at a frequency that made the air itself seem to ripple around us. The windows shuddered in their frames, hairline fractures spiderwebbing across the glass. My throat burned as if I'd swallowed molten steel, but I couldn't stop. I feared for my match's ears—imagined her delicate eardrums rupturing from the sonic assault—but if I didn't break free from the Slenderman's vice-like grip, Kassie's fate would mirror my own: trapped in an endless nightmare until madness claimed us both.
The Slenderman released his grip with a violent jerk, clawing at his own ears as if trying to tear them from his head. His mouth rippled and sealed itself shut like a wound healing inreverse, leaving only smooth, featureless skin where it had been. He crashed to his knees, his elongated limbs folding at unnatural angles beneath him. The currents beneath his skin slowed to a sluggish crawl, but I didn't trust this apparent retreat of his monstrous nature. I poured every ounce of my strength into my scream, feeling it tear through my throat.
I lunged toward Kassie, bracing myself for gore—ruptured eardrums, crimson trails down her neck. Instead, she stood unaffected, head tilted slightly as she prodded at one ear with her fingertip, her expression more curious than pained.
“You sound like a squeak,” she said over my scream.
Windows shattered inward, spraying glass across the room as cabinet doors banged open and mason jars detonated into glittering shards.
“You should stop,” Kassie said in a normal voice. “I think it’s over…”
My scream died in my throat as Kassie's words registered. I kept one arm extended across her body, shielding her from the crumpled form on our floor. The mayor remained motionless, but rage bubbled up inside me like magma. The sanctity of our home… violated, the safety of my match… threatened.
By our own leader, no less.
Homes of the monsters who lived here were sacred. It was our peace, our solace, our safe place.
It didn’t make sense that he would; the most level-headed male of the entire town.
Kassie clung to my arm, her body pressed against me in a way that made it hard to focus. Even in this dire moment, I couldn't help but react to her closeness, my breath catching despite the danger surrounding us.
“Didn’t you say that he has to drink that water every day? Has he drunk from it yet?”
My antennae quivered, sampling the air for traces of the sweet water. I detected a faint residue on his clothing—he must have had his daily dose not long ago.
The Slenderman groaned, and I backed Kassie away, for both of our sakes.
“I-I did drink.” He rolled into the fetal position.
My stomach twisted at the sight of our dignified mayor reduced to a crumpled heap on our floor. This was the monster who stood between us and chaos, who maintained order when others would surrender to their base instincts—felled by my scream alone. The power vibrating in my throat was both blessing and curse; I hated using it, but for Kassie, I wouldn't hesitate to unleash it again.
