Proxy (part 1 of book 2)

Adaline threw the notebook at Zack, who ducked behind a couple of boxes full of rubber band bracelets, “YOU LEFT THE PORTAL IN A CLASSROOM THAT ANYONE COULD GET TRAPPED IN?!!” Damian sat looking from Krystal to Katrienna, “So, I jumped in a portal and landed in a world created by Adaline when she was a kid?” Krystal nodded while Adaline dug through a box of old toys. Zack peeked out from behind the cabin’s kitchen counter, “Addie? Can’t we talk about this like adults?” As he said that, Adaline turned around holding a NERF gun, “There is no talking over this. What if someone closed the book, huh? What were you going to do then? This is why I wrote a guide book, but does anyone read it? No!” Zack ducked down as a round of foam bullets flew by his head, “If you wrote the book, then why was chapter 22 completely blank, uh?” Adaline’s light brown eyes narrowed, “What do you mean?” Zack stood up from his hiding spot and pulled out the little brown leather notebook from the portal, “ZACK! PUT THAT BA-” Before Adaline could stop him the portal closed up with her right hand in it, “Ahh- uh!” Zack dropped the book onto the floor. Krystal and Damian moved to Adaline’s side while Katrienna went to go find a first aid kit. Zack’s eyes widened- Adaline’s arm had burns from her hand all the way to her elbow. Damian looked from Adaline to Zack, “You burned Addie’s writing hand.”... 

Ethan sat on his bed staring up at the ceiling then back to the closet where the photos of Adaline and the rest of the writing club were hanging up. Ethan sat up and sighed as he reached over to his nightstand to grab a cold case. When he read the files inside, his green eyes glowed in the dark bedroom. He looked over to his phone to the time; 10:00 p.m. An evil grin grew on his face as he made his way down the hall. Ethan left the file open on his bed... 

Adaline’s arm, now wrapped up in a rainbow loom cast made of rubber bands, was a light rose pink in color and hung by her side. Zack kept his head down while the girls helped Addie find some weapons. Zack kept replaying the last 15 minutes in his head: Adaline pulled her arm to her chest. “Addie!” Katrienna moved Adaline to the dinner table to get a good look at the burn. “That didn’t hurt us when we got here, so why did it hurt you?” Krystal looked from the book on the floor to Adaline. “When you move the book the portal closes and reopens in another world. Anything in the path of the portal’s way of closing gets its butt kicked by a not-so-friendly force.” Adaline then moved her arm in an odd manner, “Don’t worry Zack, it’s just a flesh wound. And I have done worse, one time I got hit by part of the falling debris from one of the Twin Towers. Boy, did that hurt in the morning.” Damian an eyebrow, “You wrote about the Twin Towers?” Adaline shook her head and pulled out a hand full of rubber bands, “No. I have read books on a lot of things; serial killers, the Nazi invasion, events in history such as the Twin Towers, the discovery of America, and other stuff that happened. I go to other worlds to escape real-life problems and write about the past for school reports. I have been to most of the life-changing events,” she said as she put a colorful cast on. She turned to face the gang, “I will take those who want to go home to the portal. Those who want to stay and help me stop Ethan can, but I am warning you. Ethan is not the only villain that we will face; there are monsters from the horror movies that me and my brother have watched. They guard a powerful weapon that can bring Ethan to our world if he ever finds out about the book’s portals. That is why I am going to get it, but first, we need weapons. You can make your decisions before we leave.” 

Zack sat in silence while Adaline walked back into the dining room, “Zack,” Adaline’s eyes met his as she continued, “It was an accident. It is your first time making a mistake in another world. I have made a ton of them and I assure you that the others will make some.” Zack thought about what she was saying, “You’re right. Thanks, Addie, and sorry for your arm.” Adaline scoffed, “It will heal in the next hour or so- the time is weird here.” 

“Hey, Addie?” Adaline turned around to face him, “I think we could get help from another world.” Zack had a wild look in his eyes... 

Dan Tyler and Maddison Marsh were vast fans of creepypasta; that should mean that they shouldn’t have to be constantly looking over their shoulders, in paranoia. But that’s not what happened... lately they have been feeling like something was following them, stalking even, when they walked past the woods by Dan’s house, on the way to their high school... 

Today, Maddie (Maddison) seemed a little withdrawn at lunchtime; she barely ate her vegan burger (She hated meat). Dan looked from her plate to Maddie’s baby blue eyes, “What’s wrong with you? You’re looking kinda pale.” Maddie exchanged a quick glance with Dan, “I think I saw Slenderman outside my bedroom window last night... He was just standing there, watching me.” Dan rolled his brown eyes and scoffed, “Yeah, right.” Dan thought Maddie was messing with him because she was the only person that knew he believed in creepypastas. Maddie just sat there, staring. “Wait, you’re kidding, right?” He said as he took things more seriously. Maddie shook her head, “I’m scared, Dan. I googled stories about Slenderman and the results I found aren’t in my favor,” she said as she pulled out a folded piece of paper from her jean pocket. Dan read it quickly; Stories of the Slender Man commonly feature him stalking, abducting, or traumatizing people, particularly children. Beginning in 2014, a moral panic occurred over the Slender Man after readers of his fiction were connected to several violent acts, particularly a near-fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old girl in Waukesha, Wisconsin. There are only two reasons why the slender man stalks people: To kill them or make them his proxies...

And that’s what scared Dan the most, because if Slenderman was stalking Maddie- which might not be the case- he would lose his best friend no matter the reason. The odds weren’t in his favor, that’s for sure... 

After the final bell rang, Dan went up to meet Maddie at her locker, “Hey, are you okay?” Maddie jumped at the sound of his voice. She was looking very pale and was pulling her sleeve over her wrist. Dan got a quick glance at the strange symbol on her arm just before she covered it. “I am doing a little bit better,” she said as she pulled out her notebook. Dan noticed that blood was trickling out Maddie's nose, A sign of Slender Sickness!, he thought as Maddie started to bend over and started to vomit blood. A few students saw and totally freaked, “GET HELP,” one of the girls shouted as another passed out. In the chaos, Dan took off running. 

When Dan got home, his dad was yelling at his mom about nothing, but Dan didn’t have time to deal with anything but Maddie. Slenderman got Maddie! What now?! He thought as he started to feel dizzy. He’s here, Dan moved his bed over and pulled out one of my grandfather’s swords from his hiding place. Then all of a sudden slender man was in front of him; Slender man had Maddie in one of his tentacles. That made Dan mad, he charged at Slender man. A staticky voice whispered into his ear, “Become my proxy... or die.” That made Dan stop in his tracks. Dan weighed the odds: on one hand, he loved creepypasta and now he had the chance to become one, on the other hand, he would give up on becoming a master bladesmith like his grandfather. But if he said no he died. So Dan said yes. Slenderman picked him up and he felt like a dull razor blade was cutting into his skin. Then, Dan’s world went dark... 

When Dan woke up, the stars were out. He looked down at his arm to find the same symbol that Maddie had, The Operator Symbol. Dan grabbed his backpack, a pair of clothes, his cowboy hat, and his sword, then stepped downstairs. He heard his mom crying in the bathroom, so he peeked through the keyhole. His mom had a black eye, and Dan knew how she had gotten it. Dan stood over his drunk passed out dad, holding his sword tightly in his hand. With one swift movement, Dan had decapitated him...

Maddie was eating something when he got to the opening in the woods. When she turned around to face him, Dan’s mouth dropped open; Maddie was eating her mom’s left arm! Slenderman stood in front of them, and beside him were two figures shrouded in darkness. They were too hard to make out, then was ‘till one stepped into the light. It was a girl with a pixie-like haircut holding a little brown leather book with a badly burnt hand wrapped up in a DIY cast made from rubber bands. The other was a boy that could pass as her brother. The girl smiled, “How would you like to work for me?” …