What else went down

Another reason why I haven't been posting for six days is because I've been pretty busy.

In short, I was tracking down Rise.

It wasn't as hard as you'd think.  The thing about a stalker is that they'll always show up if you give them the chance.  A couple trips into Boston did the trick.  I caught sight of someone following me in a less crowded area.  Yeah, I know it was a bit dumb to isolate myself like that, but trust me, I'm prepared now.

She didn't duck around the corner quite fast enough.  I was on her trail, and I found her hideout.  We had a bit of a struggle- she didn't really want to talk.  But eventually I sat her down and we talked.

Recap: We had talked online before.  She told me, that for whatever reason, I have the power to "hide", to temporarily mask myself from Slenderman's sight.  She has no idea why.  Now, with our next meeting, I slowly explained to her that if she touched Fiona again, I was going to kill her.  She was silent for a moment, then gave us this charming little statement:

"Pointless.  She's already His.  Leave her and save yourself.  You could escape, you know.  If you found out why your Hide triggers, you would be able to live your life free of Him.  Forget the weapon.  She's as good as dead."

I very calmly (seriously, my voice was very level) replied: "Go fuck yourself, Rise.  I didn't survive this long to ditch everyone else who was in my boat.  And if you talk about my friend like she's an object again, I'll feed you your mask."

She tore the mask in question off and glared at me.  Her eyes were...yellow.  Golden.  Almost animal like.  Did exposure to him cause that?

"You're an idiot!  You'll face death for a PAWN.  I thought you were supposed to be clever!  You're just another fool who thinks he's a hero!"

This was the first time she really showed emotion in her voice.  Something about what I said really pissed her off.  There was an awkward silence, and before I could speak up again, there was a small rustling outside.  We looked at each other, she put a finger to her lips and walked to the door of the abandoned basement we were in.  To my surprise, the door burst open and Ray, of all people, came in, with a knife.  He pushed Rise aside and came at me, cutting my arm.

I was in a bit of a dilemma.  I couldn't push him back, my left arm hurt way too much to move.  I couldn't fistfight him either, especially since he had that knife.  I decided to try something stupid.  It might just work, I reasoned.  And I did.

I headbutted him.  God it hurt.  But I guess my head was tougher, since he fell down, stunned.  I couldn't blame him, I was pretty stunned too.  I staggered back against the wall, but it was alright, he wasn't moving.  Rise leaned down and relieved him of his knife, which was good.  Then she did something that was bad.

She slit his throat.  He died almost instantly.

I rushed at her, hitting her square in the face, and I yelled something along the lines of "How was he different than us!?  How are any of them different from us?  It's HIS fault!  You're just as bad as HE is!" I had her by the throat at this point.  She had an odd look in her eye.  I think she thought I was going to kill her.  She seemed...almost serene.  Accepting.

I dropped her and left.  I couldn't look at her.  I couldn't look at him.

Ray, I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry.  I don't care what you did, you had a right to live, just like the rest of us.  I'm sorry I let you die.

One way or another, I hope you find peace.