Not A Coincidence

I learned something interesting today, I learned who was being hunted in my class.  Sadly it was not the teacher, it might of been amusing to watch his lectures and examples slowly become filled with ramblings and operator symbols.  Instead it was someone else, someone I knew of all things.  Her name is Elizabeth, and we've been friends for a while now, she is, in fact, the only person in that class that I actually know.  Naturally I refuse to accept this as a coincidence, I believe in luck, but it's looking more and more like He's trying to force my hand.

Now the curious are probably wondering how exactly I know this, and the epically observant might even notice that I discovered this on a Friday when the class we shared was on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Elizabeth didn't come to class this past week, evidently she was recovering from a mild cold.  This morning she texted me, asking if I wouldn't mind coming over to her apartment to share notes from our mutual class, I of course accepted.  When I went over there I didn't notice anything at first, and when I did it was so subtle that I couldn't even identify it right away.

Perhaps I should explain here.  I'm sure that by now most of you know what Mr. Talls presence feels like, there's the paranoia and fear, yes, but there's more to it than that.  It feels like he's physically projecting something.  I believe he is, I'm not sure what, but what ever it is leaves something behind, it's like this smell that just lingers long after the product is gone.  It's like radiation that never goes away, a sensation that something is wrong, and if you know what it feels like, you can figure out when someone has been hunted by him.  That feeling was there, with Elizabeth, and it was so faint I almost missed it.  I'd be surprised if she had even seen Him yet.

After I realized what was going on I realized what was going on: He wants me to choose.  The Slender Man is tired of having this little neutral person off in his own corner making a ruckus, and he's devised a lovely little situation designed to either bring out the worst in me, or the best.  He knows that this is something I can't ignore, I know the victim, and that means I have to get involved, one way or another.

Like I said, I can't just ignore this, it will be literally impossible to ignore this because Beth and I are close (as much as that can mean for me).  When things start getting worse she will most likely come to me, and I will either have to help her or sabotage her, the line between those options is so narrow even I can't maneuver it safely.  If it comes down to it I'm not sure I would be able to sacrifice Elizabeth for my own safety.  On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll ever be willing to surrender what I know, knowing full well it would mean a quick death for the both of us.  For that matter, I'm sure any kind helpful behavior would be bad for both of us.  So, this time at least, I took a different route: I introduced her to Marble Hornets.

I know that what I did didn't really buy me much time, if anything, things will escalate more quickly now that she knows what she's dealing with.  But now she knows what she's dealing with, she'll have some idea of what's going on and what she needs to do.  I still earn points because this does drag her in deeper, it does make her an easier target, and it does make her more paranoid.  But in the end, she won't be flailing when He starts showing himself, and she'll know where to look to find more information.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull something off like this every time things start to escalate, but right now I don't know what I'm going to do, so I need to find a way to put off this confrontation for as long as I can.

EDIT: You know, looking back on this a few days later I realize that this was written up pretty poorly.  I suppose it's good it's an account and explanation of what I know, rather than a piece of fiction brought before an audience of talented writers for the sake of entertainment.  That would be rather embarrassing.  Still, I'll try to make future updates more acceptable, I do try to hold myself to a certain standard of writing, even if it is a personal story.

See you around

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