Chapter 1: The Invitation

It was a hot summer evening when the first message arrived. Lily had been sitting on her bed, scrolling through social media when the notification pinged on her phone.

“I have something to show you.”

The message was from her best friend, Emma. They’d been close for years, and Lily trusted Emma completely. They had spent countless nights telling ghost stories, challenging each other to stay up late and watch horror films, laughing at things they shouldn’t. But this message—this cryptic message—sent an unexpected chill down her spine.

Lily quickly typed a response.

“What’s up?”

Emma didn’t reply immediately. It wasn’t like her to be so mysterious. Lily put her phone down, distracted by the thought of their summer vacation plans. But just as she stood up to get a snack, her phone buzzed again.

“You have to see it for yourself. I found a game… a real game. And it’s about Slenderman.”

Lily froze. The mention of Slenderman sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered the stories they had read online about the faceless, tall creature that stalked children, haunting them in the woods, preying on their fear. The idea of a real game about it made her nervous, but she also felt an odd pull. She knew Emma well enough to understand that once she got an idea in her head, she’d chase it until the end.

“Okay, send it to me,” Lily typed, her curiosity growing.

A few minutes later, Emma sent her a link. Lily hesitated but clicked on it. Her phone screen turned dark for a moment before a strange, eerie music began to play. An old-fashioned symbol appeared on the screen, followed by an image of a forest shrouded in mist. The words beneath it read: “The Slender Game: Dare to Play.”

Lily’s heart skipped. She wasn’t sure if it was her fear or her curiosity that was taking over, but something told her not to play it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lily typed back.

Emma’s reply came swiftly, almost too quickly: “Trust me, it’s safe. It’s just a game, nothing more.”

Reluctantly, Lily tapped the screen, starting the game. A cold feeling of dread settled over her as the screen flickered before showing a forest at night. The game instructed her to “move forward,” and the player character—just a blurry silhouette of a person—began to walk.

Lily’s phone buzzed once again.

“You’ve started it, haven’t you?” Emma’s message read. “Good. Remember, never look back.”

Lily felt a cold knot in her stomach.

Chapter 1: The Invitation
It was a hot summer evening when the first message arrived. Lily had been sitting on her bed, scrolling through social media when the notification pinged on her phone.

“I have something to show you.”

The message was from her best friend, Emma. They’d been close for years, and Lily trusted Emma completely. They had spent countless nights telling ghost stories, challenging each other to stay up late and watch horror films, laughing at things they shouldn’t. But this message—this cryptic message—sent an unexpected chill down her spine.

Lily quickly typed a response.

“What’s up?”

Emma didn’t reply immediately. It wasn’t like her to be so mysterious. Lily put her phone down, distracted by the thought of their summer vacation plans. But just as she stood up to get a snack, her phone buzzed again.

“You have to see it for yourself. I found a game… a real game. And it’s about Slenderman.”

Lily froze. The mention of Slenderman sent a shiver down her spine. She remembered the stories they had read online about the faceless, tall creature that stalked children, haunting them in the woods, preying on their fear. The idea of a real game about it made her nervous, but she also felt an odd pull. She knew Emma well enough to understand that once she got an idea in her head, she’d chase it until the end.

“Okay, send it to me,” Lily typed back, her curiosity growing.

A few minutes later, Emma sent her a link. Lily hesitated but clicked on it. Her phone screen turned dark for a moment before a strange, eerie music began to play. An old-fashioned symbol appeared on the screen, followed by an image of a forest shrouded in mist. The words beneath it read: “The Slender Game: Dare to Play.”

Lily’s heart skipped. She wasn’t sure if it was her fear or her curiosity that was taking over, but something told her not to play it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lily typed back.

Emma’s reply came swiftly, almost too quickly: “Trust me, it’s safe. It’s just a game, nothing more.”

Reluctantly, Lily tapped the screen, starting the game. A cold feeling of dread settled over her as the screen flickered before showing a forest at night. The game instructed her to “move forward,” and the player character—just a blurry silhouette of a person—began to walk.

Lily’s phone buzzed once again.

“You’ve started it, haven’t you?” Emma’s message read. “Good. Remember, never look back.”

Lily felt a cold knot in her stomach.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Lily typed back.

Emma’s reply came quickly: “Trust me, it’s just a game. You’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, Lily tapped the screen, and the character moved deeper into the forest. As the character approached, the mist grew thicker, and the trees seemed taller, darker. Then, the character stopped. On the screen appeared a figure, standing at the far end of the path. A tall, slender figure with no face.

Lily’s heart pounded.

This is just a game. It’s just a game, she repeated to herself, trying to calm her racing thoughts.

But the figure didn’t move.

Lily tapped the screen, making the character walk toward the figure. As the character drew closer, the figure turned slowly, its featureless face hidden by shadows. Lily’s hand shook as she tried to move the character forward, but the screen froze. Then, the figure lurched forward, and the screen went black.

Lily gasped, dropping her phone onto her bed.

Her phone buzzed again.

“You saw him, didn’t you?” Emma’s message appeared.

Lily stared at it, wide-eyed. She picked up the phone to respond, but she couldn’t move her fingers. She felt a chill creep over her skin.

“What just happened?” she typed back, her voice trembling.

There was no reply from Emma, just a long silence. And then… nothing.

Lily shuddered. She tried turning the game off, but the app wouldn’t close. She unplugged her phone and threw it across the room, but the game still glowed on the screen. She could hear the eerie music, the low hum of the forest surrounding her, even though the phone was off.

Suddenly, a new message appeared:

“You can’t run, Lily. I’ll find you.”

Lily froze.

 

Chapter 2: The First Night

The night after Lily first played the Slender Game, she couldn’t shake the fear that had wrapped itself tightly around her heart. Her phone still lay on her desk, screen dark and silent, but every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the figure. The tall, faceless creature standing in the distance. It didn’t move, didn’t make a sound, just stared at her from the shadows.

She kept telling herself it was just a game. It was all fiction. Nothing to be afraid of.

But deep down, she knew something had shifted. Something had crossed into her world. The more she thought about it, the more she felt a suffocating weight on her chest. She tried to dismiss the feelings as paranoia—after all, it was just a video game, right? Just like the ones they used to play growing up. But this was different. This wasn’t a game about candy or racing cars. This was about something that shouldn’t exist.

After tossing and turning in bed for what felt like hours, Lily grabbed her phone again. The screen flickered to life as she unlocked it, and the game immediately opened up—like it was waiting for her.

She froze.

The forest on the screen looked darker than before, more suffocating. The trees appeared to stretch up to an endless sky, and the fog that had been so light in the beginning now filled the screen, thick and menacing. The eerie background music—just a low, rhythmic hum—echoed through the silence of her room, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

Lily’s fingers hovered over the screen, but she couldn’t bring herself to tap it. The figure was still there, standing motionless, but it felt different. This wasn’t just a game anymore. The forest felt too real, the presence of the figure looming so much larger.

She thought back to the message Emma had sent her earlier:

“You can’t run, Lily. He’s not just in the game anymore. He’s real.”

Lily’s mind reeled, the words echoing in her head. Could it be true? Was it really possible for the Slender Man to escape from a screen and enter the real world? She had laughed it off at first, chalking it up to Emma’s overactive imagination, but now, with the screen before her and the eerie silence of her bedroom, she wasn’t so sure anymore.

Her finger moved instinctively, and the character she was controlling started to walk deeper into the forest. The familiar sense of dread tightened its grip around her chest. With every step, the mist grew thicker. Her breath came quicker, and she found herself clutching the phone a little too tightly.

Suddenly, a pop-up message appeared on the screen:

“You have to face him.”

Lily swallowed hard. She felt a knot twist in her stomach. She didn’t want to face it. She didn’t want to get closer. But the game wasn’t giving her a choice.

Reluctantly, she guided the character forward. The tall, faceless figure didn’t move, didn’t blink, but as the character came closer, the atmosphere seemed to grow heavier, the trees bending toward the screen as though they were closing in. The figure shifted slightly, and Lily’s breath hitched. She couldn’t make herself stop, not now.

The screen flickered.

And then, without warning, the figure lunged forward.

Lily’s heart skipped a beat. The phone screen went black.

What happened? she thought, her hands trembling. She picked the phone up again, her stomach churning. The game was completely gone. No matter what she did, the app wouldn’t open. Panic started to set in, a cold sweat forming on her forehead.

“Is it over?” Lily whispered to herself, but there was no answer.

Just when she was about to put the phone down, she felt it vibrate in her hand. The familiar tone of a new message. She looked at the screen, her breath catching in her throat.

“He’s still watching you.”

It was from Emma. The message sent a chill through Lily’s body. How did Emma know? Her mind raced. This isn’t a game. This is real.

She sent Emma a quick reply. “What’s happening?”

But the reply never came. Instead, Lily’s phone screen flickered again, the forest reappearing, this time with the Slender Man standing right in front of her character.

“I see you,” the message on the screen read.

Lily froze.

This wasn’t a game anymore.

Chapter 3: The Follow

Lily spent the day in a state of unease, feeling as if she were in a nightmare she couldn’t escape. She had to convince herself that it was just a game. It had to be. But the more she tried to brush it off, the more it consumed her thoughts. The game, the Slender Man—it all felt too real.

She couldn’t focus on anything. Schoolwork, texting her friends, even eating—it all seemed trivial, distant. All she could think about was the game. About what she had seen. And what she knew was still watching her. It was real.

She sat at her desk that afternoon, staring blankly at her phone. She hadn’t told anyone about the game. She knew her friends would just laugh at her, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to explain how truly terrified she was. That, and Emma—her best friend—hadn’t responded to her messages all day. That was unusual.

Lily’s fingers hovered over her phone. She felt a sense of dread every time she unlocked it, wondering if the game would be waiting for her, ready to continue the nightmare she had started the night before. She tapped the screen with hesitant fingers, reopening the app.

The familiar eerie music immediately began to play—the low hum, the quiet rustling of trees—and there it was again: the misty forest, the dark silhouette of the faceless figure standing tall in the distance. Lily’s heart skipped a beat.

She wanted to close the app, to delete it from her phone and pretend it never existed. But she couldn’t bring herself to. The game had its grip on her now, and no matter how hard she tried, she felt compelled to see it through.

Lily’s phone buzzed.

It wasn’t a notification from the game.

It was a text message.

Emma: “Lily, I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have shown you the game. It’s not just a game. He’s not just in the game anymore.”

Lily’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at the message, blinking. She couldn’t focus. Her heart pounded in her chest, and for a moment, the world around her felt distant. What did Emma mean by that? She’d already played the game. She’d seen the figure. But what did Emma mean when she said it wasn’t just a game anymore?

Lily quickly typed back.

Lily: “What do you mean? What happened? Are you okay?”

But her message went unanswered. A minute passed. Then five. Then ten.

Lily felt a rising panic in her chest. She stared at the screen, feeling that all-too-familiar dread creeping in. Was it a coincidence? Was Emma messing with her? Or was something wrong? She couldn’t stop the nervous, fearful thoughts swirling in her mind.

Just as she was about to put her phone down and walk away, a new message arrived, this time from an unknown number. Her hands shook as she tapped it open.

“You can’t escape him.”

Lily dropped her phone on the desk, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot. It was happening again.

The figure. The game. It was all happening again. She had thought it was just a story, a game to pass the time. But now, it was clear. It wasn’t just a game. It was real.

Her thoughts raced. She tried to rationalize it, telling herself that this could be a prank, or some weird coincidence. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was real. The mist from the game, the eerie sound that seemed to follow her around—it wasn’t just in the game anymore. It was in her world.

The phone buzzed again, this time with a message from Emma.

Emma: “I shouldn’t have let you play. It’s too late. It is already watching you. Don’t look back.”

Lily’s heart pounded in her chest. The words burned into her mind. “Don’t look back.” What did that mean? Was it a warning? Was it already there? Lily’s fingers trembled as she typed out a response.

Lily: “Emma, where are you? What’s going on?”

Her phone vibrated in her hands. But this time, it wasn’t a text from Emma.

It was a notification from the game.

“You can’t run. It’s already too late.”

The words flashed across her screen. Lily felt a chill run down her spine as she stared at the phone, her hands shaking. The music from the game began to play in the background again, the eerie hum, the rustling of trees, as the screen began to show a new image. The forest. But this time, there was something different.

A shape moved through the mist. Slowly, steadily, it approached. Lily’s heart thudded painfully in her chest as she watched it, unable to look away. The figure was still there, its long, inhuman limbs stretching toward the screen. But now it was closer—so close she could almost feel the cold air it exhaled.

It was coming.

Lily froze, the panic now suffocating her. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Her fingers were frozen on the phone, as though something was keeping her from turning it off. She had to run. She had to get out of there, but her body wouldn’t move. Every instinct told her to run, but her body felt paralyzed, as though the game had taken hold of her.

The phone buzzed again.

Emma: “Lily, listen to me. You have to stop. It’s already inside your head. The game isn’t a game. It knows where you are. Please. It knows you.”

Lily tried to respond, but her fingers were too stiff. The words on the screen blurred, and before she could do anything, a figure appeared in the corner of her screen—It. The Slender Man. He was no longer confined to the game. He was in her world now, stepping closer with every heartbeat.

Her breath came in shallow, quick bursts, her heart pounding in her chest. It was standing just outside her window, its long, bony fingers curling against the glass. The figure raised its arm, as if to reach for her.

Lily jumped back, knocking over her chair as she scrambled to her feet. She looked around her room, desperate to find an escape, but there was no way out. Her room was too small. The walls felt like they were closing in. The Slender Man was here.

The phone screen flickered one last time.

“You can’t run forever.”

Lily backed into the corner of her room, her breath quick and shallow, as she desperately tried to convince herself that it was just her imagination, that none of this was real. But the mist outside her window—the tapping on the glass—felt too real.

And then, with a slow, deliberate motion, It raised its hand to the window. A deep, unsettling silence filled the room as Lily felt the unmistakable presence of the Slender Man. It was time.

Chapter 4: The Follow

Lily didn’t sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes, the image of the Slender Man loomed behind her eyelids. The phone had buzzed with another message from Emma. “Lily, don’t ignore this. It’s real. He’s real.” The chilling words echoed in her mind. It wasn’t just the game anymore. It never had been. The Slender Man had crossed over, and now he was watching her.

When morning came, Lily went through the motions, trying to act normal. She made breakfast, brushed her teeth, but she felt the weight of every step. Every glance she made felt like the walls were closing in on her. It wasn’t a game. It was here.

At school, Lily couldn’t focus. Her thoughts kept racing back to the game, to the figure that haunted her mind. The other students seemed to notice her distant behavior, but no one said anything.

Then, her phone buzzed again.

“Lily, please stop. He’s closer than you think.”

It was from Emma. Lily’s fingers hovered over the phone, uncertainty flooding her. She hadn’t heard from Emma all day, and now this.

“Where are you? What’s happening?” Lily typed quickly.

There was no reply. Instead, the game opened on its own. The screen flickered to life, showing the same misty forest, the same towering trees, the same chilling atmosphere. The figure—the Slender Man—was there, staring out from the shadows.

Lily’s breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t just her imagination anymore. It was in her world. The whispers, the ominous warnings, the chill that followed her wherever she went—it was all part of this thing. It wasn’t a character in a game. It was real.

Suddenly, another message appeared on the screen:

“You cannot run. You cannot hide.”

Panic surged through Lily. She slammed the phone down on her desk, her hands trembling. The room felt colder, the air heavier, like something was closing in on her.

Then, the doorbell rang.

Lily’s heart leapt into her throat. She rushed to the door, hoping it was just a neighbor, or anyone to break the suffocating tension. She peeked through the peephole, and there stood Emma, her face pale and drawn. Lily opened the door quickly.

“Emma, what’s going on?!” Lily almost shouted.

Emma looked around nervously, her voice low. “It’s following me, too. It’s been watching me. I thought I could escape it, but it’s not just in the game, Lily. It’s real, and it’s coming for us.”

Lily’s blood ran cold. She stepped back, allowing Emma inside. The two of them stood in the hallway, the weight of what was happening finally crashing down on them both.

Lily wanted to ask more questions, to find some explanation, but the sound of a knock at the window stopped her. She looked toward it, her heart racing. The Slender Man’s shape was there, visible in the window—its tall, thin form looming just outside.

Emma screamed. “It’s here. It knows we’re together!”

The figure didn’t move. It just stood there. Watching. Waiting.

Lily didn’t think. She grabbed Emma’s hand and pulled her toward the back door, praying it would be their escape. But as she reached for the handle, the door wouldn’t open. It was locked.

She turned toward Emma, panic flooding her chest. “We have to get out of here!”

Emma, eyes wide with terror, fumbled with the lock, but the sound of footsteps outside grew louder. The pressure of the moment was suffocating.

Suddenly, Lily’s phone buzzed once more. It was a message from an unknown number.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Lily’s stomach dropped. There was no escape. They were trapped.

As they turned to face the window, the figure was gone. The silence in the room was deafening. Neither of them dared to speak. But as they stood there, frozen, they both knew it wasn’t over. It was coming.

Chapter 5: The Trap Tightens

The room felt suffocating. Lily stood frozen, her heart hammering in her chest, barely able to breathe. The weight of what had just happened pressed down on her like a heavy blanket. She glanced at Emma, whose wide eyes were locked on the window. The figure outside was gone, but that didn’t mean it was over. They both knew that.

“What are we going to do?” Emma whispered, her voice trembling as she sank down onto the couch. Her hands shook as she ran them through her hair, her breaths coming in short, shallow gasps. Lily didn’t have an answer, but she felt a rising panic in her chest. The walls of the room seemed to close in on her. The very air felt thick, oppressive. She couldn’t escape this. They couldn’t escape this.

“It’s not a game anymore, Emma,” Lily finally said, her voice steady but cold. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Emma or herself. “It’s following us. I don’t know how, but it is.”

Emma nodded, a tear escaping from her eye. “I told you not to play it,” she said bitterly, her gaze falling to the floor. “I knew it was real. I knew this would happen. I thought… I thought maybe if we didn’t play, we could be safe.”

Lily shook her head, walking over to the window and pulling the blinds shut. “But we did. And now we’re in this.”

The silence between them grew thick with fear. It wasn’t just the fact that they were both involved with the game now, or that they had both seen the figure. It was that they had no control. They were trapped. The Slender Man was no longer confined to the game. It was here. It was following them. Watching them.

The phone buzzed on the table, breaking the heavy silence. It was a text from an unknown number, and Lily’s stomach twisted in fear as she picked it up.

“You can’t hide. You can’t run. It is watching you. The game has only just begun.”

Lily’s fingers trembled as she set the phone down. Her breath caught in her throat. It was speaking to her again. This wasn’t just a message from the game. This was the Slender Man communicating with her, reaching into her life, into her mind.

Suddenly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The air in the room grew even colder, and the sense of dread doubled. The walls of her apartment seemed to close in tighter with every passing second. She looked at Emma, but Emma wasn’t looking at her anymore. Her eyes were wide, fixed on something in the corner of the room.

“Emma?” Lily asked, her voice quivering with uncertainty.

Emma’s lips trembled as she whispered, “It’s here. It’s right behind you.”

Lily’s heart stopped. She spun around, her eyes darting to the corner, expecting to see the tall, faceless figure looming there. But there was nothing. Just empty space.

“What do you mean it’s here?” Lily asked, her voice a mix of fear and confusion. “It’s not here. There’s nothing there.”

Emma’s voice was small, almost drowned in terror. “It’s everywhere, Lily. It’s in the walls. It’s in the air. I can feel it… watching us.”

Lily’s mind raced. She felt it too—the suffocating presence that seemed to fill the room, the way the shadows seemed deeper, darker than before. The Slender Man wasn’t just in their minds anymore. It had found a way in. It was coming closer, getting stronger.

The phone buzzed again. This time, Lily didn’t hesitate. She picked it up quickly, but her stomach churned as she saw the message.

“You can’t escape. You’re already in my world. And now, I will take you.”

Lily’s blood ran cold. She dropped the phone on the table, her pulse racing as she scanned the room. The atmosphere was suffocating. Her vision blurred, her mind spinning. There was no way out. She had to face it. She had to face the thing that was slowly consuming her.

Suddenly, the lights flickered. The soft hum of the apartment’s electricity buzzed before the room was plunged into darkness.

“Lily!” Emma’s voice screamed from the other side of the room.

Lily fumbled for her phone, but the screen remained black. She could hear Emma moving, her steps hurried and panicked. “Lily, what’s happening? What’s going on?!”

Lily didn’t know how to respond. Her breath was shallow, her pulse pounding in her ears. She looked around, every shadow seeming to move, every sound heightened in the silence.

“Lily, please! It’s not just in the game anymore! It’s here. It’s real.” Emma’s voice was filled with a terror Lily had never heard before.

Lily stood frozen, her heart pounding harder than ever. She could hear footsteps—slow, deliberate steps—approaching her from the hallway. Then, the unmistakable sound of a door creaking open.

Emma’s footsteps stopped, but Lily couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe.

Suddenly, a shape appeared in the doorway.

It wasn’t human.

It wasn’t real.

It was it.

Lily’s mouth went dry as she stared at the Slender Man standing in the doorway, its long limbs towering, its featureless face obscured by shadows. It stood motionless, watching her. Watching them. Its bony, elongated arms stretched out toward her with slow, deliberate precision.

“No…” Lily gasped, stepping back, her body trembling uncontrollably. “No, no, no!”

The figure didn’t move. It didn’t need to. Its presence filled the room, suffocating her, pressing against her chest. Lily wanted to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat. It was too much to bear.

And then, with an eerie, cold whisper, she heard it.

“Come play…”

Chapter 6: The Game Takes Over

Lily’s breath came in short, ragged gasps as she stared at the figure in front of her. Her entire body was frozen, a surge of icy fear flooding her veins. The Slender Man stood motionless, the space around him warped and stretched. The air grew thick with an unnatural chill, as if the very atmosphere was suffocating her.

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe. All she could do was stare at the dark figure standing in the doorway of her living room. It was everything she had read about—the stories, the games, the warnings—but it was real now. The figure, its long limbs, its faceless head, stood in front of her like a nightmare made flesh.

“What do you want?” Lily whispered, her voice barely audible. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her legs felt like lead.

The Slender Man didn’t respond. It never spoke. It didn’t need to. Its presence filled the room, and Lily could feel the suffocating weight of its gaze, even though it had no eyes. There was no face. Just the void.

“You can’t escape, Lily,” the voice echoed in her mind, low and cold. The words were not spoken aloud but were like a thought in her head—a thought she couldn’t erase.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, snapping her out of her trance. She fumbled for it, her fingers clumsy and trembling, and pulled it out.

A text from Emma.

“Lily, please don’t look away. If you do, it will take you. It’s not just a game. It’s real now.”

Lily’s hand shook as she read the message. The words burned into her, feeding her already overwhelming panic. She glanced at the door, then back at the figure. It hadn’t moved. It wasn’t going to move. Not until it was ready.

“Lily.” The voice whispered again, colder now, a chilling whisper that seemed to penetrate her mind. “Come closer.”

Lily’s chest tightened. The door behind her—the exit, the only possible way out—seemed to be miles away. She could run. She could try to make it to the door. But something inside her knew. The moment she took her eyes off it, everything would change.

Her heart hammered in her chest, panic surging in waves. She couldn’t fight it. The fear was consuming her.

“You can’t run. You can’t hide. You will come with me.”

Lily’s knees buckled as the voice filled her mind, crushing her will. The room was spinning. The figure took a slow step forward. One step.

Her hands shook violently as she stood frozen, paralyzed by the fear. She looked at her phone again, hoping for some reassurance, some way to break the connection. But the screen was blank.

Nothing.

It was too late.

With one long, unnatural movement, the Slender Man stepped into the room. Its limbs seemed to stretch and twist as it came closer, each step dragging the silence deeper, heavier.

Lily couldn’t scream. She couldn’t move. She felt like she was suffocating.

“No,” she whispered, her voice barely a breath. But the Slender Man continued its advance, the shadows seeming to move with it, pulling the light from the room, plunging her deeper into darkness.

The door. She had to get to the door.

“Don’t look away, Lily. Don’t ever look away.”

Her eyes widened as she heard Emma’s voice in her mind, a distant echo from earlier. The words from the message repeated in her mind, louder now. Lily’s heart raced. Her mind screamed at her to act, but her body refused. Her legs felt like they were stuck in place, the floor beneath her feet growing colder, more unyielding.

She had to do something.

The figure was inches away now. The tall, lanky figure towered over her, its hand stretching out toward her. The air became frigid. It wasn’t just fear anymore—it was something deeper, something other. It wasn’t human. It wasn’t even close.

“You’re mine now.” The words were not spoken aloud but felt like a pulse inside her mind, twisting her thoughts, making them hers.

Lily closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe. Think, think, think.

There had to be a way out. There had to be something she could do. She thought back to the game, to what Emma had told her. “Don’t look away.”

But what was that supposed to mean? She couldn’t keep her eyes on it forever. Could she?

Lily felt a deep, overwhelming urge to look away, to turn her head, to find the strength to fight, to break free of the paralyzing fear.

But that was it, wasn’t it? The moment she looked away, it would be over.

The figure loomed closer.

Lily felt a deep, searing pain in her chest, like her heart was trying to escape. The cold fingers of the Slender Man were reaching for her, long and bony, stretching impossibly far.

“I will take you, Lily. You will be mine. Forever.”

She shut her eyes tightly, tears slipping down her cheeks. She couldn’t look away. She couldn’t.

The figure reached toward her, and Lily couldn’t move. She couldn’t stop it.

Then, just as it was about to touch her, the door to her apartment slammed open. A loud bang echoed through the room, followed by the sound of footsteps.

“Lily!” Emma’s voice screamed from the doorway. “Lily, look away!”

Lily’s eyes snapped open, and for the first time, she saw the Slender Man’s hand hover just inches from her face. It froze, as if it had been caught off guard.

Her body acted on instinct. She turned and ran, her legs finally responding, and she bolted toward the door, toward the exit.

“Lily!” Emma screamed from the door, her voice distant, urgent. “Get out of here!”

But Lily didn’t stop. She didn’t dare look back as she threw open the door and ran out into the hallway, the sound of her heart thumping loudly in her ears. The Slender Man was still there, but Emma was in the doorway, her presence pulling Lily forward.

Lily didn’t know how far she ran. She didn’t care. All she could hear was her breath and the sound of the Slender Man’s footsteps following her, getting closer. The figure’s presence was like a shadow stretching across her, suffocating her.

“You can’t escape.” The voice echoed in her head.

But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

Lily ran faster, pushing through the pain, through the fear, and into the night.

Chapter 7: The Follow

Lily’s legs burned as she ran down the darkened street, her breath coming in sharp, painful gasps. The night seemed impossibly still, too quiet, and the sounds of her footsteps echoed too loudly in the empty air. But the silence wasn’t comforting. It was suffocating. Her heart hammered in her chest, the rhythm of her pulse matching the pounding of her feet against the pavement. She had to get away. She had to outrun it.

But it—the Slender Man—wasn’t just behind her. It was everywhere. The presence filled the air, like an invisible weight pressing down on her. She could feel it, feel him, even when she didn’t dare look back. Every corner she turned, every street she crossed, it felt as though he was just around it, lurking in the shadows, waiting for her to slip up.

“You can’t escape,” the voice from her phone whispered in her mind. “You can’t hide from me.”

Lily’s hand gripped her phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She didn’t know if the message had come from Emma or if it was it—the Slender Man—speaking to her, but the terror that laced every word felt far too real. She had to keep running. She couldn’t stop. If she stopped, if she let her guard down, she knew it would be over.

“Where are you?” she mumbled to herself, voice cracking with fear.

The darkness around her stretched farther, swallowing her world. It was as though the city was no longer just a place she lived in. It had turned into a trap, a maze from which there was no escape. The streetlights flickered as she passed, their weak glow casting long, strange shadows that seemed to chase her, stretching out like fingers reaching for her. Her legs screamed for her to slow down, but she ignored them, pushing herself harder, faster.

She knew the Slender Man wasn’t just stalking her. It was playing with her. Toying with her, as though the chase was part of his game. And the game wasn’t over yet.

Lily turned a corner and nearly collided with a parked car. She stopped for a second to catch her breath, hands on her knees as she leaned forward, trying to steady herself. She couldn’t let panic take over. She had to focus. She had to find somewhere safe—somewhere she could hide, or better yet, somewhere she could fight back. She didn’t know what that would look like. What could she do against him?

She wasn’t sure how long she had been running, but the city felt endless now. It felt alien—familiar, yet warped, like it no longer belonged to her. As if he had shifted reality itself. She couldn’t escape it. She couldn’t escape him.

The phone buzzed again.

It was Emma.

“Lily, please listen to me. You can’t keep running. It is closer than you think.”

Her breath caught in her throat as she read the text. The words were chilling, not because of their content, but because they were true. Lily knew he was closer. She could feel it. She could feel him right behind her, pressing in on her every step.

“Don’t look back,” Emma had warned. But how could she not? It was all she could think about. The thing that was following her, the thing that had no face, no soul, but only darkness, only hunger. Every time Lily turned a corner, every time she looked around, there was nothing but shadows and the cold air that felt too thick to breathe.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. There had to be a way out. She had to think, she had to be smarter. The longer she ran, the more exhausted she felt. She couldn’t outrun it forever. She had to face it.

And then, something strange happened. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she froze mid-step. The air shifted. It felt as though the world around her had gone quiet. Not in the usual sense of silence, but a pressing quiet. As though the sound of the city—the hum of traffic, the distant voices—had been muffled, swallowed up. Lily’s heartbeat accelerated as she scanned the street ahead. Her instincts screamed that something was wrong.

There was no movement. No shadows flickering. It was as though the whole world had been wiped clean. She couldn’t shake the feeling that it was near—too near.

Without thinking, Lily turned around.

And there he was.

The Slender Man stood at the far end of the street, its tall, impossibly thin form shrouded in the blackness, the fog that had grown thicker around him. Its limbs stretched far beyond what was humanly possible, and its presence seemed to distort the very air around it. The space where it stood seemed to ripple with the force of its being. Lily’s legs turned to jelly, her pulse pounding in her ears as she fought to control her breath.

“You can’t escape,” came the cold whisper, echoing in her mind. “You’ve already entered my world. There’s nowhere to run.”

Her vision blurred as the figure took a slow step forward. Every instinct told her to flee, but her body refused to cooperate. She was paralyzed, trapped in its gaze, feeling the oppressive weight of its cold, faceless stare.

And then, the phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn’t Emma’s message.

It was a new one, from the same unknown number.

“You’ve played the game. Now it’s time to play with me.”

Lily felt a surge of terror as the message twisted through her, but this time, she didn’t hesitate. She couldn’t let it control her anymore. She had to escape. She had to do something.

Lily snapped her head toward the alleyway, her only possible escape route. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too late. The Slender Man had already gotten to her, had already taken hold of her reality. And even though she tried to force her legs to move, they wouldn’t obey.

She had no choice now but to face it.

“No,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she took a step back.

And then, with terrifying suddenness, the figure lunged.

𝑇𝑂 𝐵𝐸 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑇𝐼𝑁𝑈𝐸𝐷…