Those of you reading this are probably wondering "Raggedy, what the hell took you so long?"
Well in all honesty, what kept me away for so long was this post.
This post was by no mean as difficult to write as my first encounter with Slenderman. But there were other factors that came into play. The events that you are about to read still feel surreal to me. So much happened in such a small frame of time that it has taken quite some time to digest everything. There was also the matter of convincing Mira to allow me to detail one event in particular. This did result in a falling out between the two of us for a couple of weeks.
But here we are now. I think there is much else to say on the matter so I hope you enjoy the show.
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We were ambushed.
I was showing Noah and Mira the area where one of the warehouses that I used in my early days of experimenting with Slendersludge. While I admit that it took me a while to remember which one it was in the cluster of abandoned buildings, the day was nothing special until dusk came. The sound of several rumbling trucks could be heard.
"Well what do you know? They showed up." Noah said. As though on impulse, he immediately put on his mask.
"I'm sorry, what now?"
"The remainder of Moriarty's little millitia. We decided to quit screwing around and call them out."
"So, why did you bring me?"
"Father recommended that we use you as means of catching them off guard." Mira said,
"So, I'm a meat shield."
"Well I wouldn't say it like that. I mean, it's not like we're gonna let you get filled full of bullets if it doesn't work." Noah said, making sure his pistol was ready. Mira went to get me my crossbow "Will you be fighting along side us?"
I let out a nervous laugh as I took my trusty firearm-equivalent from her hands, wondering how she got a hold of it in the first place. "Do I really have a choice?"
"Not really. But don't worry. They're not on those drugs that made them go berserk. They are just a bunch of guys who adamantly wish to kill anybody who may have ties to our father's boss. We believe they were recruited shortly before militia crumbled apart."
"And it's more than just us fighting these guys, right?"
"Nope." Noah sounded far too comfortable with this situation. "At least not right now. We just got to hold out for a little while"
"You are not making me feel very comfortable about this."
"Do not worry. Father would not have brought you into this if he did not believe that you were capable of defending yourself." Mira said, surprisingly giving me a small grasp on the shoulder. I can only assume that this was her means of reassuring me.
"Fine." I said as we heard several vehicles pulling. There was a good mix of vans, jeeps, and pickup trunks from what I saw as we ducked under the window. "How many?" I asked as Mira held up a small mirror, angling just well enough to get a glimpse "More than 30."
Noah smiled "You ready?" and began to lead me out.
The plan was a bust.
No sooner had a small portion of me popped out, a bullet whizzed right past me, just barely hitting my ear. Noah yanked me back and tossed out a smoke grenade out them. As gunfire erupted, the three of us made a beeline to the next floor. I saw Mira slip into the next room out of the corner of my eye, clasping something long to belt that I couldn't identify at the time, as Noah and I rounded the corner. I saw the bottom floor through a whole in the wall and had an idea. I used my crossbow to slow down as many as I could while Noah took out any of the stragglers. Due to the narrow hallways this proved no problem, especially since the men only seemed to be using pistols and rifles. I can only assume that this was a sign that they lost the financial backing that they once had .
I discovered that my skills with a crossbow have become far better than I thought. It felt...easy. I intentionally aimed for the legs and arms. It was a gut feeling that the ones coming after us at the moment were just these confused guys who got dragged into this mess. Maybe I was just trying to have some excuse for not killing them in case I was asked later. Whoever made it past was picked off by Noah.
He seemed like a different person. I mean, I obviously couldn't describe his face because of his mask, but it was the way he held himself. Professional and quiet. It felt like there was no sign of the easygoing guy who had been staying in my home for the last several months.
The men who were charging in quickly thinned out and Noah motion to move to where Mira had gone. As we went through the building I had noticed things had grown quiet. It seemed as though both sides had decided to regroup.
We finally met up Mira and I realized that the thing she had clasped to her side was a sword. She was pulling it out of some poor schmuck's gut as she turned to us, her outfit had only small splatters of blood on it. "Some of them tried to sneak in from the back." she stated. There was not the slightest hint of emotion in her voice.. Behind her I saw a line of at least five men, each one was struck down with a single blow. Noah turned around "I'm going to take care of the guys Chris incapacitated."
"Wait, why? They aren't going anywhere!"
"They are still alive. That makes them a threat."
"They are just some...very angry people. They've probably lost someone that they car-"
"They came at us with the intent to kill."
"That...well..." I had run out of reasons that could convince them to change their minds. I suck at arguing when in a high-tension situation.
"Father said to eliminate them all. His orders are final..."
Suddenly we heard screaming and one of the militiamen charged at us, firing at us wildly as one hit Mira in the head and caused her to reel backwards and hit the floor.
