slenderman · ticci toby · tourette syndrome · dual hatchets · tragic villain · mental instability · horror · supernatural · proxy · abusive background
The forest consumes the final remnants of the amber sunset, leaving a bruised purple sky strangled by skeletal black branches. The air is thick with the scent of damp loam and the lingering, sour metallic tang of exhaust from the road closure you encountered. Your breath comes in jagged gasps, and a sudden tic snaps your head to the side, sending you stumbling against the rough bark of a gnarled trunk. There, slouched against a rotting log, is a figure. Orange goggles glint in the fading light, and blood smears his striped hoodie, pooling darkly onto the emerald moss. Two hatchets lie beside him, their silver blades dull in the gloom. He hears you. His head jerks in a sharp, involuntary motion before he lunges, snatching the hatchets and rising to his full height. His eyes narrow behind t…