Trenton

We gathered around the campfire. Well, not really campfire seeing how it was the middle of the day. But we sat in a circle, around our would-be campfire. Serena started.

"Well, when I was in the forest, I got separated from Eric and Nathaniel. I started hearing screams, so I ran towards them. It was this irresistible urge, like I had to get there. So I ran and ran, and finally, I got to my house. My house, right in the middle of the forest. I heard the screams coming from in there, so I rushed inside to find-“ here she pauses and chokes back a sob “-the slenderman… holding my baby sister… I yelled at them, but they didn’t… they didn’t even hear me… then my mom came in… with a knife… my mom, the bravest woman I knew… stabbed the slenderman in the back… but it did nothing… he turned and killed her… her and my sister… at the same time… then the house vanished and Eric and Nathaniel found me…” Here she’s completely sobbing and Eric is trying to comfort her. We can tell she’s done, so we look around to see who’s going to tell next. Dawson decides to go next.

“I saw Megan,” he says sheepishly. “I saw her standing in the middle of a meadow, in all her beauty. But when I tried to approach her, she ran away.” Kathryn perks up.

“I saw my sister too. The same thing happened. When I tried to get near her and talk to her, she just ran away.”

“Hmmm… you guys sound like you saw someone that you care about,” Nathaniel says. “That’s why I don’t understand mine. I came to a clearing with a well in the middle. I looked down to find it dry and empty. I stepped back, but then I felt the ground rumble, and when I went back to look at it again, it was slowly filling with water. When I turned around, I was suddenly in a closed room. Water reached the brim of the well and started pouring over into the room. It was coming a lot faster now, and after a couple minutes, the water was up to my knees. I tried getting out, tried using my powers, but they didn’t work. I knew I was going to drown. The water kept coming and it had filled half the room. The minutes ticked away and finally I had to start swimming. It reached the top and I took one last breath. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the forest, completely dry.”

“Interesting,” Kylie says, glancing at Serena. “Well, in my vision, I saw Serena facing down slender. He had a tentacle wrapped around Trenton and one wrapped around Eric. I kept hearing the word “choose” over and over again. Serena was holding a sword and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ and charged towards Eric. She chopped off the tentacle holding Eric and he was safe. But Trenton… Trenton was getting killed. Serena tried to help, but she chose Eric.” There was a dark tone to her voice now, and she was glaring at Serena.

“OH REALLY?!” Eric shouted. “That’s not how I saw it! Your boyfriend-“ he pointed an accusing finger at me “- chose you instead of Serena!” At this point, they were yelling at each other. Everyone was trying to calm them down, except for me. I was trying to make sense out of it all.

“EVERYONE CALM DOWN!” Nathaniel shouted and released a tunnel of flames skyward. Everyone quieted, but Eric and Kylie still gave each other dirty looks. Serena looked more scared than ever, and Dawson, Nathaniel, and Kathryn were trying to keep order.

“What about you Trenton?” Kathryn asked. “We all had a vision. What about you?” I keep quiet. “Well?”

“No,” I reply. “I didn’t.” She looked at me inquisitively, but she seemed to believe me.

“I’m sure slender was just trying to mess with us,” Serena says soothingly. “I’m sure they mean nothing.”

“Maybe they were hallucinations!” Nathaniel remarks. “Caused by that fog in the forest.”

“You’re right,” Serena agrees. “Totally natural.”

Later that night, Dawson approaches me.

“Hey, can you set us up with a mental link? I need to talk to you,” he says.

“Just you and me?” I ask. He nods. “Sure.” I set it up and he starts.

“Okay. So what was your vision?” he asks.

“I didn’t have a vision…” I reply.

“I know you did. You were in the same fog. Was it bad? Or did you just not want anyone to know?”

“Dawson, I’m going to tell you something that you can’t tell anyone else. Okay?” He agrees and I continue. “I can’t let Kylie or Serena know because they’ll worry too much. So in my vision…” I recount what happened and he listens attentively. “So,” I sum up, “Basically I’m going to die. There’s no way around it. It’s my destiny.”

“Wow… no wonder you didn’t want to share with everyone.”

“The problem is that I don’t know when I’m going to die. I need to entrust you that whatever happens to me, and when I die, that you will make sure that this group doesn’t fall apart. I need you to promise me that. No matter how sad everyone is, you need to stop slender.”

“I… I’ll try…”

“No you have to promise. I won’t have everyone die because I die.

“I… I promise.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” With that, I break the connection and we walk back into the campsite. The sun has set and the moon and stars are shining brightly. I walk up to Kylie and hug her. She seems a bit tentative at first, but then she hugs me completely.

“Is something wrong?” she asks.

It kills me to say it, but I reply, “No. Everything’s fine.” I step back, still holding her hands, and look into her eyes. How could I leave this all behind? But I have no choice. It’s my fate.

“I love you,” I whisper. “If anything happens to me, keep fighting. Don’t let my death be in vain.”

“I… I won’t,” she replies. We hug again and I walk over to my tent. Oh goodie. A night with a guy who hates me right now because of something he thinks will happen. This should be fun.