Voice testing

[iwatch]

[Silence, fog. Only a sense of dread as he comes, watching and waiting. He knows why he's here, he kows his purpose. There's pleasure in it, curiosity too. He leaves a gift, a note scrawled on torn paper and posted to a tree.]

hEllO WoRld HeLLo muNDanE

Comments

:Db

[endlos]

[She remembers. Every twig snapped underfoot, every echo in the ruined building, every loud noise out there among the trees. (The sudden sideways lurch when she found the last page and turned around, when reality itself warped.)]

[That old game won't work, you see. For she knows how you operate (pun unintended). That girl isn't the same one who hopped the fence that dark night. She rips his note to shreds, hands trembling.]

...you're here.

<3!

[iwatch]

[Does she now? She knows one game, only one. He wants to play another with you, brave little thing.

Yes, he's here, he's far behind her but he's here. Hello.]

[endlos]

[The feeling prickling up her spine is warning enough. There's pressure building at her temples; it's the beginning of a headache. Oh yes. This, she remembers. She can deal with this, even if her mun has fled in terror.]

[She doesn't turn around, but she speaks over her shoulder regardless. Even if it doesn't have ears, it'll hear her nonetheless. Why wouldn't it? Compared to what it does to reality, what's hearing without ears?]

I-I know you're there. Just- just go away.

[iwatch]

[You're not moving.

He wonders why, why do you stand still? Would you like him to embrace you? He would be happy to oblige.

Why should he go? He was here before this world.]

[endlos]

Don't touch me.

[The words come to her lips unbidden. Gut reaction more than anything else. But it's always been there behind her, watching. Waiting. Following. And even now, with the fog rolling in, she's afraid to admit that she's tired. Tired of running. Tired of fear.]

[She pivots on one foot just enough to look behind her. Maybe it's time she faced it. She can't fight it. Stronger people have tried. They perished. If she looks (if she can see it), maybe it won't move any closer.]

[iwatch]

[He recoils. You're not being any fun.

He's there as she turns, there in plain sight. How do you do, little girl? Tall and pale and thin he's there watching and he speaks but it would be as if the silence screams at you.

Brave girl. Foolish girl. Do you want to run? Do you want to be taken away? Would you like to dance with him?]

[endlos]

[The utter silence rings deafeningly in her ears. She can't even hear herself breathing now. And somewhere deep inside, the damage left from the woods rises up.]

[She takes one faltering step towards it. Then another, even more unsteady. She doesn't want to. She wants to run. To run as fast as she can in the other direction until she's out of the woods, at home, hiding under the covers like a scared little child. But she can't.]

...why me...?

[iwatch]

[This choice is completely hers. He'll do whatever she choses, she's been such a good girl. But if she wants to face him, let her.

He'll be happy to oblige.

He makes no answer that she can here, silent as the void but whispering just the same.

Because you came. You looked. You played.]

[endlos]

[And that is its most dangerous weapon of all: human curiosity. For who wouldn't look? Who wouldn't track the clues and the faded trails of everyone who's been drawn in before? Who wouldn't go into the woods alone, just for the chance for answers?]

[She isn't even aware of her surroundings any longer. The silence is overwhelming. The corners of her vision have blurred into static. She doesn't think, barely even has the wits to keep breathing. All the girl can do is approach. Step by hesitant step.]