Vermin destruction - Prologue

“Why didn't you look after him?!”
Tears and anger filled his eyes. He sat on his knees and stared at the motionless body which lay in front of him. The sadness he felt made him shiver. It wasn't the coldness of this place or his soaked clothes which did this to his body. Since he entered the room, he wasn't able to control himself. All his actions were ruled by the negative emotions he felt.
The last piece of his sanity broke apart and the same did his heart. The person he cared about most died only moments ago and he couldn't be there to protect him. He never felt so helpless before. He already knew how it feels to lose someone who's important to him... But he never felt so helpless.

Jeff slammed his fist on the ground and yelled. “Why didn't you look after him?! He could be still alive if you did!”
Slenderman's tentacles gripped his wrists and ankles, lifted him up and threw him back on the hard, cold ground. The air escaped from Jeff's lungs and a horrible pain shot through his body. The faceless man stood above him and pinned him against the floor. Even without a face Slenderman looked totally furious. Jeff tried to get up but Slenderman's grip was too strong. He struggled and shouted at him but nothing made Slenderman to let go of the uncontrollable teenager.
“Don't hurt him too much, Slendy”, Hoodie said. “He felt enough pain for today.”
Slenderman glared at him with an expression not even a missing face could hide. Hoodie moved back in fear.
“Silence, proxy!You don't have ANYTHING to do with that!”
The faceless turned back to the still struggling Jeff. “Let me go!”
Suddenly a tentacle slid around his throat and cut his breath. With every struggle the grip became stronger and the pain in Jeff's body grew. Tears ran over his cheeks and he yelled in pain and reached for air. Hoodie and Masky hid themselves – didn't want to get Slenderman's attention. They just watched in horror and hoped he would show mercy for Jeff.

“Don't you DARE to blame me for YOUR mistakes!”

One last time the grip around Jeff's throat became stronger then it let go of him. He coughed and reached for breath. He held his throat and coughed and coughed. His body became weak and Jeff fell to the stone ground again. He lay on his stomach and focused on the body of his now dead boyfriend.
“B-Ben... *cough* Ben...”
Jeff started crying. Slenderman turned to his proxies and pointed on Jeff. “Get him to our mansion. Tell Jack to take care of him until he gets better. I'll take Ben with me.”
He bowed down and wanted to take the lifeless, soaked body but Jeff's voice made him hesitate. “Don't *cough* touch him... Leave him i-in peace.”
Slenderman took the corpse and turned to Jeff. He looked down to him. After a minute of silence he turned around and went to the door. His steps echoed in the room. Before he left he looked back at – the still on the ground lying – Jeff.

“There is no peace in this place.”

Masky and Hoodie brought Jeff to the mansion they lived in. No one spoke a word. Even Smile was silent when they arrived. Jack couldn't see it but he sensed all the sadness Jeff had in his heart.
He helped them to carry Jeff into his room. Drops of water fell on the wooden floor while they brought him in. Jeff's whole body shivered and was cold. The three got him out of his wet hoodie and his trousers and lay him in his bed before he could catch a cold. Wrapped in a blanket he lay paralysed and silent on the mattress. His friends watched him for a while before they went out and let him some time for himself.
Smile stayed next to the door and observed the crying boy. The sorrow in the air made the dog whimper. All the sadness caused the loss of the Smile.dog's smile...
After endless minutes of crying Jeff's eyes were red and hurt. He put on his sleeping mask and fell into a long, nightmare filled sleep...