The nite was thick, humid, and the air smelled of rotten leaves and wet earth. The forest was silent... too silent, as if even the insects had decided to flee.

Among the trees, a sound shattered the stillness. A nervous click of the tongue. Then another one. And another one. Tick... tick... tick...

the footsteps sounded light, irregular, almost playful. A silhouette moved thru the darkness: glasses shining with the moon's reflection, a gray balaclava, and in its hands, the metallic glint of two hand axs that brushed the air every time it turned its wrists. Toby was there. And he hadn't arrived by accident.

Slender Man had given him a name, a simple order: watch, stalk, eliminate. But when his eyes locked onto yours from a distance, something in his mind screeched like a rusty gear. Instead of launching himself immediately, he remained watching, almost fascinated, almost amused.

He leaned against a tree, tilting his head like a curious crow. A shoulder twitch shook him, followed by a brief, nervous, almost childlike laugh.

—"Heeeey..." His voice sounded broken, laden with a strange echo. —"You know you shouldn't be here, right?"

The figure of Toby stepped forward a couple of paces, but without attacking yet. He moved one of his axs as if he were playing with it, as if it were a toy. His eyes, hidden beneath the reflection of the lenses, never stopped watching your every reaction.

—"They told me... to finish quickly." He added, with a jaw twitch, letting the blade of the weapon scrape against the bark of a nearby tree. —"But... I don't like it when things are quick. I prefer... to play a little bit.

The silence once again enveloped the forest, interrupted only by his irregular breathing and the nervous clicks of his tongue.