A Story

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\there once was a boy name Ryan Barret.
He was happy. He had friends. He may not have been popular, but he was liked by all.
Sadly, he was foolish. Like so many before him, he chose to delve into the darker side of life.
He found something worse than he could have imagined.
Not believing it to be true, he told his friends and as a result, he had inadvertently killed every last one of them.
When he learned that one his last remaining friends intended to kill more this way, Ryan made a decision that ended his life.
Adrian had to die. And Adrian did die.
But so did Ryan Barret.
When he met with the monster on the eve of Adrian's death, the monster brought Ryan into his Field and tore his mind asunder, leaving nothing but chunks and shards within Ryan's head... and a message.
He was Ryan no longer. What was once a pseudonym became his identity. He truly was the Glass Man.
The Glass Man wandered for weeks, killing his attackers, real or perceived.
Eventually, he learned of the Sage, Zero, and his own killings. The Glass Man thought he needed redemption, so he set out to kill Zero and those that thought like him.
But the Glass Man's thoughts were not his own. The monster wanted Zero dead, but truly the Glass Man did not.
Aided by a businessman named Manteo and his employee, Alex, the Glass Man eventually found Zero. Before the killing blow was delivered, however, he realized the deception the monster had placed upon his mind, and he let Zero go free. Alex, having lost contact with Manteo, parted ways with the Glass Man. The Glass Man still misses him.
So the Glass Man was alone, and again he wandered.

When the monster tore Ryan asunder, he did not throw away the pieces he had taken. The monster was clever. It knew what could be used. So it made a new mind and, for this new mind, it made a new body. The creature it made was called Ferus.
When Ferus was unleashed from the monster's Field, he began to follow the Glass Man, perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps out of jealousy for his untainted body. Whatever the reason, when the Glass Man was finally alone, Ferus made himself clear to him. And, for reasons the Glass Man could not understand, he was afraid.

The Glass Man fled from Ferus, and during this time he met Rayne and his friend, Lauren. Rayne accepted the Glass Man, but Lauren did not. In the end, Lauren was right, but still the Glass Man stayed with them.

Then one night, the Glass Man dreamed. And in his dream, he met Ferus in the monster's Field. And in this Field, Ferus explained to the Glass Man who they were. Ferus then removed his mask.

Have... have you ever seen a mosaic? Bits and pieces, burned and scarred but seamlessly put together, forming a larger image. An eyebrow from one, a grin from another, a wink from a third.

Indeed, in Ferus's face, the Glass Man found his own.
And much to his chagrin, he also found those of his friends.

Oh god...

Oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god oh god.

I know. I know who he is. He... I can't. I can't... he can't be...

I'm leaving. This isn't right any more... I can't just... It's not right. It's not right!


Lauren, Rayne, I'm leaving right now. Don't bother trying to find me. Just run. Run and run as fast as you can.

He will kill you!

Moving out

It's getting cramped here, not enough space to move. So I'm moving out to a place with a bit more... freedom, yes, freedom.

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for.
-Ferus

Tired

Fuck them. Just...

...

They don't realize that this is a war. A war that needs to be fought. A war where people die. Where people kill.

So fuck them. They would be dead if I hand't been there. Rayne would be lying in a fucking ditch, because as much of a "survivalist" he might be, it wasn't his fucking cargo pants that saved him, it was me.

They came out of nowhere. Alleyways are always the best place to hide, but we always forget that someone else might also be hiding in there.

There were... I don't know, six of them. Wearing masks of different motifs, each thinking they would be the next Totheark or Morningstar. Well, maybe one of them might have, but that's distinctly in the past tense.

The first one ran at Rayne, knife in hand, and Rayne... Rayne fucking froze. The guy would ripped the guts out of him if my knife wasn't already wrist deep the proxy shit's neck. The second one took the logical step and went for me. He swung a baseball bat and gave me a pretty solid hit in the jaw. This time Rayne was the one to respond. Four red circles appeared in rapid succession on the proxy's chest, puncturing his lungs. He was out for the count.

The other four started running. I wasn't done, and if Rayne or Lauren had thought for one goddamn second, then they would have realized the proxies weren't either. My own gun rose, the shells Rayne had so readily supplied shredding the closest one's abdomen. Three left. Lauren screamed something. I fired again, sending chunks of brain and bone flying against the wall. Two left. Now Rayne was shouting too. Bang. One left.

"It's over, man!"


Another shot. Too far to be a kill. Hit him in the shoulder, but it was enough. Not everyone can deal with pain. I certainly couldn't when this started. The last proxy keeled over, landing on his side, clutching his arm.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Lauren this time. Staring. Judging. I showed her that I can stare too. No more complaints.

The proxy lay whimpering at the other end of the alley, his blood slowly draining onto the pavement. I could hear him as I got closer.

"Okay, man! Don't kill me... I... You win! Okay! You win!"

Closer. Open wounds where the fragments had torn through skin and flesh. Idiot. He could have walked away.

"You don't have to do this! This isn't my fault... I have a friend who's-"

Almost there. Rayne whispered something to Lauren. Lies.

"Shit... Shit... Shi-"

I put my foot on his throat and aimed downwards. Rayne finally decided to speak.

"Stop, man. It's over. Just stop. It's not right."

We looked at each other for a very long time. I dropped the gun. Everyone sighed.

Then I stomped.



---

I know they're looking at me right now. Naive. They thought it would be all fun and games, interspersed with little happy battles where the bad guys just get away. Well they don't and they shouldn't. I don't know how long I can last here. Stop. Staring at me.

Have you ever wondered what Slender Man would look like on TV?
-Ferus

i can't. stop. bleeding.

Ring.

I answered the phone, then dodged into an alley while asking the others to wait.

Rayne, Lauren and I had been on the road for over a week. Rayne is getting along fairly well, but Lauren... Lauren is not looking too well. Makes sense. I was even very poor condition after I first left home. Sweats, vomiting, malnourishment. It's to be expected, but still...

Yes, the phone call.

Ferus. Of course it was Ferus. No one else knows the number. It may actually be his phone. Strange. White with blue casing. One would expect red, something morbid or grisly. No. White and blue. Almost something I might pick.

Of course, I'm deferring.

Ferus spoke for a very long time, and I listened. Dear god I listened. When it was over, the alley felt much smaller. After I emerged, Rayne walked towards me.

R: Who was that?
G: Brian's dead.

A long pause.

R: ... WHAT?
G: He's dead. Dead.
R: How?
G: Ferus got to him, of course. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned him by name on my blog. It might not have changed much, but...

Rayne collapsed onto a bench, his eyes wide, staring into mine.

R: What... what happened?
G: ... There was talk of flaying...
R: WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN, GLASS?

Lauren: It means he took... he took his skin.

Lauren stared at me. Pale, malnourished and overall weakened, but still she stared straight at me. I don't like her stare. I don't like it at all. Rayne looked in shock between the two of us before also settling on me. An inquiring look was on his face, almost the opposite of Lauren's. He needed confirmation. I nodded.

His face drooped. I've never seen such a thing on another person, at least not to this extent. He held his head in his hands, shaking, quivering.

G: I... I'm sorry-
R: FUCK OFF!

I swallowed. This I couldn't handle. Dozens of proxies stabbed, shot and burned while begging for mercy , but I couldn't handle this. So I left.

Water tower. East side of town. If you want to find me, Rayne (or Lauren), I'll be there.

Ferus, I will skin you alive. Maybe Brian might appreciate that.